Private Seller Financing
How private-party trailer purchases are structured and funded.
Private-party is a large and growing slice of applicant flow
Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, farm auctions, and word-of-mouth deals now account for a meaningful share of the trailer purchases in our pipeline. Buyers gravitate to private-party for pricing — private-party discounts on used trailers routinely run 20–30% below dealer retail. Because most national equipment finance companies won't touch private-party, this segment is a durable niche for lenders willing to build the workflow.
How the platform handles private-party at intake
Our application asks whether the buyer has identified a trailer and, if so, whether it is from a dealer or a private seller. Private-party applicants are only routed to lenders whose intake questionnaire indicates an active private-party program. Dealer-only lenders never see private-party files.
The private-party workflow we support
For lender partners with a private-party program, we assist with the pieces that typically make private-party painful: seller information capture (name, address, phone, matching state ID), trailer information (VIN, year, make, model, condition), and a structured photo inspection packet (four sides, VIN plate, tires, coupler, floor). The lender still runs the closing and title work on its normal rails; we simply deliver the file in a shape that makes closing straightforward.
Funds flow and title perfection
Funds are typically disbursed by wire or bill-pay directly to the seller — and to any existing lienholder if there is a payoff — after the lender has documentation of the seller's title, a signed bill of sale, and instructions to the DMV to record the lender's lien on the new title. This is standard private-party workflow; every step already exists in auto and powersports lending.
Why it's worth building a program
Private-party borrowers are the same borrowers you already underwrite, just buying from a different channel. Credit risk is not materially different; transaction and collateral verification are what has to be handled correctly. Lenders on our panel that support private-party typically see fund-through rates on private-party files that are competitive with, or better than, dealer files — largely because the borrower has actively chosen the exact trailer and is highly motivated to close.