Selling a boat myself to another private party - Need Advice
 

I have a verbally agreed upon price on a boat i am selling to another private party that is contingent on Sea Trial and Inspections. I would like to get a commitment from the buyer in the form of a sales agreement to protect both him and me before the sea trial and inspections.

Does anyone have a 'good' sales agreement template that i could use for this purpose?

Buyer is nearly 1 hour drive from me. Is it acceptable to have him sign and fax/scan and email the agreement to me with a copy of his drivers license or should i try some other way to ensure the buyer is who they say they are for the purposes of the sales agreement?

I have heard that the best way to facilitate the payment at closing (after we have a sales agreement signed) is to meet the buyer at the bank they are getting the money from. The buyer lives about 1 hour from me so this is not convenient. Any other suggestions to ensure i dont get ripped off in some way?

Any other advice from experienced people?

An hour drive is not convenient?

I may have a purchase agreement form I could email you. What would your email address be ?

Make sure if he's outright paying for it, he shows you a bank statement having funds. If loan, I'd meet him at the bank and watch them print the check. Home equity loan - he should be able to provide you maximum allowable withdrawal amount.

An hour away is a dream come true...Last boat I bought involved driving from St. Louis to Houston TX, then Oklahoma, then back. 3 days of driving looked at two different boats. I had a money order made out to each guy before leaving for a portioned amount of each and used cash for the "negotiating"...Worst case I didn't buy either, put a cancel on both money orders, and took the cash elsewhere....Thankfully one of the money orders was used :)

I may add that the seller and I of the boat I did purchase went to his bank to pay off his loan balance, release title, and obviously communicate with my bank to verify funds before release.

A guy made the drive to me when he bought my last one from PA. We did the same deal at my bank before I handed over the title.

Also, very important for the seller. Many states require a bill of sale for the boat and also trailer separate. Illinois being one of those. I could not register my trailer with a boat BOS. Need a separate BOS just for the trailer....

HI all, thanks for the advice so far. Of course I WILL drive the hour if I have to, but if there are options to avoid the drive, then that would be preferable.

I'm looking for options to both establish the purchase agreement or sales agreement and at closing time that avoids the drive.

Also looking for templates for a sales agreement.

Cash.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...0of%20sale.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...20form%201.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...20form%202.jpg

Too think I have a 45 minute one way drive to get a Good bottle of scotch.

should buy 2. time you get back home one is almost gone...