First time doing this.

• TT is local (Central TX). I've seen it in person and am fine with it as is
• Seller owes money on it, lien holder is Bank of the West (not local)
• Seller provided me with routing/acct/address of bank to pay off the note (sales price slightly higher than note)
• Called Bank of the West to verify - could only verify routing and address, they refused to verify account
• Assuming I go through with wiring to the bank, I'll wire (or cashier's check) remainder to the local seller
• At the moment, we don't have a bill of sale completed, so I'll get that done before anything above.

Since BOTW won't verify account, I'm a little nervous just wiring funds. Is the process above how most folks do it when the lien-holding bank isn't local? Is there a better approach?

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3227022

mosdefn14 said:

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https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3227022

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Lots of good jokes on that thread

You can save yourself a lot of headache by telling the seller to get the title in hand first. But if not, read on and maybe ask for a discount....

First, you need a letter of guarantee from BOTW. You need to in touch with the credit service or payoff department. They might require a letter of authorization from their customer/the seller to give you this information.

The letter of guarantee will contain a payoff amount, a date that payoff is good through, an account/routing number for wire payoff (this is likely NOT the customer's loan account or deposit account) and importantly a written assurance that they will send YOU the title upon payoff. Also, I would want them to state who all is on the title.

Then, make sure the seller of the trailer is indeed the owner. Between you two, I would suggest:
1. Signed bIll of sale by both you and seller
2. Photocopy of their drivers license (to verify identity, but may be overkill if you trust the seller)
3. All applicable TxDMV title transfer forms completed and signed by both you and seller.
4. Possibly a Limited POA to execute transfer (just in case anything is messed up on the forms) signed by you and seller. May be overkill if you trust the seller and trust your ability to fill out forms properly.
-- not sure if this one applies to trailer but this is on the for motor vehicles

Once all this is in place, then you can execute the transaction. I would recommend a cashiers check to BOTW with a copy of their letter of guarantee included in the envelope and instructions on where to send the title. They might even have a dealer payoff form that they want you to include.

BOTW will then send you the title and you take all these forms to the DMV to get it transferred to you.

I'm retired from banking and my loan assistant took care of all this stuff so I might be a little rusty, so others might chime in. Hope this helps. You should also be able to call your local DMV and ask for their input since you'll be bringing them the forms. Maybe they'll tell you some horror stories of sales gone wrong.

Thank you!

The depreciation for TT is so high, more than likely the seller is upside down on the true value. If you are okay with the price he is asking then no harm no foul and go for it. But definitely follow the above as it would really suck to put out that much money and have it turn around and not be titled to you.