Bills of Sale, Absolute and Conditional

A bill of sale may be used to transfer personal property from a seller to a buyer, such as a vehicle, furniture, or equipment. Bills of sale are classified into two types: absolute and conditional.

Bill of Sale Absolute

When the property transfer is completed completely without any limitations or payments required after the transaction is concluded, the bill of sale is referred to be absolute. For example, if you are purchasing a used automobile and paying in whole at the time of transfer, you may utilize an absolute bill of sale. Once the transaction is completed, you own the automobile, and the seller has no claim to it and cannot make any additional monetary demands.

Both the absolute and conditional bill of sale, being legal documents, should include particular information, such as:

Property location at the time of sale
Names, addresses, and signatures of all purchasers and sellers engaged in the transaction Sale date
Property description, including, if appropriate, an identifying number or serial number
The whole amount of money paid by the buyer to the seller, as agreed upon by both parties, including any relevant sales tax.

The mode of payment is also specified in an absolute bill of sale. For example, you may have made a $1,000 cash down payment and intend to pay the remaining $3,000 by check. The paper specifies the monetary amounts and payment methods.

An absolute bill of sale also specifies the condition of the personal property. When buying a boat “as is,” the seller makes no promises that it will continue to perform well, nor does he or she undertake to accept responsibility for future issues or injuries caused by equipment failure. If a “as is” item fails after the transaction is completed, the seller is not obligated to provide a refund and is not liable for repairs.

Bill of Sale with Conditions

With a conditional bill of sale, ownership is contingent on specific requirements being met. For example, if you borrowed money from a lender to buy something, you may keep it as long as you make regular payments and follow the conditions of your agreement. Failure to do so may result in the item being repossessed by the lender.

A conditional bill of sale may also be used to specify additional restrictions. A puppy breeder, for example, may require that dogs be spayed or neutered at six months of age. Any breeding that takes place with the dog may be subject to a cost. Other stipulations might include avoiding donating the dog to an animal shelter and alerting the seller of the dog’s new location if it is given away.

Consider utilizing an absolute bill of sale for transactions involving full payment for “as is” products. Making full payment to a private party for an automobile and selling a sofa “as is” to a neighbor are two examples. A conditional bill of sale is suitable if specified requirements must be satisfied; for example, you may use it to sell pups as a puppy breeder or to purchase a vehicle from a private party on a payment plan.