Selling a vehicle

daveh

Hello,

We have a tenant who is default on a unit and is coming up for sale. We cut the lock and lo and behold there's a mid 70s Fiat inside. Does anyone have any experience selling vehicles inside units? What steps would be need to take to do it properly?

ESS

Depends on your state. You would need to look up the lien laws for NY, when it comes to vehicles. 

teamcapitola

There are likely specific rules for auctioning vehicles depending on which state your in.

We don't do vehicle storage, but in California its outlined in Business and professions code 21702.5 (and Section 3071 of the Civil Code). 

For sure you will need to run a check on the title to see if any liens are attached already. Usually whoever you use for auctions can perform the services for additional fees prior to the auction.

GSI03

My company does not want to deal with the hassle, so we just have vehicles towed away and they can deal with any issues.  We just take the loss on rent.  In SC that is way easier.  

ShedStuff

In Ohio; there are specific steps you need to do when a vehicle/boat/rv are in a auction! It is very time consuming and a daunting task!

GoGreen

In Colorado, we have a contract with a towing company and we call them when a vehicle gets to the point of auction. We lose the money, but then the tow company will take over all the responsibility - contacting the owner, checking for liens, liability, etc. Once they take it, it's off our plates. Way better than it used to be, when it was such a hassle that the vehicles would just sit and accumulate debt forever. 
Definitely look up your local laws of course, but that's our experience.

daveh

We've found a path through the DMV and lien laws. Thanks everyone!

LockTiteBT

GSI03 said:

My company does not want to deal with the hassle, so we just have vehicles towed away and they can deal with any issues.  We just take the loss on rent.  In SC that is way easier.  

@GSI03 do y'all have vehicles inside units towed as well? Also, in SC and this is the first time we have this issue. Thinking of towing it instead of auctioning it. 

MamaDuke7

LockTiteBT said:

GSI03 said:

My company does not want to deal with the hassle, so we just have vehicles towed away and they can deal with any issues.  We just take the loss on rent.  In SC that is way easier.  

@GSI03 do y'all have vehicles inside units towed as well? Also, in SC and this is the first time we have this issue. Thinking of towing it instead of auctioning it. 

I'm in CA, but that's what I do.  If there are items besides the vehicle, we do the auction first and make it clear the vehicle isn't included.  Then when the unit is cleared out, we have the vehicle towed.

helenatim

In MT, we have to have it towed. Not allowed to auction any titled vehicles. So i really try not to allow any vehicle/boat/motorcycle storage. And definitely not if it doesn't run!

GlenMark

teamcapitola said:

There are likely specific rules for auctioning vehicles depending on which state your in.

We don't do vehicle storage, but in California its outlined in Business and professions code 21702.5 (and Section 3071 of the Civil Code). 

For sure you will need to run a check on the title to see if any liens are attached already. Usually whoever you use for auctions can perform the services for additional fees prior to the auction.

We have lien'd a couple of vehicles before and have gone through https://www.i-lien.com/ for it. In California, btw. They make it pretty seamless.

LockTiteBT

@MamaDuke7 and @GSI03 when y'all have them towed do you have to pay the towing price up front then take them to civil claims court for the cost of the towing?

MamaDuke7

LockTiteBT said:

@MamaDuke7 and @GSI03 when y'all have them towed do you have to pay the towing price up front then take them to civil claims court for the cost of the towing?

The last towing company I partnered with (I don't have vehicle storage now) was happy to just tow away at no charge because he got the money when he sold the vehicles.

igotthisnow

In Louisiana I handle it the way MamaDuke7 does.  Have it towed and move on...