Boat Buying Pickle . . . Info or Ideas??

[tpenfield]

My brother who has not owned a boat in about 25 years has now become interested in getting a boat. He has found a pretty nice boat (center console), put in an offer, and I got him lined up with a good surveyor in case it moves forward.

A wrinkle to the deal is that the boat comes with a trailer, but apparently the trailer was never registered (not sure what that story is). Selling is through a local reputable broker. Boat is properly titled and registered in Mass. The seller lives in Georgia (GA) and summers on Cape Cod, so he has to get the title for the trailer in GA, as he has no MA residence.

So, the seller is tasked with getting the trailer properly titled in GA so that the deal can go forward. My Bro was relaying this story to me and I was thinking that it could take the seller 4+ weeks to get the title certificate in the mail. My brother certainly does not want to wait that long, as the boating season will be pretty much over by then.

I am wondering more exactly how fast the seller can get a GA title for his trailer? GA_Boater, any ideas? I know in MA it can take 4-6 weeks.

I suggested to my bro that if the seller cannot make good on the trailer in short order, then he could offer to buy only the boat (since the trailer is not in 'sellable condition'), and just get a trailer locally. Wouldn't need much of a trailer . . .basic galvy or aluminum tandem axle - local trailering and storage.

Thoughts or insight or ideas on this "Pickle"? The boat is really nice, just kind of wish he got this idea a month or so ago.

 

[GA_Boater]

Ga. doesn't title boat trailers. Straight from the Ga. Dept. of Money...er..Revenue;



It took me 10 minutes to get my out of state boat trailer registered with only a bill of sale after a LEO verified the VIN (an extra 5 minutes), but that won't help your brother.

Did the seller transport the boat to Mass with no plates on the trailer? Was it ever regged in Ga? Did he buy it new and does he have any paperwork? All I have is a paper with the annual registration info from the county tax office and I got the first one as part of my 15 minutes.

Probably all I'm helping with is that there is no title, TP.

 

[gm280]

I actually also live in middle Georgia and I bought a boat, motor and trailer from a place called Boat Angels. And while I did get the needed paperwork, nothing was actually titled. And because I refurbished the trailer, they treated it like a home built. And once the State Patrol glanced at it (literally just glanced), it was a done deal... So no telling how long your situation will seriously take... JMHO!

 

[tpenfield]

Hey, thanks GA . . . for some reason I thought that 'travel trailers' would be considered boat trailers. I did not see the specific info that boat trailers did not get titles when I looked it up.

Yea, how the boat & trailer got from GA to MA is a mystery at this point . . . probably just threw a lic plate on and took their chances. Might have used a plate from another trailer . . folks do that all the time around here.

Anyway, I'll share the info with my brother . . . I am thinking if the seller has the original documentation from the purchase as new, he should be able to get it registered and then give the certificate of registration over as proof of ownership. Typically, that is what is accepted from non-title states.

 

[GA_Boater]

The seller probably has all the needed paperwork for the trailer at home in Ga. :doh:

Hope I helped a little.

 

[tpenfield]

Yes, helpful info GA and gm280. It might be just that the seller needs to get " a-round-to-it ". I bet the broker is having fits over the paperwork not being in order.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Since ga doesn't title trailers you likely only need a bill of sale.... Ask your local license agency.

 

[GA_Boater]

Since ga doesn't title trailers you likely only need a bill of sale.... Ask your local license agency.

BOS and the current registration to prove ownership in many cases. Mass does require proof of ownership.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Well according to that a bill of sale will suffice

 

[GA_Boater]

I think we read differently. A bill of sale isn't proof of ownership. Only the state of Massachusetts knows for sure.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Read further... It specifically says "a bill of sale if a non-titled trailer"

 

[GA_Boater]

Ted - Let us know how it goes to help when others in Mass have this situation. We always have these trailer questions. Thanks.

 

[tpenfield]

Ted - Let us know how it goes to help when others in Mass have this situation. We always have these trailer questions. Thanks.

Yes, will do.

It has been an exciting day among my family. The Admiral and I went to pick up a new to us tow vehicle . . . 2004 Cadillac Escalade w/ 6.0L V8 345 HP, 8,100 lb. towing capacity. :thumb:

My brother is still waiting to hear on his offer on the boat. My Admiral works in insurance and 'thinks' that with a Certificate of Origin (CoO) and a bill of sale, the MA DMV should be fine. "supposedly" the seller has the original paperwork for the trailer, but we shall see. There will be a purchase and sale contract (i.e. bill of sale) since he is going through a broker. So, potentially there is enough documentation in place.

Subsequently, my brother stopped by one of the local marinas and inquired about rack space, and they have some openings for the season. . .

So, I suggested to him that if the offer gets accepted and the sea trial & survey are good, then he could have the broker split the deal in two pieces . . . the boat for $X and the trailer for $Y. Close on the boat . . . have the broker stick the boat in the water and he takes it over to the marina for rack storage. Then whenever the trailer documentation is squared away he closes on the trailer.

Eventually he will need the trailer, but not for a while. The marina with rack storage is about a 10 minute drive away, and our local harbor is moorings only with a waiting list. Once he can get a mooring in the local harbor he may care more about having the trailer for seasonal launching and periodic haul-outs.

So, we shall see how it goes. I think part of the problem is that the seller/owner is long distance, even tough the boat is local, so things move slowly.

 

[GA_Boater]

Oh - So not only is the paperwork in GA, so is the seller? The broker needs to work on organization.

The seller will only have the CoO if the trailer has never been reg'ed.

BTW - That's a good plan to rack the boat until Fall. Hopefully the trailer business will be ironed out by then. Good luck to your Bro.

 

[tpenfield]

Yea, my sense is that the broker is having a level of frustration with the owner/seller not having his 'ducks in a row' which is potentially holding up a deal. My brother inquired about the boat a week ago, so they presumably have had time to get things moving :noidea: The boat is somewhat recently on the market, but not that recent.

The story as best we can tell is that the trailer was never registered . . . but again, we shall see. That is why I suggested to my brother to have the deal split in two.

 

[tpenfield]

Well, the owner of the boat accepted the offer . . . the survey was today and all looks good . . . they did $1,000 hold-back on the trailer since proof of ownership is not available . . . but the boat is a done deal.

Of course, now my brother is having trouble actually finding rack space . . . it turns out that there was none to be had. He'll figure something out . . . got to since he is without trailer until that piece of the deal comes through.

Of course, he is really not the trailering type . . .

It is a 2001 Grady White 222 Fisherman w/ Yamaha 200 hp. I think when the bay gets rough, he'll be traveling in my wake to get places in reasonable comfort

 

[tpenfield]

Pic . . .

 

[tpenfield]

Update: Boat is all set . . . my brother picked up the boat today along with the 'yet to be documented' trailer. He brought the boat over to the marina where it will be rack stored, and they got him all set and in the water.

He has boat and trailer, and is waiting for the trailer documentation to come through so he bcan get it properly titled and registered. For now the trailer sits in the driveway. Once he gets the doc's for the trailer, he will pay the last $1K for the boat.

See my thread in the boating activities forum for pics of our first day on the water with the new boat :thumb: