Did I do right?

[gmc70]

RI Expat states to look for a dealer to avoid the situation you encountered, WRONG! We looked at a class A from a dealer I AL. and the DW loved it, for me it was more than I wanted to spend but she loved it. So I guess you know what that means. She struck a deal and price with them. I go to bank and get certified check from bank since we are from FL. and they did not want a personal check. We go to pick it up and all goes smooth. Fill out all the paper work I give him the check and sign everything. At the end of everything he says " now the bad news is I don't have title in my hands yet. WHAT!!
He tells us will have and forward to you within two weeks and you can drive on temp tile for 30 days. It took over 7 weeks to get the title from the scum ball and my wife had to call another dealer to get it. Not all dealers are up and up.

[momdoc]

Sounds like a scam and you did it absolutely right. Good luck on your continuing search.

[johninsd]

Originally Posted by gmc70

RI Expat states to look for a dealer to avoid the situation you encountered, WRONG! We looked at a class A from a dealer I AL. and the DW loved it, for me it was more than I wanted to spend but she loved it. So I guess you know what that means. She struck a deal and price with them. I go to bank and get certified check from bank since we are from FL. and they did not want a personal check. We go to pick it up and all goes smooth. Fill out all the paper work I give him the check and sign everything. At the end of everything he says " now the bad news is I don't have title in my hands yet. WHAT!!
He tells us will have and forward to you within two weeks and you can drive on temp tile for 30 days. It took over 7 weeks to get the title from the scum ball and my wife had to call another dealer to get it. Not all dealers are up and up.

So seeing the actual title document has just become one more thing to insist on before signing anything I guess. When I bought my RV in Ohio I wrote a personal check drawn on a California Credit Union and the dealer (Lewis RV in Dayton) didn't bat an eye even when I joked that I'd be across the state line before the check hit the CU.

[egwilly]

Originally Posted by dkingman

So what do most people do when presented with a private seller, a title that’s not kept locally for a RV that cost the equivalent of a house (almost), just trust the seller will clear the title after you pay the money and drive off in the RV? I had all sorts of worst case scenarios running the rough my mind. Seller takes the money and runs, seller doesn’t really own the RV....RV has already been sold, awaiting pickup...

What do you do? What should I have done. (for future reference)

Thanks in Advance,

Dave

Run, do not walk away. I would never involve myself with this much complication on a purchase. Period.

You walked away, and that was a good decision.

[Russ Silber]

Originally Posted by egwilly

Run, do not walk away. I would never involve myself with this much complication on a purchase. Period.

You walked away, and that was a good decision.

Are you kidding. Sounds like the devils deal[emoji41]

[hohenwald48]

Selling way under actual value, can't deal direct with bank, need to pay fees up front, deal on Craigslist

Come on, you know it was a scam. You did good by walking. There are plenty of good RVs for sale.

Buying anything with a bank lien on it must involve the bank since they are the actual owners.

How about a link to the Craigslist ad so we can all see what it looks like?

[Steverino]

My story is a little different. Looked at one unit at a dealer far away (full day there and back). Could have been a nice rig, but dealer misrepresented the condition and was super evasive. Walked away.

We also encountered plenty of dealers who had pricing that did not feel market correct. Happened upon a private party relatively close by with a rig we were interested in. Went and looked, and still felt good after meeting him and seeing it. He had a lien on it but it was with a national lender (Huntington) with no local branches so it was impossible to exchange cash and clear title simultaneously.

After plenty of texting back and forth, we agreed he would pay down the note so that the balance remaining was our agreed sale price. He gave me the account number and I was able to independently confirm the balance. We did sign a sales agreement outlining who would do what. He signed the title over to me and we took the rig home. I immediately diid a wire transfer to pay off his note, and a couple of weeks later the bank sent the satisfaction piece. I was then able to transfer title in my state.

In the end it has all worked out fine. We were both honest and were willing to trust each other a bit to make it work out. He had the risk that I wouldn't pay off his note, but I had a motorhome with a title lien. So we both had skin in the game.

I recognize there was some risk in the way it all came together, and I was gut checking myself pretty hard along the way. But we were both in new territory for each of us and the key was that we communicated well and articulately. I know with another type of seller I would have walked.

Not recommending that others do what we did, but thought I'd share since it was a similar circumstance.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by mokurt

Seems like the bank could have made this work since the hold the title.

Most banks nowadays don't "hold" a physical title - it's all electronic in their computer systems. We just paid off a loan on our Jeep - the bank (a national bank) acknowledged the payoff and sent a notice of their release of the lien to the DMV, who are now issuing a paper title to us. The bank never had a paper title.

[Itchytoe]

Originally Posted by hohenwald48

Buying anything with a bank lien on it must involve the bank since they are the actual owners.

That's an unfortunately common misconception. A lien doesn't mean the bank owns anything. It means they have a vested interest in the item. If they owned it, the title would list them as the owner, but it doesn't. If they owned it, they could sell it, which they can't ever do as a lienholder. There is a big difference between an owner and a lienholder.

[49Deluxe]

You certainly did right. Those national banks where the titles are held in some distant place are notorious for taking an excessively long time sending the title, plus the seller could’ve been much more upfront with you.

[Bobby F]

A seller trying to arrange sales can always arrange ahead of time, with his lien-holder bank, to place the title into local escrow along with instructions that escrow is released only when someone delivers to the escrow agent money sufficient to pay off the lien.

Then, the buyer and seller go to the escrow agent, the buyer hands the escrow agent dollars for what is owed, the escrow agent hands over clean title (or encumbered title plus a lien release) to the seller, the buyer writes a check to seller for the remainder, and the seller hands the buyer clean title.

If you're a seller and you haven't arranged for clean title to be available when the buyer and his funds arrive, it's your own fault.

[Mudfrog]

Originally Posted by hohenwald48
Buying anything with a bank lien on it must involve the bank since they are the actual owners

Originally Posted by Itchytoe

That's an unfortunately common misconception. A lien doesn't mean the bank owns anything. It means they have a vested interest in the item. If they owned it, the title would list them as the owner, but it doesn't. If they owned it, they could sell it, which they can't ever do as a lienholder. There is a big difference between an owner and a lienholder.

Technically, you're correct, the bank is not the owner. However, anyone that has a lien knows full well that the financed item is not really theirs until the loan is paid off. The bank can do just about anything it wants if terms aren't followed. This includes repossessing and then selling the item if a default happens to occur.

Contacting the lienholder is one of the first things to do as it will be able to give direction on how to handle the transaction.

[gfs1943]

Originally Posted by RI Expat

Sorry you missed out on the RV after all of that, but you did the right thing.

When dealing with private sellers (just like cars and trucks), the seller should be the one footing any costs associated with the title. The fact that his bank was not local complicates his life, but shouldn't complicate your's. Sounds like this guy wanted way too much trust on your part and perhaps too much risk.

If this experience makes you gun-shy about private sales for your next round, then look for a dealer within a reasonable distance from you. They already have all the title and registration stuff figured out and makes the process a little less painless. Most have deals with prices close to or even less than private sellers. I've found that many private sellers have unrealistic expectations as to what the current market really is.

Good luck with your search!

I agree completely. There are plenty of RVs available from trustworthy sellers/dealers/consignment places. Don't lose your money!

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by 49Deluxe

You certainly did right. Those national banks where the titles are held in some distant place are notorious for taking an excessively long time sending the title, plus the seller could’ve been much more upfront with you.

As I mentioned before - MOST banks hold the titles in a computer database; they do not have a physical piece of paper stuffed away in a vault somewhere. When the loan is paid off the bank simply sends an electronic notice to the state's DMV, where a paper title is created and sent to the owner. THAT is where the delay happens: getting the paper from the DMV.