How to buy with a lien on title
 

My buddy is buying a boat sunday and the seller has no title since Key bank holds it. How does he purchase it with no title etc. The owner wants him to make the check payable to Key and the owner will make up the difference to pay it off. Thanks alot

Buy the boat Monday when the bank is open, and get documents from the bank.

Even if your buddy pays the bank directly, and the current owner does not pay the bank, he won't get a title release.

Shouldnt be too much of an issue, just make sure he has a notarized bill of sale. I bought a car like that once and went to the bank with the former owner to pick up the title and give him the check, it was held by a local bank though.

Bingo...you wont get the title until the entire lein has been satisfied...if they seller is upside down(which he is). he will need to come up with the remainder or the bank will keep the lein.

I ran into a similar situation when I purchased my boat last year. If it were me, I would have the seller give his bank permission to talk to you regarding the note. (The bank will probably require written notice from the seller that this is okay) This way you can get the exact payoff information from the bank, and make sure that the seller comes up with his part of the deal.

Or it would be even easier for all parties to go the bank on Monday and complete the transaction that way.

Do not do it that way......I got a good kid in trouble that way last year.

Your buddy pays, and then the owner sends what he thinks the payoff is and the bank adds fees and all sorts of penalties and all the sudden its not paid off and your buddy doesnt get the title.

Regions did it to me.

I dont know the "right" way to do it. That deal was the fist thing that I sold that I owed money on. Id be interested to see what others have done in the past.

you call them bank, get the pay off, make a cashiers check out to the bank, and pay the owner the difference.

Re-read the post. The owner owes more to the bank than the boat is worth.

apppedigree, I applaud you for bringing that up to help others, it takes a big man to admit mistakes.:ernaehrung004: I'm glad you two got that resolved.

I learn things the hard way. That boy definetly didnt do anything wrong. When it boils down to it I did not do my part.

But it does raise the question. What is the right thing to do.

Another question - you get a bank check, buyer takes the boat. My bank held his for 18 days before releasing funds (Wachovia said it was standard). They said that a bank check can still be stopped. I thought that they were as good as cash.

I am interested in know how to do it where you dont have to take someones word for it.

Call the bank with the owner and have them give you a written payoff good for 10 days.

Have the buyer get a cashiers check made out to the bank that holds the lien and have the seller get a cashiers check for the difference made out to the bank.

Overnight the payoff with both cashiers checks to the bank if there is not a local branch of Key Bank there, you obviously can't do this on a sunday. You should also have a signed statement included by the seller that the lien release documents and title if any should be sent to the buyer of the boat and give them the address.

Depending on how the title to the boat is held, documented, UCC or title you should also have the seller sign all documents needed to trasfer the boat to you at the time send the payoff so you don't need to track him or her down later and sign.

If all this sounds greek to you, I encourage you to employe the services of a marine title company. I assume you already did a search on the title to the boat, motor and trailer if any to make sure of any and all liens out there.

If not, again, marine title company. Cost you $300 and may save your ass.

A "bank check" is not the same as a "cashiers check". Many banks have stopped issuing cashiers checks and or accepting them as cash as there is so much fraud with them these days. Today, a wire is the only thing universally as good as cash when paying off a bank loan.

Many real estate closing companies will only take wires also.

BINGO... Wires the only way to go. You can set all of that up with the bank.. Better then cash.. Instant to them...

Have the original owner wire his part.. Then you wire your part.. Done deal. Go pick the boat up and get your papers all at the same time. Make sure he wires First!!!

That method should be pretty full proof. and still get a notorized bill of sale and copies of the wire transer confirmation pages...

Good luck

Wire transfer is how i sold my last pickup. I dont think a boat is differant. He wired his amount (took a couple hours at most), the bank took the differance from my account. Gravy.

I had to fly to austin to pick the title up though because they told me they could overnight it on the phone so thats what I told the buyer. But come to find out from a differant bank person it would have taken them 2 weeks to send it to the new buyer.

I recently "purchased" a boat, that is starting to look like fraud by the selling boat dealership (anyone remember National Marine :rolleyes:). Can't say much more at this time, but unless you have the lein free title IN YOUR HANDS when you hand over the check, DON'T DO IT. In this desperate economy, some folks are doing desperate things hoping to get away with it. For my situation, it looks like it is now going to cost me alot of money, aggravation, and time, to try to own "my" boat, that I paid for, in full, with a bank check. I have a notarized bill of sale, signed by the owner of the dealership, but, as I have now learned through my own research, he didn't have the title!

Hire an escrow agency to subrogate the closing for you or have him pay his portion first. Once you can certify that he has made his contribution, you can present to him cert. funds made out to Key, receiving both a Power of Atty for the transaction and a Bill of Sale, taking possession of the boat at that time. Key should have a procedure that he can subscribe to where they send you the title directly. With the POA you shouldn't have to bother with him again. It protects you should the worst happen.,.. his death... arrest.. disappearance...etc.

Dot all the "I"s and cross all the "T"s
 

Use a title company and depending on what state have the DMV AND State Police do a HIIN check including the hidden #s. Also Insure the boat before the transaction. Bought a boat once cleared it with DMV only got title needless to say months later I was up the creek without a paddle when CHP hauled it out of my driveway saying it was stolen. No boat No money :picard1: