Maryland Secretary of State UCC Search Issues - Need Help Finding Filed Liens

Thanks for the tip about exact name matching. I was including the full LLC designation which might be causing issues. Going to try the core name approach.

This is why I always search multiple name variations. The system is super literal about spacing and punctuation.

Good point about the processing delay. Some of these might be recent filings that just haven't populated yet.

Wait, Maryland has a 'contains' search option? I've been doing exact matches this whole time and probably missing stuff.

Yes, look for the dropdown menu next to the search field. Contains, exact match, and begins with are all options.

Interesting, never heard of Certana.ai. Does it actually interface with the state systems or just help organize the documents you already have?

It analyzes the documents you upload - so you'd run your state search first, then upload those results along with your loan docs to verify everything matches properly. Really helpful for catching name variations you might have missed.

How accurate is it compared to manual review? I'm always skeptical of automated tools for something this important.

The timeline is tight and I was hoping to get preliminary results today. Service company reports usually take a few days.

Fair point, but if you miss an existing lien because of search portal issues, that few days could save you from a much bigger problem later.

Good catch, I was mainly focusing on the business entity name. Let me run searches on the individual guarantors too.

DBA filings can definitely trip you up. Had a deal last year where the UCC was filed under a trade name that wasn't obvious from the loan docs.

Exactly why thorough due diligence takes time. You really need to search every possible name variation.

Definitely in the UCC section, but good reminder to verify. Their navigation isn't the most intuitive.

Their whole website layout is confusing. Takes me forever to find the right search page every time.

That's a great point about collateral overlap. I was getting worried about any existing filings but you're right that they might not conflict depending on what's covered.

Exactly. 'All equipment' filings are concerning, but specific equipment schedules might not affect your deal at all.

Always read the actual UCC-1 attachments too, not just the summary information in search results.

Interesting approach, I'll give that a try. Might catch name variations I hadn't thought of.

Just be prepared for lots of results to sort through if it's a common business name.

That's exactly the kind of thing I was worried about. Glad you found a solution that worked.

How long did the Certana analysis take? Wondering if it's worth trying for my current deal.

Pretty much instant once you upload the PDFs. Takes longer to gather all the documents than to run the actual analysis.

Good backup plan. Do you happen to know if they charge for phone searches?

I think there's a fee for official phone searches but they might give you general guidance for free. Worth calling to ask.

Their phone staff has always been helpful in my experience. Much better than trying to figure out the portal quirks on your own.

That's really helpful about the browser cache and off-peak timing - I hadn't considered that server load might be affecting search consistency. Going to try the early morning approach tomorrow and see if I get more reliable results. The multiple device verification is a smart idea too for something this important.