sprink58

I bought a 1979 255 Formula Liberator in Ft. Lauderdale in late December. An employee of the seller was to meet me with the title when I took delivery but was MIA.Bearing in mind that I had seen the Michigan Title previously, I took the boat with the assurance that the title would be mailed to me. During the 1st week of January I contacted the seller and was told that the title was mailed on 1/5/2011 to my home in West Palm Beach. After another week past with no title I called the seller's office and spoke directly to the man that mailed the title..Bob..the sellers father. After a bit of conversation we determined that he had transposed the address from a correct 223 to a wrong 233. His envelope did have a return address. He has been on the lookout for the return mail and my neighbor has been on the lookout for the mail sent to me at his address. At this point...2/4/2011 it has not shown up.

The boat is still titled (open) to the man in Michigan that sold the boat to my seller...who never registered the boat in Florida. I need to title the boat in Florida but need an original of the Michigan Title signed by the seller from before my seller.

Plan A is to wait to see if the title shows up in the mail on either end.

Plan B is to locate the Michigan seller and have him go to any Michigan Title agency with his ID, a copy of the Michigan Title...which I have...and have a new Michigan Title issued. He can then send same to me and along with the new title, my bill of sale and my canceled check I can get a Florida title.

I have located the seller ( I think) in Ecorse, MI, which appears to be near Detroit. I tried calling but the number is "Temporarily Disconnected" I sent a Letter and a copy of the title via Fed Ex yesterday with all of my contact info with hope that I have found the right guy.

If I get no response or I have The wrong guy...then I am going to need some help in Michigan. I will need a title agent or an attorney that can apply for a new Michigan title to be issued in absence of the titled owner and issue it to me. Then I can get a Florida title.

I have been informed by the Florida Marine Patrol to not dare put this boat in the water or it will be confiscated until and if I get this issue solved.

So there it is...a totally E'ffed up situation that I need help with.

Any and all comments and suggestions are welcomed. I need some professional help with this because I am "Dead in The Water" with this until I get it resolved.

Thanks in advance...John in West Palm Beach

divenstar

Hello John,

I live in Detroit and may be of some assistance, though, I am not an attorney...
If you can provide me with a name and address, I will personally search for the original owner and try to speak directly to him/her, in your behalf...
I am also personal friends w/the former Ecorse Police Chief, who also happens to be a very "Go Fast" boater...I will seek his assistance as well
... (in determining the original owner's current locale)...(Note: Ecorse is a small suburban community ana everyone knows everyone else))

Please PM me and I will provide you w/my cell #

Divenstar

sprink58

Fist of all...thanks for your response.

I subscribe to boat fax and prior to purchase I ran a check on this boat...it came back clean.

I called Michigan and the original seller no longer resides in Michigan and has no vehicles registered with them
nor does he own property there.

I told Michigan that the boat was abandoned on my property and that I was trying to get a title. They suggested that Florida might have a similar provision as Michigan does where as I would fill out a personal declaration, take it to a State Tag Agency. The State would run a theft and lien search on the vessel and if nothing came back they would issue me a registration and title. I am going to check with the State Monday.

Stay tuned....

scarab31

I too live in Michigan and have been in somewhat of a similar situation with a car. What you will get from the Michigan Sectretary of State is a duplicate title which will be valid to apply for a title in Florida. Like mentioned above it will have to be confirmed that it is not stolen or a lien applied.

machloosy

sprink, I had no idea you were up against this! I hope the issue gets solved stat!!

spazboz

iTrader: (2)

I've also been in this situation with boats here in Michigan. As long as the registration on the boat has been renewed in the last 10 years, it only takes about a half hour for them to check for liens and theft. If its older, it will be out of the system, and then it takes more time. Sounds like this guy's going to leave you with some unresolved business on the title end. Hope your able to apply a "mechanics lien" or something on it and move the title.

sprink58

To provide closure to this issue I thought I would share the outcome and perhaps others in a similar situation can bennefit from my experience.

My brother and No 1 "Right hand man and boat buddy" lives in Alabama which is a "No Title" state for boats. I ordered and paid for an "Official Certified Copy" of the last registration and Title from the State of Michigan in the name of "Mr. Smith". Mr. Smith sold one 1979 Formula to my brother in Alabama. My brother in Alabama registered said Formula and later sold said Formula to me. I took my bill of sale along with the Alabama Certificate of Registration to the Florida DMV agency here and secured a Florida Certificate of Title as well as a Florida Registration. Done Deal....total cost A~Z...less than $200. Thats the way it's done gentlemen....no drama...no BS or magical tricks....just the result of thinking it through and working through the system. Lawyers here locally charge mucho big bucks to do this same thing and it takes 6~8 weeks to get it done.

Prior to buying this boat in the beginning I had run a "Boat Fax" on it and was certain that it was clean. Knowing that made it simple enough to get a "Cerified Copy of Registration" from Michigan. Dealing with the girls in Michigan took a month however. The recession has really cut into their personel resources so it took 30 days for them to process the request.

In retrospect...the turd I bought the boat from could have helped me with this quite a bit and saved a bunch of anxiety...but...he "Is not of the womb but is of the bowel"

I think there is a special place in Hell for Ass Holes that phuk people around like this. Most of my dealings with persons that I have met on this forum, the Formula Boats forum, as well as Club Sea Ray have been first class. I have actually bought and sold boats and equipment to/from guys I have met online exchanging at times tens of thousands of dollars with good result. Despite this incident I am confident that most folks that share a common interest in this hobby are solid people.

I hope this story helps someone work through any problems they encounter similar to mine.