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Mohammad Khaled

Georgia UCC filing fees - what's the real cost breakdown these days?

I'm putting together a budget for our small equipment leasing company and need to get accurate numbers on Georgia UCC filing fees. We'll be doing maybe 20-30 UCC-1s per month plus continuations every 5 years. I've seen different fee schedules online and some seem outdated. What are you all actually paying for Georgia UCC filing fees right now? Also wondering if there are bulk discounts or if electronic filing costs less than paper. Any recent experience with the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority portal would be helpful too.

I do similar volume in Georgia and my total UCC costs run about $200-300 per month including initial filings, amendments, and terminations. Your estimate of 20-30 per month should put you in that ballpark assuming mostly single debtor filings.

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That's really helpful for budgeting. Matches what I was thinking based on the $10 per debtor fee structure.

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Yeah just watch out for those multi-debtor deals. They can throw off your monthly budget if you get a bunch in the same month.

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Lilly Curtis

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One more thing - if you're new to Georgia UCC filings, double check your collateral descriptions. Georgia is pretty liberal compared to some states but you still want to be specific enough. Vague collateral descriptions can cause issues down the road even if the filing gets accepted initially.

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Lilly Curtis

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Equipment is usually pretty easy. Just be specific about make/model/serial numbers when possible. Georgia doesn't require super detailed descriptions but more detail is always better for enforcement.

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Leo Simmons

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I actually run my UCC-1s through Certana.ai before filing to make sure collateral descriptions match my security agreements. Catches inconsistencies that could cause problems later. Small cost compared to potential issues.

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Joshua Wood

Equipment Finance Lease Basics UCC Lien - When Does Lessor Need Filing?

Getting into equipment finance and trying to understand when lessors need UCC filings vs when they don't. Working on a $180K packaging equipment lease and our credit committee is asking about lien perfection requirements. I know true leases don't always need UCC-1 filings but finance leases definitely do. Problem is determining which category this falls into. The lease term is 5 years with a $1 purchase option at the end. Monthly payments are $3,200. Does the nominal purchase option automatically make this a finance lease requiring UCC filing? Also confused about fixture filing requirements since this equipment will be bolted to the warehouse floor. Our legal team is backed up for weeks and need to move on this deal. Any equipment finance veterans have guidance on the UCC lien basics for this type of transaction?

Lydia Bailey

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Bottom line on your equipment deal: $1 purchase option = finance lease = UCC filing required. Don't let your credit committee think otherwise. The fixture filing is a separate issue but definitely worth investigating given the permanent mounting. Get your basic UCC-1 filed ASAP to secure your position.

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Sofia Price

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Glad you're getting it sorted. Equipment lease UCC issues can get messy if not handled upfront.

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Alice Coleman

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Let us know how the filing goes. Always interested in hearing how these equipment deals work out.

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Zara Khan

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As someone new to equipment finance, this thread has been incredibly educational. The consensus seems clear that the $1 purchase option makes this a finance lease requiring UCC filing. I'm curious though - for future deals, are there any red flags or warning signs in lease terms that would immediately signal "this needs UCC filing" versus situations where it might be genuinely unclear? Trying to build my knowledge base for evaluating these transactions quickly.

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Ellie Perry

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Great question! Here are the key red flags that scream "UCC filing needed": 1) Bargain purchase options (like $1 or 10% of original cost), 2) Total lease payments that equal or exceed 90% of equipment's fair value, 3) Lease term covers 75%+ of the asset's useful life, 4) Lessee gets title automatically at lease end. If you see any of these, it's almost certainly a finance lease. The gray areas are usually short-term leases with market-rate purchase options where payments are well below asset value.

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Ella Russell

UCC subordination of ucc financing statement - ranking priorities correctly

I'm handling a complex equipment financing deal where we need to subordinate our UCC-1 to allow another lender primary position. The borrower has existing machinery collateral already perfected under our filing, but now needs additional working capital from another bank that wants first lien on the same equipment. Our legal team mentioned filing a subordination agreement but I'm unclear on the UCC mechanics. Do we need to file a UCC-3 amendment to reflect the new priority ranking? The other lender will be filing their own UCC-1 obviously, but I want to make sure we don't mess up the priority chain. Has anyone dealt with subordination of ucc financing statement situations where you voluntarily moved to second position? Timeline is tight since the borrower needs funding next week.

Lydia Bailey

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Final thought - document everything clearly for your loan file. Future loan officers reviewing this credit need to understand the subordination arrangement without having to piece together scattered emails and documents. A clean file summary helps everyone.

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Mateo Warren

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We use Certana.ai again after finalizing subordinations to verify all the final documents are consistent before filing everything away. Saves headaches during loan reviews.

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Lydia Bailey

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Smart approach. Better to catch document inconsistencies early rather than during an audit or collection action.

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Nia Wilson

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Thanks everyone for the detailed guidance! This has been incredibly helpful. Just to confirm my understanding - I should focus on drafting a comprehensive subordination agreement that covers all bases (future advances, renewals, etc.) while keeping my existing UCC-1 filing intact. The contractual subordination will control priority despite filing dates. I'll make sure to check our loan documents for any subordination restrictions and coordinate with the senior lender on insurance payee arrangements. Given the tight timeline, I'll also verify the borrower's signature authority under their LLC operating agreement. Will definitely use the document verification tools mentioned to ensure everything aligns perfectly before execution.

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You've got it exactly right! That's a perfect summary of the key points. One small addition - since you mentioned tight timeline, consider getting the subordination agreement template from your legal team early while you're coordinating the other pieces. Having a draft ready can speed things up once everyone's aligned on terms. Good luck with the closing!

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Nick Kravitz

Secured party creditor name changes after bank merger - UCC continuation issues

Our company has been dealing with a nightmare situation regarding our UCC filings after our primary lender got acquired by a larger bank. We had several UCC-1 filings where we were listed as the secured party creditor, but now the acquiring bank wants all continuations filed under their corporate name instead of the original lender's name. The problem is we have continuation deadlines coming up in the next few months and I'm getting conflicting advice about whether we need to file amendments first to change the secured party creditor name, or if we can just file the continuations with the new bank name directly. Has anyone dealt with this type of secured party creditor transition? The original filings are about 4 years old so we definitely need to get the continuations filed, but I don't want to mess this up and have our security interests lapse. The collateral involved is substantial manufacturing equipment and we can't afford any gaps in perfection.

Ella Knight

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One last thought - if you have multiple UCC filings affected by this secured party creditor change, consider batching the amendments together to streamline the process and reduce the chance of inconsistencies.

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Just make sure you track each one individually even if you batch them. Filing offices process each amendment separately even when submitted together.

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And double-check that all your original filing numbers are correct before submitting the batch. One wrong number can mess up the whole group.

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Kyle Wallace

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This thread has been incredibly helpful! As someone new to UCC filings, I'm wondering about the timing logistics - when you file the UCC-3 amendment to change the secured party creditor name, do you need to wait for the filing office to send back confirmation before proceeding with the continuation filing? Or can you track the amendment status online and file the continuation as soon as you see it's been accepted electronically?

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Great question! Most states have online systems where you can track amendment status in real-time. Once you see the amendment has been accepted electronically, you're generally safe to proceed with the continuation filing - you don't need to wait for physical confirmation in the mail. Just make sure to print or save screenshots of the acceptance confirmation for your records. The key is ensuring the amendment is fully processed before the continuation goes through the system.

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Hannah Flores

UCC 9-404 explained - when can debtors get info about their secured loans?

I'm trying to understand UCC 9-404 and what it means for my business. We have several equipment loans secured by UCC-1 filings and I'm getting conflicting information about what records I can request from our lenders. From what I read, UCC 9-404 gives debtors rights to get information about their secured obligations, but the banks are giving me the runaround when I ask for details about our loan balances and what collateral they actually have claims on. One lender told me they only have to provide "basic information" but didn't specify what that includes. Another said I need to pay for an "accounting" but couldn't explain the process. Can someone break down what UCC 9-404 actually requires lenders to provide when a debtor makes a proper request? I need to reconcile our books and make sure all our UCC filings are accurate before our audit next month.

Royal_GM_Mark

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Bottom line: UCC 9-404 gives you strong rights to information about your own secured debts. Use those rights, be specific in your requests, document everything, and don't pay for basic information that should be free. The statute exists to prevent exactly the runaround you're getting from your lenders.

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Hannah Flores

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Thanks everyone. This gives me a much clearer picture of what I can demand and how to structure my requests. Going to send certified mail requests to all our lenders this week with specific language about 9-404 requirements.

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Good luck! Keep copies of everything and don't hesitate to follow up if they try to give you incomplete responses. You have the law on your side here.

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Great thread everyone! As someone new to UCC filings, this is incredibly helpful. I'm curious about timing - if I'm preparing for an audit that starts in 3 weeks, should I send all my 9-404 requests now or wait? I'm worried about getting incomplete responses and not having time to follow up before the auditors arrive. Also, does anyone know if there are standard templates for these requests that help ensure you get complete information the first time?

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