DaveP
Active member
I'm going to look at a SyTy for possible purchase over the next few days. It is a long-distance deal, and while I will be making a personal inspection, and arranging transportation to local storage if an agreement is reached, i will not be staying in the area much longer.
The seller indicates there is a financial lien holder. He does not have possession of the Title. I'm not real concerned mostly because he's career military and lives on-base, and I will be able to assess "character" in person.
But there's still a bit of risk. Any suggestions as to how to minimize it for both seller and purchaser? I have a close friend that lives locally, and has access to the base that may be able to help. Keep that in mind for any suggestions.
Thanks.
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EDIT ADD:
This deal was a year ago. I just linked this thread to another peep's request for advice regarding exactly this type of out of state transaction.
Most suggestions below assumed that the lien holder bank was local to the truck. I did too. When I got there, I was told the lien holder was in Ohio. I live in Los Angeles, and the seller, truck and I were all in Tucson AZ putting this deal together.
Because I had a local contact with access to the base, and I was taking the Sy with me upon payment, I decided to trust the seller regarding the title. I paid him with a check. He took a pic of the check with his phone and deposited it to his account. He then made a wire transfer to the lien holder from his account. He showed me the confirmation of the transaction. He promised to mail me the title when he received it. My friend and I put the Sy on a trailer and took possession.
About a week later, he emailed me an image of the title asking me where / how I wanted him to sign it. I replied, and a few days later the Ohio title arrived in my mail box.
It worked out fine. There was trust involved, and it is still gratifying to know that my trust was well founded. If Joe ever sees this, Thanks.
The seller indicates there is a financial lien holder. He does not have possession of the Title. I'm not real concerned mostly because he's career military and lives on-base, and I will be able to assess "character" in person.
But there's still a bit of risk. Any suggestions as to how to minimize it for both seller and purchaser? I have a close friend that lives locally, and has access to the base that may be able to help. Keep that in mind for any suggestions.
Thanks.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
EDIT ADD:
This deal was a year ago. I just linked this thread to another peep's request for advice regarding exactly this type of out of state transaction.
Most suggestions below assumed that the lien holder bank was local to the truck. I did too. When I got there, I was told the lien holder was in Ohio. I live in Los Angeles, and the seller, truck and I were all in Tucson AZ putting this deal together.
Because I had a local contact with access to the base, and I was taking the Sy with me upon payment, I decided to trust the seller regarding the title. I paid him with a check. He took a pic of the check with his phone and deposited it to his account. He then made a wire transfer to the lien holder from his account. He showed me the confirmation of the transaction. He promised to mail me the title when he received it. My friend and I put the Sy on a trailer and took possession.
About a week later, he emailed me an image of the title asking me where / how I wanted him to sign it. I replied, and a few days later the Ohio title arrived in my mail box.
It worked out fine. There was trust involved, and it is still gratifying to know that my trust was well founded. If Joe ever sees this, Thanks.
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