The idea of purchasing equipment privately, when a purchase is made from a business or individual who is not an auction house or dealership, can be very stressful for the buyer. If a buyer does not do their due diligence, they could end up purchasing equipment that still has a lien on it from a bank, lender or mechanic.
Although it can be easy to do a PPSA (or UCC in the U.S.) search against a serial number, blanket liens or General Security Agreements (GSA) rarely show up on these searches. If a buyer was to purchase a piece of equipment that was not free and clear, they take the risk of having their newly purchased item repossessed if the seller does not pay to clear the money owing.
At Ritchie Bros. Financial Services, we understand that private party sales play an essential role in purchasing equipment while we are seeing global equipment supply constraints.
If you are looking to buy equipment privately, you can now do so with the peace-of-mind of knowing that Ritchie Bros. Financial Services is here to help with our PurchaseSafe program.
Here’s how PurchaseSafe benefits you during a private party sale
- Guarantee of free and clear lien – Let PurchaseSafe take the headache out of worrying about whether a piece of equipment has a lien. PurchaseSafe uses the same checks and balances that are used at Ritchie Bros. auctions to guarantee that any item being purchased will be free and clear of specific or general liens.
- Escrow Services – PurchaseSafe will hold your money in escrow until we can guarantee that the equipment is free and clear.
- Third Party Payouts – In the event that the seller has money owing on the piece being sold, PurchaseSafe will arrange third party payouts to the seller’s bank or lender.
- Invoicing & Taxation – Once a private party sale is transacted through PurchaseSafe, both buyer and seller will receive an invoice on IronPlanet letterhead. PurchaseSafe also ensures that taxes have been charged correctly on the transaction to avoid any issues come tax season.