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Yara Khoury
Make sure you keep copies of everything - the UCC-1 form template you used, the filing receipt, any supporting documents. You'll need these for continuation filings down the road, and having a complete file makes amendments much easier if needed.
Yes! And set a calendar reminder for the continuation deadline. UCC-1 filings lapse after 5 years if not continued.
Good organizational habits from the start save so much headache later. I learned this lesson the expensive way.
Paolo Marino
Thanks everyone for all the advice. Sounds like Delaware filing is the way to go for the main UCC-1, plus separate fixture filings in the counties where applicable. I'll make sure to get the debtor name exactly right from their incorporation documents and be specific about the collateral descriptions. Really appreciate the help!
You've got the right approach. Take your time with the details and you should be fine. Good luck with the closing!
Amina Bah
•Hope it all goes smoothly. Multi-state deals can be stressful but sounds like you're on the right track now.
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Kayla Morgan
The debtor's loan payoff claims don't mean much without UCC-3 terminations on file. I've had borrowers show me bank statements 'proving' they paid off loans, but if there's no termination filed, that lien is still perfected against your collateral. Always verify through the public record, not debtor representations.
James Maki
•This! Learned this lesson the hard way when a 'paid off' lien turned out to still be active and we ended up in second position.
Kayla Morgan
•Exactly. The UCC filing is public notice of the lien. Until it's properly terminated, it's still valid regardless of what the debtor claims.
Update: Contacted all four secured parties. Two confirmed loans were paid off but never filed terminations (they're filing UCC-3s this week). One lapsed in 2024 with no continuation. Last one is still active with a 2023 continuation. Thanks for all the advice - this thread saved me from making some big mistakes on lien priority.
Ella Cofer
•Good outcome. Always better to do the legwork upfront than deal with priority disputes later.
Cole Roush
•Wait, so you're saying some of those liens were actually dead but still showing as active in the search? That's terrifying.
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Liam Murphy
One more thing - if your underwriter is really concerned about the messy search results, you could always have the borrower's attorney provide a legal opinion letter stating that all terminated liens have been properly released and don't affect the current transaction. Might be overkill but some lenders require it for complex filing histories.
Daryl Bright
•That might be worth considering if we run into more pushback. Thanks for the suggestion.
Amara Okafor
•Attorney opinion letters definitely carry weight with nervous underwriters. Good fallback option.
Quick follow-up question - when you say the debtor names are spelled exactly the same, are you including the full legal entity name with suffixes like LLC or Corporation? Sometimes the formatting differences aren't obvious but can still affect search results.
Good, that makes things cleaner. No debtor name variations to worry about then.
Yuki Tanaka
•Debtor name consistency is huge. I've seen searches where slight variations created separate entries and made everything confusing.
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The important thing is you caught it and you're fixing it. I've seen way worse UCC mistakes that didn't get discovered until litigation. File your new UCC-1, update your calendar systems, and move on.
Omar Fawaz
•Thanks, I needed to hear that. It's easy to catastrophize these things but you're right - catching it after 3 weeks is way better than 3 months or 3 years.
Jamal Wilson
•Exactly. And now you have a system in place to prevent it from happening again. That's worth something.
Mei Lin
One more thing to consider - if this is part of a larger credit facility, make sure you check whether the loan agreement has any specific requirements about maintaining perfected security interests. Some agreements require immediate notification of any lapses, even temporary ones.
Mei Lin
•Better to over-disclose than under-disclose in these situations. Shows you're being proactive about fixing the issue.
Absolutely. Most lenders would rather know immediately about a lapse that's being corrected than find out later during an audit or review.
Mateusius Townsend
Whatever you do, make sure you're searching under all possible debtor names including any DBAs or trade names. I've seen UCC filings under names that weren't obvious from the main corporate records.
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Summer Green
•DBA searches are crucial. Sometimes the UCC-1 gets filed under the trade name instead of the legal entity name.
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Kara Yoshida
•This is why I always request a complete list of all business names from the borrower upfront. Saves time later.
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Philip Cowan
The bottom line is you can't rely on just one search. Use multiple services, check the state databases directly when possible, and verify the status of any filings you find. It's extra work but it protects your lender's security interest.
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Dana Doyle
•Definitely look into some of the automated tools to help streamline the verification process. Makes the multi-source approach much more manageable.
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Caesar Grant
•Smart approach. Better to over-search than under-search when it comes to UCC and lien verification.
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