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Hi,
part of a deal; my disabled client is buying little vintage travel trailer, but dealer has pulled quick one; (verbally said it was clear TX Title, client put down $500 deposit, now 3 weeks later, dealer informs client that ‘it is a bill of sale, and will be bonded title….’. ) Dealer saying he had thought he had clear TX title, but after recv’g the deposit, and went to his file, found it was a bill of sale (is a consignment dealer), so began process of bonding it, w/o telling client. Need attorney quickly, to tell client what to do….Does anyone have suggestion for street smart attorney. Client in Dallas, travel trailer dealer is 1.5 hours east in Franklin County; not too far from Sulphur Springs.
Thanking everyone for any help…
dona
Bryan Dunklin, Dallas Texas
http://www.texasrealestatelaw.net/It is sure not worth getting an expensive attorney involved on a cheap mobile home deal.
Bryan is familiar with creative real estate and mobile homes but his fees are not cheap.
The SELLER can go to
http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/mh/to get clear title.
there are probably back taxes due.
Jack Miller always taught us that if you get an attorney involved when trying to solve a dispute – the only winner is the attorney.
It is better to try to solve this problem with the seller
If that can’t be done, report the seller to the Attorney General of Texas. ( and make sure the seller knows you plan to do so because it may solve the problem before it esculates)
Jackie:
How and where can we find out if and how much in back taxes are owed?
The dealer is taking it to an inspection station today , as part of the process of getting the title bonded. (apparently req’d by state; it allows police to confirm that the trailer is not reported as being stolen).
The consignment dealer said that the seller is a 78 yr old man who bought it on a bill of sale from someone; that it was in a barn for the past 5 years, that the 78 man had planned to restore it (it is vintage trailer; ie 1970), but lost heart after cutting the first piece of wood and asked this consignment dealer to sell it. Am not sure this seller, the 78 yr old with a bill of sale, can get clear title…are you?
They say 2 more weeks to have bonded title. Someone told us that bonded title is somewhat dangerous for my client; since if a prior owner materializes during the next 3 years, has a legitimate claim of ownership, and wins a judgement in court, that the bond company will pay off his claim, then my client will have to pay the bond company the claim amount, plus could lose possession of the trailer (a prior owner could even ask for it back). So, it looks ridiculous to buy it on bonded title.
However, someone else told us that if the dealer puts the bonded title into HIS name (or into his clients- since the dealer is selling it on consignment for someone), and only after having it in their name, sells it to my client for clear title, that then he, the dealer and not my client, would be liable for any financial claim of a prior owner. (but I’m guessing my client could still lose possession of the trailer……client has a special health issue that this trailer helps address; and is not easily reproduced by other trailers; not impossible to find another, just complicated and time consuming, and at this point, time is money, plus health).
Any input highly appreciated!
d
d
if it were me, I’d be walking away from the $500 mistake and looking for something with clear title
Too much hassle for an old mobile home with no title.
I sold several 1960’s and 1970;s mobile homes for $1500
This is not worth the brain cells, attorney fees, potential liability.or hassles to deal with.
Keep im mind that the chances of any of the BAD things happening are slim to nothing but if it keeps people awake at night, it is not worth it.
Consider it a cheap $500 seminar – then move on.
Hi Jackie:
Very humorous response and very helpful…..I wholeheartedly agree……ie. too many brain cells for such a small thing.
The problem is that it is a ‘classic’ vintage. As in nearly an Airstream. And my client wants only it (or something nearly identical to it: these are not being made any more and are not made out of plastic and chemicals like most other brands/types. But there are few ever available…this is like an art project for my client.) His getting this is just one leg of a multi-legged 1031 exchange, where ultimately I will end up earning some tidy sums.
So, if the client were not an artsy type; it would be easy to find a replacement. These artists can be pretty picky……but since the total earnings for me will be decent, I seem to be stuck in a situation where I am forced to wade through this.
But thank-you for all the inputs. Any other will be appreciated as well.
Donna
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I have a sort of a warm spot in my heart for such fixer-upper projects. While I don’t know the near-Airstream competitors of that era well, I found a great article about one person’s hunt and rehab efforts on an Airstream itself:http://wandrlymagazine.com/article/airstream/renovating-an-airstream/
Should your client need to walk away and start the search again, there might be some useful hints in that article. Also, it is very easy to search the entire country’s collection of craigslist sites by using SearchTempest, here:
Just set your search radius in miles that your client is willing to travel to inspect, transport, etc, and use the minimum number of key search words necessary, and let the web do your walking. It takes that site some time to scour the entire country, so be prepared for a little wait.
Lots of people think of craigslist only for local purchases because sellers mostly don’t ship. But if one is willing to travel to the seller’s location, craigslist can be an incredible goldmine for both price comparison and for finding goodies.
Once you get the hang of using SearchTempest, it can be very addictive to run a search every couple of days or so…. (I once had the hots for a hardshell Apache pop-up camper of that vintage….)
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