hi,

I'm buying a car, but the seller does not have the title in hand. I'ts at the bank. I will pay it off.

Please advise on what to do. Should I pay the seller first?

thanks

 

You should give the money to the seller for the car. When you do this, the seller should then give you the title. If you are taking out a loan to purchase the car, the title would then go to your lender.

 

Call the bank that has the title, tell them you want to see it to confirm.

 

This is a situation that I would avoid but ...

sit face-to-face with the lien holder, write them a check. Get a bill of sale.

 

How did the purchase work out?

 

That would be the way to do it if the seller had the title, but obviously he doesnt. The original post states it's at the bank.

As far as I know it takes some time to get the title from the bank. I bought a truck from a friend, gave him the cash, and it took almost 2 weeks for me to get the title from his bank. I wasn't worried about it because he was a friend of mine. I would be nervous giving that much cash to a stranger and not getting anything in return for some time.

 

Use an escrow company. They hold the cash until the title is received.

Its the ONLY rational way to buy a car when a lender holds title.

 

get a power of attorney on the car

 

Escrow is the best. You can also meet the seller at his bank where they will sign over the title to you once you've paid (with cash or cashiers check) the seller. Or you can simply trust the guy to send you the title. At any rate, be sure to get a bill of sale that shows the details of the transaction.

 

I would go to the bank with the seller and transact your business on the spot. Too much fraud in the world. Escrow is fine, but there's a cost.

 

The escrow fee is nickles & dimes relative to the $20,000 +/- the car will cost. Do it right.

And if you have a lender it will want title.

 

Correction..if you have a lender they will REQUIRE the title.