What is a Lien Sale???

[mello mike]

I'm looking at buying an Airstream in California that has no title but a title is available by submitting paperwork for a lien sale. What is a lien sale? Is it a pain? The seller said it takes 4-6 weeks to get a title. Any thoughts and opinions on this type of sale?

Thanks.

[enduroryda]

My thoughts are the owner must owe someone money and until it's paid off they will not release the title be it dealer or someone putting a lien on his property.

[overlander63]

It's like a mechanic's lien. Someone was owed money for goods or services, didn't get it, and filed a lien. There's a stack of paperwork needed, but as long as all T's are dotted and I's are crossed (err, umm, you know what I meant...) you can convert the paperwork to a title.

[Mikethefixit]

I concur. The owner owes someone some money for whatever reason. He as not paid. The owed person goes to the court house (at least in most cases) and files a lien upon and item the guy owns free and clear. He then assumes possession of the title to whatever and until that lien is satisfied.
You maybe able to go to the county and find out who owns the paper and buy it from them,thus satisfying the lien. This should be a matter of public record.

[Aage]

Hmmm.. I thought it was where they sold aliens!

[BeBop]

My experiences with the California DMV have always been positive.

The following link describes the procedures for a lien sale:

California DMV HTVR7

Sounds as if the trailer was stored with no payment for a while. I think if any individuals/entities were owed money for services it would be a sold under a Mechanic's Lien.

I am not an attorney, nor do I wish to be one.

Give the Cal DMV a call (Sacramento). They can be very helpful.

[63air]

If you are really serious about buying it ,have a lawyer check out the deal. My rule is no title no cash.

[str8strm]

Lien sales are a common practice. Six or seven years ago, I bought a car from a mechanic who was going through the lien sale process. I gave him a small cash deposit and he completed the paperwork through CA DMV.
When he produced the paperwork, I gave him the rest of the money. I'm now the proud owner of a 1955 Chevy Nomad, at a great price.

[NevadaGeo]

I bought a truck from a guy few miles down the road in early Februrary. He happens to be across the CA state line, with CA plates on it. The fellow had a few payments left on his loan at a credit union in CA. It took 6 weeks for the title to get to him from the CA credit union after he paid off the loan. So like wise, without the title, I couldn't register, took 6 weeks for me to register same truck here in Nevada. Drove it to work for the first time today.
I learned, gotta get the title when you buy something.
Hey Ron, you wanta be part of a small theme camp I'm thinking about running through the BM placement people?

[richinny]

i'm curious. does the lien seller have possession of the trailer?

[mello mike]

Yes he does and its on his property. He said he has no title and in order to get one we would need to do a lien sale. Doesn't sound right to me. Isn't there another process you go through to obtain a lost or missing title?

[str8strm]

Originally Posted by mello mike

Yes he does and its on his property. He said he has no title and in order to get one we would need to do a lien sale. Doesn't sound right to me. Isn't there another process you go through to obtain a lost or missing title?

Mike,
That is the exact same situation my car was in. It is the way it is done.
You can always check with the DMV or Auto Club for more info.
Parry, PM me with your idea.
Ron

[47WeeWind]

Originally Posted by mello mike

Yes he does and its on his property. He said he has no title and in order to get one we would need to do a lien sale. Doesn't sound right to me. Isn't there another process you go through to obtain a lost or missing title?

Mello Mike:

In nearly all states, only the registered owner of a vehicle can apply for a "lost" or "missing" title because the registered owner himself is the only person who could have lost or misplaced his original certificate of title. No person other than the registered owner can apply for a "lost" or "missing" titles because no original certificate of title was ever issued to anyone else in the first place. Therefore, is no way any third party could have "lost" or "misplaced" a title they never possessed.

Were it otherwise, I'd apply for "lost" or "missing" titles for all of your vehicles because, gee, I presently don't have them and must have lost or misplace them. I wonder where I could have "lost" or "misplaced" them? In your safe deposit box perhaps?

[TropicGuy]

We just went through a "Lein Sale" on an Airstream. Trouble with the lein sale that we went through was the seller did not disclose that it was a lein sale until after we had sent the money. (Ebay purchase) We had to threaten legal action and almost had to resort to having the seller arrested to get our title! On the plus side we did get our title, after a couple months of white knuckle terror, and we did get the deal of the century. My advice would be to not do any type of major transaction that has weirdness to it, unless you know someone that has experience with such a transaction that is willing to check it out for you. You might THINK you have all your i's dotted and t's crossed, but trust me if you dont know what youre doing you can get taken. Having recently been in a title jam, I can tell you that it might not be worth the pain if you have issues. Assuming you do a better job of vetting than we did you might find that you can walk away with a great deal. In my opinion with a lein sale you should also be getting a steal of a deal. There are other trailers to be had at a good price that have clean paper. You are not only buying a trailer, but helping to clean up someone elses mess and that in itself is worth something. Also, bear in mind that someone doing a sale like this is financially strapped, and possibly desperate for cash, and may be so desperate that they take your down payment and spend it instead of paying off the lein and getting you your title.

[SARGE/AF]

In a lien sale it is where the owner has a loan of some sort or has used the item for collateral, this is also known as a repo sale. The person has failed to pay and the property used for collateral has been taken for payment. The lien holder then sells the item for what ever money they can get, once sold the lien holder has to go back to court and get the difference between what the item sold for and the amount owed them.
In a repo/lien sale a title is not required, the lien holder must and would have court documentation showing that he has taken the property to settle the debt, then the lien holder with that court order and a notorized bill of sale to the buyer can obtain a new title for you as the purchaser.
I have done many of these in the past. Now you see these all go to auction now where it is all handled through the auction company.
Contact your local DMV and they will tell you what paperwork needs to be done and how.

Sarge