Since I’ve never done this before I’d like to know what the process is.
I have a motorcyle that I will be privately selling for $10,000. I however still owe the financing company $1000 and they hold the title.
How do I go about exchanging the bike for $10,000 with the buyer, paying off the financing company, and getting the title to the buyer?
(I have the $1000 to pay off the bike now but it looks like a long process to receive the payoff paperwork and then wait for the title. I’d like to sell the bike now.)
Nuttin’ to it, *Hampshire, it happens all the time. The process goes like this:
- Take the $10,000 and give the new owner the bike and a bill of sale. You should be able to find a generic vehicle bill of sale online.
- Pay off the finance company. You can do this by mail or, if they’re close by, in person. In person would speed up the process.
- When you receive the title, sign the bike over to the new owner and give him the title. Again, you can do this by mail or in person. If you mail the title use certified mail with return receipt or an overnight delivery company that secures a signature when delivered. Be sure to keep a copy, front and back, of the title in case it gets lost prior to delivery.
The buyer has 30 days from the date of sale to register the bike. That should be plenty of time to get the title.
Good luck!
I am sure laws vary state to state but in Mass you can not register or drive a vehicle until you have the title (Unless the laws have changed recently). I bought a used car and had to let it sit in my driveway for a month until I recieved the title.
If the buyer finances the bike the bank will probably make out two checks, one to the finance company to pay off your loan and another to you for the rest of the sale price.
If you have the title in hand the sale will be much easier and you will probably have an easier time selling. I know from personal experience I will not buy a used vehicle that the bank holds the title on unless it is an absolute bargin.
I just sold a vehichle that had a lien on it a few months ago. I got my cashier’s check, gave the buyer the keys and the bill of sale. Once I paid off the bank and got the title, I signed it and delivered it to him. After that, it was out of my hands and his responsibility.
Also, I took my tags off it. In Ohio, the law basically says that you can drive on a bill of sale or an assigned title until you can get a title in your name to register it. You have a “reasonable” amount of time, to do it, and it’s more legal than keeping your registration on it, which is technically invalid once the vehicle has changed possession. If the new owner had gotten pulled over in that time, he would have just had to produce the bill of sale, and explain that he just bought it and was waiting for the title.
If you absolutely cannot do that in your state, you’ll just have to take the money, and give the bill of sale to the buyer, but not the vehicle. You maintain possession of the vehicle until you can get the title back from the bank. Then you sign the title and give it to him with the vehicle. For that to work, you need a buyer agreeable to working that way. Most people should be, especially if you’re offering a bill of sale that explicitly spells the circumstances out as terms of sale.
If they aren’t willing to fork over the money without immediate possession, then they must not want the vehicle that bad. A resonable person will understand that that’s how the situation has to work within the law. It’s no different than house buying, where people often don’t get occupancy until a couple weeks after close. You own the house, you’ve paid your money, but the old owner still lives there for a little while. There’s a certain amount of good faith in any business transaction.
The bank holds the title, so you can take the buyer to the bank with you and do it all right there. At least that’s what I did. It was at a credit union. (In CA)
Peace,
mangeorge