looking at a new tin, with no title ????

V8_TITAN · Post by **V8_TITAN** » 24 Sep 2011, 00:53

theres this nice 17 foot aluminum bass tracker style boat on craigs for 200obo. its a side console, very wide boat, looks like the hull is in sweet shape... anyone know what I could do to obtain a title for it ? im going to see if I can find out why there is no title, or if I can find who has the title and see if they will sign it over to me. just curious, what would you do ? take a swing at it or pass ? Btw I am in FL, and to get a home made title I need a receipt showing I bought the materials, thats it. My only guess is to go to lowes if they even have it, buy some sheets of aluminum, show the dmv, and then return it.. so like I said... what would you do ??? thanks

SVOMike86 · Post by **SVOMike86** » 24 Sep 2011, 01:01

You can't go wrong with a boat for $200, especially if its 17ft and apparently in good condition. If it's still available, I'd buy it, try anything you can do to get a title, and if you can't get a title, turn around and re post it for $800 or more.

V8_TITAN · Post by **V8_TITAN** » 24 Sep 2011, 01:15

its been on there for over a month, I know the guy is desperate to sell it, here in tampa bay, nobody will buy a boat without a title, everyone wants to go jump on the water asap, and boats are dime a dozen here, so no title hurts the value seriously, I cant even get anyone to make me an offer on my 12 foot without a title. ( I have the title but the previous owner signed it to someone else, never transferred it, and that was in 95 ! )

Either way, Im going to call him tomorrow, see if he will take 100 bucks for it, if not ill give him the 200, and ill lean it up against my fence until I save up some money to rebuild the whole thing and get a title for it. worst case scenerio, I have 300 pounds in scrap aluminum lol.

Live2fish · Post by **Live2fish** » 24 Sep 2011, 07:53

GA doesn't require a title, just a bill of sale.

Captain Ahab · Post by **Captain Ahab** » 24 Sep 2011, 07:55

Please add your location to your profile - really makes it easier for us to help you

and Welcome to TB

http://www.youtube.com/user/ranchero50 · Post by **Ranchero50** » 24 Sep 2011, 11:42

That's a hard one, it could turn into your nightmare and you may end up just cutting it up and making money off of the scrap value. Sometimes being cheap or trying to cheat can get really expensive.

I would get the hull ID number and run it through the local cops. If it's not stolen then maybe buy it and sell it to a strawman up in GA, then transfer it back to Florida so you have a clear and 'legal' title that matches the HIN.

I would not invest a lot of time or money into an undocumented hull.
Jamie

V8_TITAN · Post by **V8_TITAN** » 24 Sep 2011, 11:55

thanks for the info, I have a very good friend 4 hours away in georgia, I will see if I can do that, I know he would do it for me. And I will add my info to my profile, this forum is different the others I visit and for some reason confuses me ( the layout ). Anyways, my mom is a cop and I will ask her to run the numbers for me tonight when she goes to work.

so the georgia thing, can you explain a little more ? all I do is find out the titled owner and write a bill of sale from them to my friend in georgia and he can get a title ?

Live2fish · Post by **Live2fish** » 24 Sep 2011, 15:15

If the guy is from or bought the boat in GA, it may not be stolen. Just a thought, if it is stolen, I wouldn't touch it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ranchero50 · Post by **Ranchero50** » 24 Sep 2011, 15:22

So it's not heresy you should get your friend to find out the info he needs to get the bill of sale / title. It sounds like you'll sell it to him with a bill of sale, then he'll sell it back and you can use his bill of sale to get a Florida title. Just be wary that Georgia won't want a florida title if that's your address.

Check for pitfalls first or your mom might be taking you to work...
Jamie

wasilvers · Post by **wasilvers** » 24 Sep 2011, 21:12

I sold my dad's old boat to a member without a title. He thought it would be easy to get one and so did I after all, it was my dad's boat and I was willing to help him out ALOT. But he complained for over 6 months about not getting the title. The trailer was his biggest problem as it never had a title since day one.

LonLB · Post by **LonLB** » 24 Sep 2011, 22:03

All watercraft 20 feet and longer and all watercraft with a permanently affixed engine, regardless of length, must be titled. Watercraft not required to be titled may be titled as an option.

That is what the state of Michigan says. All states will differ though.
I'm curious, does a bolted on, outboard classify as a permanently affixed engine, or is that something that applies to Inboard or Inboard/Outboard boats?

I also found this info on the MI.gov site.
If the watercraft is not titled, simply complete the back of your watercraft registration. If you have lost the registration, then a complete bill of sale with the year, make, hull identification number, registration number (if available), and the names and addresses of the buyer and seller may be used to transfer ownership.

V8_TITAN · Post by **V8_TITAN** » 25 Sep 2011, 00:49

the boat has recent florida registration, sticker looks new on the pics but I can not tell the date on it. I will not buy it if it is stolen, I doubt it is stolen because it still has all the numbers on it but I will double check first. also trailers are not that big a deal here, all I did for mine was tell them I had a homemade trailer, it weighed 190 pounds, and they asked for a weight slip but I said I couldnt do it because it had a boat on it, and they said ok well since its a boat trailer it shouldnt weigh more then 500 (anything under 2000 pounds in florida does not need a title, only registration) so anyways, they issued me a new vin for the trailer, and a license plate for 60 bucks for the year.

Im going to do some more research before I actually get it. I will let you all know how it goes.

nomowork · Post by **nomowork** » 25 Sep 2011, 11:30

I ran across a really good deal on a glass boat here in So Cal. The boat, motor and trailer were in very good condition and the price was really low. When I asked about the paper work, the seller said, "All I have to do"..............

He claimed that he bought it from someone who never transferred the title from the first owner so the seller tried to transfer the title at the DMV but APPARENTLY MISSPELLED THEIR OWN NAMES so the DMV gave them a form to amend the MISSPELLED NAMES but they said they couldn't figure it out. I gave them the opportunity to to straighten out the paper work and I would not haggle over the price but they still claimed they couldn't do it. That's when I bid them a good day. Too fishy.

If you have the hin/vin your DMV may be able to give you the status of the boat.

Good luck.

V8_TITAN · Post by **V8_TITAN** » 25 Sep 2011, 13:22

well I verified that the guy selling its name does not match with the titled owner, so I will try to get in touch with him today or tomorrow. I did find out its a 1994, registration expired in 04. it was abandoned on property and the person who has it was paid to remove it, I just spoke to him, and he said someone gave him a deposit and has a week to get it, the person is looking for a trailer to get it, so next sunday the latest Ill know if it is mine or not. I cant remember if I posted this but I thought it was a 17 footer, its actually 15'6''...

http://www.youtube.com/user/ranchero50 · Post by **Ranchero50** » 25 Sep 2011, 15:24

V8_TITAN wrote:well I verified that the guy selling its name does not match with the titled owner, so I will try to get in touch with him today or tomorrow. I did find out its a 1994, registration expired in 04. it was abandoned on property and the person who has it was paid to remove it, I just spoke to him, and he said someone gave him a deposit and has a week to get it, the person is looking for a trailer to get it, so next sunday the latest Ill know if it is mine or not. I cant remember if I posted this but I thought it was a 17 footer, its actually 15'6''...

Run, don't walk, away from it.

Again the heresay thing, call your Gov't boat organization for facts before assuming anything. The last thing you want to do is get involved in a legal dispute and depending on how solid the current owners paper trail is that boat is stolen property at worse or scrap at best. From what I understand in MD (again, heresay) the current owner should have applied for an abandonned boat lein on the title, something MD will not give if there is an existing title on the boat.

If boats are a dime a dozen I'd find something better with good paper.
Jamie