Made a major Error. Bought a trailer with no Title

[Lesterw]

We recently bought a 1976 Airstream Sovereign as a project. We want to remodel/restore it so we can use it in 2 to 3 years as our retirement trailer.

We seem to have made a major mistake when we purchased the trailer. We purchased it from a gentleman in Ohio (a real estate broker) who had purchased it from a friend of his, a construction company owner. The construction company owner accepted the trailer from a family as partial payment for a job he did. The Real Estate broker bought it from him as a project that he was going to transform into a unique Air B & B. Neither one of them has a title for the trailer (the Real Estate Agent we bought it from didn't need one for what he was going to use it for).

Anyway, now we can't seem to find a way to get a title for it. We have the bill of sale, but PA won't consider issuing a title without a prior title in hand. The last time it was registered was in 2009 in Ohio (we have the license plate), but Ohio purges their records after 365 days with no activity.

I was hoping that someone on the forum has had a similar experience and what they did to get the trailer titled and licensed for the road. Even in Wyoming now, where I own 10 acres of land, the require a title and wont register or title a trailer without a prior title.

I had no idea that this would be this challenging. About 15 years ago I bought a used car without a title and simply filled out a lost title form and turned it in to the DMV and along with my payment and they issued a new, replacement title. Now it seems impossible to get one. Is there any way to save our retirement dream of refurbishing this trailer and using it to travel across the county?

[LNBright]

You might have to have the original family member that owned it when it was last titled to submit paperwork to have a replacement title generated. You'd have to pay for the costs and their time perhaps, but it might be the best course of action.

[ITSNO60]

Look into abandoned title laws in the state where you purchased it and the state you're in. I was able to procure an abandoned title for a car that one of my tenants left behind for a very minimal fee. The biggest thing was the wait time, I had to wait 6 months as they send a letter to any known past owners and allow 6 months for them to respond. If nobody responds they issue you the title in your name. This was in Arizona.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by ITSNO60

Look into abandoned title laws in the state where you purchased it and the state you're in. I was able to procure an abandoned title for a car that one of my tenants left behind for a very minimal fee. The biggest thing was the wait time, I had to wait 6 months as they send a letter to any known past owners and allow 6 months for them to respond. If nobody responds they issue you the title in your name. This was in Arizona.

This is what I clicked through to say. In Texas the process is called a "bonded title." It doesn't require the long waiting period but you must put up a bond in the event that someone else does claim to hold title, but if you (Lesterw) have reason to believe what you've been told about the game of "title telephone" with this trailer's title it sounds like minimal risk.

[mrdes8]

Hello, I have done 2 of these kind of deals here in Colorado, different states will probably be different. Colorado's process includes trailer weight if not on paperwork, physical inspection by State Patrol at their location including safety inspection ( lights, trailer brakes etc.) this will usually include a VIN verification.
A bond will be posted to receive a "bonded title". This is not expensive and can be done online with minimal hassle. May need to send letters or post a notice in the newspaper (if that even happens any more but laws rarely keep up with current times). Colorados' info is all easily accessible on-line, there is even a form that lists all the steps and other pertinent forms. Perhaps the biggest keys are knowing that it can work and patience.
Good luck, Mark D