Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Hold plane for how long? Opinions please?

.......it IS all good advice. Though for those who bemoan how handshakes have gone by the wayside - I bought 41G on a handshake and small deposit after pre-buy and sent on good funds for the balance after. The owner and I had both travelled to see the plane which was displaced from the owner's home field. He didn't want to travel again.

We left the keys and logbooks with the mechanic who did the pre-buy and I got a bill of sale on the spot. When the funds were confirmed good by the owner to the mechanic he called the mechanic and he handed me the keys and logbooks and a small bill for some squawks I had him take care of till I could get back for the plane. We used all FAA paperwork in the mechanic's shop on the day.

Till the owner was holding cleared funds we all reasoned that my signed bill of sale was worthless because it mentioned funds but when the funds cleared with the owner then the Bill of Sale was good. Lawyers could probably shoot this approach full of holes but we looked each other in the eye and shook hands and it worked.

" He should have sent you a signed copy of the purchase contract before you signed it. Without reading the actual contract, it would seem that since you signed it already, he can prevent you from selling the airplane because if you did, he can then sign the contract you returned to him and claim you had already sold the airplane to him."


Or........ He can claim that you defrauded him out of his $1000 deposit from the beginning; because you "had sold the aircraft" to someone else " (or intended to ) .

Not a Good situation. The minute he sent back "his" paperwork to you unsigned --- I would have pulled the plug on this deal.

G'day all

I kind of agree with Frank here....

...the paperwork has been done the wrong way around from what I can see.

That paperwork should have been coming from you, not him, but having come the way it did, he should have sent it signed to you, for you to then sign it, keep the original and send him back a copy for his records - afterall you're the one selling it, not him

Cheers

Russ

Since you have not been paid for the aircraft you do not have a contract (no consideration no contract). You were wise indeed to send scans of the logs. Take control of the situation by simply sending him an email(return receipt) or letter (registered) stating that if the sale is not complete by mm/dd/yyyy you will conclude that he is not interested in completing the purchase. Include copies of the billings of the pre-buys which he agreed to pay and an acounting of his net refund. If you don't hear from him or he balks send his refund the day after the aforementiond date.

Coming to an agreement is a two way street and all parties should come to a final decision with confidence. I believe a purchaser should always choose the person who does the pre-purchase and in this case I hope this was so.

I don't understand why people do this. I've been trying to sell a 1974 BMW 2002 for a buddy of mine and all I get are tire kickers. They ask for loads of pictures to be emailed to them, say they're going to buy it, and then I never hear from them again. I have pocketed one non-refundable deposit so far.

When I buy things, I offer to send a deposit so the seller knows I'm serious. Even if it's just $50, it gets the deal sealed (and is something I can afford to lose if the seller flakes on me or the item turns out to be not as represented).

Kendel, If you find a buyer in CA send him this way, I need to get my basket case 1974 BMW 2002 project out of the hangar! (square tail lights rule!)

Russ,
Sounds like a business law question we just had with just the property description(car), price, and sellers signature on a napkin.Under the UCC, which governs goods which your Cessna is, many details can be omitted from the contract. Delivery and payment would need to occur within a "reasonable" time. I think 30 days would be reasonable from a legal standpoint. As others have suggested, I would send him a letter, return receipt,stating you will expect payment within 30 days of your signing the document stating that you believe this is more than reasonable time to complete the purchase and if he doesn't respond, return the unused portion of his payment(less the cost of his requested inspections) since you didn't specify he was purchasing an option.I would also state in the memo section of the check this is payment in full for all matters regarding N12345. I don't think he will ever sue due to the expense and logistics of doing so.You could sue for the full value but, once again, it is not worth it with potential buyers lined up.
Good luck,
Terry
No warrant ability merchantability fitness of the above advice is expressed or implied it is worth exactly what was paid!

I recently sold a Mooney ( but kept my aerobat) and after a long long time advertising ( and getting scams from Nigeria and whatever) I decided to let a broker handle it. Easiest deal in the world. I did not have to take my plane off the homefield, I showed it twice and test flew with one buyer and the plane was sold. The broker made a commission, I sold my plane and no headaches. The days of handshake sales with the potential for legal ( did you hear $$$$) problems are not worth it, at least for me.
Robert
N101MJ

How did you find a good broker to work with? Is he local? I may consider one for selling my 150.

Mark Woods, deals mainly with Mooney I guess.
http://www.deltaaviationllc.com/home.php
He contacted me with one of those postcard deals. Definitely not local as I am in Texas but nowadays you don't need local.

He is very reputable and probably could steer you to a Cessna broker. Van Bortels Fort Worth might be helpful.
www.vanbortel.com [vanbortel.com]

I was almost to the point of donating the plane to charity as I just wasn't flying it and the market was terrible. Broker for me was great.