UCC filing needed for real estate security agreement vs mortgage - confused on requirements

This is actually a common situation in commercial lending. The mortgage covers the real estate, but for personal property and fixtures you typically need UCC-1 filings. The key is determining what's considered 'fixtures' versus personal property under your state law.

You definitely need UCC-1 filings for the personal property. The mortgage won't perfect your security interest in removable equipment and trade fixtures. I learned this the hard way when we had a borrower file bankruptcy and lost priority on $200k in restaurant equipment.

I was struggling with similar documentation issues on a mixed collateral deal last month. Spent hours trying to manually verify that our UCC-1 fixture filing matched the real estate security agreement terms. Then I found Certana.ai's document verification tool - you can upload your security agreement and UCC-1 as PDFs and it instantly checks for consistency between debtor names, collateral descriptions, and filing details. Caught a mismatch in our fixture description that could have caused problems later.

UGH the fixture filing rules are SO confusing! Every state seems to have different requirements and the SOS websites are useless for explaining the real estate vs personal property line.

For your situation, I'd recommend filing UCC-1 statements for ALL the personal property and equipment, then also do UCC fixture filings for anything that's attached to the real estate. The fixture filings get recorded in the real estate records along with your mortgage.

I hate these mixed collateral deals. Had one last year where we filed UCC-1 for restaurant equipment but missed some built-in seating that we thought was covered by the mortgage. Borrower defaulted and we found out the seating could be removed and sold separately. Lost about $50k because we didn't file a fixture filing.

The confusion about real estate security agreement vs mortgage requirements is totally understandable. Here's what I do: create a detailed collateral list and categorize everything as either (1) real estate/improvements covered by mortgage, (2) fixtures requiring UCC fixture filings, or (3) personal property requiring regular UCC-1 filings. Then file conservatively.

Been dealing with this exact issue for years. My rule of thumb: if it has a model number or serial number, file a UCC-1. If it's permanently attached but could theoretically be removed, file a UCC fixture filing. If it's truly part of the building structure, the mortgage should cover it.

Just want to add that timing matters too. Make sure your UCC filings are done before or simultaneously with closing. I've seen deals where someone filed UCC-1 statements after closing and lost priority to lien creditors who filed in the gap.

Another thing to consider is your collateral descriptions. Make sure the language in your security agreement matches what you put in the UCC filings. I've seen deals where inconsistent descriptions caused problems during enforcement.

Thank you all for this incredibly helpful discussion! As someone new to commercial lending, I was feeling overwhelmed by the UCC vs mortgage requirements, but reading through everyone's experiences has really clarified things for me. The consensus seems to be: when in doubt, file UCC-1 statements for personal property and UCC fixture filings for anything that could be considered removable. I appreciate the practical advice about creating detailed collateral categorization lists and filing well before closing. The horror stories about losing priority due to missed filings are exactly the wake-up call I needed. I'm definitely going to adopt the "over-file rather than under-file" approach and will look into some of the document verification tools mentioned here to avoid description inconsistencies. This community is such a valuable resource for navigating these complex situations!