Form of payment for private sale - and anything else!

[HABBERDABBER]

I sold my 24 year old Casita 16' on the monthly payment plan. Sold to my long time neighbor the other end of the block. She wasn't going anywhere soon, I could haul the rig away any day, but of course, she never missed a payment. The money need wasn't crucial or needed at the time, and I got my asking price without a quibble.
I bought my E19 with a cashiers check in hand, 3 states away, with a personal pick-up. I did show a bank statement to confirm resources and a drivers license. Worked well and a great seller.

You can often smell a scammer a mile away. Not always, but any complications to a deal are a red flag.

And, to each their own way of transacting.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Mike G

Not sure why you would want the old license plate back. Wasn't it specific to that trailer, and not usable on another vehicle? At least that's how it has been in the states where I've resided.

In both Florida and Ohio the license plate can be transferred to a new vehicle. Our 2020 Escape has the same license plate as our old 2002 R-Vision Trail-Lite.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I don't ever like dealing in over $1000 in cash, its too easy to get robbed.

Yeah, by the Police.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkeS_0NQUZs

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by TTMartin

In both Florida and Ohio the license plate can be transferred to a new vehicle. Our 2020 Escape has the same license plate as our old 2002 R-Vision Trail-Lite.

Titling and tags is a state by state regulation....In Pennsylvania the tags are yours and can be transferred to a new vehicle. I believe in California, the tag stays with the vehicle, not the owner.

[reetired]

Originally Posted by Mike G

Not sure why you would want the old license plate back. Wasn't it specific to that trailer, and not usable on another vehicle? At least that's how it has been in the states where I've resided.

NY requires you turn in your license plate to cancel your insurance.

In this day…cash only.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by reetired

NY requires you turn in your license plate to cancel your insurance.

In this day…cash only.

Not with a trailer. I held my old plate from my 2011 17 for 6 months before I took it to Chilliwack to put on my are 2017 21C. About a month before I left for Chilliwack I took the unsigned copy of the import paperwork that Tammy sent me to our local DMV & they transferred the plate between trailers. Of course they hit me for the sales tax before they would do the transfer.

They keep track of your trailer plate even if don't register it. I have a utility trailer that I let the registration expire for 4 years. Went to the DMV to reregister it & they still had all the info & let me use the old plate.

[reetired]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

Not with a trailer. I held my old plate from my 2011 17 for 6 months before I took it to Chilliwack to put on my are 2017 21C. About a month before I left for Chilliwack I took the unsigned copy of the import paperwork that Tammy sent me to our local DMV & they transferred the plate between trailers. Of course they hit me for the sales tax before they would do the transfer.

They keep track of your trailer plate even if don't register it. I have a utility trailer that I let the registration expire for 4 years. Went to the DMV to reregister it & they still had all the info & let me use the old plate.

Hmmm…maybe because it was being transferred instead of sold? We had to return plates for the RV and cars. Then again….it may be our local insurance company in kahoots with DMV!

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by reetired

Hmmm…maybe because it was being transferred instead of sold? We had to return plates for the RV and cars. Then again….it may be our local insurance company in kahoots with DMV!

I'll bet it is because trailers are not required to be insured, while a car or RV in NY must have insurance. Again, I didn't have to turn in the plate on my utility trailer even though I dropped the registration for 4 years.

[Camper Scott]

We just recently purchased a 5.0 as a US resident from a Canadian resident. When reading through the forum we decided that a bank transfer was the best way to pay for it. The owner sent wire instructions from their bank (HSBC Canada). I took them to my bank (Chase US) and they agreed that if we did the transaction early in the day the money should be in the owners account that day as far as their process worked. They were missing the Swift codes needed by my bank to process the wire though. I called HSBC and they said i would need 2 Swift codes from them, one for HSBC and one for Citibank US which confused me. They said that a bank wire from Chase to HSBC would not be done the same day, but would take 4-5 business days to complete. First the money would travel from Chase to HSBC in Canada, then HSBC sends it to Citibank in the US who converts the US dollars to Canadian dollars, then Citibank US sends the money to HSBC in Canada who then would send the money to the owners account. HSBC corporate suggested that a cashiers check would be a much better way to conduct the transaction. The owner agreed. On the day of the transaction we went to the owners bank together to deposit the cashiers check and the bank politely told me "no offense" but advised the owner that I may be a crook and may have already cashed this check 2 or 3 times and there may be no money on it. They also told her it would take 15 days for the check to clear. I injected myself politely and explained that Chase told me that the process would require HSBC to call Chase and confirm at that moment that the cashiers check was valid and that the money was available. The two bank clerks informed us that they used to do that before computers but now they need to wait 15 days to see if the check clears. I suggested that you don't have to rely on the computer, you can still use a phone and contact the other bank personally to verify but they would not do that. Luckily for me the owner told them that they trusted me as we had been communicating for weeks and to just cash the check. While they were doing that I did pull up my account on my phone and made sure all of them could see the transaction on my account history that the funds were withdrawn and there was a fee for the cashiers check. In the end everything worked out fine, but it is amazing the disconnect between a corporate representative and a local branch on how transactions will occur and which is the best way. I was really surprised too that a bank would not contact another bank to verify fund availability. I should put together a recap of the paperwork that the owner and I completed to get the trailer back into the US because it was exactly what the border people needed as well as the Michigan Secretary of State so that I could get the trailer titled and registered in Michigan.

[A&B]

Originally Posted by Camper Scott

I should put together a recap of the paperwork that the owner and I completed to get the trailer back into the US because it was exactly what the border people needed

That would be helpful for anyone planning to do a similar transaction.

[yardsale]

What if a seller to insist the buyer open an account in the seller's bank and fund that account with the sales price. Wait X number of days until THAT transaction is finalized, then sell the trailer with a local check written on the sellers bank. I would think a transfer within two accounts in the same bank would be nearly instantaneous. I see two possible outcomes. If the seller gets a better (cash) deal before the buyers local account is established, then s/he gets the money back. If the seller doesn't get a better deal then the transaction proceeds. Thoughts?

[ritacasita]

Just tried that. Tried to open an account at New Hampshire bank in same bank as buyer. Bank called me and said they were not authorized to operate in North Carolina so could not open the account. Would likely not be a problem with large national bank.

[yardsale]

Thanks Rita.

[marant]

Our CA buyer had a Wells account, so we just went to our local (TX) Wells bank where he had them draft a cashier's check while we watched and exchanged it for the title. Deposited same day into our bank. No problems at all.

[MrLynn]

We took a bank check from Citizens Bank here in MA to KY. Turned out there was no Citizens branch in the area, but seller's bank was willing to call and verify the check (I had a copy of my account, too). Sometimes it's mainly a matter of how willing they are to oblige a regular customer.

My insurance agent also went the extra mile (on a weekend, no less!) to finagle using email copies of P&S agreement and title to get our NTU Escape registered in MA, and allow me to transfer the tag from the Casita we had sold the week before to the Escape.

It all worked, but the registration was a bit of a nail-biter. Many say you can drive a newly-purchased trailer home without tags, but I was much happier having a valid registration.

[Cyclones forever]

We are selling our trailer to out of state folks. I have requested that funds be wired to our account, but the buyer is hesitant to send the funds before they get the trailer and would prefer a check. I have been in banking my entire career so I have seen how transactions via checks can go. I understand thier hesitancy in sending money without getting the trailer on the same day. They don't want to trust us and I am nervous as well by letting the trailer go without getting paid as well. Our bank has provided wire instructions and I have sent to the buyer. What has been others experience in selling thier trailer?

[John in Santa Cruz]

last time we bought a big ticket item private party, we went with the other party to one of our banks nearby, and did the direct money transfer at the teller counter with them. it happened to be lucky we both used Chase, and there was a Chase branch near them in Texas where we'd gone to buy the Escape.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Cyclones forever

We are selling our trailer to out of state folks. I have requested that funds be wired to our account, but the buyer is hesitant to send the funds before they get the trailer and would prefer a check. I have been in banking my entire career so I have seen how transactions via checks can go. I understand thier hesitancy in sending money without getting the trailer on the same day. They don't want to trust us and I am nervous as well by letting the trailer go without getting paid as well. Our bank has provided wire instructions and I have sent to the buyer. What has been others experience in selling thier trailer?

You might consider giving them physical possession of the trailer after taking photos of their driver's license and them giving you a check. Then you withhold the title until after the check clears. Obviously, if there is anything suspicious about their driver's license not matching their story or their check the deal would be off.

[Cyclones forever]

Thanks for the information. Me and the buyer are meeting halfway between thier residence and ours and they bank with an institution that does not have a presence in my state. I know lack of trust by either party can be cumbersome.

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by Cyclones forever

Thanks for the information. Me and the buyer are meeting halfway between thier residence and ours and they bank with an institution that does not have a presence in my state. I know lack of trust by either party can be cumbersome.

When we bought our used Escape out-of-state we had our bank cut a 'bank (or cashier's) check' for the total amount (less a deposit we had paid). There are stories about bank checks being forged or faked, so we went to the seller's bank, and had a bank official call our bank and verify that the check was valid.

It was a little time-consuming, but it worked.

When we bought our used Casita out of state, we just carried cash with us. Made it simple, but it was only about a third of what we paid for the Escape.