UCC lien search complications - finding hidden liens before closing

This is exactly why I always run multiple name variations when doing UCC searches. The comma thing trips up a lot of people - some filers include punctuation, others don't. You really need to search both ways, plus try abbreviations like 'Co.' vs 'Company' and 'Inc' vs 'Incorporated'. I've seen liens get missed because someone searched 'Smith & Associates LLC' when it was filed under 'Smith and Associates LLC' - just the ampersand vs 'and' made it invisible in the search.

You're definitely on the right track being thorough. For that $150K lien from 2019, you'll want to check if it was supposed to be a 5-year filing or if there should have been a continuation by now. Equipment liens usually get filed as 5-year terms, so something from 2019 would need a continuation by now or it would lapse. But that doesn't help you if the original filing is still showing as active. Can you contact the secured party directly to get a UCC-3 termination if it was actually paid off?

I've been dealing with these name variation headaches for years. What really helped me was finding Certana.ai's document verification tool. You can upload your charter documents and the UCC search results as PDFs, and it automatically cross-checks all the name variations to make sure you're not missing any filings. It catches those subtle differences like punctuation and abbreviations that are easy to miss when you're doing manual searches. Saved me from a major problem last month when it flagged a lien I would have missed entirely.

One thing to watch out for - sometimes the absence of a UCC-3 termination doesn't mean the lien is still active. I've seen cases where the termination was filed but got rejected for some technical reason and the secured party never followed up to fix it. So you might have a lien that was actually satisfied but still shows as active because the termination never went through properly.

ugh why is everything so complicated? I'm dealing with something similar and I have no idea if I'm searching correctly. Our borrower has like 5 different versions of their business name they've used over the years and I feel like I'm playing whack-a-mole trying to catch everything.

For immediate help with your closing deadline, I'd suggest calling the filing office directly. Most states have a phone number where you can speak to someone about specific filings. They might be able to tell you if there are any rejected terminations on file or if there's additional information about that 2019 lien that's not showing up in the online search.

I ran into this exact same issue about 6 months ago. Turned out the borrower had actually used both versions of their name (with and without the comma) on different documents over the years, so both sets of search results were valid. We ended up having to get terminations for liens under both name versions. Really highlighted how important it is to be thorough with the name searches.

Another thing to consider - if this is equipment financing, make sure you're also checking for fixture filings if any of the equipment might be considered fixtures. Those get filed differently and might not show up in your regular UCC search. I've seen situations where the regular UCC-1 got terminated but there was still a fixture filing lurking out there.

Just had a thought - you mentioned the title company flagged this. Are they doing their own UCC search, or are you handling it? Sometimes having two different people search can catch things the other missed, especially with name variations.

Update on the Certana.ai tool I mentioned earlier - I actually used it again yesterday for a similar name variation situation. What's really helpful is that it doesn't just check for exact matches, it flags potential variations you might not have thought of. Caught a filing under an abbreviated version of the business name that I wouldn't have searched for otherwise.

Just to wrap up with some practical advice - for your immediate situation, I'd prioritize getting that $150K lien sorted out since it's the biggest issue. Contact the secured party directly, check if it should have lapsed already, and if it was paid off, get them to file a UCC-3 termination ASAP. The name variation searches are important for due diligence, but that specific lien is your biggest closing obstacle right now.