Boat and Trailer Sale Titling/ Registration question

[johnw91]

Hey guys, I am in a bit of a confusing situation and want to see what everyone's thoughts are on the best way to handle this.

I purchased a center console Robalo , a camper, and a small bass boat off of a personal friend in April 2018 for VERY cheap as he was in a bind and they all needed extensive work. He handed over to me The titles and a bill of sale for each, but left the pricing blank as it was a bundle deal and told me to write what we wanted to write for that. The bill of sale contains the boat information and the date of sale but does not include my name, sale price, etc. The titles just have the date of sale and his signature but no other information.

Fast forward to now and we have decided to sell the center console. I did not register or title the boat in my name as the boat was not water ready and I had no plans to keep it. The boat title is from Florida, the Trailer title is from North Carolina.

I have someone interested in buying the center console from me, but I am worried about what potential road blocks they may run into when trying to register or title the boat here in Virginia given that I am technically the seller, although the original bill of sale and the titles for the trailer and boat all still have my friends name who I bought it from back in April.

Any advice on how to best handle this would be greatly appreciated.

[Cestratton]

If buyer information is blank on the back of the title then sell it and have new buyer put their name on the back of the titles like he boughtit from the original owner. If your name were on the back you would have to register to get a title in your name and then assign it to the buyer so they could register. Or to be on the safe side you could do that anyway and put whatever price you want or even gift, the bill of sale is useless if sale date and price are on the back of the title as that is a bill of sale. As far as date you purchased if you have new buyer sign back of title as though they bought it from original owner they can say it hasn't been used and there should be no penalties.

[richg99]

Every State is different in their handling of boats, motors, and trailers. 99% of what CES said sounds perfectly correct, but I'd check to see what your LOCAL rules are. Some States don't register or title motors or trailers. Some do all three items.

[billnorman1]

You have what I call "Hot" titles. Signed by the previous owner and not the (you) purchaser. I used to get them all the time when I bought and sold repaired cars. The new owner just has to take them as is and register them with his MVA or such. They're just like cash but the State doesn't get its slice of the pie.

[Joe4d]

they have a year old date of sale on the title. COuld be a fine for not registering it in that time. If I was a buyer I wouldnt take it like that. As I could end up liable for the property taxes that you didnt pay during your year of ownership.

[Bassman Ia.]

How can you sell anything you don't own? The title is not in your name, until your signature is on it and has been notorized.

[omcforever]

I have advice,,,after getting burnt/hassles/unpaid back taxes, lots of $$$,,,,,people need to stop sitting on titles, leaving items blank, trying to screw the tax man, no signatures, no notary stamp, ect,,ect. Just process it right from the get go and there are no hassles. Do the right thing and go get it transferred into your name like you should have and then sell it properly. Dont put someone else in the position to have headaches just because you didnt do your part.

[KYSkipper]

I have advice,,,after getting burnt/hassles/unpaid back taxes, lots of $$$,,,,,people need to stop sitting on titles, leaving items blank, trying to screw the tax man, no signatures, no notary stamp, ect,,ect. Just process it right from the get go and there are no hassles. Do the right thing and go get it transferred into your name like you should have and then sell it properly. Dont put someone else in the position to have headaches just because you didnt do your part.

Amen!

[Mark Perry]

Here you would have to title it before you could legally sell it. Check with your state to be more clear.

Personally I ain't buying a boat from someone that does not have the paperwork in order. It throws up too many red flags for me as a buyer.

[Cestratton]

Here you would have to title it before you could legally sell it. Check with your state to be more clear.

Personally I ain't buying a boat from someone that does not have the paperwork in order. It throws up too many red flags for me as a buyer.

True but in his case everything is open, his name is not on anything so it would look like the buyer bought it from the OP's seller. Yes the correct thing to do is OP register it first and wait for titles to come in but that can take weeks.

[Mark Perry]

True but in his case everything is open, his name is not on anything so it would look like the buyer bought it from the OP's seller. Yes the correct thing to do is OP register it first and wait for titles to come in but that can take weeks.

I will look it up but I am thinking in Texas if you do that you are committing fraud and can be prosecuted accordingly.

I understand it can take weeks but respectively its been 5 months since he bought it. If he gets in a bond over it by skipping the titling in his name then it will be hard for him to defend waiting.

[Cestratton]

I will look it up but I am thinking in Texas if you do that you are committing fraud and can be prosecuted accordingly.

I understand it can take weeks but respectively its been 5 months since he bought it. If he gets in a bond over it by skipping the titling in his name then it will be hard for him to defend waiting.

Not sure how his state is but when I worked at Arkansas DMV yes there is a 30 day registration requirement but if it hasn't been used or not functional then you just inform them of that and there's no penalty. DMV dosen't even know original seller no longer has the boat nor do they know OP bought it. The only issue that could screw things up is if original seller bought a new boat and claimed the one he sold for a trade in credit which you can do if you sell to an individual but here in AR we dont give trade credits for boats you pay tax on full amount, cars are different though. If it were a car and original seller bought a new one and claimed the one he sold to OP for tax credit then OP would get a letter wanting to know why he hasn't registered it within 30 days and would receive a tax bill based on the amount original seller claimed he sold it for but again that's cars we don't do that on boats here. I bought my dad's boat that was registered in AR but he moved to Mississippi and kept the AR registration, when I brought it back here I just transferred ownership but we dont title boats the trailer is titled and he signed it over to me and I titled the trailer Arkansas never knew the boat left the state.

[Aries 181]

Every State is different in their handling of boats, motors, and trailers. 99% of what CES said sounds perfectly correct, but I'd check to see what your LOCAL rules are. Some States don't register or title motors or trailers. Some do all three items.

I don't have a title for my boat, just the paperwork from the CU where I paid the boat off from the first owner.

Bill

[Joe4d]

I sold a Jeep January 1st 2008,,, I signed title and wrote 1-1-07 by mistake. Caused a big stink for buyer at DMV (Hawaii) They were gonna fine him $500, I had to go get a notorized statement saying I made a mistake.