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jondrew55 · 04-23-2019, 04:58 AM

I have several out of state buyers interested in my Class A. I’m wondering what the steps of a private sale are. I have a balance on my coach to pay off, so I don't hold the title. How does this scenario sound?

They buyer gives me a check. Once the check clears, I pay off my bank. It takes about 10 days to get the title. The buyer would like to take the coach as soon as the his funds clear. So I’ll type him up a bill of sale, and mail him the title after I get it. I assume as long as he has a bill of sale, he can drive the coach without plates back home. Not sure about how the insurance end works. Once I have his money, I don’t care about the coach, but do I still have liability until the title changes?

Just trying to think this whole thing through.

carl.swoyer · 04-23-2019, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jondrew

I have several out of state buyers interested in my Class A. I’m wondering what the steps of a private sale are. I have a balance on my coach to pay off, so I don't hold the title. How does this scenario sound?

They buyer gives me a check. Once the check clears, I pay off my bank. It takes about 10 days to get the title. The buyer would like to take the coach as soon as the his funds clear. So I’ll type him up a bill of sale, and mail him the title after I get it. I assume as long as he has a bill of sale, he can drive the coach without plates back home. Not sure about how the insurance end works. Once I have his money, I don’t care about the coach, but do I still have liability until the title changes?

Just trying to think this whole thing through.

If your buyer is taking a loan their bank would be the closing company. They would have you sign a form authorizing them( the buyers bank) to pay off your note/ loan.

Gary RVRoamer · 04-23-2019, 07:45 AM

The buyer would be a fool if he just gives you the money without making sure the title will be clear. Typically he will make a check payable to you and your bank, giving him some assurance the money is applied to the loan. Then you have to have the rest of the balance owed on the loan, preferably already paid. That way you can show the buyer a receipt for the loan payoff and he only has to trust you to mail the title when available.

No, a bill of sale doesn't mean he can drive it anywhere. In fact, it means nothing except that he can sue you in civil court if you fail to deliver later. The title is the legal document of ownership as far as any state is concerned.

jondrew55 · 04-23-2019, 02:37 PM

So my bank Is Ally. I called them today and the person I talked to said they will only accept payment from me. No checks from the buyer with both our names on it. This does not seem to make any sense. Ally has off shore customer service agents. It’s possible she did not understand what I was asking her. I’ll have to try again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

The buyer would be a fool if he just gives you the money without making sure the title will be clear. Typically he will make a check payable to you and your bank, giving him some assurance the money is applied to the loan. Then you have to have the rest of the balance owed on the loan, preferably already paid. That way you can show the buyer a receipt for the loan payoff and he only has to trust you to mail the title when available.

No, a bill of sale doesn't mean he can drive it anywhere. In fact, it means nothing except that he can sue you in civil court if you fail to deliver later. The title is the legal document of ownership as far as any state is concerned.

jondrew55 · 04-23-2019, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carl.swoyer

If your buyer is taking a loan their bank would be the closing company. They would have you sign a form authorizing them( the buyers bank) to pay off your note/ loan.

No. He’s paying cash

CoachDitka · 04-23-2019, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jondrew

No. He’s paying cash

If you're worried about your liability, you can have him name you as an additional insured on his policy, and/or maintain your policy until you sign over the title.

For his peace of mind, if he takes possession of the coach along with a bill of sale, that would be sufficient to allow him to have the coach and show ownership in case he got pulled over. You could always try and claim that you never signed over the title, etc., but then he would have possession and the bill of sale and you would have to sue him to get it back in which case he has a perfect defense and counterclaim. A bill of sale combined with possession and evidence of payment of the purchase price is absolutely sufficient to show legal ownership for any purpose. It might necessitate some additional steps like seeking a court order to get the DMV to issue you a title, but realistically its not going to come to that here since everything is on the up and up, I presume.

If he's worried about you not paying off the bank with the funds (which he should be), you can show him the balance of the loan and have him pay off the balance directly and then give you the difference in cash or whatever.

CoachDitka · 04-23-2019, 03:02 PM

Also as far as license plates go, a Bill of Sale is not going to be sufficient. Depending on what states you are both in, there may be a possibility of a temporary permit.

If you want to follow the law 100% to a T, it might be necessary for him to wait to drive the coach on the road until he can get the title and the plates from his home state.

Gary RVRoamer · 04-23-2019, 04:36 PM

Quote:

So my bank Is Ally. I called them today and the person I talked to said they will only accept payment from me. No checks from the buyer with both our names on it.

Any idiotic policy is conceivable these days, but perhaps that person wasn't knowledgeable about closing procedures? I had no such problem at Chase when I sold my coach (December 2016). They took my check plus the check from my buyer (with me and Chase as payees) and I got a receipt for the loan payoff, which was adequate proof for the buyer (in conjunction with Bill of Sale (see below)..

Coach Ditka gave some solid advice about what the Bill of Sale does and doesn't do. I gave my buyer a signed and witnessed Bill of Sale to give him a legal receipt for his money, but he cannot get tags without a title, which took 3 business days (Florida electronic title). He came back to pick up the coach when the paperwork was done. But then, the buyer was a business professional and understood (and agreed to) the process.

The key thing is to explain the necessary procedure in advance and get buyer agreement. No amount of raving is going to make the title appear any sooner than the lender and the state are willing to move.

carl.swoyer · 04-24-2019, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jondrew

No. He’s paying cash

If it's cash the local dmv should be able to provide you with a temporary tag. And you can speak with your bank on the payoff process.

chunker · 04-24-2019, 07:40 AM

Last fall I sold a 5th wheel that I had a small loan on and the buyer was paying cash. My credit union had the title and would release it to me when payment was verified. In our case he didn't want to travel through several states with $36K cash in his pocket so he got a check. We went to the bank together, got a notarized bill of sale, deposited the check with my signature of receipt, and 4 days later the check cleared. I then went to the CU, got the title and sent by certified mail to the buyer. If he had brought cash the CU would have given us the title right on the spot. Perhaps the local CU is better than "big bank".

In Alabama tags stay with the seller so he took the trailer with the BOS and went home, Indiana.

This spring I sold a motorcycle to an out of state buyer. Bike had no loan and buyer was getting one. His bank coordinated the closing with my CU and he brought an appropriate check and paperwork. My CU verified the check immediately and the buyer left with with a BOS, title, and bike. Everyone happy.

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