selling classic car

I live in California and I ran an add to sell my classic car and someone from Michigan is interested in buying it. He said he would send 50% of the asking price as a deposit. What precautions should I take to ensure that the contract becomes legally binding once I receive the deposit? What Michigan laws do I need to be aware of in handling this transaction?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cheryl:
I live in California and I ran an add to sell my classic car and someone from Michigan is interested in buying it. He said he would send 50% of the asking price as a deposit. What precautions should I take to ensure that the contract becomes legally binding once I receive the deposit? What Michigan laws do I need to be aware of in handling this transaction?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

My response:

In order to avoid costly and inconvenient litigation across State lines, make it simple. Tell the buyer that you're willing to ship the car if he pays for that, and for it's safe return if rejected. Tell the buyer you'll release the title upon acceptance of the car and payment in full all at once. So, how do you get your money?
Tell the buyer to put ALL OF THE MONEY in an escrow account. That upon acceptance of the car (no more than 3 days after delivery), have the buyer inform escrow that they are now to expect receipt of the signed title. You'll send the signed title to the escrow company, by Certified Mail, and the escrow company will send you all of the money. Have the buyer pay for the escrow service. The reverse is to occur if the car is safely returned to you without damage, and you will notify the escrow company to release the funds back to the buyer, or the funds will be released back to the buyer upon the expiration of a certain time period.

IAAL



------------------
By reading the “Response” to your question or comment, you agree that: The opinions expressed herein by "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE" are designed to provide educational information only and are not intended to, nor do they, offer legal advice. Opinions expressed to you in this site are not intended to, nor does it, create an attorney-client relationship, nor does it constitute legal advice to any person reviewing such information. No electronic communication with "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE," on its own, will generate an attorney-client relationship, nor will it be considered an attorney-client privileged communication. You further agree that you will obtain your own attorney's advice and counsel for your questions responded to herein by "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE."

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE:
My response:

In order to avoid costly and inconvenient litigation across State lines, make it simple. Tell the buyer that you're willing to ship the car if he pays for that, and for it's safe return if rejected. Tell the buyer you'll release the title upon acceptance of the car and payment in full all at once. So, how do you get your money?
Tell the buyer to put ALL OF THE MONEY in an escrow account. That upon acceptance of the car (no more than 3 days after delivery), have the buyer inform escrow that they are now to expect receipt of the signed title. You'll send the signed title to the escrow company, by Certified Mail, and the escrow company will send you all of the money. Have the buyer pay for the escrow service. The reverse is to occur if the car is safely returned to you without damage, and you will notify the escrow company to release the funds back to the buyer, or the funds will be released back to the buyer upon the expiration of a certain time period.

There are a whole host of other things you should do to protect yourself, but they are too many to go into here.

You know what? Save yourself the hassle and tell the buyer, "If you want the car, it's cheaper if you just fly out here, look at it here, test drive it here, have a mechanic check it out here, and pay me here."

There's really to many other things and contingencies that can go wrong - - for example, what if the car is ruined while in Michigan? That's just one problem. If you think a little about it, you'll come up with about 100 other problems that could occur.

IAAL

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>



------------------
By reading the “Response” to your question or comment, you agree that: The opinions expressed herein by "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE" are designed to provide educational information only and are not intended to, nor do they, offer legal advice. Opinions expressed to you in this site are not intended to, nor does it, create an attorney-client relationship, nor does it constitute legal advice to any person reviewing such information. No electronic communication with "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE," on its own, will generate an attorney-client relationship, nor will it be considered an attorney-client privileged communication. You further agree that you will obtain your own attorney's advice and counsel for your questions responded to herein by "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE."