New fishing boat help!!!

[RICHYD4U]

Guys-
I need your help. I am about to purchase my first real fishing boat. The owner/boat is from Memphis, TN. The owner just made me aware that he does not have the title for the boat and never applied for one since TN doesn't require a boat title for registration. I am under the understanding that KY does require a title for registration. Right? What do I do in this situation? Out of state boat with no title? Is it possible to apply for a duplicate title? Just need help..........not sure what to do. Thanks!

-Rich

[fishincreek]

Check with your county clerk. I believe what you will need is called a "point of origin". I suspect the owner in Tn has that. Fill us in on your new "ride".

[LJP]

Make sure everything is sorted out before any money changes hands

[Panfish Man]

Make sure everything is sorted out before any money changes hands

Great advice, I was going to say the same thing.

[cinfan99]

All of the above advice is great and to give you some piece of mind I recently purchased a boat from GA which is also a no-title state and had no problem. We called the county clerk first and they told us exactly what we needed. So definitely make that call first. Good luck!

[RICHYD4U]

Excellent point. I will make sure everything is kosher before the money gets exchanged. My father-in-law said that TN doesn't produce titles at all for watercraft. They only use the registrations. There has to be a way then to buy a boat from TN, right? And register it in Kentucky? The guy just told me that the boat isn't in his name, it is still in the guy's name who he bought the boat from. He said that when he bought the boat, it was registered till this July, so he never had to register it in his name. He says he has all the paperwork to prove it. CONFUSING!!! If it wasn't such a nice boat for the money, I wouldn't bother with it.

-Rich

[kydonky]

[QUOTE=RICHYD4U;388116]Guys-
I need your help. I am about to purchase my first real fishing boat. The owner/boat is from Memphis, TN. The owner just made me aware that he does not have the title for the boat and never applied for one since TN doesn't require a boat title for registration. I am under the understanding that KY does require a title for registration. Right? What do I do in this situation? Out of state boat with no title? Is it possible to apply for a duplicate title? Just need help..........not sure what to do. Thanks!

In Sept. I bought a 89 crestliner phantom sport fish with a 2004 75 hp merc 4 stroke out of benton harbor mich. The boat had a certificate of origin that looks very similar to the older Ky boat titles. It had a form on the back to transfer ownership, similar to a title. The Certificate was signed over to me and noterized. Presented this and my bill of sale to my county clerk and they had no problem issuing a kentucky title.

[bassin_bug]

Excellent point. I will make sure everything is kosher before the money gets exchanged. My father-in-law said that TN doesn't produce titles at all for watercraft. They only use the registrations. There has to be a way then to buy a boat from TN, right? And register it in Kentucky? The guy just told me that the boat isn't in his name, it is still in the guy's name who he bought the boat from. He said that when he bought the boat, it was registered till this July, so he never had to register it in his name. He says he has all the paperwork to prove it. CONFUSING!!! If it wasn't such a nice boat for the money, I wouldn't bother with it.

-Rich

This just seems strange to me. There are a lot of unanswered questions. If you are really interested in buying the boat, contact the man whose name is on the registration and ask him a ton of questions. You may or may not have been getting honest answers (only the seller knows for sure). You can also call the KY Wildlife Resources Agency, or whatever it is called, and give them the TN registration number. They can give you information on registering the boat. If the boat isn't stolen, registration should be fairly simple. You may be required to pay sales tax in KY. Unless the laws are unusually lax in KY, the boat cannot be used on public waters without a current registration. We have been stopped by TWRA Officers just to see if the boat registration was current and we had to show our personal ID (drivers license) and the TWRA Certificate of Boat Number. He checked to see if the name and address matched on both. A message on the back of the boat ID numbers card says, "Should the ownership or address change, the owner must mail a "Change of Status Card" and the ORIGINAL certificate within 15 days." Additional information can be read in the Boating Safety Brochure.

We purchased our boat new and were given a "Bill of Sale" and a "State of Tennessee Application for Boat Certificate of Number." The application was sent to TWRA Boat Registration, PO Box 41729, Nashville, TN 37204-1729. A phone number is on the form, it is 1-615-781-6522.

The guy will have to register the boat in his name before he can transfer title to you, otherwise, it is still owned by the person in whose name it is registered.

[RICHYD4U]

All of the above advice is great and to give you some piece of mind I recently purchased a boat from GA which is also a no-title state and had no problem. We called the county clerk first and they told us exactly what we needed. So definitely make that call first. Good luck!

Thanks for the reassurance. I definetly plan on calling the county clerk in the am as soon as I get off of work. Thanks.

-Rich

[RICHYD4U]

Thanks for all the help guys, really appreciate it. I am such a novice at this and it is a little overwhelming.

Sounds like my best bet is to tell the owner to register the boat into his name before going any further with the deal. If he is able to register it into his name from the guy who he bought it from, then it should be legit, right? I should then be able to take the registration with his name on it, and anything else the county clerk wants and apply for a KY title? I'll call them in the am, thanks!

-Rich

[JUSTINHALL]

As long as you have the registration from the person you are buying it from and a receipt from that person including name, address, make, model year and serial number it is all legit and KY will issue you a title.
If the registration was never signed over KY wont accept it, because the purchase receipt does not match the registration. On the registration there is a place for the original seller to sign off to whom you are buying it from. As long as he signs the registration card KY will most likely accept it but they don’t have to. Legally it should not be accepted because he is avoiding paying tax on it and other Tax offices don’t like that even if its from another state. They get accepted this way all the time but technically your clerk officer can refuse to title it for you.

[mkmsports41]

I was going to purchase a vehicle in TN last fall. It was an old Nova for a restore project. The person never transfered the title to his name. He still had the title from the previous owener, with that owners signature on the back. I called the clerks office and they told me if the person never transfered the title in his name he is breaking the law. It is considered "Title Jumping."