I sold a car to my then-neighbor on an installment basis wherein he agreed, per written contract, to the sale price and an installment payment schedule of $200/month.
Well, he moved almost a year ago (July) and has not made any payments or informed me of his new address. He still owes $400.
When I transferred the title, which I wanted to do to distance myself from any liability, I made sure that I was listed as the first lien holder on the title.
So, can I sell that lien?
I can’t speak for where you are.
Here in Ontario we can do that – it is called assignment.
Yes, but don’t expect much for it, unless perhaps the car is worth siginificantly more than that and it would be worth someone’s effort to find the guy and repossess the car.
How hard have you tried to find him? As a creditor, you have the same legal rights as any bank or other creditor to use services like the credit bureaus to try to locate him. If you can find him, send him a letter threatening to repo the car, and do so if he doesn’t pay up, or take him to small claims court.
You could also turn it over to a collection agency, for a percentage, or you could hope he tries to sell or trade-in the car, at which point he’ll need you to release that lien.
I imagine you could legally sell it but findiing someone to buy it is the big question.
Look on the bright side. You got rid of the car, got rid of the neighbor and still have a document suitable for framing.
I wasn’t expecting to get much for the lien, although the car is worth much more than his remaining installment balance. Or was the last time I saw it.
Frankly, if I could get ~$50 from someone who’ll remind him of his responsibilities and let me close this sidebar (really doesn’t rate as a chapter) of my life, I’d be happy.
Would a repo outfit possibly be interested in something like this?
Heh, now I see aahala’s post.
The typical going rate for a repo man seems to be in the $350 range.
So… a repo outfit would probably charge about what this guy owes you.
Of course, you might argue that the repo man could reasonably be charged AGAINST the possessor of the vehicle, and in a retail car loan there would be language to that effect in the loan.
So, IF you knew where the car was, and IF you wanted to screw around with it, you might be able to seize the vehicle, sue for the repo cost, and sell the vehicle, deduct $750 from the proceeds, and forward the rest of the funds to the new owner.
If you were a bank, you would decide that it probably wasn’t worth the trouble and sell the debt to a collection agency.
If you’re poor, I’d suggest trying to sell the debt to collections. Might have to take it to small claims first to turn it into a judgement before they’d buy.
If you’re not poor, I’d suggest just forgetting about it.
Ringo
If you’re fortunate enough to have the deadbeat’s SSN, or can somehow obtain it,
you might want to study up on “forgiveness of debt” relative to the IRS.
If applicable, you may be able to issue a 1099 to your former friend on his behalf(ha-ha) and it might give you a deduction. The IRS will likely find the dude and charge him taxes on the $400 gift. Revenge is sweet!