Title Problems: Causes and ScamsSo most of the calls we get from people who have a title problem are in scenarios where somebody bought a car and didn’t get a title when they bought it, and sometimes these are oversights; in many cases, they’re borderline scams.
Kicking the Can Down the RoadThe person who sold the car probably knew that they weren’t giving enough documentation for their buyer to get the title maybe they have the same thing happened to them a lot of times this car hasn’t passed out through to through people we call it kicking the can down the road where if somebody buys a car and they don’t have a good paperwork and they try to get a title and it fails they just say well I’m just gonna sell it to somebody else without a title because I fell for it I’ll get somebody else to fall for it that can happen three four or five times before somebody finally says hey wait a minute I need to fix this problem right when that happens it creates another problem it’s called jumping title or skipping title where each owner isn’t documented with a new title that’s the way the DMV wants it the government wants each owner to actually get a title in their name so they can see who actually had that car
Importance of Having a TitleSo having no title document doesn’t give you the security of knowing, as a buyer, that you own that car. You don’t own the car until you have a title, and before that, you have a piece of metal in your driveway.
Protection Against Title DefectsThe other thing it does it protects you against title defects a very common title defect is a branded title it could be a salvage title could be a rebuild title in those cases it might require an inspection before you can put it on the road it could be worse than that it could be a certificate of destruction or non repairable title or parts only title that means that you can never put on the road no matter what inspection you get okay so having the title in your hand will protect you against those defects because you don’t see a lot of times that’s why people sell them that way they know the title has a defect so they just pretend there’s no title and tell the person I’ll give it to you later or all you needs a bill of sale it’s very very common for a buyer to be told all you needs this bill of sale fill out this form and you can get a title and most people don’t know the difference and they go down to DMV where the bill of sale on the DMV says what are you doing here we can’t do anything with the bill of sale so having the right documentation will help you another common scan is for the seller to tell the buyer oh it’s been applied for I’ll get in a couple days and I’ll give it to you if it’s been applied for just wait a few extra days before you give them the money because once they have the money they don’t have to do any work to get the title because they already have your money even if they did apply for it if anything happens to that title or it doesn’t come into mail or maybe that gets rejected once they have your money they’re not gonna do any more work to track it down trust me we know because dozens of people every day call us with that even if they give you a copy of the title that’s not enough you have to have the original so when you’re buying a car make sure you’re actually getting the title signed over from the seller and make sure there’s no errors on it damages mistakes cross out to whiteout because if it has any defects on the title physical defects where you can see a tear in it somebody whitened something out they cross something out they signed in the wrong place that can’t be fixed it makes that document invalid and void for use for you to put it in your name so make them go get another one before you give them the money otherwise you’re gonna be chasing them forever and I can tell you this you’re going to text them and call them and you’re going to be on the pay no mind list they’re going to block you because they don’t want to go through the hassle of getting you title and that was going to be on you to spend the time and money to fix the problem that they created.
Visit Our YouTube Channel for more insights and discussions on various topics. Consider subscribing to our YouTube channel. Click here!
The Importance of Titles in Vehicle TransactionsSo, for a vehicle, you have a title and you have a bill of sale. They’re two different things.
What is a Bill of Sale?
You may only have a bill of sale and want to get a title. So how does that work?Well, unfortunately, a bill of sale is only a record of a particular event of one person saying, “I’m selling you this car.” It’s not a complete transfer of ownership because the bill sale doesn’t say that the person who’s selling it actually owns the car. It doesn’t say if there’s a lien on the car. There’s no verification on a bill of sale that the seller has the authority to sell the car. Maybe they do, but by itself, the bill of sale doesn’t disclose that because anybody can write a bill of sale.You can write on a piece of paper, “I, Joe Schmo, sell this car,” and put the rest of it on there. There are blank forms you can download that might look official, maybe even from the DMV. Bill of sale, you fill it out, but there’s no prior verification that the information is correct. The only thing that a DMV or government agency is going to look at that’s a valid ownership verification is the prior title.
The Role of the TitleSo, when you buy a car, what you’re supposed to do is have the seller of that car have their name on the front of the title. They flip it over and they sign the back, and they give it to you. That’s a guarantee that that title and card are now yours. If it’s only a bill of sale, who knows if that seller is the owner? Who knows if there’s not a lien? Who knows if maybe there’s another owner, right?
The Risks of Relying Solely on a Bill of SaleThe bill of sale isn’t good enough. The DMV won’t accept it. You shouldn’t either. Why not? Well, what if it was your car? If somebody just had your car and your keys and just filled out a bill of sale, they could sell the car to somebody else. If that was enough, you having your title document somewhere in the safe deposit box in your file cabinet, maybe, you know, somewhere in your house, is what protects your ownership of that car. So if it was good enough just to have a bill sale to flip a car around, then you wouldn’t need titles because it would have no value.
Options for Obtaining a Title with Only a Bill of SaleAre there ways to transfer a car and get a title with only a bill of sale? There’s a few ways to do it that might have some other requirements. You can look at some of our other videos to find out more about how to get a title if you only have a bill of sale and to construct the rest of the ownership using other means. Maybe Vermont, maybe bonded title, maybe affidavit. You can look at our other videos to do that. But by itself, if you’re buying a car, make sure that if you’re accepting only a bill of sale, that you know the risk and you know you’re going to do some work to get the title in your name.
Solutions for Solving Your Title Problem
So what are the solutions for you to solve your title problem? In many cases, a title problem seems bigger than it really is. In most cases, there’s a very simple process for you to get your title. It could be a bonded title, it could be a Vermont title, it could be a court-ordered title. All of those things are do-it-yourself processes that cost very little, usually less than $100—$70 or $80 in most cases. For you to get your title might require filling out some paperwork, might require mailing some things off, but researching the method and finding out that method allows you to pay a very small fee to get a solution to your vehicle title problem.
How to Get a Lien Release for a Vehicle Title
So how do you get a lien release for a vehicle title if you have a car that needs to get a title and there’s a lien holder showing on that title record with the DMV?
The title normally won’t be released until you have that lien cleared from the title records. Some of the complications could be if the lien holder’s out of business or if the car’s not fully paid off, or if it’s an automax type car title loan.
In those cases, you have to go through a certain process. If the lien holder is out of business, you have to find out where they transfer their assets to.
If the car is not paid off, you might want to do a lien mitigation to have the lien discounted to an amount that’s palatable.
If it’s a title pawn, you may find that loan’s not even recorded on the title so there might be a duplicate title possible.
In other cases, if there’s any trouble finding the lien holder finding where they are, you can maybe get a letter of not interest from the bank listed on the title which will be the same as a lien release.
Sometimes if you have payoff documents from the bank showing that it was paid off on a certain day, the DMV may accept them.
So a court-ordered title is your last resort but if the car title loan is more than ten years old sometimes a court-ordered title may be the way to go.
So how do you get in contact with a prior owner of a vehicle to help you get a title?
Get the name and identityYou need to do three steps. First, you need to get the name and identity of that person.
Find their current location.The next thing you need to do is find out their current location because, in some cases, the title record for that person might be an old address where they’ve moved from, and now that they live somewhere else, you have to find out where they are now.
Contact Them and What to SayThe third thing you need to do is know how to contact them and what to say. If you want to ask somebody about a car they may have owned years ago to help you out with paperwork and that’s not approached correctly, it may backfire, and they may not help you at all.
Federal Law: The DPPASo how do you get the information? Well, there is a federal law called the DPP that prevents the release of some of that information except for very specific scenarios, and your scenario may qualify for that, but you have to apply for it correctly.
Alternative MethodsAnother way to look for it is to look for old papers inside the car, maybe oil change receipts, maybe underneath the car, maybe an old purchase order, buyers order, even a plate frame, oil change receipts from an oil change company, or the tag on the windshield might help you find the owner.
Need Help? Contact UsIf you have difficulty finding a prior owner, you can call us up or reach us through cartitles.com, and we can find some solutions that might help you get in contact with that prior owner.
Tell us about your vehicle and we'll direct you to a title recovery method that matches your scenario.
"*" indicates required fields
