How do I get a title for pontoon purchased in bank home repo?

[mpowell]

I bought a pontoon boat, motor, and trailer from a bank who repossed a home and the contents. The bank never gave me any titles. They said they would get them for me and never have. I have called repeadiently and no one seams to be doing anything to get them. How can I get a title for the boat and motor?

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: How do I get a title for pontoon purchased in bank home repo?

What state are you in?

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: How do I get a title for pontoon purchased in bank home repo?

Call the bank and tell them that you will report them to your state for selling you a boat and failing to provide the proper paperwork. If they fail to get you what you need then, insist that they take the boat back and refund your money in full. Depending on how much money is involved, if they fail in that as well, take them to small claims court.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: How do I get a title for pontoon purchased in bank home repo?

agree with Jay, they may not be able to prove clear title, if the boat was not on the mortgage. it legally still the original owners boat. the bank has to do the jumping thru hoops to please the state to get clear title. they may have sold something they did not own.

 

[mpowell]

Re: How do I get a title for pontoon purchased in bank home repo?

I'm located in Missouri.

 

[Numlaar]

Re: How do I get a title for pontoon purchased in bank home repo?

+1

Not sure about your state, but in FL, the bank has to go through specific processes to acquire independently titled objects left on foreclosure property. They get the house and contents, but not cars, boats, atv's, or any seperately titled item.

Here they would have to file a judgement claim against the vehicle in question, if approved in court, this places a lien on the title for the amount of money owed to the creditor (which can be fought over if money is still owed on the item to a previous creditor). This lien has to be satisfied before the vehicle can be legally sold. (Obviously this is only talking about a foreclosure and not an actual vehicle repossesion which is completely different).

The only catch would be, is here we have a "vehicle abandonment" law, that states a vehicle "abandoned" on your property for more than 30 days, is basically yours, so if the bank owned the property because of the foreclosure, for more than 30 days, then they could theoretically own the boat as well, but again, a lien search for original creditors would have to be done, and satisfied before the vehicle could be sold, and a new title could be issued...

Very messy situation... I don't envy you the trouble...

I would demand a clear title immediately, and if they can't provide one, I would get a refund, or take em to court to get your money back.

Good luck with it!

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: How do I get a title for pontoon purchased in bank home repo?

When chasing this title rabbit, make sure there is no lien against the boat...that could be real awkward, for you and especially for the bank that sold you the boat. If that boat wasn't owned free and clear by the people in default/repo, the bank had no right to seize and sell it.

 

[DavidInWilmNC]

Re: How do I get a title for pontoon purchased in bank home repo?

Do you even need to title it? Until recently, no title was needed in NC (it was optional). The trailer might need one, though. Some states don't require either. I never wanted to title my previous boats; it's easier to use a bill of sale and the appropriate form from the North Carolina Wildlife Commission. Now any boat over 14 feet, including all jet skis and sail boats, must be titled.

If I wanted the boat, I'd go the 'abandoned vessel' route if it would work for me.

 

[Numlaar]

Re: How do I get a title for pontoon purchased in bank home repo?

If I wanted the boat, I'd go the 'abandoned vessel' route if it would work for me.

The only problem with that, is say he waits that timeframe, and applies for the title that way, if there is still money owed to the original creditor, then there would be a lien on the title which he would have to pay to get it titled in his name... so he could possibly end up paying for the boat twice.

Then if he waits that long, any hope of dealing with the bank would probably be long gone...

I say to get a "clear" title (no lien's) for it NOW, or get your money back.

In FL all boats are required to be titled, but trailers aren't... funny how every state is different.

 

[DavidInWilmNC]

Re: How do I get a title for pontoon purchased in bank home repo?

The only problem with that, is say he waits that timeframe, and applies for the title that way, if there is still money owed to the original creditor, then there would be a lien on the title which he would have to pay to get it titled in his name... so he could possibly end up paying for the boat twice.

Then if he waits that long, any hope of dealing with the bank would probably be long gone...

I say to get a "clear" title (no lien's) for it NOW, or get your money back.

In FL all boats are required to be titled, but trailers aren't... funny how every state is different.

Of course he should try to get a 'clear title' from the bank. He's tried this, I believe. You mention 'titled' again! That may not even be needed. In case it is, though... a few years ago, I was going to do the 'abandoned vehicle' thing on a car that had be left at a neighbor's house years prior. DMV had some sort of 'insurance' that was a bit like title insurance. I'm sure the process of taking possession of an abandoned vessel varies from state to state. If there is a lien on it, hopefully, the lien holder would have gotten the boat by now!

As an aside... last year, I bought an older travel trailer from GA. I was the third owner. The second owner had owned it since 2001 and had never actually had it titled in his name. This is a big no-no in NC. The lady at DMV called GA to see what taxes were owed on it. Since the trailer was over 15 years old, it was exempt. This year, I bought a utility trailer from GA. They aren't titled there. Last summer, I bought my current boat from SC. There was a waiting period when I applied for a NC title. After the waiting period was up, the trailer was mine complete with a clear NC title. It is funny how much all this varies from state to state!