Basics
51 articles in this category
What to Do If a Buyer Fails a Background Check During a Private Gun Sale
You've agreed on a price, the buyer seems legitimate, and you've both driven to a licensed dealer to run the background check. The dealer submits the form and comes back with a denial. The sale is over, at least for now, and you're standing in a gun store with a firearm, a stranger, and no clear plan for what happens next. This situation is uncomfortable and surprisingly common. Here's exactly what to do and what not to do when a background check denial happens during a private firearm sale...
Can a Minor Sign a Bill of Sale?
It's a question that comes up more often than you'd expect. A 17-year-old wants to buy a car with their own money. A teenager is selling a dirt bike they've outgrown. A young person receives a vehicle as a gift and needs to complete the paperwork. The short answer is that minors generally cannot sign a legally binding bill of sale on their own, but the full answer has enough nuance that it's worth understanding before you find yourself in a transaction that falls apart or creates problems down the road...
In Ohio, a Buyer Has 8 Years to Sue You Over a Car Sale
Most private sellers think about the risk window as roughly equal to how long the car is likely to hold together after they sell it. A few weeks for something to go wrong, maybe a couple of months if the buyer is particularly difficult. The actual legal window in Ohio is considerably longer than that, and most sellers have no idea...
Most People Get This Wrong Before Signing a Bill of Sale
Private sales move fast. Buyer shows up, you agree on a price, someone pulls out a pen. The paperwork feels like a formality at that point. That's exactly when mistakes happen, and some of them are the kind you don't find out about until months later when something goes wrong and you need the document to hold up.
How Much Can Someone Sue You for After a Private Sale?
Most private sellers have no idea how low the bar is for a buyer to take them to court. You don't need a lawyer. You don't need a complicated filing. In most states you need an afternoon, a grievance, and a filing fee that's cheaper than a tank of gas. The Small Claims Court Limit Lookup on YourBillOfSale shows you exactly what you're dealing with in your state before a dispute ever gets that far...
6 States Require a Notarized Bill of Sale. Is Yours One of Them?
Most people assume a bill of sale is just a form you fill out and sign. In most states that's true. But in six states, a vehicle bill of sale without a notary stamp isn't just incomplete, it may be rejected at the DMV counter entirely. If you're about to complete a private vehicle sale and you're not sure which category your state falls into, this is worth reading before you show up with the wrong paperwork...
Does Your State Require a Notarized Bill of Sale? Look It Up Instantly
Most people going into a private vehicle sale don't know whether their state requires notarization, how many witnesses need to sign, or whether the title has to transfer within 10 days or 30. They either assume it doesn't matter or spend 20 minutes on Google getting inconsistent answers from outdated sources. The Notarization and Title Requirements Checker on YourBillOfSale fixes that in about 10 seconds...
Is a Free Bill of Sale as Good as a Paid One?
It's a fair question. A bill of sale is just a form, and forms are everywhere online for free. So what exactly are you paying for when you use a generator like YourBillOfSale, and does it actually matter? The answer depends on what you need the document to do...
Bill of Sale vs. Receipt: Are They the Same Thing?
People use these words interchangeably all the time and in casual conversation it barely matters. But in a vehicle sale, a private property transaction, or anything involving a title transfer, the difference between a bill of sale and a receipt is significant enough that confusing them can cost you real money or leave you without legal protection when you need it...
What should You Do if the Seller Refuses to Provide a Bill of Sale?
You've agreed on a price, you're ready to hand over the money, and the seller waves off the bill of sale. Maybe they say it's not required in your state. Maybe they say the title is enough. Maybe they just don't want the paperwork hassle. Whatever the reason, a seller who won't provide a bill of sale is a situation worth pausing on before you hand over any cash...
Can You Sell a Car With Expired Registration?
Your registration expired and now you're trying to sell the car. Maybe you stopped driving it, maybe you just never got around to renewing, or maybe you're selling it precisely because you don't want to deal with it anymore. Whatever the reason, the question is whether expired registration is a dealbreaker for a private sale. In most cases it isn't, but there are things worth knowing before you list it...
What Happens to a Car When Someone Goes Through Bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy is one of those situations where people assume everything gets frozen or taken away, including their car. The reality is more nuanced than that. Whether you keep your car, lose it, or need to make specific decisions about it depends on the type of bankruptcy you file, how much equity you have in the vehicle, and whether you're current on your payments. Here's what actually happens...