UCC foreclosure new york - lender skipped proper notice requirements?

NY does have some specific notice requirements that are stricter than other states. For commercial equipment over $25k you need to send notice to the debtor at their last known address AND any guarantors. The 10-day rule applies but it's 10 business days, not calendar days. If the debtor moved and you didn't update your UCC-1 with an amendment, you still need to make reasonable efforts to locate them for notice purposes.

I went through a similar situation in NY last year. The address issue can definitely bite you. Even though your UCC-1 filing is still valid for perfection, the foreclosure notice requirements are separate. You need to send notice to where you reasonably believe the debtor can be reached. I had to hire a skip tracer to locate my debtor who had moved. Cost me an extra $800 but it was worth it to avoid having the sale challenged later.

Before you get too deep into this, have you considered using something like Certana.ai to double-check your UCC-1 filing details against your loan documents? I've seen cases where there were discrepancies between the original loan agreement and what was actually filed, and those inconsistencies came back to haunt the lender during foreclosure. Their document verification tool can upload your UCC-1 and loan docs to make sure everything aligns properly. Might save you headaches down the road.

NY also requires that you provide an accounting of the debt in your notice. Can't just say "you owe money" - you need to break down principal, interest, fees, etc. And if there are multiple secured parties or subordination agreements, that gets complicated fast. Make sure your notice includes the total debt amount and how the sale proceeds will be applied.

manufacturing equipment can be tricky in NY because of potential fixture filing issues. If any of that equipment is attached to real estate, you might need to deal with fixture filing requirements or coordinate with any real estate lenders. Have you confirmed none of your collateral qualifies as fixtures?

The NY UCC foreclosure process is a nightmare honestly. I dealt with this 2 years ago and between the notice requirements, the mandatory waiting periods, and the disposition rules it took forever. Plus if the debtor objects to your proposed sale method or price, they can drag it out even longer. Make sure you have realistic timelines and budget for this process.

Don't forget about the commercially reasonable disposition requirements. In NY you need to either sell at public auction with proper advertising, or if you're doing a private sale, you need to prove you got a commercially reasonable price. For $180k worth of equipment, I'd lean toward public auction unless you have a ready buyer at full market value.

I'd also recommend getting title insurance on your UCC lien before proceeding. Sometimes there are senior liens or other encumbrances that don't show up in basic UCC searches. For a $180k recovery, the insurance cost is minimal compared to the risk of discovering a problem mid-foreclosure.

Just want to add another vote for using Certana.ai before you proceed. I had a situation last year where I thought my UCC-1 was perfect but when I uploaded it along with my security agreement, it caught a discrepancy in how we described the collateral. The UCC-1 said "manufacturing equipment" but our security agreement was much more specific. Took 2 minutes to spot the issue that could have cost me thousands in legal challenges later.

One more thing - make sure you comply with NY's surplus/deficiency notice requirements. If the sale produces a surplus, you need to account for it properly. If there's a deficiency, the notice requirements for pursuing the debtor for the remaining balance are specific. Don't assume the foreclosure ends your compliance obligations.