Re: Title transfer question - Texas
James,
I'm going through this right now on a 1970 vintage boat I came into possession of and want to restore.
It doesn't matter how many hands the boat went through before it got to you, it only matters who's name is on the title. The TPWD website has a page where you can validate title ownership. From there you have the means to track down the owner. If you are unable to contact due to the person being deceased and you have no way of contacting the family, then there is a means through a bonded title application to get the title transfered however it is a time consuming task with no guarantees. You have to prove you made efforts to contact the owner with no success (registered letters to the address on record, etc.), and pay for the bond, usually through your insurance carrier.
In my case, I had an unusable bill of sale that suggested the original owner sold the boat for $50 six years ago. The boat had changed hands several times since with each succeeding person failing to change the title. I obtained the title holders name from TPWD. I did an internet search and the name popped up. It turned out the titled owner died back in 92(ish), the last time the boat was registered.
I was very fortunate to get ahold of the son and explained the situation. He's expressed a willingness to assist by doing whatever was necessary to change the title. He's going to dig through his father's papers to see if he can find the title and if not, we will file a lost title application. He'll sign it and then send it to me.
In your case, if you have the title, then all you need is a signature and some representation of a bill of sale or a document that suggests the boat was "gifted" to you. As suggested in an earlier post, a signature...is a signature....is a signature. Don't make it more difficult for yourself. TWPD just wants to see a signature and an equivilent bill of sale....however that comes to be.
I might mention for the benefit of all Craiglist browsers (of which I am one too!), when I talked with TPWD about the necessary steps to obtain a title in a roundabout manner (before I found the title owners name/address), she expressed a bit of frustration over the number of eBay and Craiglist transactions where purchasers failed to get the title. She said too many times it was not possible to transfer the title and the purchaser was just plain SOL because there was no work around unless the purchaser had a legitimate title in hand.
Good luck! You definitely have the means right there in your hands to make this a non issue!
-Bill
Dallas, TX
