Title issue in Texas

Howdy guys. As some of you know I have a line on an old tin. It's a 14 ft 1959 sportscraft. The issue is the current owner has the title, but does not have the title in his name. the back of the title hasn't been signed over to anyone. He doesn't have the title holders current info. The only info he has is the person he bought it from. Tomorrow I will contact tpw and the person he bought it from to see if he can give me the title holders info. If this wasn't such an seriously awesome low deal I'd pass.
Will you guys provide some insight? Thanks!

Prowler, I had the same issue with a camper trailer I bought......
with a little investigative work, I found the man with the name on the title,
called him, explained the issue, he was gracious enough for me to mail him
the title, he signed it, and returned it back to me..... that was LUCK.

In Florida, DMV will not give out any personal info on the title holder,
BUT, they will mail a registered letter on your behalf to the person at the address
on record and if the letter is returned as - undeliverable - they will put the title in your name.....
Edit: I just learned that if we do that in Florida, and the Titled Owner surfaces, and he wants his
boat back, you must go to Small Claims Court to settle the matter. (and that could be costly).
Also, only the person listed on the title as owner, can file for missing/lost/duplicate title. (ID required).
That is Florida - many states have totally different laws.

Hope you can come out of yours just as easy !!!


and, of course there are all kinds of "unethical" and "not so legal" ways to
get around it, but, a hefty fine and possible jail time for forgery is not worth it (IMO).

in virginia you can file for a missing title with a current bill of sale. fish and game has a form you have to get notarized by the current buyer/seller and they will issue a new one

Well i called tpw and it is going to be too much Hassel.... Ugh sucks.

do you have (or can you get) the original title in your hands ??

I would suggest to send a letter with a copy of the title
to the person listed as owner on the title and explain to him
the situation . . . . hopefully, he will agree to sign the original
over to you . . . if so, enclose a SASE and a $20 bill or gift card for his trouble.
Don't send the original title at first, just a copy of the front only.
Forget all the previous owners and focus solely on the title's owner block.
He is the only one that can help you at this point. Or, if he is deceased
his family's executor can sign it over to you. (hopefully).

it's worth a shot

Also, if you have not actually paid for the boat yet, this may be
a bargaining chip to lower the price due to the hassle you must go through.

Though I haven't bought it yet I could get a copy other then the photo I have on my phone. Trying to contact him sounds good. The current owner says he tried to contact him but didn't get a response. If this was to go through I will buy the boat, trailer, and 15hp merc for $400.

whoaaaa dude - if the motor is good, that would be a great score.
if you can print the photo from your phone, maybe that will be good
enough to mail to the owner.

good luck !!


this is the 21st Century !! Even tho the current owner "tried to contact"
the titled owner, what did he do ??
google the man's name - if you find one with that address, mail him a copy
or if you get a phone number, call him.

As you probably know, Texas requires registration of all three items, boat,motor and trailer.

Today, I registered my TN boat and motor in TX. I already had registered the boat in TN, but TN doesn't require anything for a motor. The lady at TPWD (North Houston) was very helpful and we got it done in 30 minutes or so. I did have currently signed and proper bill of sale(s) and even the TX blue and red forms for boat and motor. Check the internet for these forms. I think that they are 144 and 143.

Tomorrow I have to go pull the boat off of the trailer, have the trailer weighed (certified scales and paperwork) and then go try to get the trailer set up. Again, TN doesn't do anything about small trailers.

I only bring this up so that you know that you have a lot more to do than just have the original owner sign the BOAT over to you. I suggest that you check what paperwork is necessary for the motor at TPWD and the trailer at TXDOT before you go much further.

regards richg99

Johnny said:

whoaaaa dude - if the motor is good, that would be a great score.
if you can print the photo from your phone, maybe that will be good
enough to mail to the owner.

good luck !!


this is the 21st Century !! Even tho the current owner "tried to contact"
the titled owner, what did he do ??
google the man's name - if you find one with that address, mail him a copy
or if you get a phone number, call him.

Click to expand...

Yep! Score it would be. I may just try the suggestion of sending a copy of the title and a couple$$ to see if i get a response. The seller says the motor needs a carb rebuild. Well we know the test for that...

richg99 said:

As you probably know, Texas requires registration of all three items, boat,motor and trailer.

Today, I registered my TN boat and motor in TX. I already had registered the boat in TN, but TN doesn't require anything for a motor. The lady at TPWD (North Houston) was very helpful and we got it done in 30 minutes or so. I did have currently signed and proper bill of sale(s) and even the TX blue and red forms for boat and motor. Check the internet for these forms. I think that they are 144 and 143.

Tomorrow I have to go pull the boat off of the trailer, have the trailer weighed (certified scales and paperwork) and then go try to get the trailer set up. Again, TN doesn't do anything about small trailers.

I only bring this up so that you know that you have a lot more to do than just have the original owner sign the BOAT over to you. I suggest that you check what paperwork is necessary for the motor at TPWD and the trailer at TXDOT before you go much further.

regards richg99

Click to expand...

Didn't know about the trailer weight part. That's good to know. Do you mind posting what the cost was for everything?

wow - Texas is TUFF !!

What would be the kicker is if you got in touch with the owner
and he has the papers for the motor and trailer too !!!! (wouldn't hurt to ask).

Yea that would be an awesome thing. I hope to get in touch with him. If I don't get any contact I'll just keep saving until i can find a person selling a boat with all the proper paper work. And that will be over 2 grand at least I bet.

It gets complicated as far as the cost. I paid sales tax in TN of about 160.00 on a $1500 or so value on the boat only. I paid another $137.00 today, but I don't know the breakdown. Trailer will cost more tomorrow. I'll let you know . richg99

Thanks!

Additional cost on the trailer...

Paid 'em $87.00 today to register the TN trailer. Had it weighed the day before.

Weighing cost $10.50. Also, had to pull the boat and leave it at a marina while I took the empty trailer to a truck stop. That cost another $10.00. I could have left the boat at a free launch, but I felt safer leaving it at a Real Marina

Some slight complications since the trailer had never been licenced/registered before. They had me pay sales tax on the $350.00 value, since TN hadn't collected any. Registration is good for one year. Also, you have to register the trailer in the county that you live in. I tried to have it handled near where I had the boat weighed, but they sent me to my county (Harris).

Just remember that you are dealing with two different TEXAS entities. I made sure that I had a separate Bill of Sale for each item....boat, motor and trailer.

Parks and Wildlife handle the boat and motor. DOT handles the trailer.

regards, richg99

Rich, is this a one time thing ?
or do you go through this dog and pony show every year.

I'd be even older if I had to do that every year.

I bought the boat with the intention of leaving it in TN. But, I had so much fun using it fishing in TN, that I thought I would just buy a matching boat when I arrived here in TX.

Since I have owned so very many boats over the years, it sounded good to me.
However, Mrs. G. thought that I wouldn't use it very often since I am 70 miles from the coast when in TX.

She "suggested" that buying another boat, that wouldn't be used, wasn't the best choice. I said I would use it a lot more (during the Winter months) than I have in the past. The simple solution was to just bring the boat here and try it out for a year or two.

Complications developed though, since TN doesn't require any licensing of the trailer. I could just see myself driving through some small TX town with a TN licensed boat; NO PLATES on the trailer; and driving a TX licensed van. I'd bet I'd get stopped half dozen times in the 7 months that we are here.

Texas requires boats that are here 6 or more months to be licensed here. Same, I presume, goes for the trailer. I stay in Texas for seven months. I cannot stay in TN for more than six months, or I will trigger a "Hall" tax on dividends and interest. The tax isn't much for me, but I really don't want another tax form and issues with where my real residency is. It IS Texas....period.

So, since TN will allow me to use my TX licensed boat as long as I don't stay in TN more than six months, it is easier for me to go through all of this rigamarole ONCE, and get her licensed permanently in Texas. Now, I can drag her back and forth and not worry about breaking any laws.

I don't break any laws.

Wheeewwww richg99

Thanks rich!

Rich?

Hunker down with this weather coming through. Weather forecasters are all atwitter at the speed and size of the thing. (Something about "millibars" or the like.

Just don't run out to save the boat, ok?

[-o<

Boat is in the garage. I am making some minor improvements on it.

I was going to go fishing today, but the tide warnings made me back off.

richg99