Buying out of State and Finance Question

[cadyshac]

So how does it work if you are buying out of state from an individual and financing the vehicle? I guess every lender is different? My bank is telling me they will provide me with a certified letter to show the seller saying I am approved for the loan but they won't release the funds to the seller until I bring them the title, signed over by the seller and notarized.
Not sure I would do this if I were the seller. Anyone have a different experience or any advice?

[Snoman]

Originally Posted by cadyshac

So how does it work if you are buying out of state from an individual and financing the vehicle? I guess every lender is different? My bank is telling me they will provide me with a certified letter to show the seller saying I am approved for the loan but they won't release the funds to the seller until I bring them the title, signed over by the seller and notarized.
Not sure I would do this if I were the seller. Anyone have a different experience or any advice?

Play devils advocate a minute. Your bank is on drugs if they think a seller is stupid enough to sign over a clear title without payment. Financing simply isn't a sellers problem, they want cash and should expect nothing less. Actually, maybe credit card or PayPal but that's a different conversation completely.

I recommend meeting at a branch of the sellers bank to transfer funds and signed title. You will have to pay cash, probably via bank wire which takes 15 minutes to clear here in the states.

This takes care of payment, but the physical source of cash will be your problem. Most out of state buyers "borrow" from themselves and pay cash, then refinance with their bank once the title and registration have been moved in state.

- Obtain a signature loan
- Transfer $xx,000 to your checking account
- Drive/fly out of state
- meet at bank
- sign purchase / sell agreement
- wire cash to seller
- seller confirms payment
- seller signs clear title
- seller gives you keys and vehicle
- you drive home

For what its worth, banks are the absolute worst place to borrow money from for any reason. Shop local credit unions and find one that treats their customers with respect and one that will provide you a signature loan that they are willing to convert to an auto loan once you return in state.

[lafountain]

It does depend on the bank, I just went through this process with USAA. All I had to do was get a bunch of information from the seller and clear pictures (or scans) of the front and back of the title to upload to USAA. After they got the info and photos, USAA then sent me a check in the sellers name. Which depending on the seller could cause other issues if they want to wait for the check to clear before signing title over to you, but that will depend on the seller.

Edit: Just realized this thread was 3 months old. Oops.

[ARCTIC]

If the car currently has a lien on it to another financial institution, Your bank should request a payoff from the sellers financial institution and do a joint payable cashiers check to the bank and the car owner. You take that with you and get the car and have them sign a purchase agreement and you're Good-To-Go!!! Trust me, I'm a professional


Edit: Got me on the old thread too