UCC filing search NY - help with locating existing liens before new filing
I'm doing due diligence on a potential equipment purchase and need to run a thorough UCC filing search NY before we proceed. The seller claims there are no existing liens but I want to verify this myself before our bank files a new UCC-1. I've checked the NY Secretary of State website but I'm getting confused by all the different search options - exact name vs similar name searches, and whether I need to search under the business name or individual owner names. The equipment is worth about $180k so I can't afford to miss any existing filings that might have priority. Has anyone dealt with NY's UCC search system recently? What's the best approach to make sure I'm not missing anything critical?
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Dmitry Petrov
NY's UCC search can be tricky because of their debtor name matching requirements. You definitely want to run searches under both the exact business name AND any variations you can think of. I learned this the hard way when I missed a filing because it was under a slightly different version of the company name.
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Ava Williams
•This is so important! I've seen deals fall apart because someone didn't catch an existing UCC-1 that was filed under a DBA name instead of the legal entity name.
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Miguel Castro
•How do you know what variations to search for though? That seems like it could go on forever.
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Zainab Ibrahim
For $180k equipment, you really need to be thorough. NY requires exact debtor name matches, so even small differences in punctuation or spacing can cause you to miss filings. I'd recommend searching the legal business name, any DBAs, and if it's a sole proprietorship, the individual owner's name too.
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Connor O'Neill
•Do you know if NY has updated their search system recently? I remember it being pretty clunky last time I used it.
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LunarEclipse
•The portal is still not great but it's functional. The key is knowing exactly what names to search under.
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Yara Khalil
This is exactly why I started using Certana.ai's document verification tool for these situations. You can upload the seller's corporate documents and any UCC filings you find, and it instantly cross-checks to make sure you're searching under the right debtor names. It caught a mismatch for me where the UCC search name didn't match the actual legal entity name by just one word - would have been a costly mistake.
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Keisha Brown
•That sounds helpful - does it work with NY filings specifically?
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Yara Khalil
•Yes, works with any state's UCC filings. Just upload the PDFs and it highlights any name inconsistencies between documents.
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Paolo Esposito
•How accurate is it compared to doing manual searches?
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Amina Toure
Make sure you're also checking for any UCC-3 amendments or assignments that might change the secured party. Sometimes the original creditor has transferred their interest and you won't know unless you pull the complete filing history.
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Oliver Weber
•Good point about the UCC-3 amendments. I always forget to check those.
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FireflyDreams
•Yeah and don't forget continuation statements either. A filing might look lapsed but could have been continued.
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Natasha Kuznetsova
NY Secretary of State charges per search so it can get expensive if you're doing multiple name variations. But for $180k it's worth the cost. I usually budget about $100-150 for comprehensive UCC searches on bigger transactions.
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Javier Morales
•The fees do add up quickly. That's why I try to be strategic about which name variations are most likely.
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Emma Anderson
•$150 is nothing compared to what you could lose if you miss an existing lien!
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Malik Thompson
Have you considered getting a professional UCC search done? Some title companies offer this service and they know all the tricks for NY searches. Might be worth it for a transaction that size.
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Isabella Ferreira
•That's what I usually do for anything over $100k. The peace of mind is worth the extra cost.
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CosmicVoyager
•Professional searches are good but I still like to do my own preliminary search first to get a feel for what's out there.
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Ravi Kapoor
•The problem with professional searches is the turnaround time. Sometimes you need results immediately.
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Freya Nielsen
One thing to watch out for in NY - make sure you're searching the right organizational suffix. If it's "ABC Company Inc" vs "ABC Company Incorporated" that could be the difference between finding and missing a filing.
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Omar Mahmoud
•This is such a pain point with UCC searches. The system should be smarter about this stuff.
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Chloe Harris
•I agree but until they fix it, we have to work with what we have. Better to over-search than under-search.
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Diego Vargas
Don't forget to check if the equipment might be considered fixtures. If it's permanently attached to real estate, there might be fixture filings in the real estate records instead of or in addition to regular UCC filings.
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NeonNinja
•Good catch! Fixture filings are often overlooked in UCC searches.
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Anastasia Popov
•How do you determine if equipment qualifies as a fixture? That seems like a gray area.
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Diego Vargas
•It depends on how permanently it's attached and whether it's integral to the real estate. When in doubt, check both places.
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Sean Murphy
I ran into a similar situation last month and ended up using Certana.ai to double-check my search results. Found out I had missed a UCC-1 filing because the debtor name had an extra comma that I didn't catch. The tool flagged the inconsistency immediately when I uploaded the corporate charter alongside the search results.
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Zara Khan
•A comma made the difference? That's crazy how precise these searches have to be.
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Luca Ferrari
•That's exactly why automated checking is so valuable. Human eyes miss these tiny details.
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Nia Davis
Update: I ended up doing searches under 5 different name variations and found two existing UCC-1 filings I would have missed. One was under the company's old name before they changed it, and another was under an abbreviation. Both are still active. Thanks for all the advice - definitely saved me from a major headache!
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Mateo Martinez
•Glad you found them before proceeding! That could have been a very expensive mistake.
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QuantumQueen
•This is a perfect example of why thorough UCC searches are so critical. Thanks for sharing the outcome.
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Aisha Rahman
•Did you end up walking away from the deal or were you able to get the existing liens released?
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Nia Davis
•We're working with the seller to get proper releases before closing. Much better to deal with this upfront than discover it later.
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Elijah O'Reilly
This thread is incredibly valuable for anyone doing UCC searches! I'm relatively new to this and just wanted to add that NY also allows for wildcard searches using the asterisk (*) symbol, which can help catch variations you might not think of. For example, searching "ABC Company*" would find "ABC Company Inc", "ABC Company LLC", "ABC Company Incorporated", etc. Just be prepared for a lot of results to sort through, but it's another tool in the toolkit for comprehensive searches.
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