Need Help with Vivint Solar UCC Termination After Early Payoff
I paid off my solar loan early last month and Vivint said they filed the UCC termination but I'm not seeing it in the state records yet. The loan was for $38,000 and I want to make sure this lien is actually cleared before I try to refinance my house. Has anyone dealt with Vivint solar UCC terminations before? How long did it take to show up in your state's system? I'm in a time crunch here because my mortgage broker needs proof the solar lien is terminated. The original UCC-1 was filed back in 2022 when I got the system installed.
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Paloma Clark
Vivint is usually pretty good about filing UCC-3 terminations but there can be delays between when they file and when it shows up in the state database. Which state are you in? Some states update faster than others. You should be able to search by your name or the original filing number if you have it.
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Evelyn Kelly
•I'm in Colorado. I have the original filing number from when they first filed the UCC-1. Should I be searching by that number or by my name?
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Paloma Clark
•Try both - sometimes the search by filing number is more reliable. Colorado usually updates within 2-3 business days but it can take longer during busy periods.
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Heather Tyson
I went through this exact same thing with Vivint about 6 months ago. They told me they filed the termination but it took almost 3 weeks to show up. Turns out there was a debtor name mismatch - they had my name slightly different on the termination than on the original UCC-1. Had to call them twice to get it straightened out.
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Evelyn Kelly
•Oh no, that's exactly what I'm worried about! How did you figure out there was a name mismatch?
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Heather Tyson
•I called the Colorado Secretary of State office and they helped me track it down. The termination was rejected but Vivint never told me. You might want to call them directly.
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Raul Neal
•This is why I always double-check these filings myself. Companies mess up debtor names all the time and then you're stuck waiting weeks for corrections.
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Jenna Sloan
Actually just went through something similar and found this tool called Certana.ai that lets you upload your original UCC documents to verify everything matches up correctly. I uploaded my UCC-1 and the termination paperwork and it caught a small discrepancy in how my business name was formatted. Saved me from having a rejected filing that would have delayed my refi.
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Evelyn Kelly
•That sounds really helpful - do you just upload PDFs to check them?
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Jenna Sloan
•Yeah exactly, you just drag and drop the documents and it cross-checks all the details automatically. Much faster than trying to manually compare everything yourself.
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Christian Burns
•Interesting, I hadn't heard of that service before. Might be worth trying since these solar companies are notorious for filing errors.
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Sasha Reese
Vivint solar UCC terminations are a nightmare!! They messed mine up twice and I had to threaten to report them to the state attorney general before they finally got it right. The first time they filed it under the wrong debtor name and the second time they used the wrong collateral description.
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Evelyn Kelly
•What ended up working to get them to fix it?
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Sasha Reese
•I had to escalate to their corporate customer service and get a case manager assigned. Regular customer service was useless.
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Muhammad Hobbs
•Same experience here. Their front-line customer service has no clue about UCC filings. You have to specifically ask for the loan servicing department.
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Noland Curtis
Pro tip: Get a certified copy of the UCC-3 termination from the state once it's filed. Your mortgage broker will need official documentation anyway and it's better to have it ready. Most states charge like $10-15 for a certified copy.
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Evelyn Kelly
•Good point, I'll definitely do that once it shows up in the system.
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Noland Curtis
•You can usually order it online through the Secretary of State website. Much faster than waiting for mail.
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Diez Ellis
How long ago did you pay off the loan? There's usually a grace period in the loan agreement for how long they have to file the termination. Check your original loan docs - it's probably 30-60 days.
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Evelyn Kelly
•I paid it off about 3 weeks ago. I should probably check my loan agreement to see what the timeframe is.
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Diez Ellis
•Yeah definitely check that. If they're past their deadline you have more leverage to get them to expedite the correction.
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Vanessa Figueroa
•Most solar loan agreements I've seen give them 45 days to file the termination after payoff.
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Abby Marshall
Whatever you do, don't let your mortgage broker proceed without confirmation that the UCC lien is properly terminated. I've seen deals fall through at closing because of unresolved UCC issues.
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Evelyn Kelly
•That's my biggest fear right now. The mortgage broker is pushing to move forward but I want to make sure this is completely cleared first.
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Abby Marshall
•Smart move. Better to delay a few days than have problems at closing. Most title companies will catch UCC liens anyway.
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Sadie Benitez
I'd also recommend running the Certana document checker mentioned earlier just to be 100% sure everything matches up before you submit anything to your mortgage broker. Better safe than sorry with these solar company filings.
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Evelyn Kelly
•Yeah I think I'm going to try that tool. Seems like a good way to double-check everything before moving forward.
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Drew Hathaway
•Smart thinking. These automated verification tools are way more reliable than trying to spot discrepancies yourself.
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Laila Prince
Keep calling Vivint every few days until you see the termination filed. Squeaky wheel gets the grease with these companies. They have a whole department that handles UCC filings but you have to be persistent to get transferred to the right people.
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Evelyn Kelly
•Good advice. I'll start calling them daily if I have to.
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Laila Prince
•Ask specifically for 'loan servicing' or 'UCC filing department' when you call. Don't let them transfer you to regular customer service.
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Isabel Vega
Once this gets resolved, make sure you keep copies of everything. Solar UCC terminations seem to have more issues than other types of secured loans for some reason. Having all your documentation organized will save you headaches if any questions come up later.
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Evelyn Kelly
•Definitely will do that. This whole process has been way more complicated than I expected.
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Isabel Vega
•Solar loans are weird because they involve both equipment financing and real estate considerations. Creates more opportunities for filing errors.
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Dominique Adams
•The solar industry in general seems to have a lot of administrative issues. I've heard similar stories from friends who went solar.
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