Selling the boat to someone in a state that does not require a title is one
of the ways people will "wash" a stolen boat.


"Bill McKee" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Bill McKee wrote:
"Reggie Smithers" wrote in message
...
When I have sold or purchased boats in the past, I have written into
the contract that I or the seller would provide a clean title within
3 weeks. I then paid off the lien holder, copied the seller on the
check submitted to the lien holder and then provided him with a copy of
the title. If either party did not honor the contract, it could be
resolved in court.

I have always felt this was sufficient, but if someone's objective was
to screw me and the title was a forgery,( with today's computer is very
possible), they probably could have. Today, I think I would contact
the lien holder directly get the payoff amount, ask for a check to be
made jointly to me and the lien holder and I would mail the check to
the lien holder.




"JohnH" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 2 Jan 2006 12:23:54 -0500, "Reggie Smithers"

wrote:

JohnH,

Did the credit union warrant that the title was clean and clear?
Since you
purchased the boat, and used them to "borrow the money" and they were
the
lien holder, I would think it was up to you to provide them with a
clean
title, not up to them to provide you with a clean title.

Or do you mean that since the title was clean enough for the Credit
Union,
it probably was a clean title?


"JohnH" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 02 Jan 2006 14:52:02 GMT, "Butch Davis"

wrote:

Reggie,

When buying a used boat it is critically important to absolutly
know that
the boat is legally owned by the seller and that it is free of any
liens.
Some states continue to fail to require boat titles. Alabama is
one of
those states.

As you said, the other major risk is hidden defects. New engines
and/or
major hull repair would drive the cost well above that of a new
boat with
a
warranty.

Butch
To overcome the 'title' problem, I financed the boat through the
credit
union and let
them worry about getting the correct title, etc. Then, after a
couple
weeks, I paid
off the loan. Total cost to me was about $25, well worth it.

--
John H.

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and
necessary to
resolve it."
Rene Descartes
The credit union worked with the seller's bank to get the title. The
seller still had
a note on the boat which had to be paid off by the credit union.

To answer your second question, I guess I assumed if it was clean
enough for the
credit union, it would be clean enough for me. I figured they had some
quick and
dirty way to check a title.

How would one go about verifying a clean title?

--
John H.

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and
necessary to resolve it."
Rene Descartes


In California, and also Oregon, where I purchased my boat, the lien
holder is listed on the title, just like on a car.



Smithers must patronize "Midnight Boat Sales."

And you must not comprehend that there are states in your region that do
not issue titles for boats.