Agreement forms for selling an ATV?

[kristen524]

My husband has a Suzuki ATV that we're selling, and I finally found someone to buy it. The buyer agreed to pay $3500, but he wants to do it in payments. He said he will pay $150 per paycheck, for a total of at least $300 a month, which would pay it off in a year. He also understands that he will not receive the ATV until he's fully paid for it. Where do I find a sales agreement for him to sign, ensuring that he understands these terms and that, should he change his mind, all money paid is nonrefundable? Can I write my own? If so, what all should I include?

I tried searching through Google, but I'm just confused about whether I need to have him sign a Sales Agreement, or if there should be something different to establish the payment plan, and then sign the sales agreement once the ATV has been paid for and delivered.

Can somebody help me please?? I would really appreciate it!


[PS: We're in Texas, if that matters. ]
[PS pt. 2: Sorry if I put this in the wrong forum!]

[Rich Lunsford]

Thanks for the excellent question! Congratulations on finding a buyer for the ATV. I’m glad you are making sure to put something in writing as to the purchase agreement. While I am not an attorney and cannot provide legal advice, there are a few things I want you to consider from a financial perspective. Definitely do not transfer ownership of the ATV until the agreed upon amount is totally yours. Also, if you currently have some sort of operating expense such as insurance or storage on the ATV, make sure to factor that into your deal if able to avoid you incurring that expense.

The type of purchase agreement you are describing is knows as an installment sale. Try searching for “purchase agreement for installment sale” on your search engine of choice. I found a few good possibilities when I completed the search. I think you will too. Once you decide on the form to use, try running the final draft by the JAG to provide a quick legal opinion. USAA provides a few resources at usaa.com for third party services that may assist you such as www.Legaldocs.com, www.legalzoom.com, and www.Americas-documents.com to name a few.

Rich Lunsford is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM practitioner with USAA Financial Planning Services, one of the USAA family of companies. Rich holds the Series 7 and 66 securities licenses. Rich also holds the designations of Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), and CHARTERED RETIREMENT PLANNING COUNSELOR (CRPC®).

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ in the United States, which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.

[kristen524]

Thank you!