Lien On Me...

"vdubyajohn" (vdubyajohn)
06/22/2018 at 12:57 • Filed to: None

Opinions please.
I bought a pickup truck at a Sheriff’s auction. T he Sheriff’s Notice of Sale reads, in part:

By virtue of a certain Writ of Execution, issued out of xxxx County Supreme, and to me directed and delivered, I have levied upon and taken all the right, title, and interest of Name , in and to the following property, to wit:

Then it lists the vehicle in question and the VIN# .

Now, does the fact that it says the Sheriff has taken all the right, title, and interest of Name , mean that I don’t have to pay attention to the lien on it?

I never signed anything saying I would pay for it. I’ll part it out if I can’t register it without losing sleep worrying about the repo man.

Thanks.

DISCUSSION (22)

RPM esq. > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 13:17

Was this an asset forfeiture or do you live in a place where private lienholders can get the Sheriff to enforce their liens (i.e., effectively use the Sheriff as a repo man)? If it’s the latter, the sheriff is acting on behalf of the lienholder and presumably the proceeds of the sale went to satisfy the lien. If it’s the former, then it’s hard to tell without the “Name.” Is “Name” the prior owner, or the lienholder? If the Sheriff has taken the prior owner’s interest but not the lienholder’s (as seems most likely), the lienholder still has an interest.

atfsgeoff > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 13:18

Present the writ to your DMV and get a title issued in your name.

WilliamsSW > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 13:21

Not a lawyer but it sounds to me like the sheriff had clear ownership and you ought to be able to title it with that info.

Not likely that the sheriff could sell a vehicle with an undisclosed and enforceable lien.

vdubyajohn > RPM esq.
06/22/2018 at 13:44

Thank you.
The truck was seized to pay a judgement owed me by the owner . Everything I paid out, minus the fees, will come back to me.
There was only one other bidder at the publicly announced auction, but the lien made him drop out early.
Wells Fargo is the lienholder.
My insurance company will insure it, and the DMV will let me register it. But, that puts my name and address out there for the bank to discover and pounce.
I presume that the Sherrif’s office notified the bank, but I haven’t heard from t hem.
The truck is in the possession of a local LEO for now, until I figure out what to do with it. I’m not a truck person, per se, and I’d have to de-bro-truck it before I’d be seen in it, but I can see myself using it for a bit before going back to my 30+ mpg Toyota.
Thanks again.

vondon302 > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 13:44

You should be fine. I’ve bought cars at police auctions before and they all day something similar.

Freaked me out the first time too.

vdubyajohn > atfsgeoff
06/22/2018 at 13:45

They’ve already seen my paperwork, and they’ll have no problem issuing a title with the lien showing. They don’t care if that get’s it repo’d, not their job.

vdubyajohn > WilliamsSW
06/22/2018 at 13:47

It “sounds” like that to me as well, also not an attorney. The lien was disclosed, but not the amount. I can title it, but that amounts to telling the bank where to send the repo men.

vdubyajohn > vondon302
06/22/2018 at 13:53

Thank you.
Did any of the vehicles you bought at auction still have liens on them? This one is a 2016 that cost over 50K at the time of purchase, the bank isn’t likel y to just walk away.
I’ve stashed it on a cop friend ’s property until I hear something, as I’m sure the bank was notified of the pending auction. I could be wrong about that, but I hesitate to park it in front of my house until I know for sure.

WilliamsSW > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 13:53

I w o u l d c h e c k w i t h a l o c a l l a w y e r i f y o u want t o t i t l e i t f i r s t. La w s like that vary by j u r i s diction s o Y M M V.

atfsgeoff > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 13:57

with what lien showing? contact the bank and explain the situation to them. I wouldn’t bother paying for a title transfer if it’s going to have a lien that you have no intention of paying off.

vondon302 > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 14:02

Wow. Very interesting. No. I’ve never got anything of that high value.

By the definition of writ of execution I think your safe.

A writ of execution is a court order granted to put in force a judgment of possession obtained by a plaintiff from a court. When issuing a writ of execution, a court typically will order a sheriff or other similar official to take possession of property owned by a judgment debtor.

But I ain’t no lawyer. I’d do what your doing and proceed cautiously. No risk no gain.

Let us know how this goes plz very curious cause I don't see how they could sell that if there's a lein.

someassemblyrequired > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 14:13

Depending on the juridstiction, you’ve may have purchased whatever equity Name had in the truck. The bank’s lien isn’t extinguished. If Name wasn’t underwater, you can sell the truck and pay out Wells, and pocket the difference . If he was underwater then talk to a lawyer. You may be able to put a lien on other property for the original amount, plus whatever it takes you to sort this out, or you could work something out with Wells Fargo where they get the truck and you get made whole . But I wouldn’t try to deal with Wells without a lawyer.

vdubyajohn > WilliamsSW
06/22/2018 at 14:53

I’ve emailed my attorney who handled this. He previously told me I had to speak with the bank; the bank said speak with your attorney.

WilliamsSW > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 14:56

Grrrrrrrrrr...

vdubyajohn > atfsgeoff
06/22/2018 at 14:58

The bank’s lien. They laid out a bunch of money, apparently, which they most likely want back.
A title showing a lien, in NY, means that I, myself, can’t turn around and sell it until that lien is satisfied.
A friend advised me to call the appropriate bank dept (Dealer Services) and offer them some meager amount in exchange for a clean title, and tell them I’ll sell it for parts if they won’t deal.
The person who owned it before has plenty of money, they should go after him, but the truck is their collateral I presume.

vdubyajohn > vondon302
06/22/2018 at 15:00

I’m no lawyer either, so I’m being as cautious as possible. I will of course, post what happens. Thanks for the input.

vdubyajohn > someassemblyrequired
06/22/2018 at 15:04

Name is most certainly not underwater, as far as his own finances go. I did learn that he was 6 mon ths or so behind on the pay ments when it was seized, so I’m sure the bank has been in touch.
He deals in corporations; it was a rare mistake of his to put something in his own name, so we pounced . He has spent the majority of his life learning new ways to hide money, so it’s not his first rodeo .

vdubyajohn > WilliamsSW
06/22/2018 at 15:06

Right?
If I don’t get to keep it, free and clear, I’ll be selling it one way or another. In boxes or by flatbed.

WilliamsSW > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 15:09

Circular games irritate the hell out of me - even if the answer is bad news, I’ll take that over people dodging me.

vondon302 > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 15:21

No problem. Sounds like you got a hell of a score or a huge headache. I'm betting on score.

Good luck looking forward to hearing about this.

No risk no gain.

E92M3 > vdubyajohn
06/22/2018 at 17:25

I bought a XJ cherokee once from an impou nd auction. The impound fees were more than it was worth so the person never came to get it out. Prior to the auction they filed some paperwork with the clerk of court, and ran an ad in the paper stating it would be auctioned off if no one layed claim to it and paid the fees within 30 days. I'm sure they had to do something similar with yours.

vdubyajohn > vondon302
06/22/2018 at 22:50

It will be a score, just which one? The one where I get a truck, or t he one where I sell a bunch of parts and a Hemi? First world problems.