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Boat Title help needed...

Rebel9921

By Rebel9921
in Boats & Motors.

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Rebel9921 Mentor

Rebel9921

Posted
Posted

Hello...

I have a dilemma right now... I am trying to get my mom's boat back... it is in storage right now...

The problem is:

1998... My brother bought a Nitro boat from our neighbor at the cabin... He borrowed $$$ from my mom and paid for the boat with a check for $6k... He never got the title (STUPID act on his end I know)... Long story made short... its my mom's boat... not my brother's anymore...

The neighbor moved to Cass Lake... and we never got the title... the boat has been sitting in the storage for past 3-4 years waiting for us to pick it up but we cant pick it up without any proof of ownership...

I called DNR and didnt get anywhere... I called the previous owner and left numerous messages, He never called back... Im afraid that with this many calls I've made, it could be called harrassment... the DNR agent I talked to had sent two letters to the previous owner without going anywhere... I have called the Hennepin Court House and talked to an officer of the court... He basically said that my best bet was to go up to the owner's new home and go after him for the title... Otherwise fighting via court n etc, would be a time and money consuiming task... The previous owner lives somewhere in Cass Lake and I live in Bloomington... for all I know it could be a wasted trip for nothing...

I would like to know if theres any way that I could get this issue resolved so that we can have the boat back... which means we would be able to do plenty of fishing this summer...

Any help would be greatly appreciated... and if you want to keep your posting anonymous... email me at [email protected]

Many thanks!!!

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PerchJerker Grand Master

PerchJerker

Posted
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I'm no legal expert, but boats in MN are not titled???? Trailers have titles, boats do not.

After the boat was purchased, was it registered (ie. licensed)? That might be your only proof of ownership.

Good luck getting it resolved.

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minneman Mentor

minneman

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 Originally Posted By: PerchJerker
I'm no legal expert, but boats in MN are not titled???? Trailers have titles, boats do not.

Not true, I have a Title for my boat, from the state of Mn. The trailers are registered with the state for Lic.

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Valv Grand Master

Valv

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All boats over 14ft since 1979 have titles, they are issued by the DNR. Trailer titles are issued by DMV. They are 2 separate and completely different entities.

Now, for the title loss....there is nothing you can do that it hasn't been already presented to you. Boat is still registered to original owner. He's the ONLY one that can release the title or have a duplicate issued. Bad news for him he's still responsible for anything that happens to it and with it, I would inform the storage management if they don't release the boat you will not pay their fees, they can collect from owner, and they cannot sell boat since they have no title.

I have same situation as you, I have a 2000 Crestliner that belonged to a guy in SD, I have the title in my hands but since the owner made a mistake in the transfer, he has to fix it. Nobody can find this guy, so my boat is almost impossible to sell titled.

You can drive to Cass Lake and have the local Sheriff escort you to his house and try to get the title, OR be prepared with a Duplicate of Title request form so he can sign it, but you have to convince him to mail it back to you once he receives it back from DNR or you will have to show up with Sheriff again.

Send me an email.

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250XB Contributor

250XB

Posted
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Not all boat have titles if you buy out of state and that state does not title boats (Georgia unless they have changed recently) all you need is a bill of sale. Find some one in Georgia and sell it to them and then buy it back and then you have your bill of sale. A friendly person at a local DMV can really help you out a lot. I had a problem with a canoe that I bought used and they fixed it for me.

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hanson Grand Master

hanson

Posted
Posted

 Originally Posted By: Valv
All boats over 14ft since 1979 have titles, they are issued by the DNR. Trailer titles are issued by DMV. They are 2 separate and completely different entities.

Is the boat title an honest to god title or just DNR registration?

The last boat I bought I received a hand written bill of sale from the seller and that was it. I went into the DMV to renew my boat registration, gave them the numbers & letters off the side of the boat, told them I just bought the boat and need to renew the registration, paid the bill, they entered my new info and away I went with registration in my name.

The DMV office I dealt with was pretty darn lenient on proving that I did own this boat. Kind of scary actually.

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PerchJerker Grand Master

PerchJerker

Posted
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I tend to believe Hanson is describing it correctly, the boat is registered but not titled.

A bank can have a lien against a boat even if there's not a title. This happens all the time in the construction industries (liens but no titles). In fact, you can even have liens against life insurance policies or have a lien against you if you don't pay your income or property taxes.

A few years ago I traded a boat to a dealer, I gave them the title for the trailer but there was no title for boat (and they said there wasn't supposed to be a title for the boat).

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Valv Grand Master

Valv

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I went and read the rules and I made a mistake, it's 16ft and below that doesn't require a title.

Page 10 and 11 of reg book.

Boats are Titled AND Registered, they are 2 separate issues.

The Title is an actual title document not to be mistaken with Registration. Some registrars have been very lenient, and just issue a registration without title lookup, have them check if your boat has actually a title, call the DNR or check with the HIN number.

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PerchJerker Grand Master

PerchJerker

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Good info Valv.

The boat I traded was 18 feet long and I purchased it out of state as a 1 year old pro-staff boat ..... maybe that's why I didn't have a title for the boat and why the dealer wasn't concerned about it. I had a title for the trailer but not for the boat.

I looked in the file for my current boat and you are correct, there is a title for the trailer and a title for the boat. I admit it caught me by surprise, but I have 2 titles. Thanks for the info.

Rebel9921 - I assume the boat is registered in your brother or your mom's name --- you said he bought it in 1998 and that it's been in storage for 3-4 years. With that timeline it should have had to have been reregistered or relicensed by your brother or mom?? Is that enough to show proof of ownership to get the boat back?

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primetime49 Proficient

primetime49

Posted
Posted

Call the Cass County court administrater,have them send you a filing form for small claims court.

File a case against the person who sold your brother the boat.

have your brother available to attend court when the time comes to appear.

Have all paper work and witnesses ready to appear .Being this matter is $6000.it works to use the system this way without any lawyer expenses.

make sure filing shows that $6000. is the amount paid.

If the person your brother bought the boat from does not appear he will get a lien against the person he bought the boat from.

You or your mother do not have a right oto the boat thru this process only your brother that bought the boat does. The whole thing is going to cost you under 75.00 and its about the only way to do this as you have let it go 3 years plus .

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hanson Grand Master

hanson

Posted
Posted

 Originally Posted By: Valv
I went and read the rules and I made a mistake, it's 16ft and below that doesn't require a title.

Mine is 16', that might explain a few things.

A guy learns more and more everyday.

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sparcebag Grand Master

sparcebag

Posted
Posted

 Originally Posted By: hanson
 Originally Posted By: Valv
I went and read the rules and I made a mistake, it's 16ft and below that doesn't require a title.

Mine is 16', that might explain a few things.

A guy learns more and more everyday.

16' no title but yet need throwable device,horn,whistle sounding device,does'nt seem fair if I'm in a 16' boat using a 7.5 motor and oars,and by myself.But I've been stoped and checked!

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Rebel9921 Mentor

Rebel9921

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Thanks everybody... especially VALV and Perch for bringing up lot of valuable info that would be very helpful for everyone else... I contacted the sheriff dept at Cass County yesterday, explained the situation... and today the sheriff handling this case texted me saying he contacted the previous owners and got all the necessary documents and will be mailing them to me ASAP...

I just cant wait to get this all resolved then get the boat out of storage and work on it... replacing/fixing whatever is needed and just be ready for June 7th's Muskie Opener!!!

MANNNNNY THANKS!!!! I appreciate it!!!

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Rebel9921 Mentor

Rebel9921

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Chris... one countdown at a time LOL

Yeah... Just had a thought and tried here... it worked out... everybody banded together and threw their thoughts, knowledge, and ideas here... and it worked... Everybody learns something... I truly appreciate it...

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Rebel9921 Mentor

Rebel9921

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The whole dispute finally has been resolved... The ownership was finally transferred over to me and my mom yesterday... I'd like to thank the Cass County Sheriff Dept for all the help especially the deputy who handled the case... and I would like to thank all of you who helped out with ideas and inputs...

Now only thing remains... getting it out of storage once the snow melts... then gonna go and work on it, new carpets, making sure the motor works... etc etc...

In case people are wondering... its a 1988 Bass Tracker 1800TF 18ft with 150HP Mercury...

From what I went through with this situation, heres what I learned...

Trailers are titled, but you only need a bill of sale to transfer the ownership... and no more renewing tabs...

Boats over 16ft must be titled unless its a canoe or kayak... and yes you must have a title to transfer the ownership of the boat that has been titled.

Chris... Yes... theres a standing offer for you to join me anytime... Wherever the lake is at...

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