Florida UCC statement service fee causing filing delays - need workaround

We're going through the state portal directly. The base filing fee isn't the issue - it's all these additional service charges that seem to pile on during the process.

I've seen this before. Florida's portal adds various processing fees that aren't always clear upfront. Usually adds about $25-40 to the standard fee.

Lesson learned for next time. Right now I need to get this filing done without blowing up the deal. Borrower is being unreasonable about a few hundred dollars on a multi-million transaction.

Can you absorb the service fees as a cost of doing business? Sometimes it's better to eat the extra cost than lose the deal entirely.

That's probably what we'll have to do. Just frustrating when the loan docs clearly state borrower responsibility for all filing costs.

Interesting - does it actually help with the fee structure issues or just document accuracy?

Mainly document accuracy, but by catching errors upfront you avoid rejection fees and resubmission costs. Plus it gives you confidence that your filing will go through clean the first time.

Never heard of Certana.ai but that sounds useful for complex commercial deals. How does the PDF upload process work?

We've tried that approach. They're claiming the service fees weren't specifically disclosed in the closing estimate, so they're refusing to pay the extra amount.

This is why I always provide borrowers with a range estimate for UCC fees instead of an exact amount. Gives you wiggle room for these situations.

That's smart planning. We definitely underestimated the total cost here.

25% buffer might be conservative. I've seen Florida fees run 40-50% higher than the base rate on some filings, especially if there are any complications.

Good point. Better to overestimate and refund the difference than get stuck like this situation.

I thought about that too, but our compliance team requires certain confirmation services to satisfy our audit requirements.

Audit requirements can definitely drive up costs. We face the same issue with confirmation reports and certified copies.

That's actually a good idea. Getting the basic filing done first would solve the immediate problem of lien perfection.

Just make sure you understand what services you're skipping. Some of those fees might be for things you'll need later anyway.

True, but at least it gets us past the closing deadline while we sort out the fee responsibility.

Does it work with Florida's specific requirements? Each state seems to have different quirks.

Yes, it checks against state-specific rules. Really saved us on a couple of Florida filings where the debtor name formatting was slightly off.

Good suggestion. The online portal isn't very clear about what's required versus optional.

Florida's UCC staff is usually pretty helpful when you call them directly. Much better than trying to figure it out from their website.

You're absolutely right. The deal is too important to risk over service fees. We'll absorb the cost and learn from this experience.

Sometimes you have to pick your battles. This sounds like one of those times where the relationship and deal are more important than being right about the fees.

Exactly. Thanks everyone for the advice. Going to get this filed today and adjust our processes for future Florida deals.

I'm definitely going to look into that for our next filing. Sounds like it could prevent a lot of these headaches.

The document verification feature is particularly helpful for complex commercial deals where you have multiple entities and detailed collateral descriptions.

Thanks for mentioning Certana.ai - I'm new to this community and haven't heard of it before. Does it work with all states or just certain ones? I do a lot of multi-state transactions and would love a tool that could help standardize the document review process across different jurisdictions.