buying from a private seller

[jgkeeto]

we are planning on buying a MH from a private seller and I have a few questions that i hope someone can help with.
we are not paying cash but will finance the purchase from a bank or someone.
so does anyone know the process to go through for getting the MH in our possession, what i mean is, how does the bank give the money over without the title, lets say the seller has it financed as well and doesn't have the title in hand. then i need to get it registered into my name, i'm buying in florida but live in pennsylvania, so how do i get temporary tags. are there actually tag companies in florida that handle these transactions?
i'm just looking for answers to help make this transaction go as smooth as possible for both sides.

thanks

[Veebyes]

I bought from a private seller. Pretty easy. I had a bankers check in the amount of the sale. We went to his bank together. They set up an escrow acct. Took my check & put it in the escrow acct. Gave me the title. Took what the seller owed out of the account. Gave the seller the balance to his acct. Closed the escrow acct.

[drsteve]

As others have said, banks and credit unions handle these transactions every day, it's not a problem. Just tell your institution what you want to do, they'll take care the details.

[ctilsie242]

I know Texas does similar. I've purchased a one-way trip permit for $5 ($9 after all fees are paid) for my TT, and this is the route I go, since I only use the trailer for a renaissance faire as of now. With this permit, it doesn't matter if the TT is inspected or not, as long as it is insured.

[garyemunson]

Walaby, I think the original poster is wanting to wait until he gets the motorhome back to Pennsy to tag it. Once FL DMV sees all the paperwork and the insurance binder, they will issue him a short term 'moving permit' that will allow him to drive it home and register it there.

[ScottG]

Bumpyroad wrote:


yep, refusing to buy a RV with an outstanding loan will limit your purchases to something 15 years old or extremely cheap.
but bad advice is worse than no advice at all.
bumpy

Now that is good advice.

[time2roll]

Get the owner, owners loan information, registration, bill of sale, and trailer down to your bank.
Your bank representative will make the arrangements and make sure it is correct to avoid any risk as the money changes hands.
Purchase price and condition are up to you and at your risk.

[DrewE]

Playtime II wrote:
In FL, no title no tag. When we moved to FL one of our cars and the MH still had bank loans. We gave the loan/bank info to FL (DMV) and they sent away for the title. Once received, they called me and then I could get plates. Expect 3-8 weeks. Until then, I used my old plates as they were several months from expiring. Otherwise FL would have issued me paper tags (for a fee).

That's interesting.

I wonder how it would work when buying an older vehicle from states that do not issue titles for vehicles older than a certain age. Many of the New England states don't title vehicles older than about 16 years or so (the details varying a bit from state to state), and there may be others with similar policies.

[Playtime_II]

In FL, no title no tag. When we moved to FL one of our cars and the MH still had bank loans. We gave the loan/bank info to FL (DMV) and they sent away for the title. Once received, they called me and then I could get plates. Expect 3-8 weeks. Until then, I used my old plates as they were several months from expiring. Otherwise FL would have issued me paper tags (for a fee).

[Bumpyroad]

Homer wrote:
Soundguy, I understand your position on buying a financed RV. However as one o/p stated the banks have excellent systems between them for handling that kind of transaction. When you buy a car, the dealer probably does not own it, a bank or financial institution does. Your bank will make all the arrangements to get the title in their name and yours. Getting it thoroughly checked out prior to the sale, I absolutely agree with.

yep, refusing to buy a RV with an outstanding loan will limit your purchases to something 15 years old or extremely cheap.
but bad advice is worse than no advice at all.
bumpy

[SoundGuy]

SoundGuy wrote:
I wouldn't purchase any type of vehicle that didn't have a clear title in the name of the owner but still had a lien against it. JMO.

bid_time wrote:
So lets say I just bought a brand new RV that cost $500,000.00 and financed 50 percent of the cost. Then due to some unfortunate circumstances 6 months later I had to sell it at a fire sale price, and all wanted was to pay off the loan, but I didn't have the money to pay it off. I guess your advice would be to miss out on a smoking hot deal.

Make of it what you want, you'll notice I did say JMO ... no where did I say you or anyone else has to agree. :R Pretty simple really. :S

[coolbreeze01]

"Definitely definitely get it inspected by a professional."

This is good advice. Hidden problems could exist that you might have to borrow more money to fix.

[Trackrig]

Go talk to your financial place, they will have their procedures or rules they have to follow. You don't have to worry about how it will be done.

Bill

[bid_time]

SoundGuy wrote:
I wouldn't purchase any type of vehicle that didn't have a clear title in the name of the owner but still had a lien against it. If the current owner has a loan against the rig then that's his problem to first pay it off so he can then provide any potential purchaser with documentation proving any lien against it has been cleared. How you later fund the purchase, cash or otherwise, is your problem. Secondly, I'd also insist on 3rd party inspection, negotiating who pays for that inspection - seller or buyer - regardless, it would be foolish to buy something as complicated as a MH and not have it fully inspected. JMO.

So lets say I just bought a brand new RV that cost $500,000.00 and financed 50 percent of the cost. Then due to some unfortunate circumstances 6 months later I had to sell it at a fire sale price, and all wanted was to pay off the loan, but I didn't have the money to pay it off. I guess your advice would be to miss out on a smoking hot deal.

[bid_time]

All you have to do is talk to your bank/credit union that you are financing it through. This is not their first rodeo. Its really pretty simple.