If you are a landlord or private property owner in Kansas and a tenant leaves a vehicle on your property, you may be eligible to use the abandoned vehicle process to sell the vehicle. In this state, if a vehicle is left abandoned after a tenant’s lease has expired, the landlord can take legal steps after 30 days to sell or dispose of the vehicle.
For this purpose, an abandoned vehicle is a motor vehicle, not a mobile or manufactured home, that is left unattended by the former legal tenant in the possession of the property owner for a period of at least 30 days. It is important to note that the abandoned vehicle process in Kansas cannot begin until the vehicle has been abandoned for at least 30 days. Attempts to begin the process before 30 days will be denied.
To begin the abandoned vehicle title process, first, download the Landlord’s Affidavit (TR-125). This document will be used throughout the process. On this document, you must provide the following:
*This date is crucial to your application and all future timelines will be based upon the date provided in this section. You cannot begin the abandoned vehicle process until the vehicle has been in your possession for at least 30 days.
At least 15 days prior to the intended sale, you must place a notice in the newspaper or another circulating publication. The sale must state the following information:
In to this, you must request the current registered owner and lienholder information from the Kansas Department of Revenue.
The owner of the vehicle is the individual or people listed on the front of the vehicle title and it may not be the same person as the former tenant. You must request registered owner and lienholder information from the Kansas Department of Revenue using the Request of Vehicle Record form (TR/DL-302).
At least 7 days after the newspaper publication, you must make a copy of the publication and send it to all current owners and lienholders as provided by the Department of Revenue. This must be made by certified mail and the receipts will be needed later in the process. If there are no claims of ownership or other discrepancies, the sale or disposal may continue as planned.
All documents, including the landlord’s affidavit, must be presented to the purchaser at the time of sale. Within 60 days of purchase, the purchaser is responsible for submitting these documents to the county treasurer’s office when making the application for title or title and registration. For this case, you must apply for registration and title at the county treasurer’s office, not the DMV.
The following documents are required to accompany the Landlord’s affidavit when applying for title and registration:
The abandoned vehicle process is a useful tool for Kansas landlords working with former tenants who leave behind a vehicle. This process removes the hassle of navigating disputes with tenants and the burden of upkeep or removal from the landlord. As long as the landlord meets certain criteria and carefully follows the timeline of events, success can be found using the abandoned vehicle process.
For more information, let us help you get started on your Abandoned Vehicle Process.
Want a CarTitles.com professional to do it for you?
For as little as $159 for most processes, we will save you the headache and prepare all of the car title paperwork needed to get you a new title. Simply choose the title recovery method you’d like to use and we’ll get started!
Select your title recovery method:
Order Vermont Title LoopholeOrder Deceased Owner Title TransferOrder Bonded Title ProcessOrder Abandoned Vehicle ProcessOrder Prior Owner ContactOrder Lien Release Request Letter
A certificate of destruction, also known as a non-repairable vehicle title, is issued by an insurance company when a vehicle is no longer legal for road use and is intended for the vehicle to be destroyed. A certificate of destruction is not a salvage title or a junk title, it means that the only use for this vehicle is to destroy it. A certificate of destruction is issued because of liability. If the vehicle is on the road, it becomes a liability for the insurance company so to avoid this, the insurance company will issue a certificate of destruction.
The types of vehicles that may receive a certificate of destruction are those that have been damaged beyond repair from an accident or from natural disasters such as fire, flood, earthquake, or hailstorm. However, a vehicle that is seemingly in perfect condition can be issued a certificate of destruction if deemed necessary by the insurance company. The insurance company deems that it would be too costly to repair the vehicle and therefore will not cover repairs on it. The insurance company then takes ownership and issues the certificate of destruction.
Vehicles with a certificate of destruction are not legally allowed to be on the road, so how do these vehicles get sold? Most vehicles with a certificate of destruction will be sold at an insurance auto auction. Since they’re not road legal, the vehicles are often sold for parts.
Many people buy cars at salvage auto auctions for the purpose of rebuilding. They can then sell rebuilt cars at a profit or use them for themselves. When buying a wrecked car to rebuild, it’s important to know what you’re getting into. The cost of rebuilding may outweigh the value of the car, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to find all the parts you need.
While the vehicle may be cheap if the vehicle has a certificate of destruction, no amount of title recovery can fix it to allow the vehicle on the road. The certificate of destruction is a permanent title brand and removing this brand is considered a federal crime. Even if you are able to sell the non-major component parts, it may not cover the full purchase price of the vehicle. Additionally, without a vehicle title, you cannot take the major component parts to a junkyard. After selling the minor parts, you may still have the chassis and frame that will need to be disposed of and this removal can be expensive.
Oftentimes, a vehicle with a certificate of destruction may go through multiple owners and turn into a game of “musical chairs” where someone purchases the vehicle and realizes that it has a certificate of destruction, then sells the vehicle to someone else without disclosing that fact. Then, that person goes through the same discovery and sells it again without a title and the cycle continues.
If you’ve purchased a vehicle with a certificate of destruction, the first question to ask is if this fact was disclosed at the time of your purchase. If the vehicle was purchased from a licensed auction house or auto dealer and they did not disclose at the time of purchase that this vehicle has a certificate of destruction, you can return the vehicle. If a vehicle has a certificate of destruction, this must be disclosed prior to purchase.
Similarly, if you’ve purchased a vehicle with a certificate of destruction from a curbstoner, also known as an unlicensed dealer, there are still actions you can take. Anyone who sells vehicles, whether it’s two vehicles or two hundred, must be licensed. If they don’t have a license and are operating in the capacity of a dealer without a license, you can report them to your local department of motor vehicles and law enforcement agency.
A certificate of destruction is a permanent title brand and what you can do with it will depend on your jurisdiction. For more information on the certificate of destruction, non-repairable titles, and VIN reassignment, check out JunkTitles.com.
If you’ve come to possess an abandoned vehicle in the state of Alabama, you may be able to get the vehicle titled in your name. Unlike some states, Alabama allows for the finder to buy the vehicle at a public auction. But first, there are certain steps that need to be taken before you can register the car in your name.
Abandoned vehicles are vehicles that have been left on private property by their owner with no further intentions to collect or dispose of the vehicle. If you know who owns the car or know how it got on the property, it is not considered to be an abandoned vehicle.
An abandoned vehicle in Alabama is defined as a motor vehicle that has been:
To begin the abandoned vehicle process in Alabama, within five days of the vehicle being considered abandoned, you must first electronically notify the Alabama DMV of the abandoned vehicle through the Unclaimed/Abandoned Vehicle Portal. This electronic report must include the following information:
*The date the vehicle was deemed abandoned is the most important date to remember for this process. The time requirements for this process will be determined by the date that is provided to the DMV.
Additionally in the first five days, the entity or person in possession of the abandoned vehicle must check the VIN against the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) to obtain the last titled state.
Once the Alabama DMV receives your full report, they will place a 45-60 day hold on the title. This means that for those 45-60 days, no one can transfer or make changes to the vehicle title.
Once you have obtained the last titled state, use the process that matches the last titled state:
Within five days of receiving this information from the appropriate motor vehicle agency, you must report the owner and lienholder information into the Unclaimed/Abandoned Vehicle Portal and send a notice of possession to the current owner and secured party. The notice of possession must be sent to the parties provided by the motor vehicle agency, information from other sources is not permitted. The notice must state that you are in possession of the abandoned vehicle and intend to sell it at a public auction. During these five days, the DMV will send an official notice of termination to the current owner and lienholder. The current owner and lienholders will have 30 days from the time of notification to come forward to claim the vehicle. If the current owner or lienholder claims the vehicle, you must report it in the Unclaimed/Abandoned Vehicle Portal as redeemed and this will end the process.
After the current owners and lienholders have been notified, you place a notice of public auction in the Unclaimed/Abandoned Vehicle Portal and notify the public through a circulating publication. A circulating publication would be considered a local newspaper, meaning you can’t just post it on the bulletin board of a laundromat. You must provide these notices at least 35 days prior to the scheduled auction date.
In your notice and publication, you must include the following:
After 35 days, the vehicle may be sold at a public auction. Once it’s sold, you must update the report in the Unclaimed/Abandoned Vehicle Portal. You’ll need to provide the following information in your report:
Anyone from the public can bid on the vehicle, including you as the entity in possession. If the bid is higher than the value of the vehicle, you must remit the additional balance to the county. You cannot keep excess proceeds from the public auction of an abandoned vehicle.
Once the vehicle is sold, the new owner must get the vehicle title put into their name immediately. Additionally, if you use this process, you must maintain the electronic record for a period of three years and be subject to audit if necessary.
Failure to follow any of these requirements and to properly record all events in the portal will result in forfeiture of all claims and liens on the vehicle, you’ll lose all rights to the vehicle. The portal is only designed for abandoned vehicles. Remember, a vehicle is not abandoned if you know where it came from. If you purchase a vehicle without a title from a private seller, you can’t use the abandoned vehicle title process because, in this process, you sign an affidavit that states you did not create this abandoned vehicle circumstance in order to obtain a title for a non-abandoned vehicle. This may be considered a felony and there are legal consequences for this action.
This process isn’t designed to fix a title problem, but rather to get rid of a vehicle in your way. If you’re looking to remove or title an abandoned vehicle in Alabama, this overview will help you get started on the process.
There are many reasons why you’d want to check if a vehicle has a lien. If you bought the car, you should be able to find out if there is a lien. Unfortunately, if you’re not the titleholder, you may have problems finding out the lien status of your vehicle.
A lien is a legal claim on property or assets to ensure payment of an amount owed. With vehicles, this means that if someone has borrowed money from a bank or other lender to purchase their car, truck, or motorcycle, that lender will place a lien on the title until the debt is paid in full. Liens on vehicle titles are very common and can only be removed by submission of a vehicle lien release from the lienholder.
It’s difficult to check the lien status of a vehicle because liens are considered private banking information. The DMV is not supposed to give out this information to anyone other than the titleholder. This does not mean that you cannot get this information at all, but it does mean that it won’t be easy.
If you have access to the old title, check the front of the document for the lienholder’s name. If the vehicle has a lien, the lienholder will be listed as the owner or one of the owners on the front of the certificate of title.
Technically, they’re not supposed to give out any lien information. However, if you come prepared, you may be able to get the information you need. When going to the DMV, bring all supporting ownership documents such as a bill of sale or other documents. You’ll need to provide your DMV agent with a valid reason for requesting this information. Similarly, you can also submit a motor vehicle record request with your local DMV to obtain prior title information. It’s very unlikely that they will give you the amount of the lien, but they may be able to provide you with the name of the lienholder.
Once you’ve determined the lienholder by looking at the title or information from the DMV, you can begin the vehicle lien release process.
A lienholder is the only authorized agent to release a lien from the title. Research the address of your lienholder along with any other address locations you can find. By certified mail, send the lienholder the state’s lien release request form along with a letter of non-interest. A letter of non-interest is a document that states the lienholder no longer has any interest in pursuing the unpaid loan amount on the vehicle and can be sufficient to release the lien. It is important to start as early as possible, as sending incomplete documents may result in either a delay or denial of your request. Make sure that all portions of the forms are completed in their entirety and notarized if needed. The lienholder is more likely to return the forms quickly and without issue, if you provide them with the already completed forms only in need of a signature.
It’s important to find out if your vehicle has a lien on it, especially if you were not the original borrower. It may be difficult to find lien information, but the tips in this article will help you find success. If it’s your car, you deserve a clear title in your name.
A barn find is a great way to find a vehicle that has been discontinued. It could also be something you have found in the attic or basement of an older relative. A valuable barn find vehicle can be really exciting but may be difficult to title. If you are looking to apply for the title to your barn find yourself, here are some tips to help get you started.
A barn find is a vehicle that has been sitting in a barn or storage for some period of time. Many times these vehicles are not running and usually are not in good condition. The best way to get a title for a barn find vehicle is to locate the prior owner and have them sign over the title. However, if the vehicle has been in a barn or storage for decades, assuming you can locate the prior owner and the title may be a stretch.
If you are able to find the prior owner, ask them if they are willing to obtain a duplicate title. If they are, follow the duplicate title process for your state. Often this involves having the owner sign an application, which can often be found online on each state’s DMV website. Due to the age of the vehicle, some states may also require an odometer reading and a VIN inspection from a certified mechanic or someone from law enforcement who is authorized to perform such inspections.
It may be tough to get a duplicate, even if the prior owner is still living and has the old title. If the vehicle is abandoned for decades, it’s possible that the title has been erased. Oftentimes DMVs will purge their systems after 10-15 years of inactivity. The title could be lost after being left in a barn for decades. If you can’t track down any paperwork, try submitting a motor vehicle record request to your local DMV to see if they can retrieve the records. They may ask you to fill out some forms and submit an affidavit describing how the vehicle came into your possession.
In certain cases, you may be able to obtain a title for your barn find vehicle through the court system. To file for a court-ordered title, you must visit the county court in the county where you reside and file a case against the vehicle to ask the judge to grant you ownership of the vehicle. Once ownership is granted, you can take the court order to the DMV in exchange for a title.
A court-ordered title process isn’t an easy process, but it’s a very effective process. If you choose to pursue a court-ordered title, make sure to be aware of the laws in your county. Every county has a different procedure for a court-ordered title. For more information, check out our article The Court Ordered Title Process Explained.
If you want to keep a barn find vehicle and get a title for it in your name, do not say it’s an abandoned vehicle. In many cases, the designation of an abandoned vehicle will result in the towing and disposal of the vehicle. Most of the time you will not get to keep and title a vehicle that is considered abandoned.
However, this is possibly not the case in the state of Alaska. If you have a barn find vehicle on private property, Alaska is one of the few states that allows some abandoned vehicles to be titled. For more information, check out our article How To Title An Abandoned Vehicle In Alaska.
You don’t have to struggle with getting a title for your barn find vehicle. Be prepared with the steps that you will take and how to prepare your vehicle. Do your research and ensure that you’re having it correctly inspected, depending on the state you live in. If you try to be diligent with these things, then you should be well on your way to getting a title for that valuable classic car.
Tell us about your vehicle and we'll direct you to a title recovery method that matches your scenario.
"*" indicates required fields
