So what if you have a vehicle that has no title? Well, in every case of a vehicle, there is a title for the car. It may not be in your hands or may not be in your name. It may have been lost, but there is a title for every vehicle.
Methods to Obtain TitleNow, the first thing to look at is are there methods to get the title in your name? Because that’s what you want, right? You want to get the title in your name. Whether it’s from another state that has lacks or lower documentation requirements, sometimes there are title agents that will require them to transfer the car to you and then they transfer it back.
Sales Tax LiabilityBe aware that that might trigger a sales tax liability and even open up the door for prior skip title sales tax liabilities. You can usually do these things yourself without needing a title agent. The question’s going to be, if you’re skipping titles and you’re opening up sales tax liabilities, what are the ramifications of that? Is there kind of come back and you’re going to get a big tax bill at a later date?
Dealing with Third PartiesAlso, if you’re dealing with any third parties, be aware that if you sign a power of attorney document that gives them free rein to sign anything on your behalf for that vehicle. Now, even though it’s exclusive to just that car, it might give them the leeway to sign something that might not be true. It might allow them to sign an affidavit that says this car was an abandoned vehicle or this car had some process happened to it. If that didn’t happen, it’s just like you signed that document under oath.
ConclusionSo be aware that the third party, they just want to collect their title fees and get you whatever title they can. They may not do it the exact legal way, and if they’re under power of attorney for your name, that might come back to haunt you.
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So if you have a lost car title and you need to do lien mitigation what is the process for doing that well lien mitigation means that there’s an open loan on the vehicle not that just there’s a lien recorded on title but there’s actually a loan money owed on that car.
Identifying Non-Performing LoansThe loan balance balance exists with the lender meaning that they’re looking to collect money it’s usually a non-performing loan meaning that the payments have not been paid for some period of time.
Potential ScenariosFor example if you purchase a vehicle from somebody and you’ve discovered there’s a loan on it that person probably wasn’t paying their payments up until the day they sold it to you that’s probably why they sold it because they weren’t paying their payments it may even be out for repo if that’s the case then that lender is going to be looking to have that account closed before they release the title.
Lien Mitigation ProcessNow if you are not the borrower on that loan or not related to the borrower they will likely do lien mitigation meaning that they’ll settle the amount for lower than face value because they can still collect that money from the actual borrower they just won’t have the vehicle as collateral so contacting them to do lien mitigation is a touchy thing you got to make sure you’re not a related party it’s an arm’s length transaction and understanding what the current status of that loan is will go a long way and figuring out how to get that loan down to a lower amount just the nominal value maybe a hundred or two to get that lien release in most cases the lender doesn’t want the car back they’re not in the car buying and selling business they’re in the lending business so getting the car back and then reselling it is going to be more trouble than it’s worth they just want to make sure that the borrowers aren’t getting away with getting a free car so showing that the documentation demonstrates is an arm’s length transaction goes a long way in doing lien mitigation.
In the state of Michigan, you have some options for replacing a vehicle title that are specific to that state.
Court Order ProcessMichigan has, like some states do, a court order process. If you have a vehicle that has insufficient documents, you can get a court order from your municipal county court.
Bonded Title OptionYou can also do a bonded title, where you approach an insurance company and get a bond to bring it to the DMV.
Self-Certified Title ProcessIn the OSU title, Michigan has a very unique process for self-certified title. If you have a vehicle that’s 10 years old or older and it’s less than twenty-five hundred dollars in value, you can sign an affidavit and self-certify that the vehicle is yours, and they will issue a title accordingly. It has to be accompanied by an appraisal to verify the amount. But be aware that that’s a unique scenario in Michigan that you have to self-certify your ownership so you can get a title in your name.
Obtaining the Correct Title DocumentSo what are the steps involved with transferring a vehicle title if you’re transferring a title to someone else or somebody is transferring it to you you have to start with the correct title document you have to have that legal title document that’s issued and printed with the name of the person who’s in front of you or us the seller correctly identified.
Ensuring Proper Signatures and InformationThe next thing you have to do is make sure that it’s signed properly that the seller listed on the front of the title signs it over transferring ownership to the new buyer you also want to fill it in correctly you want to fill in the name of the buyer you want to fill in the date any other information before you print in that space look very carefully to make sure that it’s the correct information for that space.
Importance of AccuracyHere’s the reason why if you make a mistake and cross it out or write it out or change it that title becomes void so to transfer that title make sure you have the right information on the right line before you fill it in especially with dates and also mileage make sure if there’s a space for odometer readings you put that correctly.
Notarization and Additional DocumentsFind out if the document needs to be notarized some states require notarization for some types of title documents some don’t it needs to be notarized make sure you don’t sign it until you in front of that notary because they have to witness that signature being made they don’t notarized it later other documents may be involved you might also need a bill of sale you may also need a power of attorney you may need a mileage statement a separate document you may also need to pay taxes or registration fees.
Understanding State-Specific ProcessesMake sure you understand all the processes involved with that particular title transfer it varies by state it also varies by the year of the vehicle make sure that if there’s a lien or lien holder listed on the title that that lien is released and properly endorsed before the title is transferred.
Seller’s ResponsibilityIf you are the seller be sure to file and notice that the title is transferred what you don’t want to have happen is sell a car to somebody who sign it over give them the title if they don’t present that title to the DMV on a normal basis that title legally is in your name until they do and the DMV is not going to know that you sold it until that person brings it to them.
Buyer’s ResponsibilitySo if they let it sit in a driveway maybe fix it up it’s still in your name which means you have all the liability if something happened to that vehicle parking it gets towed even if it’s involved as accident the first person that kind of come see is you because legally on their records you’re the legal owner so you want to make sure you file a notice whether the buyer does or not you file a notice if you are the buyer transfer it quickly because in the meantime if you lose that document then you’re gonna have to go back in to the seller and get another one they might not want to do that for you if for some reason that seller has a legal problem they go through bankruptcy they get divorce if they die that asset of the vehicle is still going to show up in their name so any creditors or beneficiaries of that sellers estate are going to be looking for that vehicle and you’re gonna have to prove that you bought it from them if you don’t have your title that vehicle is subject to being seized so buyer and seller both have responsibilities transfer that paperwork correctly be sure and double-check all the lines before you’re right in them so the title doesn’t become void.
So, how much does it cost to get a lost vehicle title replaced? A couple of different scenarios have different costs.
True Duplicate Title MethodFirst of all, the lost car title prices depend on the method. If it’s a true duplicate title, meaning that you held a title to the vehicle in your hands with your name printed on the front, you can simply go to the DMV. You request a duplicate. The range of costs for that type of scenario in some states is five dollars; it can go up to 60 or 70 dollars in some states. Most of the averages are about twenty bucks. That’s only going to work if you had the last legal title ownership in your name on that vehicle.
Alternate Title MethodThe second is an alternate title method, meaning that you never had the vehicle title in your name. You bought it; maybe you’ve got the title signed over from the prior owner, maybe you never got a title, only a bill of sale. If you have a vehicle that’s 15 years old or older, you can simply go to the Vermont DMV, doesn’t matter what state you’re in, and use your bill of sale to get a Vermont registration title and then exchange that into your state. That will cost 48 dollars and up depending on what type of vehicle it is, and then you might have to pay a title fee in your state. Very inexpensive; you can do it yourself, no need to pay any outside title agents.
Contacting Prior OwnerThe third scenario is if you have to contact a prior owner of the vehicle to get them to do a duplicate title. In that case, the cost will be the same as a duplicate title, five or twenty or sixty dollars. However, you’re going to have to get that prior owner to sign paperwork to do that. The cost there could be finding the person, getting them to sign something, maybe giving them some financial compensation to sign that power of attorney document to you.
Bonded Title MethodThe next method to get a title is a bonded title. If you have some documentation showing you’ve acquired that vehicle legally, you can go to a bonding company in your state. They’ll issue a bond for the vehicle, which you’ll have to pay for. It could be a couple of hundred bucks. You take that down to the DMV, pay a fifty or sixty dollar title fee. Now you have a title that will only work if you have sufficient documentation to show the bonding company that you are the legal owner of the vehicle. They won’t issue a bond otherwise.
Court OrderThe last example is a court order. If you have no paperwork, no documentation, you can go to the court, usually the probate court in your county, pending or state you’re in, and they’ll issue a court order title. The problem areas can cost a few hundred dollars in court fees, and that can take up to six months. So, the range of getting a title should be no more than a few hundred dollars to do it yourself if you go through all the process. In most cases, it should be fifty or sixty dollars. There’s almost no scenarios of getting a title that you cannot do yourself. You don’t have to pay somebody to do this. If you’d like to pay somebody for the convenience of doing it, usually you should be able to do that for fifty or sixty dollars additional over the cost. It shouldn’t cost you hundreds.
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