Title/registration transfer guidance (NY to FL)

[Georgie]

Hi guys,

Wanted to solicit a few opinions on making sure I safely receive the necessary paperwork when the seller delivers the 246CCC later today.  For some reason I have a hard time understanding all the legal requirements and I'm a bit nervous about ending up with a missing/invalid title situation that costs me unanticipated time and $$ to resolve.  The scary part is the transaction is being handled by an agent of the owner, so the owner will not be available to sign any last minute documents or complete missing signature lines on documents.   I'm anticipating at the very least that the agent will have on hand a bill of sale and current registration paperwork, but can anyone tell me exactly what to make sure I have before handing over the $$ and watching the guy drive away?  What will the Florida State DMV require to properly transfer title and registration from a NY vessel?

Thx!!!

[seabob4]

Ryan, call DMV in the morn, or, better yet, stop by.  That way, they can show you, IN PERSON, what is required...

[dburr]

X2 what SB said....

Bill of sale with specifics and VIN and make of traler, HIN of the boat, registrations and titles for both if it applies for the trailer..


Maine can play fast and loose with some stuff but the names and numbers better match or you get into the "is this a home built?" arena and that gets touchy when there are trade names plackarded everywhere...

Good luck!!!!

[wingtime]

All you should need is a bill of sale and a copy of the title for the boat, and trailer title if they have them for trailers.  One thing for a transfer to FL.  is make sure your bill of sale is itemized for what you paid for the boat, trailer and motors (outboards)  The reason is you only have to pay sales tax on the boat hull ONLY.   So if your bill of sale  just says you paid say $5000 for the boat motor and trailer then you will have to pay sales tax on the $5K.  However if the bill of sale says you paid say $2000 for the boat, $2000 for the motor and $1000 for the trailer than you only pay tax on $2000.  An itemized bill of sale just makes things go smoother.  

I recently bought my boat in NC and brought it to FL.  NC believe it or not does NOT have a title for the boat but they do have them for the trailer...  weird...  but they looked it up in a book and the itemized bill of sale made it easy.

[gran398]

In order to obtain NC registration numbers, a title on the hull is not required. A bill of sale or former registration certificate is all that's needed.

The trailer...different story. They are big on trailer titles here.

Every state is different. SC's trailer rules are user-friendly.

[jaycal3]

Its a great idea to go to DMV and ask.  I am pretty sure each state is different.  Here in CT there is no Title for the boat but there is for the trailer.  Having just sold a Mako and owning an Aquasport I thought this was strange but it is what it is.  I have a trailer title and a boat reg/Bill of Sale.

[Blue Agave]

As wingtime stated, an itemized bill of sale is a great way to save on sales tax here in Florida. Tax will only be due on the items that will be registered, the hull & the trailer.

[Georgie]

well - the boat was delivered last night, about 4 hours later than promised, and without any of the paperwork.  Apparently the delivery agent completely forgot it when rushing to get on the road since he was running late.  Every red flag I can think of is waving at me, but I'm praying this guy is legit.  He was willing to leave the boat so he doesn't have to trailer it 7hr round trip again, and all we paid him was 50% of his delivery fee ($225).  I guess my exposure in this is relatively minimal so even if this turns out to be some sort of scam I'll only be out the delivery fee.  Not sure how much it's really worth, but he does have a pretty big E-bay history that he repeatedly indicated he didn't want to tarnish.

Interestingly, regarding the papers, it turns out NY doesn't title boats older than 1988 (older boats get what they call a "transferrable registration."  Florida is a title state and will require that I title the boat, but it appears all they need to issue title is the properly transferred registration and a clear, itemized, bill of sale.  Ultimately, any trailer that I buy won't need title either unless it's heavier than 2000lb.

Hopefully he can get his ducks in a row and we can just hand each other money and papers when I fly in to LaGuardia on thursday.  I'd rather not mess with mailing papers/wiring money, etc.

[wingtime]

You may need the trailer weight though.  So if the trailer paperwork you does not have the weight you will need to weigh the trailer empty.   The NC trailer title did not have the weight on it.  Luckily I had weighed the boat and trailer on the way home at a track stop and I had the scale ticket..  The owners manual that came with the boat stated the boats weight so a manager at the DMV accepted that info!

[Georgie]

Wing - great points on the itemized bill of sale and the trailer weight.  Will see what I can do to make sure I get proper info.  When I ultimately find a trailer for it I'm sure I'll be able to get it weighed before loading the boat on it.  Thanks again guys.  Wish me luck on thursday.

[Capt. Bob]

Good luck!

[Georgie]

Update:

FINALLY received the signed over registration and bill of sale for the 246CCC in the mail late last week.    Only took how many weeks of fretting and texting/calling with the agent and several more partial payments for him to "extract" the correct documents from the seller (who apparently is an attorney who doesn't need the money as well as an angry drunk and decided to go on a month long bender during the middle of the transaction).  Agent was actually going to go so far as to put a lien on the seller but ultimately in a moment of surprise sobriety the guy took the time to visit NY DMV to get a copy of his lost registration on the back of which he could legally sign over title.  Also got the bill of sale itemized to show only $1000 for the hull, the rest of the cost in engine and equipment like you guys recommended.  Gonna try registering her as an "antique" like someone else here recently mentioned so we'll see how that goes later this week.   Should be able to save a bunch a dough that way.  Will keep you posted and hopefully no problems arise during registration.

[wingtime]

Good news!