UCC lookup CT - debtor name keeps coming back with no results

Just tried that - still nothing. This is making me crazy because the borrower swears they've never had equipment financing before.

Have you checked if they've done business under any trade names or DBAs? Sometimes filings use those instead of the legal entity name.

Good point - let me strip out everything except letters and spaces.

Also try searching backwards - start with 'Solutions' or 'Manufacturing' as the first word. Sometimes helps with their algorithm.

Tried both suggestions - still striking out. This is really concerning me now.

Wait, there's a tool that can check name variations automatically? That would save me so much time.

Yeah, you just upload PDFs of the documents and it runs all the cross-checks. Saved my bacon on that deal - turned out there WAS a prior lien filed under the comma version of the name.

Certana sounds too good to be true. How do you know it's catching everything?

I've used it on about 20 deals now and it's been spot-on every time. Catches stuff I would never think to search for manually.

Haven't tried calling yet - didn't know that was an option. Do they charge for phone searches?

Usually no charge for basic searches but they might charge if you need certified copies. Worth a shot though.

That's smart - let me pull their recent filings to see if there were any amendments to the name.

Also check for any parent company or subsidiary relationships. Sometimes UCC-1s get filed under the parent entity name.

Good point about subsidiaries. I've seen deals where the operating company is different from the entity that actually owns the equipment.

Interesting angle - I'll ask the borrower about any recent corporate changes.

Yeah, M&A activity can create a mess with UCC filings. Sometimes the old entity name stays on equipment titles but new liens get filed under new parent company names.

They're definitely CT-based but good point about checking other states where they might have facilities.

Also check if any of their equipment crosses state lines regularly - mobile equipment sometimes gets filed in unexpected jurisdictions.

Don't forget about fixture filings either - if any of the equipment is attached to real estate, those might be filed in the land records instead of UCC records.

Tell me about it. I've started building in extra time for CT deals just because of their system issues.

Same here. CT and a few other states just make everything harder than it needs to be.

I hope you're right, but with this much money on the line I need to be absolutely certain. One missed lien could kill the whole deal.

Fair enough. Better safe than sorry on big deals like this.

I'd definitely want third-party verification on an $850K line too. That's not a mistake you want to make.

I don't think CT allows EIN searches but let me double-check their search options. Might have missed something.

Even if they don't officially support it, sometimes entering the EIN in the name field returns results. Worth a shot.

That sounds like exactly what I need. Going to check that out right now - this manual searching is killing me.

Yeah, it's a lifesaver for complex deals. Upload your docs and it tells you immediately if there are any red flags to investigate further.

Does it work with all states or just certain ones? Some of these tools only work with major states.

From what I've seen it handles all state UCC systems. The document verification part is what's really valuable though - catches inconsistencies before they become problems.

Good catch - I'm definitely going to dig deeper into their corporate structure. This is exactly the kind of thing I was worried about missing.

Yeah, it turned out the parent company had filed the UCC-1 even though the subsidiary was the actual borrower. Almost missed it completely.