The Road Less Traveled

Titled Not Tagged


Not much to report over the last few days. Weekends are typically slow since all that is left for me is mostly paperwork and purchasing equipment so I can secure loads to the truck. All the financing has been finalized and truck and trailer are officially paid for so thats the good news. The bad news is that I now have an obligation to pay those loans so Im hoping govt moves quickly on granting my authority. Im expecting a couple of weeks but maybe Ill get lucky and be on the fast track.

Today I spent some time at the title office getting that paperwork taken care of and discovered a small problem. I wanted the title to be in the company name OR my name. Well when the title office searched for my company they could not find it on the state website. Shocking to me because I was under the impression that was all taken care of when I used LegalZoom to set things up. It turns out they did not register my fictitious name with the state but they would gladly do it now ....... for a fee! I told them no thank you Ill handle it myself. The title work was completed but I had to just use my name and Ill go back and fix it later when I register the trailer so at least I didnt waste a trip.

Next up is a nice 4 hour drive to Tallahassee so I can get my apportioned plates. Im hoping to do that before the week is out or worst case scenario early next week. And lastly I have to purchase securement equipment and a headache rack for the truck. That might be done by this weekend but I am still looking in case something better pops up for sale.

This is the stage where bigger chunks of money come out of my account with having to pay sales tax, insurance down pymnt, securement equipment and apportioned tags. All totaled those items will run somewhere around $8000 give or take $1000.

Cant wait to get a load on the truck and start bringing in money instead of spending it.

 

I am looking at things the same way RedForeman. If I do it myself I know its done and I learn the process so I never need to pay someone to handles these things. I made the mistake of thinking the service I did pay for would have touched each base on their way to completing necessary documents. The good news is that it was minor and now its corrected. It definitly could have been worse so Im considering myself lucky.

When its all said and done Ill have my Bachelors of Science in Transportation and Logistics. Or in laymans terms a BS degree!

 

Going It Alone...With Help


The process of obtaining authority and completing all the steps on my own has been quite interesting. So far I think I am better off for it since I now know pretty much the entire process and feel capable enough to offer advice if someone asks a question. Although I am doing this "myself" thats not to say I didnt have any help and this forum once again comes through in a big way. If you ask a question you get answers and while some answers may be about other areas of the country they lead you in the right direction as to procedures in your own state. I highly recommend taking the time to do all the steps yourself because I think it just makes you a better business owner if you have a solid understanding of how the system works. And its nice to know that while I am doing this myself Im not alone because of the resources provided here and all over the internet.

Today I feel like I accomplished a lot from my seat here at the house. The truck and trailer is in for service and DOT inspection so Im hoping that doesnt cost me too much. I have my full insurance and it has been filed with the FMCSA so the clock begins on authority being granted. I also have all my paperwork completed for IRP and will be headed to the capital early tomorrow morning to get my base plates. I also used a service for the first time during this process. I should have paid my 2290 tax earlier in the process but for some reason just did not do it yet and since I want to get my plates tomorrow I had to use a service to file my 2290 and get my proof of payment immeditely. If I did it earlier I could have afforded to wait a few days for the payment receipt but I procrastenated and had to spend an extra $10 for the quick paperwork. The good news is that my tax was only $494 with being prorated so Im still ahead despite the extra 10 bucks for the service.

Next week Ill have the trailer registered and then its just a waiting game for the FMCSA to say its ok to run!

A little math for you all....
Insurance $12,600 with $2900 down believe me it is the best Im going to be able to do in Florida
Sales Tax on the tractor $1300 edit: $1348.00 actual cost.
IRP $1300 Estimated..... Ill edit this tomorrow with an accurate number.
IFTA $4.00
2290 Tax $494.... Prorated from $550.
UCR 2014 and 2015 $158 Had to pay for this year since its not over yet AND next years is due so I paid it too $79 each year.... I had to file this through Georgia since Florida does not participate but I still have to have it.

Now we are spending some money!

 

I thought Florida was one of the worst for insurance. I have heard Nevada is a good place to domicile a business but I assume the tax savings is wiped out by higher insurance costs

 

OK thats not a bad deal.