Unbelievable title transfer experience

[madurodave]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

shoot..I would insure it and hit the lake.

 

[koko1]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

Man I would hate to have to go through all that to get a boat registered.. .Here in Alabama we get a bill of sale and thats all... No title needed for anything... No registering the trailer, $25 bucks and a bill of sale is all you need (besides having to pay an ungodly amount of luxury tax the 1st time it is registered)...

 

[JoLin]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

We've got an odd deal in NY that affects the seller instead of the buyer. Don't get me wrong, we've got all the same registration hassles that everyone else does, but this was a new wrinkle for me. Note that in NY the reg. number stays with the boat for the life of the boat. It never changes from owner to owner. You buy a renewal sticker ever 2 years.

I sold my first boat and trailer last year. After it was taken away, I took my copy of the bill of sale and the trailer plates to DMV. I turned in the plates and "officially" no longer had any responsibility for the trailer. I then said to the clerk,

"What about the boat?"

Clerk - "What about it?"

"How do I relinquish ownership as far as the state is concerned?

Clerk - "You don't until the new owner re-registers it in his name."

"What if he doesn't? What if he does something illegal with it, or dumps it someplace, or something. According to NY I still own the thing."

Clerk shrugged and told me to hang onto the bill of sale, like forever.

Seems awful strange for a state with as many rules as we have. I really don't care for that one.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

"What if he doesn't? What if he does something illegal with it, or dumps it someplace, or something. According to NY I still own the thing."

Your concerns are most valid. This exact thing just happened to a fellow iboats member/friend. Guy just wanted the trailer and heaved the boat into the woods. My friend had to come get it.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

Bottom line with all this is that you need to know the regulations in your state before buying a boat. If a signed title is needed, don't buy a boat without one. If boats are just registered, the seller should have a registration card in his or her name, and sign it or provide a bill of sale with all the HIN number and other information on it.

If you're thinking about buying a boat from a different state, go to an office for your state and find out what they need from the other state before buying the boat. Just drop into the DMV or County Clerk or DNR or Secretary of State, or whatever office handles boat registration.

If you're buying a boat from an estate, beware. There will be forms to fill out, death certificates to have on hand, and even probate to deal with. It doesn't matter how much or little the boat and its related stuff is worth. It's a pain to transfer a boat that has a registration or title in the name of someone who is no longer with us. A huge pain in some states.

And don't forget the trailer. In some states, boats are registered with the DNR, while trailers are handled by the DMV. In some states outboards have titles or registrations, too. You need to know all of this before exchanging money with the previous owner. If you don't know, what you don't know will surely come back to bite you on the butt.

Once you earn your state's procedures, don't buy a boat that doesn't meet those procedures. Period. There's another boat somewhere that does. The headaches involved with registration issues can keep you from ever being able to use the boat.

 

[cedarjunki]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

i have been able to transfer titles and register cars in my name that still have leans marked on the title. the only problem is that if the lean isnt taken care of it would come back on me.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

i have been able to transfer titles and register cars in my name that still have leans marked on the title. the only problem is that if the lean isnt taken care of it would come back on me.

You lost me. The actual title may still have a lienholder's name on it, but NY requires that the lien be satisfied before you can register the vehicle in your name. Upon payment of the oustanding amount the lienholder issues the owner/seller a FS-1 (used to be called that) form as proof that the lender no longer has any claim to that vehicle. You take the old title and the new FS-1 to the DMV.

Has something changed?

 

[cedarjunki]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

You lost me. The actual title may still have a lienholder's name on it, but NY requires that the lien be satisfied before you can register the vehicle in your name. Upon payment of the oustanding amount the lienholder issues the owner/seller a FS-1 (used to be called that) form as proof that the lender no longer has any claim to that vehicle. You take the old title and the new FS-1 to the DMV.

Has something changed?

unless its changed in the past say 8 years or so, no i registered more than one vehicle in my name that had leans on them.. when i first questioned it dmv said it was up to me. but if the lein holder didnt pay it off or skipped out then i could lose the vehicle.

maybe the dmv up here isnt as bad as i think they are then?

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

Just to throw another factor into the mix - if you are taking out a loan to buy a boat that has a lien on it, the bank is legally obligated to pay the lienholder first, then the current owner. Just had that conversation yesterday. In my case, the current owner is waiting to get the title back as they just applied for it, and the bank won't cut me a check until they see a copy of the current title to see if there is a lien against it.

I'm going through hoops trying to buy a boat and everytime I turn around I keep stepping in someting in regards to the title issue. I feel the OP's pain.

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

As long as you got a sign bill of sale your probably good. Talk to the guy, give him the money to register it so you have a sticker and use it until the title comes.

 

[scutly]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

You lost me. The actual title may still have a lienholder's name on it, but NY requires that the lien be satisfied before you can register the vehicle in your name. Upon payment of the oustanding amount the lienholder issues the owner/seller a FS-1 (used to be called that) form as proof that the lender no longer has any claim to that vehicle. You take the old title and the new FS-1 to the DMV.

Has something changed?

I've registered cars a few times as well with a lien on the title. loan was paid but no paperwork was ever submitted so the lien was never removed from the title. the new title came in my name with the lien still on it. no big deal. you still own it.

 

[scutly]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

shoot..I would insure it and hit the lake.

i dont believe insurance is valid until its registered.

 

[scutly]

Re: Unbelievable title transfer experience

We've got an odd deal in NY that affects the seller instead of the buyer.

"How do I relinquish ownership as far as the state is concerned?

Clerk - "You don't until the new owner re-registers it in his name."

"What if he doesn't? What if he does something illegal with it, or dumps it someplace, or something. According to NY I still own the thing."

this story is from way back in the day. buddy and room mate sells me his broken car. i fix car and resell to stranger but never register it in my name. new strange owner never registers it either and commits a crime in car and dumps it. guess who almost gets arrested? you guessed it. my buddy. he didn't get arrested in the end but get this, he was responsible for the removal costs of the vehicle from where it was dumped! (we split it). another friend sold a car and again, new owner never registered. he blew the motor and dumped it on the side of the highway. yup you guessed it. my buddy got the removal bill. this was THREE YEARS after he sold it! ok these are my $.03 on this subject