How hard or easy was it getting your used boat titled.

[rbryant1492_mfb]

I am in Texas and I am about to start my quest to get my title and regestration on my used boat.
Here is what I noticed so far. A lot of people have boats that they never took the time to get a title for. So when they sell you have to go back to the old owner to get a good title.

Tell the rest how easy or hard it was to get all of your boats paper work right.

 

[saltfisher]

Re: How hard or easy was it getting your used boat titled.

Im in the same boat (lol). Im buying a bass boat here in PA and the guy im buying it from never got the title when he got it. That was 16 years ago. I guess it was a bank repo and he got it from them without the title or something like that. PA you dont need a title for a boat if its older then a 1997. But looked on the website and it said any boat that was previously titled, NEEDS to be titled by future owners. So now what????????? Can i get a duplicate, or a reconstructed even though no one has any clue where this title is? Im not super worried about it, but need to have something done that says i legally own this boat.

 

[External Combustion]

Re: How hard or easy was it getting your used boat titled.

The easiest way to get an old untransferred title is run the state registry numbers through you appropriate agency. Lets take one of my boats for example. The registration number on the side of the hull in three inch letters is OK 2606 AL. Lets say I sold it to a jerk who never completed the transfer of the title befor I died. He used it for a few years having never been caught by the local water police and sold it to you, the unsuspecting customer who did not check things out. He dissappeared off the face of the map in a witness protection plan because he ratted out a mobster and now you are stuck with a boat you can not enjoy.

Take the registration number to your local tag agency/ state boat registry or even the local constabulary to find the owner of record. If they are dead like me in the above problem then you have two recourses. One is to establish by their heirs that they sold it to said jerk and jerk cannot be found and thus they can transfer the title to you (with a replacement title fee), or two you can file a mechanic's lien for storage fees or repairs and confiscate said vehicle for the fees accrued. This take some imaginative paperwork. I have never heard of an agency that would not help if you were forthright as to what is going on and you had a few charactor references fron the local constabulary.

I now have a sailboat that was given to me several years ago that was never transferred. The owner of record has just died. The title transfer was never noterized or registered. I now have the option of one or two. I will take option two as it is easier and less costly in my state. Storage fees for four years easily is more than the worth a thirty year old, 18 foot production sailboat with moderate problems. (PS I have the title in hand, yet it does me no good)

Get to know a local cop that loves boating or fishing. He will be able to make the path smoother by telling you who to see and what to do.

Your state wants revenue and they can not get it from an unregistered boat! Dead folk or deadbeat folk don't fill the state coffers. You may need to remind them of this.

For some of those with bright ideas....the above number is well known and the mob may track you down if you try a scam!!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: How hard or easy was it getting your used boat titled.

saltfisher, where in PA are you located? If you are anywhere near harrisburg, take a trip to the fish and boat commision's headquarters. They are very friendly (surprising I know) and deal with these things well. At the very least you'll probably walk out with a temp sticker to use while this gets sorted out.

 

[Scoop]

Re: How hard or easy was it getting your used boat titled.

I had that problem with my boat. The guy bought it an never registered it.

I live in Wisconsin. I had to write a letter stating I bought it from someone who had never registered it. Since the boat had not been registered for more than 4 years, they registered it in my name.

I have heard that there is a procedure to have a boat classified as abandoned and then take possesion in Wisconsin. I believe it involves posting public notice. If no one claims, then it is your boat.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: How hard or easy was it getting your used boat titled.

Got the same problem compounded by the fact I exported the boat from the States. Transport Canada wants to see the last title but the boat was NEVER titled as it comes from North Carolina, which apparently is a "title optional" state.

Now I'm getting letters about the trailer I towed it home on that insist I could be in for a hundred thousand dollar fine and jail time if I don't prove to them it's fit for use on Canadian roads.

That should be relatively easy to do (the trailer being all of three years old) but reading this letter makes it sound like I'd be in less trouble had I gotten drunk and driven my car through the front window of a day care.

It's fun being the Polly Filla in the crack of big government...

 

[sweebs]

Re: How hard or easy was it getting your used boat titled.

xbb

 

[sweebs]

Re: How hard or easy was it getting your used boat titled.

had (having) difficult time here in Illinois too. I bought boat on Ebay. Boat was in Memphis. Guy only had the boat aprox. 1 month (I came to find out). The previous owner that HE bought boat from lives in Mississippi, which is where the boat is currently registered.

The boat was not titled (optional in MS I guess) nor was the trailer titled. BOTH are required in Illinois.

SO, I went to the Secretary of State's Office (DMV) and explained that I had a boat trailer with NO LICENSE PLATE (no license plate for trailers required in MS!!) and that I had NO REGISTRATION for the trailer and NO TITLE either.

PLUS, the VIN for the trailer was imprinted on a label which had been fully faded and was unreadable. So I told them. Which was the truth, but they were taking my word for it, because the trailer was back at home.

I thought they would tell me to get lost, that "how would they know I didn't STEAL the trailer" or whatever.

What they basically DID tell me was that it was no problem.

They would simply list my trailer as "homemade" issue a new VIN, issue me a title and registration with new license plate. All they evidently cared about was getting my check!

I didn't know how much the boat and trailer weighed, and just wanted to get this task over with (instead of leaving, going to get the boat and trailer weighed and then going back to the DMV) so I guessed that the boat and trailer were over 3000 or 3500 LBS or whatever the cut off was (I have a 18 ft bowrider with a single axle trailer) - so I had to pay like $58 for the yearly license/plates. If I simply would have said it was UNDER that weight (they wouldn't have debated me on this, but I felt I was being honest) the fee would have only been $18.

As far as the registration for the boat goes. I filled out the paper work and sent in my check for getting the boat's registration from MS (MI in boat reg initialing) to IL.

After about a month, IL sends the paperwork and my check back to me because I didn't surrender the previous owner's registration card. (which I knew I was supposed to do, but the previous, previous owner had no idea where it was at, and I decided to send in reg app anyway)

So now here I am with my new used boat in Illinois and have a Mississippi registration. At least it is valid until 2008! I guess I'll just have to sell the boat at that time!

Oh yeah, Illinois had no problem cashing my nearly $300 sales tax check, even if they refused to register the boat in my name!

 

[freddyray21]

Re: How hard or easy was it getting your used boat titled.

titles and registration can be such a hassle I won't even deal with them anymore if they don't have current paperwork. I know how to get a title if I need to legally and otherwise, but one is a hassle and the other is illegal.

 

[Mike722]

Re: How hard or easy was it getting your used boat titled.

sweebs-

We had the same problem with a boat purchased in the mid 70's from Miss. The only differance was that the State of Illinois back then did not have the option of a Homemade trailer. We had a bunch of paper work, and I can not even remember why it was not good enough. I do remember dad worked on it for about 6 months mailing info back and forth with them. We ran the trailer until the early 90's without a title or lic plate.

In the 90's he decide to try again and just told them it was homemade at that time. New Vin number and title. I took the boat to Iowa where they did things differently.

I think part of the problem is that the titles and regulations vary so much from state to state.