Gaining ownership of "abandoned" motorcycle ANY KNOWLEDGE WOULD BE APPRECIATED (rental, insurance)
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Hopefully someone on here will have some knowledge on this subject, a guy that I've known for a few years (he's the cousin of a really close friend of mine) had bought a motorcycle brand new back in 2003, well from the story I've been told, is that he had made the bank payments for about a year before "falling on hard times" and being unable to continue to make the payments. Apparently the bank decided to initiate the repo process, and after trying to contact my friends cousin numerous times (I'd suspect 100's of times!!) they eventually "gave up" on repossessing the bike, since I'm willing to bet, they never had the correct address where it was stored, or were unaware of him moving, or him "hiding" it somewhere for years. All this took place back in 2004 (bought the bike brand new in 03, and supposedly made Payments for about a year). Well the bike had been ridden on occasion by him every season from 04 till last summer (2016) by attaching tags from another bike and just taking quick rides around the back roads where he lives to keep the bike in "operating condition" instead of having it sit and "rot away".
My question is this, he's offered to sell me the bike EXTREMELY CHEAP, and made me aware of the situation of him hiding it from the bank 10+ years ago. I've talked to a few people and have been told that if I file an abandoned vehicle report, and goto the RMV telling them that the bike was left in one of the storage sheds, on one of the rental properties that I own numerous years ago, and that the "owner" of the bike , said he no longer wanted it, and for me to "keep it as payment" towards his charges he accrued while renting the storage space from me, that I should be able to just fill out the paperwork for a new title and then they will issue a new title and I'll be able to register it. Does anyone know, if I go to the RMV and try to title this bike, if the original loan company, or repo company, will all of a sudden start contacting me looking to gain custody of the motorcycle? Do you have any advice on how to go about registering this for myself w/out having the bike taken?? The "owner" of the bike, is willing to sell it to me dirt cheap, w/the stipulation that I ONLY PAY once I am able to get a title and register it, but I do not want to bring up any issues w/him and have the bike repo'd or have the bank start searching for him again to recoup their money. I'd imagine that the banks just don't write off a loss after so many years.... but if I file the correct paperwork stating that it was given to me in exchange for payment for storage for X amount of years at X amount of money every month and have the "total owed to me" be an amount greater than what the value of the bike is, would I be able to file for some sort of Leon on the bike and then gain ownership of it that way? Instead of the bank being able to take it from under me... any info that any of you could provide would be greatly Appreciated, also if it doesn't show my location, I'm in MASS. Thanks again for any help
You will need paperwork from the owner saying they gave you the bike or to keep it as payment for rent, etc. The state is not going to accept just your word. If you can't get them to sign anything, next contact your municipal police and find out the process for abandon vehicles. Although there is a state legal requirement on handling these, the responsible law enforcement entity can determine its not worth removing and declare it refuse. That will enable them to directly issue you a BoS for the abandon motorcycle (as is-where is) without going through the towing, storage, notice and sale process.
I doubt you can make this work. "Possession = 9/10 of the law" really isn't a law.
I would expect that during the abandonment process the bikes VIN number will be entered into the DMV, and the banks ownership will be shown.
Abandoned vehicles are abandoned because the owners can't be contacted. Even if they've decided to stop attempting to collect the debt, the bank still owns it, should be easy for the state to contact, and I doubt would voluntarily clear the title.
I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds like you're putting yourself at risk of trying to defrauding the bank, or theft or conspiracy or such. IE: in the eyes of the law, that bike belongs to the bank and you're trying to assume ownership without payment.
You could try contacting them to see if they'll accept pennies on the dollar to clear up the debt and give you a clean title. Offer cash. Banks like cash and it would get the debt off their books.
The whole story sounds like a con job to me, you may be paying for a bike that doesn't really exist.
The bank that holds the lien owns the bike. If they sold off the rights to a re-possessor years ago, Which they more than likely did, that person owns the bike. It can be traced back via VIN numbers, etc.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Run, don't walk, away far and fast.
An effort has to be made to locate the owner and have them let you know how they want to dispose of the vehicle. If they cannot be located, you may be able to claim the vehicle depending upon the laws of your state, but it may not be an easy or a quick process.
You cannot simply claim it as yours without making an attempt to contact the owner. If you dummy up some paperwork and fake a sale to you, you are risking grand theft and fraud charges, regardless of the vehicle's value. So following the legal procedures for claiming abandoned property is always best.
If the vehicle is found on public land, then authorities are going to want to determine if it was abandoned by a missing person, it was part of an insurance fraud or a vehicle theft. If it is found on private land (not yours) the owner would be wise to contact the authorities and get them involved as there may be questions involving its ownership and how and why it is where it is.
if this were truly abandoned, then you would need to file for a bonded title, send a registered letter to the listed previous owner asking them if they want the bike returned to them, etc. as for the bond, you need to put up one for the current value of the bike itself.
and since there is a lien on the old title, you will also need to contact the bank that holds the lien and see if it is still active, or if they have written off the debt. chances are the bank will either want the bike back, or enough money to satisfy the loan. they may be willing to deal at this point if you were to make a decent cash offer, they might take it and write off the rest, and send you the clear title.
The bike definitely exists, I rode it this weekend, thank you for the input, I have all the contact info for the "owner" of the bike as he's a close friends cousin, I'll get ahold of him today and see if he can pull up paperwork of the original bank note so I can try to contact the bank and see if they are willing to settle on some sort of cash payout, or see if (as one of you pointed out) the bank sold the note to a repo company and they are willing to settle. The bike is in near perfect shape, as it's only been ridden about 30-50 miles a year just enough to keep the moving parts moving w/out allowing it to sit "dormant". The "owner" is willing to sign/write up any paperwork that I need for me to be able to legally gain ownership, so thank you to all of you for the opinions on whom to contact to go about doing this the right way. I definitely am not trying to get something for nothing, and just wanted to gain a little more knowledge before I blindly started calling around trying to get answers and open a whole "can of worms" if there was a more direct route of going about things. Hopefully the bank/repo company will work something out w/me and will be able to get a title and registration for it. An "almost new" 2003 Kawasaki Ninja ZX6R 636 w/4,000 miles on it is a pretty nice bike, and would love to be able to legally acquire it
What you have described is called "Receiving Stolen Goods." Depending on the value and the state in which you reside it is probably a felony.
THIS! The bike isn't his to sell, so if you buy it, you are receiving stolen goods, and most likely you will end up in jail, and so will he, hopefully.
Don't touch this situation. You could get accessory charges....Not worth it. If you want a bike, go legitimately buy one.
Legitimately trying to buy it will take some research. But don't take possession until you are positive you got this cleared with the rightful creditors who hold the note on the bike.
The easiest way to find out what company owns the loan on this bike is go with the guy to a bankruptcy attorney and have him do a credit report for the bike "owner"
Then contact the company listed re: the bike loan....offer a pay out....see if they bite.
Last edited by JanND; 04-04-2017 at 06:52 AM..
Reason: added text
Thanks again for the heads up, talked w/the "owner" a little while ago, he's trying to find the paperwork for the original bank loan so I/we can contact them and find out what the situation is w/paying it off to them or the repo company. I was told that I could also contact the RMV with the VIN # and they might be able to pull up who the original title was written to?? Any ideas on that?? I'm not paying him for the bike until all this is legally taken care of (IF IT IS EVER LEGALLY TAKEN CARE OF!!). So there's not an issue w/receiving stolen property or anything along those lines
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