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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

logistics of a boat sale

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DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/16/2012 : 12:24:35

How have you gone about the giving and receiving of payment for the boat you bought or sold. Did you meet someplace or at the tag office before the turnover date? Did you sign the title over on board at the turnover date? What is standard procedure?

Dave Robbins
PO to*Bamboo*
'89 SR/WK #5877
Daytona Bch., FL

http://bambooc25.weebly.com/

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2012 : 12:32:08

We simply handed the PO a check, and he signed over the title to the boat & trailer to us. All done sitting at his dining room table.

When we registered them in WA (we bought it in OR), we ended up having to pay "tax" on the them at license office. Very irritating to have to pay tax on a used vehicle that's already been taxed.

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2012 : 12:39:56

No titles, no notary in Kansas. Signed a homemade bill of sale; out of state buyers pay cash, in state a check is fine. The guy who sold me the '89 wanted to meet at the bank my check was drawn on, others have taken checks from me in parking lots.

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OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2012 : 12:54:36

Last three boats have been purchased out of state. Payment methods were cash or personal check. PA requires everything to be notarized and any craft with a motor has a title.

2 were purchased through dealers (so they handled paperwork) and 1 was homemade sales receipt - notarized in seller's home town.

Trailer manufacturer (in CA) wanted cashiers check for 2nd 50%. They even called the bank to verify it.

Edited by - OJ on 04/16/2012 13:15:58

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2012 : 12:56:00

That's what we did, too. We had a cashier's check for the cost of the boat. The owner signed the title, and then we handed him the check. Pretty simple.

Note that in NJ, if the seller wasn't providing the actual title (or a certified copy from the state), NJ requires everything to be notarized. A notarized bill of sale is sufficient for NJ's purposes.

Edited by - JimGo on 04/16/2012 13:00:42

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2012 : 12:56:51

When we bought Iris in Detroit for Delivery to Canada, I sent a deposit to hold her via a certified cheque. Then we had a survey done. Once satisfied that teh survey was reasonable we put together a purchase/sale contract and sent it to the seller.

After teh contract was all done, we sent the PO payment via a certified cheque. Since he was nervous about it clearing, we waited until the money was in his account, then took delivery.

The day I went down to pick up the boat we sat in the Ford yacht club and enjoyed a few drinks before I settled in to sleep on the boat and wait for our transport to arrive the next morning.

The only people who have asked to look at the ownership since then were the folks at the border who charged us the appropriate sales tax (no import duties on American Built Vehicles) and the folks at the gov't offices when I registered the boat in Canada (free).

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dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2012 : 13:29:49

No titles in Tennessee for a sailboat, but if you want a tag for the trailer, a title is issued on the trailer and that is renewed annually. Boats are registered with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and if not paid at purchase, sales tax is charged and collected at registration. Hand-written/typed bill of sale suffices. Our boat purchases were in-state, paid by check. The purchaser of my C-25 paid cash on the transfer date.

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Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2012 : 14:16:44

We met at the Texas Parks & Wildlife office. He had the title and a bill of sale. I handed him the cash, we signed the title and bill of sale, then walked in the TPW office and exercised the transaction. I paid the sales tax and title fees, then walked out with receipts and a new temporary title and registration. Took about 15 minutes.

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awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1144 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2012 : 15:37:20

It is like buying or selling a used car.

We met at the boat, we gave them a cashiers check, they signed the title and gave us that and the keys.

We went to the title office a few days later and registered the boat and get a new title in the mail soon.

[quote="delliottg"]
When we registered them in WA (we bought it in OR), we ended up having to pay "tax" on the them at license office. Very irritating to have to pay tax on a used vehicle that's already been taxed.
[/quote]

That would happen if you had bought it in WA too. There is a use tax on all used vehicle purchases, it doesn't matter how they were purchased.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3462 Posts

Response Posted - 04/17/2012 : 03:15:22

Similar story but with a slight twist after the sale....
Gave them the check and they gave me the keys and title. My plan was to keep the boat in the same slip and that was fine with the marina operator. He then was signing me up for the slip and asked if I had the boat insurance. I indicated that I contacted Boat US and they were going to give me the policy in a couple of days, they just wanted to wait until it was more firm where the latest hurricane was heading. The marina operator indicated the PO already cancelled his insurance (that was real fast !) and since I did not have the insurance in place yet, I had to leave the marina until the insurance was in place ! Where was I to go ?? The other marina in the area was full. I told him "okay" and I would be back....(yeah ! in a couple of days !). I think he realized right away that I would not come back for a couple of days and so he decided to call Boat US and find out if he could work something out with them. But they were coincidentally ready to sign me up since I had talke to them just the past day. Marina operator took some photos and forwarded them electronically within the next 10 minutes...and I had my insurance and my slip !!

Edited by - on

CarbonSink62
Navigator

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USA
208 Posts

Response Posted - 04/17/2012 : 12:04:52

For my Capri 18 a few years ago, when I drove down to look and buy I gave him a check for the deposit and he wrote a bill of sale. The check cleared over the next few days. I took the BoS to my town hall and got a temp reg for the trailer. I drove back down with my tow vehicle, the temp plate and a cashiers check for the balance.

To sell it, I met the buyer halfway and he gave me cash. I wrote a Bos.

In NH, I only need a BoS to register a boat.

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GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 04/17/2012 : 18:24:05

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Joe Diver
 We met at the Texas Parks & Wildlife office. He had the title and a bill of sale. I handed him the cash, we signed the title and bill of sale, then walked in the TPW office and exercised the transaction. I paid the sales tax and title fees, then walked out with receipts and a new temporary title and registration. Took about 15 minutes.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
This is exactly what we did when I bought my boat. I insisted we do it this way to cover myself and the seller. We both felt better about handling it this way even though I had no qualms about him and I knew I was legit. He was an airline pilot and I knew where he worked!

Edited by - on

JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2012 : 05:28:01

I left a $100 cash deposit and then paid the balance with a cashier's check. Handwritten bill of sale. Then I registered it with the MD government and insured it with BoatUS.

(I thought I had nowhere to keep the boat since all the slips were taken at the marina, but I lucked out when I found that a prospective buyer of my boat had reserved a slip a month earlier without either buying or paying. So I got that slip.)

Edited by - on

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2012 : 12:09:26

Thanks for the insight guys!

Edited by - on

Arlington
Navigator

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USA
196 Posts

Response Posted - 04/21/2012 : 08:23:25

I would suggest that the buyer nail down in concrete specifically what is required in the state where he wants to register or title the boat, and get the necessary forms in hand that HIS State requires prior to completing the transaction. Some states require a Title, some states require a Registration, in some states a a bill of sale is just fine, and what is required for a trailer may be completely different than what you need for the boat. Before I bought the boat I called and 'heard' how easy it would be, then after I bought it and got it home, when I showed up to get it registered and titled in Texas the gal down at the County Court House Tag office came up with a list as long as my arm. She wanted me to get:

• an inspection at the police dept. for the trailer
• the blessing of the TX Parks and Wildlife Dept for the boat
• a certificate from the Coast Guard for the boat
• A ticket with the trailer weight empty at a certified scale.
• A ticket with weight of the trailer loaded at a certified scale.
• A thousand dollar BOND for the value of the boat
• a pencil etching for the boat hull Identification number
• a picture of the boat hull number
• A check for $1300 for the sales tax, registration fees, new original title fees on the boat and trailer....

To say I was devastated was an understatement. I thought I had bought a boat I would not be able to get in the water. This was shear lunacy! So I called another Tag Office in the neighboring town, I got a much shorter list, provide the above etching and photo and THEY would call the Park Ranger, forget about the Police Dept. , BOND, Coast Guard, and Truck Scales too! But bring the money, although it was only $800, and the original bill of sale.
Doug

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pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/21/2012 : 20:01:18

Texans needed proof of my Kansas registration and paid taxes; gave them photo copies of my personal property tax statement I think. State regulations have been a moving target lately.

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