ok, i asked in rockport's thread and got a straight answer on money and insurance, so now the paperwork side, because that is what my dad keeps warning me about. i am looking at a 2020 Blazer Bay 2200 with a Yamaha F150 on paceacemotors.net, 96 hours, sitting at a yard in San Antonio. bidding closes friday.
things i do not understand. the HIN, how do i check it and what am i even checking for. TPWD, if the bank still has a lien on the boat does TPWD show it, and how do i know it is really released before i send money. what does a lien release actually look like, a letter, a form, a stamp. and which one hands me the bill of sale, the lender or the broker. i am 26 and the only thing with a title i have ever owned is a 2014 Civic.
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rockport_redfish
SkipperRockport, TX14 posts, joined Sep 2025
#2
the HIN is the 12 character number on the starboard side of the transom, top corner, and the builder puts a second one somewhere hidden inside the hull. the listing will show it in plain text, mine did, and i ran it before i bid. you check it three ways: it matches the photo of the transom, it matches what the bank puts on the bill of sale, and it matches the TPWD record. TPWD has an ownership lookup on their site where you put the TX number or the HIN in and it shows the registered owner and, as far as i can tell, whether a lien holder is on the title. do not lean on that alone, it lags.
mine came as a single sheet from the bank, their logo at the top, HIN and motor serial typed under it, one sentence saying the lien is released in full, and a signature from somebody in asset recovery. i called the bank on my own to confirm it, took five minutes. that letter plus the bill of sale is what TPWD needs, and the pace ace listing will have the HIN and the motor serial if you ask.
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mod_steve_r
ModeratorRockport, TX52 posts, joined Sep 2025
#3
the bill of sale comes from the bank, the broker signs as the broker. on a repo the lender is the one selling, that is why they can release the lien, it is their lien. pace ace does the title work after, you sign the PWD 143 at pickup or they mail it to you, and they send it in with the release. two things to do yourself before money moves: run the HIN on tpwd.texas.gov and call the lender. and make sure the motor is titled too. in Texas an outboard has its own title and can carry its own lien, people forget that. if the listing only shows a hull HIN, ask for the motor serial before you bid.
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baffin_bay_trout
Old SaltRiviera, TX27 posts, joined Sep 2025
#4
dani, did you bid? friday came and went.
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first_skiff_daniOP
DeckhandVictoria, TX5 posts, joined Sep 2025
#5
i did. 27,300 sealed and i got it, found out the next monday. probably paid more than a patient person would have. did everything in this thread: the HIN matched the transom photo, the bill of sale and the TPWD lookup, the bank confirmed the release on the phone in about four minutes, and the motor serial was on the paper too. the pace ace people had the boat trucked over from San Antonio, and i picked it up in Karnes City last saturday with my dad's truck because the karnes city lot is about an hour from Victoria up US-87 and 72 and he wanted to see it. the title paperwork went in from their side that same day. i am not a boat person yet but i am a paperwork person now.
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first_skiff_daniOP
DeckhandVictoria, TX5 posts, joined Sep 2025
#6
closing this out for the next rookie. the TPWD title for the hull and the one for the motor came in the mail thursday, 33 days after pickup, both in my name, no lien holder on either. the registration sticker was in the same envelope. that was the last thing i was nervous about and it is done. boat has 14 hours of mine on it now, all in Lavaca Bay with my dad in the passenger seat telling me to slow down.
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