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Been there! When I was refinancing last year I found three different UCC filings I had completely forgotten about. Two were still active even though I'd paid off the underlying loans. Had to get UCC-3 termination statements filed to clear them up before my new lender would close.
About 2-3 weeks once I contacted the lenders. Some were faster than others. One lender had been acquired by another bank which made it more complicated to track down the right person.
This is exactly why I keep a spreadsheet of all my business filings and loan documents. Too easy to lose track of what's out there.
Just do the search ASAP. Friday deadline isn't that far away and if you find issues you might need time to get documentation from your old lender or clear up any problems. Equipment loans almost always have UCC filings so don't be surprised when you find something.
Yeah you're right, I need to stop procrastinating and just do the search today. Thanks for the push!
No problem. Better to know what you're dealing with now than get blindsided later in the refinance process.
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I've been filing UCC-1s in New Mexico for 12 years and the rejection rate has definitely increased. Part of it is automated screening catching things that used to slip through, part of it is stricter interpretation of the requirements. The electronic filing system flags potential issues that human reviewers might have missed before.
That makes sense. Technology cutting both ways - easier to file electronically but also easier for them to catch minor errors automatically.
The electronic system is definitely more consistent but also less forgiving. No more relying on helpful clerks to overlook minor formatting issues.
Make sure you're also checking the debtor's exact legal name in the New Mexico business database before filing. Even small differences like missing commas or different entity abbreviations will cause rejections. The UCC-1 debtor name has to match their state registration character for character.
This is where document checking tools really help. Manual name verification is tedious and error-prone, especially when you're doing volume filings.
The New Mexico business search is free online, so there's really no excuse for name mismatches. Just takes a few extra minutes to verify.
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Your debtor is either confused or trying to create problems where none exist. § 9-404 protects them from paying the wrong party - it doesn't give them any right to dispute a properly perfected security interest. Get that UCC-3 filed and stop worrying about their notification complaints.
Should we respond to their dispute or just ignore it once the UCC-3 is filed?
I'd send them a brief explanation of § 9-404 and confirmation that you've filed the proper assignment. Keep it professional but don't let them think they have grounds for a real dispute.
Just to add another perspective - while § 9-404 notification isn't required for perfection, sending it promptly after filing the UCC-3 is still good practice. It prevents payment confusion and shows you're handling the assignment professionally. But absolutely don't let debtor notification requirements delay your UCC-3 filing.
Makes sense. Handle the legal requirements first, then the business courtesy aspects.
Agreed. File the UCC-3 today if possible, then send the § 9-404 notice this week. Keeps everything clean and properly documented.
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Timeline question - how long are you giving yourself to get all these amendments filed? I know there's no specific deadline but from a business perspective you probably want this cleaned up before quarter end or before any potential foreclosure issues arise.
That seems reasonable. Just make sure you're tracking the filing confirmations - some states are slower than others processing amendments.
60 days is probably fine unless any of the debtors are in bankruptcy. Then you might need to move faster.
One more tool recommendation - if you haven't already, try running the documents through Certana.ai's verification system. I used it recently for a similar assignment company UCC filing situation and it highlighted inconsistencies I completely missed in manual review. Really helpful for making sure all your amendments will have the correct debtor names before you file them. Upload your UCC-1s and corporate docs and it maps out all the discrepancies automatically.
Yeah, it's become my go-to for any portfolio cleanup. Beats spending hours comparing documents manually.
I should probably look into this. We do enough assignment deals that it would pay for itself pretty quickly.
Ravi Gupta
Try doing the washington ucc search using the original filing number but with '003' or 'CONT' added at the end. Some states append continuation indicators to the original file number when they process the UCC-3.
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Zainab Khalil
•Interesting idea, I hadn't thought of that. I'll try some variations on the filing number format.
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QuantumQuest
•Washington doesn't actually use that numbering convention but it's worth trying different search approaches.
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Freya Pedersen
Update us when you figure this out! I'm dealing with a continuation filing next month and this is making me nervous about the whole process. Hopefully it's just a temporary glitch.
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Keisha Robinson
•Definitely try that Certana.ai document checker I mentioned earlier if you want to verify everything matches up properly. Better to catch any issues now rather than find out later that there was a name mismatch or something.
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Freya Pedersen
•Good suggestion. Prevention is definitely better than trying to fix things after a lien lapses.
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