Selling Trailer with Expired Tag
I am selling my fifth wheel (located in Maryland) to a buyer who lives in California. My tag has expired and I am trying to find a way to avoid renewing a 2-year registration, but I want the buyer not...
Forum Discussion
monkey44 wrote:
Haven't read all the posts - but registration tag has nothing to do with ownership of a trailer. The owner title is what matters, and the registration can be in any entity (individual, company, whatever), whether it's the owner or not.
When you sign title to any other entity, cancel your registration or you can be on the hook ... it's the buyer responsibility to title and register after a sale - and I mean, one minute after the sale. I'd go to the DMV with the buyer and arrange the paperwork - temporary or whatever the state laws demands.
And again, not necessarily!
When I sell or otherwise transfer the title to a vehicle titled in Montana, I keep a copy of the Bill Of Sale. There is no provision for notification to the DMV that I SOLD IT. If something happens before the new owner transfers the title, the BOS is my proof that I no longer have an liability for the vehicle.
Yes, I certainly HAVE had that happen! The buyer wanted me to leave my plates on the vehicle, and nice dummy that I am, I did it. A couple weeks later, the buyer drove off without paying for gas. The clerk got the license number, and a Deputy Sheriff came to my door wanting to know why I didn't pay for my fill up.
BUT, not only could I prove that I wasn't in town that day, BUT I had my copy of the Bill Of Sale, with the buyers name and address on it, AND the date of sale. The Deputy made a copy of the
BOS, reminded me of how stupid it was to leave my plates on the vehicle, and left. No problem for me.
Again, title and registration procedures are VERY state specific. What I can and/or must do has absolutely no bearing on what somebody is, say, Washington State can and/or must do!
