purchasing from a private party

I bought a camper new in CA years ago only got a bill of sale from the dealer
New camper in Washington state I got a title, also had to sign a form saying I would be out of the state within somthing like 48 hours

I was advised by my bank when I sold a bass boat for over 20k that cashiers checks and cash can both be forged , so I finished the transfer at my bank, purchaser handed cash to bank teller money went into my account , I signed the title over to purchaser in front of teller , every one was happy. Harder to do with a TC , But I think buyers , sellers asked to do things they might be uncomfotable doing if doing somthing illegal would shy away
Sold a set of fastguns to a guy on craigs list 50 miles away , met him at a police station parking lot to tranfer cash , he and I felt better ,no one was bringing a gun to complete the sale
What a wonderfull time we live in now

He's confusing certificate of origin with title.

You turn in the certificate of origin to get a title, and you sign the title over to the next owner.

If there's no title, then there's nothing to sign over.

Of course having the certificate of origin is not conclusive proof that the camper's not stolen. Certificates of origin usually end up in one of two places:

1. In the camper.
2. Lost.

If the certificate was kept in the camper, then the camper thief would have the certificate of origin.

monkey44 wrote:
All TC's have a certificate of origin, same as a trailer, MC, whatever. It's shows the manufacturer and is signed over to the original buyer. That certificate is taken to the RMV if registration is required, otherwise, the buyer keeps it and signs it over to the second buyer.

Never saw were you can sign over a certificate of origin. When I purchased my TC the owner gave me a bill of sale, his purchase receipt and the original certificate of origin. The certificate of origin had no place to sign it over.

The cash stipulation doesn't worry me. So far its only that one owner, but I can just as easily get cash as a bank check. I was just curious whether other people were concerned about proof of ownership and if so, what did you do about it. If we don't end up buying from a dealer, we'll ask for some sort of proof of ownership.

As for there being plenty of campers to choose from in OR, Although I've just started looking, I don't see that many that would work for us. long bed truck, used. We're thinking Lance or Arctic Fox.
( it would also be easier for us to buy in CA since we'll be there for a month, and we figure thats where we'll move our stuff from 5th wheel to TC, and put our MS in storage)

thanks everyone!

Sue

Camp, Forrest, Camp! wrote:
Regarding the "cash" requirement, I won't take a check from someone, but I will take a cashier's check from a local bank. They are easy to verify.

Yes, they are. Even the fake ones get verified and cashed. Then the surprise comes days later when the check doesn't clear and you're on the hook for the bounced check charge and the amount of the check that you forwarded on to the buyer's "agent." Plus the camper if they actually came and took it.

Cashier's checks are easy to fake. It's a very common scam these days and people fall for it.

In my book cash is king
But I did rent a house once and when I
handed $5000.00 cash to the lady she wouldn't
take it, she said it was drug money so I had
to get a cashiers check :)

We sold both a pop-up and a TC, both as cash only. We had all paperwork, original bills of sale, registration, even our personal property tax receipts, to show buyers we were the original owners and that we owned them free and clear. When we bought our MH we paid with a cashiers check, but went to the sellers bank with them, bank contacted our bank etc to make sure the check was good. My S-in-L (the bank vice president) says cashiers checks are one of the easiest and most prevalent forgeries.

rooney77 wrote:
Is truck camper theft really that common? I'd consider the odds of it being stolen to be slim.

In my more than 10 years on the forum

One TC was stolen... to get the truck... they trashed the truck camper.

I think that someone is overthinking a problem.

The owner should have an original bill of sale... I do.

If I were selling I'd give you a copy of my paperwork with a note that said "copy".

And I'd give you a hand written reciept, signed and notorized... for you to show your lender and/or insurance agent.

sleepy

soos wrote:

skipro3 wrote:
You ask a good question, OP. Also, you could also check to see if this legal owner has also paid off the camper before selling it. Wouldn't want a bank sending a repo man over to pick up what you thought you paid for, only to find out the lien on it from the bank is still in effect.

Same with some other big ticket items; My tractor for example. No registration of any kind, but I'm sure if Wells Fargo, who holds the paper on my tractor, didn't get paid for a couple months, they wouldn't care who 'thinks' they own it, they would take it.

Exactly the type of thing I am thinking about. Could also be part of a divorce, who knows?
We'll probably be buying in CA, AZ or OR in the next few months. I don't think any of those states require registration.

Thanks for all the replies everyone!
Can't waiit to get it, but I guess I'll have to be a little more patient, We're still researching brands prices and options.

OR certainly does require registration. That may make you feel more comfortable and there are plenty of campers here to choose from.

skipro3 wrote:
You ask a good question, OP. Also, you could also check to see if this legal owner has also paid off the camper before selling it. Wouldn't want a bank sending a repo man over to pick up what you thought you paid for, only to find out the lien on it from the bank is still in effect.

Same with some other big ticket items; My tractor for example. No registration of any kind, but I'm sure if Wells Fargo, who holds the paper on my tractor, didn't get paid for a couple months, they wouldn't care who 'thinks' they own it, they would take it.

Exactly the type of thing I am thinking about. Could also be part of a divorce, who knows?
We'll probably be buying in CA, AZ or OR in the next few months. I don't think any of those states require registration.

Thanks for all the replies everyone!
Can't waiit to get it, but I guess I'll have to be a little more patient, We're still researching brands prices and options.