Selling a rig privately with money still owed

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of getting my rig ready to sell and my plan right now is to sell through consignment with my dealer. But while I have it at home getting it ready I've had inquiries about it. So it brings me to a question. I have never sold a large item like that privately while still owing on the loan. If I sold it privately it was already paid off and the few times I got rid of something like a car that still had a balance it was as a trade in. So, I'm not sure how you tell someone you don't know that you have to take their money first and pay off the loan before they can get the title. If I were the buyer I'd have trouble doing that even if I took possession of the rig physically without the title. And I'm not sure I'd like someone taking physical possession of my rig while the title was still in my name for liability sake. So how is this typically done from anyone who has gone down this path before.

Thanks,

Pete

I've sold cars with outstanding loans. Buyer and seller go to the bank/lender. Lender takes the buyer's money and issues a lien release. You sign the title over (and fill out other transfer forms if required). Then you and the seller go to the vehicle and you hand him the keys.

Doing the transaction at the lender protects both parties and gets rid of the problem of who does what first.

I've sold several trailers myself to individuals and every time once we agreed to a price I just referred them to my credit union loan officer to handle the payment and title transfer. I would just stop by to sign the papers and then have the proceeds deposited into my account. On the last trailer I sold the credit union even financed the buyer. All the buyers I have dealt with seemed very comfortable with this arrangement. Technically once the sale is executed you are no longer liable for the trailer, but to be on the safe side you can notify the DVM in case the buyer does not transfer the title promptly.

danemayer said:

I've sold cars with outstanding loans. Buyer and seller go to the bank/lender. Lender takes the buyer's money and issues a lien release. You sign the title over (and fill out other transfer forms if required). Then you and the seller go to the vehicle and you hand him the keys.

Doing the transaction at the lender protects both parties and gets rid of the problem of who does what first.

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OK but my loan is with USAA in a different state.

Contact USAA and ask how they would handle their payoff. The buyer's lender could issue two checks. One to you and one to USAA. You write a bill of sale with full trailer description and any agreed to conditions, including USAA lienholder payoff. You and the buyer sign it.

TedS said:

Contact USAA and ask how they would handle their payoff. The buyer's lender could issue two checks. One to you and one to USAA. You write a bill of sale with full trailer description and any agreed to conditions, including USAA lienholder payoff. You and the buyer sign it.

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Thanks Ted. That type of approach may be my only option. The person who is currently mildly interested would not get a loan. They have the cash. The part that bothers me is that no matter how I do it, there is still a lag between the time that the buyer ponies up the money and the time that they see the title. I have their money and they have what? I wish it were as easy as both of us going into my credit union and walking out happy but it can't work that way. Oh well. It may be a non-issue. Today I am having a guy come and detail it outside. Then if the current inquirer does not turn into a buyer, it goes to the dealer to sell on consignment and this question goes away. We'll see where it goes.

So the detail crew shined up the Bighorn yesterday and OH MY!!!!!! The inside has always looked like new because it has been lightly used and well taken care of. But the outside had gotten weathered. Part of the reason that I am selling is because I can't do the rig justice in these types of tasks anymore. Just not physically up to it. But regardless, the outside now looks brand new so it will be interesting to see what kind of interest it gets. But I do have a final question that maybe someone can help me with. So I'm planning to have the dealer try to sell this on a consignment basis. Is there something that prevents me from also trying to sell it privately at the same time? I can see where that situation can get awkward. How do you deal with the dealer's cut if I sell it privately out from under him. Do you think that there will be something in the contract about that? I dunno. Never sold anything on consignment.

Thanks,

Pete

I'd be surprised if the contract didn't say you owed him the money regardless of who sells it.

If you sell it privately, the bill of sale shows the transfer of ownership regardless of when the lienholder receives the payoff and sends the title. The delay should be about a week, +/-. You could deposit money same day into your bank account and do electronic transfer to USAA.

On consignment, it all depends on the contract language as to what happens if you sell the rig directly. The contract may require that you refer all inquiries to the consignment dealer.

The dealer may even stipulate that they get their money upfront...

The question on this private sale is; Is the buyer going to finance? His finance company will cut two checks, one to you and one to your bank. Or you bank might be interested in financing this new customer.