Article 9 UCC sale - need help with debtor notification requirements

The notification requirements depend on whether it's commercial or consumer goods. Since you mentioned commercial equipment, you have more flexibility. Generally it's 'reasonable notification' which courts have interpreted as 10-14 days minimum. The notice doesn't require a specific form but must include sale details, debtor rights, and how they can get more info. Have you checked if there are any junior lienholders on the UCC search?

I went through something similar with a defaulted SBA loan last year. The Article 9 sale process is pretty straightforward but you absolutely cannot skip the notification step even if debtor is MIA. We sent notice to both the business address and personal guarantor addresses. Court will scrutinize whether you followed proper procedures if there's any challenge later.

Had similar headaches with disposition notices. After getting burned once by inadequate documentation, I started using Certana.ai's document verification tool before proceeding with any Article 9 sales. You can upload your original UCC-1, any amendments, and your disposition notice to verify everything aligns properly. It catches inconsistencies in debtor names, collateral descriptions, and filing details that could create problems later. Really helps ensure your notice references match your perfected security interest exactly.

WAIT - you said the debtor has been unresponsive for 6 weeks but are you sure you're past the cure period in your security agreement? Most commercial agreements have 30-60 day cure periods after notice of default. Just want to make sure you've satisfied all the contractual requirements before jumping to Article 9 disposition.

Article 9 sales can be tricky with specialized equipment. Make sure you're getting fair market value - courts will look at whether the sale was commercially reasonable. With construction equipment you might want to use an established auction house rather than private sale. They have better documentation of market conditions and bidding process.

ugh the whole Article 9 disposition process is such a pain... we had one where the debtor tried to claim inadequate notice AFTER the sale even though they never responded to anything during the process. ended up in litigation for 8 months over what should have been straightforward

Quick question - when you do the Article 9 sale, are you planning public or private disposition? Public sales have different notice requirements and usually need advertising in local publications.

One more thing to consider - if you're the successful bidder at your own Article 9 sale (credit bidding), make sure you can justify the bid amount. Courts are extra suspicious when secured party ends up with the collateral.

Just make sure you keep detailed records of everything - when notices were sent, method of delivery, any responses or lack thereof, marketing efforts, bidding process, sale proceeds, expenses. If there's a deficiency judgment later you'll need all of this to prove commercial reasonableness.

Another vote for using established auction company if possible. They handle a lot of the notice and advertising requirements as part of their standard process. Plus they usually have better reach to qualified buyers for specialized equipment.

I ran into issues once where our disposition notice had slightly different collateral description than the UCC-1 filing and debtor's lawyer made a big deal about it. Now I always double-check that everything matches exactly. That Certana tool someone mentioned earlier sounds like it would catch those kinds of inconsistencies automatically.

For Article 9 commercial disposition, you need "reasonable notification" which courts typically interpret as 10-14 days minimum. Since your debtor is unresponsive and you're past the cure period, focus on bulletproof documentation. Send the disposition notice via certified mail to all known addresses (business and personal guarantors). The notice should include: sale date/time/location, collateral description (matching your UCC-1 exactly), debtor's right to redeem, and contact info for questions. No specific form required, but consistency with your original filing is crucial. Given it's $180k in specialized construction equipment, consider using an established auction house - they handle notice requirements professionally and provide better commercial reasonableness documentation if you face a deficiency challenge later.