Clear Title

[Mindi]

When you buy a second hand boat how do you establish clear title..? in Vic you cal a number and they will confirm the name and address of the registered owner over the phone...does that happen in QLD..?..

[thylacene]

I recently bought a boat in Brisbane, you can contact the REVS equivalent by phone and get a certificate. The details are on the web site here http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/search-revs.htm There are also agents that you can use for a premium if you have a QLD drivers licence, but my experience is that the Dept of Fair Trading was easier being from out of state.

They recommend obtaining the certificate no more than one working day before you pay for the boat, as the certificate is only good for 24 hours (yes there is a legal bvasis for this)

Hope this helps

Thy

[White Pointer]

G'day,

On the day that you are settling, with your bank cheque in your pocket, you go the counter on the ground floor of the Magistrates Court in George Street in Brisbane and ask for the Fair Trading people.

You are directed to them and they give you forms. You fill out the forms - one for the boat and motor and another for the trailer. Be very accurate and make sure you have checked the numbers against the actual BMT. You submit them and pay the fees - and you wait.

Around 45 minutes to 90 minutes later (all being well) you are given certificates saying title is clear or title is encumbered. Read them carefully.

After that, pay the seller and collect your BMT or run like hell.

Don't know how you do this outside Brisbane. It was enough for me inside it!

Regards,

White Pointer

[tenzing]

Its a couple of years, but I seem to recall that it can all be done from home on the computer or by phone. You can do all the prelims a little while ahead of time to know if you're barking up the wrong tree. I had occasion to find the last boat was encumbered and the seller was unaware of this as he had paid out the finance( the finance company supported this) but the encumberance had not been removed . this just took a few calls from the vendor and we were away. my advice would be to do this before the day so you can get it all sorted, then get your certificate on the day of purchase, then you are covered.
Remember to check other states too. My boat was registered in queensland but encumbered in NSW. A trap for young players!
The REVS check only covers you for THAT state.
Good Luck
Brendan

[Bowser]

Yes teh important thing is to get that certificate and retain it, physically check th enumbers on it. Don't rely on a registration certificate or someone else's word, see the numbers yourself before you hand over any money. If location makes this difficult you can get the certificate based on these things but before you hand over the dollars check them for your own satisfaction.

An example to show how important that piece of paper is I was in a position within a motor dealership where I recieved a phone call from a finance company regarding a vehicle we had traded. They wanted the payout. My first reaction was a distinct tightening of the sphincter, had I made a mistake and failed to do the check or just not paid out the car? I checked my records and I had the certificate showing clear title which I double checked aginst the vehicle parked in the yard. All numbers were correct, evidently the finance company had made a mistake in registering their encumburance and the customer had failed to disclose this to us. So the finance company had to whistle dixie and chase the customer for the debt not me, thank goodness.

[Mindi]

Thanks very much for all these replies...great

[Mrs Ronnie H]

Hi Mindi
If you want to check through REVS you can go online and do it. I used it to check out the 4b before we bought it. Cost was about 12 dollars from memory and it is supplied almost instantly.

Ronnie

[White Pointer]

Its a couple of years, but I seem to recall that it can all be done from home on the computer or by phone. You can do all the prelims a little while ahead of time to know if you're barking up the wrong tree. I had occasion to find the last boat was encumbered and the seller was unaware of this as he had paid out the finance( the finance company supported this) but the encumberance had not been removed . this just took a few calls from the vendor and we were away. my advice would be to do this before the day so you can get it all sorted, then get your certificate on the day of purchase, then you are covered.
Remember to check other states too. My boat was registered in queensland but encumbered in NSW. A trap for young players!
The REVS check only covers you for THAT state.
Good Luck
Brendan

G'day,

I've just made a BMT purchase and was surprised to find that it could not be done on-line in QLD - cars yes - trailers yes - but not the boat and motor. Pretty hopeless, really.

But while I'm on the subject of bagging Government, wouldn't it be a really good idea if all transactions and searches where the Government takes money off you for pushing paper, cars, boats, motors and trailers could be at Queensland Transport? Such a clever Smart State idea!

Regards,

White Pointer

[Mindi]

I recently bought a boat in Brisbane, you can contact the REVS equivalent by phone and get a certificate. The details are on the web site here http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/search-revs.htm There are also agents that you can use for a premium if you have a QLD drivers licence, but my experience is that the Dept of Fair Trading was easier being from out of state.

They recommend obtaining the certificate no more than one working day before you pay for the boat, as the certificate is only good for 24 hours (yes there is a legal bvasis for this)

Hope this helps

Thy


Thy...great link recommend others look at it can be done over the phone for $12 thanks a lot for the direction.

[BM]

Mindi,

No joy in Vic mate.

You can do a VSR (Vehicles Security Register) check on the trailer since its a vehicle but you cannot check the hull. The VSR only covers vehicles. This is your 'encumbered vehicle' service.

Vicroads acts as the "authorised agent" of Marine Victoria and as such they act only in the capacity of a fee collector.

You can however CONFIRM the registered ownership details of a vehicle or vessel in Victoria but this won't give you clear title. Just whose name appears on the rego papers.

Rebirthing boats in Vic is easily done. Very scarey......