Bill of Sale Question?

[surflife]

Hello, I have created a website for a customer and in return, He is giving me a sailboat that was donated to his company. The boat is a 1979, 26 Colimbia sail boat, my customer and the sailboat are in Brigeport Conn. I am going to see him on Friday and I asked for the title over the phone, He said there is none, but he will give me a bill of sale. Can I use the Bill of sale to reg. the boat in NY?

Originally Posted by surflife

Hello, I have created a website for a customer and in return, He is giving me a sailboat that was donated to his company. The boat is a 1979, 26 Colimbia sail boat, my customer and the sailboat are in Brigeport Conn. I am going to see him on Friday and I asked for the title over the phone, He said there is none, but he will give me a bill of sale. Can I use the Bill of sale to reg. the boat in NY?

Not every state issues titles for boats, so a bill of sale should work. For example, my boat is federally documented, and California issues no title for such boats. If I moved and wanted to register it in another state, there would be no title to transfer.

NY state should be used to this situation.

Bill

[hellosailor]

Surflife-
The NYS DMV has toll-free phone lines and a good web site, I'd suggest checking both and see if the answers you get agree with each other. Local NYS DMV offices are sometimes unfamiliar with boats and create problems, so make sure that you know what the rules are, and have the right paperwork, especially if you use a location that doesn't handle a lot of boat traffic (i.e. NYC locations).

NYS treats the vessel differently, depending on whether it is a motor vehicle (has a permanent engine) or not. IIRC, a motor vehicle MUST be titled in NYS.

[ssullivan]

...and...

Remember NYS will be after their taxes on the vessel. Take that into account

[hellosailor]

Good point, if the "Bill of Sale" doesn't show a dollar price, taxmen (pretty much all of them) will assess the tax based on the book value of the boat. Which could be nearly nothing for that size and year. If the bill says something like "one dollar plus other consideration" you might get the dollar accepted with less argument. Something to ask the DMV about, since "barter income" still has value to tax men.

[theonecalledtom]

You probably want to get the history checked too - I was talking to a friend who's pop got some nasty backdated taxes slapped on him that he inherited with a boat. There are agencies that do this for you, much like buying a car.

Happy sailing!

[Chief Engineer]

RUN DO NOT WALK AWAY

This happened to me twice...once on a truck...once on a boat

the guys didn't even have legal ownership.....It took a lot of MY time to sort it out

Originally Posted by surflife

Hello, I have created a website for a customer and in return, He is giving me a sailboat that was donated to his company. The boat is a 1979, 26 Colimbia sail boat, my customer and the sailboat are in Brigeport Conn. I am going to see him on Friday and I asked for the title over the phone, He said there is none, but he will give me a bill of sale. Can I use the Bill of sale to reg. the boat in NY?

[surflife]

It turns out the guy found the reggy for the sailboat, he has a lot of info about the boat to, my next challenge is to get the boat from conn. to south shore long island. Thank you for your response