Well, this is a mess. I dont know where to start.

[Rxwoman]

Please, try not to laugh at my dumb ass predicament.
So if anyone remembers, I'm from Nebraska, with an elderly mom in Baja.
I've been looking for 2 years for a small, cheap trailer sailor to take fishing. I've looked at a Catalina 22, a Catalina capri 18, 2 Hunter 22s, a Hunter 23.5, and missed out on a MacGregor 19 which I decided suited my needs perfectly. Light, water balasted, small, and can go relatively fast with a motor. Perfect for fishing/sailing for 1 person.
But they're so few and far between plus usually out of my price range.

Mom and I ended up driving down to Baja in a used Sequoia, with the intention of pulling a little boat I was hoping to buy somewhere between Nebraska and the border.
Both prospects fell through.
So Im back in Baja...still no boat.

Well, started hunting San Diego to Phoenix FB marketplace and Craigslist.
This is where it gets screwy. So, my daughter is a travel nurse located in Western AZ right now. An ad for a 'MacGregor 19 (no mast, no outboard, no title, just boat and trailer) popped up in SoCal, for $250! I asked if her and her hubby would go check it out for me, as I thought it would go fast at that price.
She said to ask him, she didn't want to ride along.
Ugh..
Ok, I'll settle for Jeff going, he's going to have to do the towing anyway.
Sorry for going so long, but here's what he did.
He looked it over, put tires on it (another $300) paid the guy and left without ANY docs, not even a bill of sale.

He says "I asked the seller for paperwork, but he told me there's no title. I figured since you're just taking it to MX anyway.."
Good grief.
So I messaged the seller. "Hi, hey Jeff forgot to get a bill of sale, could you email that to me? Thanks."
Seller replies "The ad was very specific, NO TITLE.." and proceeded to block me!
So WTH do I do now? Is the damn thing stolen? I thought it was just a salvage boat, from an auction or something.
I don't know how best to handle this without making a bigger mess. I think I'm just screwed out of $550 and a boat I can't cross the border with.
Any suggestions?

 

[Will Gilmore]

The hardest part is you are not home. It should be possible to apply for a lost title and the bill of sale is just a hand written piece of paper with the seller's signature on it, and the selling price. Since the seller has cutoff contact with you, you can take your problem to your local registration office and they will have some system in place for declaring the trailer salvage or home built, or simply make a note in their system, take a few extra bucks for the additional administrative headache and likely make you wait a month for processing. Outside your home town/state, who knows.

It is almost certain that you are not the first buyer of a used trailer to have this problem, so it is likely your state will have a process, deeply onerous, in place to make it work. Give them a call.

-Will

 

[Rxwoman]

The hardest part is you are not home. It should be possible to apply for a lost title and the bill of sale is just a hand written piece of paper with the seller's signature on it, and the selling price. Since the seller has cutoff contact with you, you can take your problem to your local registration office and they will have some system in place for declaring the trailer salvage or home built, or simply make a note in their system, take a few extra bucks for the additional administrative headache and likely make you wait a month for processing. Outside your home town/state, who knows.

It is almost certain that you are not the first buyer of a used trailer to have this problem, so it is likely your state will have a process, deeply onerous, in place to make it work. Give them a call.

-Will

Oh wow, that easy? Ok, maybe I can have the son in law do that in AZ. Then I don't have to wait until I'm back in NE.

 

[dlochner]

Depending on the age of the boat and the state it was first registered in and year there may not be a title or a registration.

 

[Rxwoman]

Depending on the age of the boat and the state it was first registered in and year there may not be a title or a registration.

I believe MacGregor 19's were only made from 1992 to 1995, so it can't be that old.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Oh wow, that easy?

You missed the party where I said,

deeply onerous

Remember, you are dealing with state level bureaucracy.

-Will

 

[jackhart]

In A lot of states, North Carolina where I am for one, a title for a boat is not necessary.

 

[Rxwoman]

In A lot of states, North Carolina where I am for one, a title for a boat is not necessary.

That's true, and in AZ, where it's currently located with my daughter, the state says if it's not motorized, it doesn't need to be registered at all.
My problem will be when I try to cross the border into Mexico with it, I had intended to get a TIP, and I assume I'll need to prove I own it.

 

[JBP-PA]

Here in PA we have private businesses, "Messenger Services", that will assist in getting the right paperwork. They can be very helpful. If you can go through the bureaucracy in your own state, then you'll have the papers for the TIP.