How-To
19 articles in this category
How to Gift a Car to a Family Member (Title, Taxes, and the $0 Bill of Sale)
Giving a car to your kid or your parent is generous, but it still runs through the DMV. This guide covers transferring the title as a gift, why a $0 bill of sale still matters, and how many states let family transfers skip sales tax. Do it right and the gift does not come back to haunt either of you.
How to Sell a Boat Trailer (With or Without the Boat)
A boat trailer is its own titled vehicle in most states, which surprises a lot of sellers. This guide covers selling the trailer on its own or as a package with the boat, what numbers to record, and how to end your liability cleanly. Get the paperwork right and you walk away free of it.
How to Write a Bill of Sale: A Step-by-Step Guide for Any Sale
A bill of sale is short, but a sloppy one causes real headaches later. This guide walks you through every field, from the item description to the signatures, so you fill it out right the first time. It works for a car, a boat, a couch, or a tractor.
How to Sell a Boat in Wisconsin
Selling a boat privately in Wisconsin starts with one fact most sellers do not know: a 16-foot length line decides whether your boat is titled or only registered. Get that straight and the rest, from the HIN to the trailer to ending your liability, falls into place.
How to Sell a Jet Ski or Personal Watercraft Privately
A jet ski sells like a small boat, with a hull number, a title or registration, and a trailer, plus a few quirks of its own around condition and winterization. Here is how to price it honestly, paper it correctly, and walk away with your liability behind you.
How to Sell a Boat in Idaho
Selling a boat privately in Idaho is mostly paperwork, and most of the confusion comes from one question: is your boat titled, or only registered? This walkthrough sorts that out, then takes you through payment, the bill of sale, and cutting off your liability for good.
How to Sell a Mobile Home Privately Without a Realtor
A mobile home can be personal property or real estate, and which one it is changes everything about how you sell it. Get that classification wrong and you use the wrong paperwork entirely. Here is how to tell which kind you have and sell it cleanly on your own.
How to Sell a Boat Privately (Step by Step)
A boat sale has moving parts a car sale never does. The hull number, a trailer that needs its own paperwork, and registration rules that vary wildly from one state to the next. Skip the wrong one and the buyer cannot register the boat, then the trouble comes back to you.
How to Sell a Motorcycle Privately (Step by Step)
Selling a motorcycle follows the same backbone as a car sale, but the details that differ are the ones that bite. A second identifier on the engine, a title that may not exist for older bikes, and the test-ride problem that has no equivalent in a car sale. Here is the full process.
How to Fill Out a Vehicle Bill of Sale, Field by Field
A bill of sale only protects you if every field is filled out correctly. A blank line, a single wrong digit in the VIN, or a missing signature can quietly turn a protective legal document into a worthless piece of paper at the exact moment you need it.
How to Make Your Own Bill of Sale for a Car
Making your own bill of sale for a car is entirely possible and in most states completely legal. You don't need a lawyer, a notary in most cases, or a special form from the DMV. What you do need is the right information in the right format, and a clear understanding of where the DIY approach works well and where it tends to fall short...
How to Sell a Car You've Never Registered in Your Name
Buying a car and flipping it before registering it in your name is more common than most people think. So is inheriting a vehicle, receiving one as a gift, or winning one and deciding to sell before ever putting your name on the title. The situation sounds complicated but it's actually a specific and well-understood scenario that most state DMVs have a process for. The key is knowing what that process is before you try to sell, because getting it wrong can create a chain of title problem that takes months to untangle...