Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

[Chris Hays]

I got a boat, a 1990 17' Glastron sierra 175 I/O which had been sitting with a dissasembled outdrive for 7 years. The floor is rotten, the trailer is rotten and the outdrive is in pieces. I got it given to me by a freind whom i did some work for and i want to rebuild it. Before i spend one cent on it i know how strict the Texas laws are and want it in my name. During checking and tracking i found it had been given to the guy i got it from by a freind of his and that guy got it from the original owners son. GREAT!! I have been in contact with the owners son who said they do not have the title (lost), the address that the boat is registered to, they have not lived at for 3 years, and he does not seem very enthusiastic about helping me out. WHAT DO I DO??? I have researched this greatly and have figured that the only way i can do this is by:
1/ Contacting the original owner,(if he's still around)
2/ Getting him to sign a form# PWD 1055, which gives me POWER OF ATTORNEY over all the boat documents.
3/ Applying for lost title and change of address.
4/ Changing the boat to my name as a 'gift'.

Would this be the way i should go about it? or is there a better way? What if the original guy is unwilling to sign or if he is deceased? What if it can't be done as i think it can? All in all it is a big mess as i have to get the POA form notarized and first i have to find the owner, i need to contact his son again to ask him where his dad is and how to get in touch with him. I just want to fix my boat,(his boat) but im not touching it till i get this dealt with.
Any suggestions or similar experiences would be greatly appreiciated.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

your own the right track, Florida is just as bad. although we can lie and register them as homemade.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

Hate to tell ya Chris, but a boat without a title is pretty much useless in Texas - TPWD is more anal about boat titles than DOT ever was about lost car titles. Only the last registered owner can replace a lost title, or as you discovered, you really do have to get his affidavit.

Quite a bit of discussion about this on my local fishing board, and no one has come up with a solution better than out and out fraud.

While waiting in line at the local TPWD office, you would not believe how many times I heard 'em say, "nope, your seller has to register it his name before you can transfer it to yours", or "sorry, only the registered owner can do that", or "sorry, you have to find the last registered owner".

I will say this about 'em though, they were very patient with each customer, taking as much time as they needed to make sure they had the right forms and knew how to fill 'em out.

As bad shape as its in, maybe there's an "abandoned" or "found boat" angle. If you can get to a TPWD office, go down there & chat with 'em about it. Or, there pretty good about answering emails.

www.tpwd.state.tx.us

Transfering it as a gift is a piece of cake once you get the title sorted out.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

Pass-arooney friend, unless your a sadomasochist. Part it out and sell the boat/trailer on Ebay or locally...put the money into something with a title that won't need so much work. Not trying to discourage you, but you'll fork out at least $250 just to get the title straigtened out, IF you can find the original owner. Pass-arooney...move on to a better prospect. Texas boat title laws SUCK...RU listening Guv Ricky?

 

[rheyboer]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

Throw it in the ocean and "salvage" it?

 

[Chris Hays]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

With my luck id get caught trying to sell it when its not mine or break my leg trying to push it off the trailer into the ocean!! lol!
Its really not in terrible shape, the floor needs replacing,(which i could do easily, as its only rotten in the middle and could cut it out about 8" around from the edge), the outdrive upper bearings, gimble housing and water pump need replacing, (which i could do as im a heavy equipment technician and dissasemble hydrostats and trannys all the time), and the upholstery is weathered and cracked. Ive had the engine started and running and the hull itself is in exceptional condition, not a scratch or scrape anywhere. The trailer needs new bunk brackets fabbing, (which ive already started on as ive been itching to get the welder and grinder fired up), and bearings, lights, etc. I think if i keep on the angle of attack that im on i may find the owner, get him to sign the POA form and be on my way to a new life of boating!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!oh was i dreaming again!!!

 

[roscoe]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

Take it back to the guy that gave it to you and demand cash for your work.

 

[rbryant1492_mfb]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

I was looking at what you said I have a old boat that has a lost title. I saw people use international title service to get bill of sales and titles in nv. I was wondering if anybody used this in Texas. It looks like u sell the boat to them and they title it in nv and resell it to you with a bill of sale and nv title.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

Yeah I've heard of folks doing that. Might work here in Texas, if you can prove it was bought/sold out of state. The hang-up in Texas is they're getting greedy. If you buy a boat that was once titled in Texas, say years ago, and the previous owners sold it without paying the sales tax and updating the title, then you get the shaft when you honestly try to pay the tax on your purchase and update the title and registration. They want the current owner/registrar to pay for past mistakes of previous owners...and unfortunately it's our state Parks and Wildlife Department doing this. I've been hunting/fishing/boating in this state for 40 years and every year it (their greed) looks like it just gets worse. If they could tag/release every game animal with a price tag, I'm sure they'd do it...and they've probably already considered it.

 

[tnduc]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

My father, who lives in SC, gave me a boat earlier this year. In order to register it and the motor here in TX I had to fill out a stack of paperwork, have my dad write a statement that the boat/motor was a gift and then pay $100. He did have the titles, though, which did simplify things.

 

[Chris Hays]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

WOW!!!! Its been over a year since i started this thread and i FINALLY got this same boat titled in june this year!! I got bored with the issue of getting it titled and left the boat neglected in my drive for a while until the bug came back and bit me and i said ALRIGHT!! its time to either get this thing done or get it gone. (I have a boat trailer shaped rust stain on my driveway...LOL).:redface: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=281546I got all the paperwork i needed and after some tracking down and finding phone numbers, i had the previous owners son take a POA form to his dad, (the original owner), while he went to visit on vacation to his home in Kansas!! After about 2 months of calling to arrange a meeting to pickup the form i got it and went to the TPWD again to do the deed. Well....now they started the process of applying for a lost title so when they ran the title it came back that the boat had a lien held on it by John Deere credit in Des Moines, Iowa and they could not release the title without a release of lien letter from the credit co. under the credit co letterhead!!!.The only info i was given by TPWD was ''J,D,Credit ''so after some web searching and countless deadend phone calls i found the place and spoke to a really nice lady who amazingly had the boat on file since 1990, wrote a letter and sent it to my house within a week. RESULT!!! So back off to the TPWD i go head held high, here we go this is it!!!........... NOT!! The boat title has a co owner, the owners wife. They cannot issue me the title without her consent. SO.....here we go again, after another 3 months of calling and bugging the owners son he got her to sign a fax and fax it back and then FINALLY....... i got the title address changed to my address under the previous owners name, (using the POA form), so i could apply for a lost title, and have it sent to my house. Then once i received it i sent it back with a change of ownership form, (as for some reason you can't do it all at once)...................2 weeks later i was the proud,(yet a little worn thin), owner of a boat!!!!! (I would also like to state the fact that this whole mess was done the legal way and everything was legit, no forging of documents or anything like that, so why do they make it so dang hard for a law abiding citizen to do something right!!!)

 

[SnappingTurtle]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

Thats almost enough to make you want to move to Oklahoma.

Almost, but not quite.

Glad to hear it worked out for you. I went through some of the same in Germany with mine.

 

[Chris Hays]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

Thats almost enough to make you want to move to Oklahoma.

Almost, but not quite.

Glad to hear it worked out for you. I went through some of the same in Germany with mine.

You took your boat to Germany??

 

[SnappingTurtle]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

LOL!

No, I restored a tiny boat (9.5ft), and a Sea Kayak (15+ft) here last winter and spring.

I couldn't live any longer with out my weekly dose of water.

I sold the Sea Kayak, and bought a 13+ft inflatable and a motor with the profit money. I live in the middle of the city in a apartment house without a real garage, so any big restoration projects will have to wait till we come back to Texas.

The Sea Kayak needed no registration, but I got a “official letter/form” from the police saying I was the owner, and it was not stolen.

The small glass boat ended up being registered as a new, home built, but it was a long road to this point. First I had to prove ownership (no title, no bill of sale, no hull numbers, no nothing), and then they checked my complete rebuild, and decided I had change so much on the boat that it deserved to be titled as new. New registration, new hull numbers, new boat papers, the works.

This was all done in German, and I am American, there aren't many Americans with boats registered to them in this country anymore, and none had ever restored one and or gone through this process they said. I am the only American registered boat, in the State where mine is registered.

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

WOW!!!! Its been over a year since i started this thread and i FINALLY got this same boat titled in june this year!! I got bored with the issue of getting it titled and left the boat neglected in my drive for a while until the bug came back and bit me and i said ALRIGHT!! its time to either get this thing done or get it gone. (I have a boat trailer shaped rust stain on my driveway...LOL).:redface: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=281546I got all the paperwork i needed and after some tracking down and finding phone numbers, i had the previous owners son take a POA form to his dad, (the original owner), while he went to visit on vacation to his home in Kansas!! After about 2 months of calling to arrange a meeting to pickup the form i got it and went to the TPWD again to do the deed. Well....now they started the process of applying for a lost title so when they ran the title it came back that the boat had a lien held on it by John Deere credit in Des Moines, Iowa and they could not release the title without a release of lien letter from the credit co. under the credit co letterhead!!!.The only info i was given by TPWD was ''J,D,Credit ''so after some web searching and countless deadend phone calls i found the place and spoke to a really nice lady who amazingly had the boat on file since 1990, wrote a letter and sent it to my house within a week. RESULT!!! So back off to the TPWD i go head held high, here we go this is it!!!........... NOT!! The boat title has a co owner, the owners wife. They cannot issue me the title without her consent. SO.....here we go again, after another 3 months of calling and bugging the owners son he got her to sign a fax and fax it back and then FINALLY....... i got the title address changed to my address under the previous owners name, (using the POA form), so i could apply for a lost title, and have it sent to my house. Then once i received it i sent it back with a change of ownership form, (as for some reason you can't do it all at once)...................2 weeks later i was the proud,(yet a little worn thin), owner of a boat!!!!! (I would also like to state the fact that this whole mess was done the legal way and everything was legit, no forging of documents or anything like that, so why do they make it so dang hard for a law abiding citizen to do something right!!!)

Just wondering if you ever considered telling TPWD that you have an abandon boat that was left on your property and would like to get it put into your name? Shouldn't they at that point, attempt to contact the last registered owner and get a release of interest signed? Or if they can't contact them over a certain period of time, turn it over to you? I'm pretty sure thats how its done here in AZ.

 

[j_cook]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

My son is currently going through the same situation. A friend told him about an abandoned sailboat in one of our harbors. It was never reported lost, stolen, missing or anything. It's been there for almost a year. The harbor master didn't know who the owner was, etc. I of course wanted it to be legal, so we began the "title" process. What a headache! The TPWD couldn't find anything using the vessels HIN and I think I've spoken to every govt. office in TX. Boat needs alot of work and my son is willing to tackle it so mom (that would be me) offered to help with the "red tape". The TPWD said it was up to the Sheriff's office and vice-versa. Finally I got an answer! The TPWD in Austin told the Sheriff's office that we can apply for a Bonded Title at the local tax assessor's office. Whew! Let's hope they don't change their policy by tomorrow! Hope my legwork helps several people.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

Greed, greed, greed. Make work and another paperwork process so they can collect another fee. Chris, you should send a copy of your last post to the head of TPWD and say..wazzup with dis crap? And they're paid with tax dollars...we need a new guv down here.

 

[dwhite1031]

Re: Boat titling question in Texas. HELP!!

(I would also like to state the fact that this whole mess was done the legal way and everything was legit, no forging of documents or anything like that, so why do they make it so dang hard for a law abiding citizen to do something right!!!)

Because so many other not so law abiding citizens have done it the not so legit way. It's unfortunate and yes it costs all of us current law abiding Texas residents but I'd rather know I've done it to the letter of the law....(and also because I work for the State of Texas...... )​