Boating Title?

[wanna-luv-u-89]

Ok me and my boyfriend have a sea-doo he purchased from his boss about 5 months ago & we are now wanting to trade it for a horse. The owners of the horse is very interested in it & lives in Oklahoma. They asked about a title to the sea-doo and so I asked my boyfriend about it. He said that Kansas don't need titles and all they have to do is go to their registration office and have the sea-doo inspected and they will write up a title and send it to the new owner's in the mail. Now is that really how it works? I thought it was a little suspicious but my boyfriend demanded it wasn't. So before I tell the people with this horse that the sea-doo has no title and they bail out on me I want to know how they can get a title or if it is even possible?

[Gigabitch]

This is love forum, not law forum.

[wanna-luv-u-89]

It is under OFF TOPIC meaning anyone can ask about stuff NOT related to relationships!

[Gigabitch]

Thank you so much for clarifying that. Good luck with your quest for legal advice.

[GrkScorp]

This is love forum, not law forum.

You know, I must have ESP or something, for some reason I thought, i'm bored, let me go on LF.. and seriously, what the hell are the chances..

Anyway, your boyfriend has most likely:

1. Not recorded you on the title of the boat
2. Has not legally attained title by means of purchase
3. There is some fiscal misappropriation (he scammed you), and that's something you can tell by the recorded/paid state sales tax, which is just a percentage of the sales-price (in other words, he may have told you that he purchased it for $X, but in reality paid only $Y for it)
4. He has misunderstood, (he can transfer title without the actual "paper" but he MUST have title of the boat)

The reason I say that is because your jurisdiction goes under the same legal theory as the state of New York.. To transfer title of a motor vechicle, you will need, among other things:

- Documentation & Proof that state sales-taxes were paid
- The "old title" from the previous owner, completed fully! (so yes, you need the title)
- Odometer Disclosure form
- A new title application
- Proof of insurance

If title is "clouded" (it is not clear, or properly recorded; or the actual sale of transfer of title was not properly recorded).. The owner(s) of the vechicle (you and your bf) must go to the county treasurer's office along with the seller to record the transfer of title properly

Usually, for such property title is not as big of an issue, such as let's say Real-Estate.. Nevertheless, the buyer can request a title-search or proof of title.. and if/when you fail to provide a title with your name on it, transfered to you by the seller, red-flags start to go up, as they should.. Because if the buyer pays for property that was "stolen", then under the U.C.C. there is no transfer of title, the buyer has "void title" of that property, and it's only a matter of time until its proper owner raises a claim to get the said property back.. I'm not suggesting that you or your bf "stole" the boat.. but "not having title", or "having voidable title".. and "having void title" is a HUGE difference! And when you fail to provide proof of title, the buyer must assume the wrost, "void title".. (where even if he pays you for the property with something of value, title has not passed onto him, because title was void! And the law does not want to encourage or enforce transfers of stolen goods or property).. and naturally, yes, it's a deal-breaker

Why does it have to be so complicated? Because if it wasn't, then lawyers couldn't charge you the fees that they do.. Really, that's the only reason..

But if the buyers ask, you should just tell them the truth.. "we purchased the boat, but we don't have the title on hand, but we'll just call up the previous owner & the registration office and ask for a copy, and look for our copy of the title.. it's only a matter of getting the actual paper" (In reality, please check that the title was actually RECORDED! & TRANSFERED)..

Speaking of off-topic.. You're trying to swap a boat for a horse?

[GrkScorp]

This is love forum, not law forum.

Yeah I agree, that was quite awkward.. I have no idea what would motivate a person to come onto a forum like this one and ask something like that.. but then again, she just saved $200 and an hour of her time..

[Gigabitch]

You are the only person I know who gives this shit away, Grk.

[GrkScorp]

You are the only person I know who gives this shit away, Grk.

Oh.. me?

I fcukn' hate lawyers.. imagine..

And i'll tell you why.. because with the exception of a few.. and I mean very few.. all that lawyers are, are just kids who were too dumb to major in anything substantial or useful, and realized that they didn't want to do "nothing" with their life.. so they applied to law school and got in.. And in your first year class.. you get 90% of your class being (Political Science, History, English, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Media Studies, Women's Studies, Asian Studies, or some Language major like "French/German/Italian").. and guess what they all end up doing because they can't survive (Health Law, Patents, or Taxation).. they end up flooding and over-saturating the following legal sectors.. (Civil, Family, Divorce, Criminal, International, Constitutional, Contracts, Litigation).. and for something as simple as this.. that's exactly how much time and money they would waste.. not because it's complicated, not because they did any work, but just because they know the basics of the UCC & Property law, and the ordinary person doesn't.. so they take advantage of them..

So, as long as I don't have to spend a second of my time researching, or trying to structure a transaction or capital structure in some way, or plan for anything.. I have no problem with just giving it away.. I think people should know.. They have a right to know.. in fact, lawyers who charge for giving this type of basic advice (which is nothing more than information about what the law is) are hypocrites.. because they're supposed to serve the court.. and if you can just watch people running around cluelessly, about to get into a legal mess, but you sit there and do nothing about it unless they pay you, you're a hypocrite.. because it's just a matter of telling them what the law is, and how it works..

But then again, people are lazy too.. They can just look it up.. Even if they don't have a book about these things, i'm sure there's something or somewhere online on the internet where they can go and find out how title & title transfers work, the basic theory behind them, how the UCC enforces them, and how it applies specifically to their state or jurisdiction.. (Just very basic, and non-technical)

Ehh.. I guess.. if it helps LF's viewer traffic, it'll help generate more revenue from ads.. so it's really just for the benefit of the forum in the end..

[anachronistic]

Amen to that. I wish the ordinary person was smarter, you know, then it would be easier to love humanity.