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This is correct. I'm not legally bound to do anything to or for it once it's sold.
I'm far from ignorant of the situation, my liabilities, or the protections I choose to keep on myself. This all started from me commenting "I'm 100% the other way. I wouldn't drop insurance until it's out of my name. Even with a bill of sale. " I put it in quotes as it's a copy paste from above. This is what I would do, and how I would react to the situation. Everyone else can do what they want. I suppose if others look to me as an examlpe of what to do, then perhaps I'm spreading a certain level of information, however it's your opinion on if it's bad or not. If I want to send some of my cash on insurance that I don't need, it's only your interpretation of that being wasteful that makes it bad advice.
Not scenario, experience. It's not a hypothetical, it's something I've lived through.
Whats my greater liability? I'm curious to hear how carrying more insurance than I need on something I no longer own is a lability. This should be good.
That's what the bill of sale is for. We agree on that front. What we disagree on is how solid that proof is. I don't make bills of sale on a regular basis. I've hand written some on pieces of paper as a "best I got" solution during the sale in a parking lot. I've also had the buyer go with me to pay of the loan at the bank, get the lien release and immediately walk next door and transfer the title to his name. Lots of gray area in between those two extremes.
(Of course the insurance didn't help you. You had 0 liability in that scenario, therefore they had 0 liability. You are correct about a lawyer trying to come after you, as you would still be showing as the owner in the state database. A lawyer coming after you does not suddenly make you liable for something. I will again bring up the bill of sale. If you have proof that you sold the vehicle and have no ties to it, the lawyers case against you is dead in the water.)
(You are potentially opening yourself up for liability by continuing to intentionally carry insurance on something that you no longer have a stake in.
(Most states have a bill of sale formatted for auto's/boat's/ATV's readily available for download on the DMV website. I recommend them vs chicken scratch on a piece of paper to ensure you don't forget any pertinent information. I am not sure why you continue to question the validity of a bill of sale. If it has the proper information on it, and is a genuine transaction, then it is completely "solid proof".)
(I am beating a dead horse here, but again you are no longer liable for the boat or the new boat owners actions, or mine, or your neighbors, or anyones after you sell the boat. Have you ran any of these death riddled post-sale fears by your attorney, or your insurance agent to see if they would even acknowledge the incident? I would highly suggest that)
(This has nothing to do with your financial habits. We are strictly talking about post sale liability here)
Yes, you verify the 10 day payoff amount, issue a check to seller made out to the lienholder for the payoff amount, and another check made out to the seller for the remainder. The seller can't do a thing with the check made out to lienholder except send it in for payoff. Some sellers are skeptical about this, but I would never give a full amount to a private seller and cross my fingers that it gets paid off.
Thanks. That makes sense. Is it common practice to withhold the check for the remaining balance until verification the lien check has been cashed by the financing company?
I highly doubt you would get a seller on board for that. There is no incentive for the seller to not mail in the payoff check.
It is not a waste of time IF the buyer would prefer getting the boat with a clear title instead of a lien release and bill of sale. Maybe you don't care if the title is cleared, and maybe it doesn't matter in the current environment, but some buyers would rather have a clear title when they purchase a vehicle. Of course, if it is a scenario where a significant amount of money is still owned on the vehicle, a clear title may not even be a choice.
It is absolutely a waste of time. If you are in a non title holding state, you will hold the title in hand but it will have a lien showing on it. When you pay it off, the lender sends you a lien release. You provide your title and lien release to the buyer and they will have no issue when they go to register it. There is no such thing as needing to "clear" a title once you receive the lien release. A title showing a lien, accompanied with a lien release, is a clear and equitable title.
Again, a title with a lien accompanied with a lien release is just as equitable as a title with no lien at all. This is not my opinion, this is a fact. It has absolutely nothing to do with the "current environment".
State by state title requirements are different.
You call the insurance company tell them you want insurance on it. Title or bill of sale is not needed to start a policy.
