Title and Lien search

[3-Green]

I'm looking at buying an airplane privately (used obviously), and I would feel more comfortable doing a title and lien search on it just to make sure I'm not buying someone else's debt. Has anyone done this? If so how do I do it and how much does it cost? Thanks!

[co-joe]

Tread very carefully here. I almost brokered a deal to by a C-310 in YYC a few years ago that had more leins on it than it was worth 2 times over. Guy wanted top dollar for it as well. We're conditioned to say that if a deal is too good to be true, it probably is. But when the money asked is spot on value it's easy to get complacent as well. He had AD and SB issues as well we'd have had to conmply with to get it on an OC...

I can't remember who you contact for lein info. Anybody else know the name of the office? It's not land titles is it?

[JasonE]

Ha. Here is a can of worms...Unlike the US, each province has their own system. Your beautiful new aircraft could have a lien in another province than the one you just bought it in! Look at the logs, check any provinces it has been registered in recently other than where it currently resides. For Ontario - it's done through service Ontario, and you can do it online.

[CpnCrunch]

Yes, everyone who has bought a plane has done a title search (unless they're an idiot, or very trusting).

Look at the "Title searches and Liens" section of COPA's guide to buying an aircraft:

http://www.copanational.org/files/COPAG ... rcraft.pdf