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Kansas drives me nuts but at least their continuation deadlines are straightforward. Five years from the original filing date, no weird extensions or grace periods like some states have.
True, their timing rules are simple. It's just the search function that's completely broken.
Yep, if they could fix the search algorithm they'd actually have a decent system. The documents themselves are clear and well-organized.
Kai Santiago
For what it's worth, I've started keeping a Kansas-specific checklist of search variations. Happy to share it if anyone wants it. Includes all the common abbreviation patterns and punctuation variations that trip people up.
Kai Santiago
•I'll type up the main points: Always try with/without periods after abbreviations, spell out Corp/Inc/LLC vs abbreviated, try both 'Company Name, Inc.' and 'Company Name Inc.', check for middle initials in personal names, and try the name both with and without 'The' at the beginning.
Lim Wong
•This is gold, thank you! I'm copying this for my team. We do a lot of Kansas deals and this will save us tons of time.
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I've been using Certana.ai lately for these kinds of document consistency checks. Really helpful when you're trying to get security agreements and UCC filings aligned. Just upload both documents and it flags any mismatches in debtor names or collateral descriptions. Saved me from a rejected filing last month.
That sounds really useful. I usually have to manually compare everything which takes forever and I still miss stuff sometimes.
Same here. The manual checking is such a pain, especially with long collateral descriptions.
Caleb Stone
Bottom line - get the written security agreement signed before filing the UCC-1. Make sure it adequately describes the collateral and is signed by the debtor. Then double-check that the UCC-1 debtor name exactly matches the security agreement before filing.
Olivia Evans
•Agreed. The writing requirement isn't going away so might as well comply with it properly.
Definitely use one of those document checking tools too. I learned that lesson the hard way after a filing got rejected for name mismatches.
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Make sure you're filing in the right county if your state requires county filing. Also check if the property crosses county lines - that can complicate things.
Look up your state's fixture filing requirements. Most states require county filing but a few handle fixtures through the state UCC office.
This is why the UCC system is so confusing. Every state does things differently.
Been doing fixture filings for 15 years. Common mistakes: wrong filing office, insufficient real estate description, debtor name doesn't match real estate records, and unclear fixture descriptions. Double-check all four.
Dmitry Popov
•Wish someone had told me this before I wasted three weeks on rejected filings last year.
Ava Garcia
•The real estate description is the trickiest part. Sometimes you need to get the exact language from the county assessor's office.
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Dylan Cooper
Also check for any parent/subsidiary relationships. Sometimes UCCs get filed against parent companies or holding companies instead of the operating entity. Florida corporate database can help you map out the corporate structure.
Good catch - this company does have a parent holding company. I should search under that name too.
Yeah and don't forget guarantor situations. Sometimes the UCC is against individual guarantors instead of the company.
StarSailor
Follow up question - when you find all these UCCs with name variations, how do you confirm they're actually for the same company? Sometimes similar names could be completely different entities.
Carmen Lopez
•This is another area where document verification tools help. They can flag when addresses or other details don't match between filings with similar names.
StarSailor
•Makes sense. I've been looking at addresses but some of these companies have moved several times so that's not always reliable.
KingKongZilla
Don't forget to check if any of the UCC-1s are fixture filings too. Those would be recorded with the county clerk, not just the Secretary of State, if they involve real estate collateral.
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Rebecca Johnston
•Depends on how permanently attached it is and whether the lender chose to file a fixture filing. You'd need to check county records where the equipment is located.
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KingKongZilla
•Manufacturing equipment is often financed with fixture filings if it's integrated into the building systems. Worth checking county records to be safe.
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Nathan Dell
One more thing - if you find active UCC-1s, make sure to get payoff letters from those lenders before closing. Just because you find the liens doesn't mean you know the exact payoff amounts or release procedures.
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Maya Jackson
•Some lenders are really slow with payoff letters and UCC-3 terminations too. Build extra time into your closing timeline.
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Tristan Carpenter
•And make sure the payoff letters specify that UCC-3 terminations will be filed immediately upon payment. I've had deals where we paid off loans but terminations took weeks to get filed.
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