Trailer decision question

[maskedwolf]

I live in NC and bought a boat and trailer from an indivdual here in NC. Unfortunately he had not registered the trailer in NC, nor did he have a title for it. NC requires that the trailer be titled by the seller before the buyer can title and register it. The guy was going to do this for me, but suffered a massive heart attack and died before he could have it done.

So now I have a couple of options that I could do to fix the situation.

1. Get the trailer inspected by 2 companies and purchase an indemity bond.
2. Claim the trailer as being home built.
3. Or a guy that is doing some work on the motor for me offered to take my 1980 Shorelander trailer plus $200 for a Chaparral trailer he has which he has the title and registration for..

Question is anyone have a suggestion which would be best to do. And primarily, would swapping my Shorelander and $200 for a Chaparral be worth it?

Thanks,

Maskedwolf

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Trailer decision question

have you considered having the seller's heirs, take care of the problem. if they are probating, the attorney should be able to straighten it out, rather quickly.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Trailer decision question

have you considered having the seller's heirs, take care of the problem. if they are probating, the attorney should be able to straighten it out, rather quickly.

I agree with this, except the last two words, unfortunately. Since he didn't actually own the trailer at the time of his death, it's not subject to the probate process, so this may complicate and slow things down a bit. But definitely ask.

If it can be done legally, option 2 would probably be quickest and cheapest.

Of course, this assumes that a title is really required. I know that in NY, a trailer less than 999 pounds unladen weight isn't titled at all. YMMV!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trailer decision question

So if the guy didn't actually own the trailer, who did? I warn people time and time again, if you live in a state where titles for vehicles are required, do not buy that vehicle unless the seller can hand you a lien free title. You can certainly take advantage of a deal but you end up spending lots of time and frustration trying to get things sorted out.

 

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: Trailer decision question

Here in VA it's very easy to get a "homemade" title on a used trailer. Probably has something to do with the fact that at least 50% of the boat/trailer combos on craigslist only have a title for the boat.

Somewhere there's a place where lost boat titles are sitting around with freshly washed lost socks.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Trailer decision question

Ayuh,....

I like Option #2,....

'ell,... I've got a yard full of production trailers that are licenced as Home-Made....
All it takes up here in Ny state is an unladen Weight Slip,+ a statement from Yourself....

 

[mthieme]

Re: Trailer decision question

Option #2 has worked well for me in the past. I have 5 (or so) trailers, a handful of titles (that may or may not match), and a single tag (read: only one registered) between them all.

 

[maskedwolf]

Re: Trailer decision question

The title isn't really a big deal with NC DOT, it would have definitely helped though. The issue that they have is the fact that he never registered it in NC prior to him selling it to me; even though he lived in NC. As for his family's estate, from what I've gathered is that he was somewhat estranged from them, so I think it would be best to just not involve them. It sounds like going the homemade route will probably end up being the cheapest and easiest at this point, so that's probably what I'll do. Thanks for all of the advice and thoughts.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Trailer decision question

It sure sounds like a home made trailer to me, it's not worth all the aggravation it would cause just for a trailer.
I do the same here, even if I have a title or Cert. of origin for a trailer, I always register as homemade.

I just do see why some states make such a big deal out of trailer titles and registrations while there are some that still don't even register trailers at all.

NJ don't title trailers but does register them, I've had all sorts of issues selling used trailers to out of state buyers who for what ever reason expect a title or old registration. I had a PA buyer wanting to buy my old trailer, I had a former registration and assigned VIN number but it listed no brand name. PA would not accept that registration and insisted that I title the trailer first before selling it to him. Since we don't title trailers here, (at least not those under 10,000lbs), that wasn't possible. Besides, it was a $100 trailer, there was no way I was going to jump through hoops for PA to sell a $100 trailer. To me it would be cheaper to just junk it. It told the guy to just bring back the trailer and I'd give him his money back, it's not worth all the aggravation. PA told him that I needed acquire a title and register it in NJ, before he could purchase it. To me that meant a person in PA can't buy a trailer from NJ or any other non title state. Apparently they don't do homemade trailers?

 

[maskedwolf]

Re: Trailer decision question

Been too busy to followup for quite a while now, but I went ahead and purchased a 3 year indemity bond for the trailer. No issues as of yet and don't expect to have any. thanks for everyone's response