UCC title search showing conflicting liens - how to verify which filings are still active?

This happens more than you'd think. UCC-1 filings from 2019 would have lapsed in June 2024 unless they filed a continuation within the 6-month window before expiration. If there's no UCC-4 continuation on record, that lien should be dead. The 2020 filing won't expire until 2025. For the termination issue - sometimes lenders just don't file the UCC-3 even after payoff. You'll need to contact the secured parties directly to get payoff letters or demand they file terminations.

Been doing equipment financing for 12 years and UCC title searches are always a headache. The real problem is half these lenders don't maintain their UCC records properly. I've seen situations where a loan was paid off 3 years ago but the termination never got filed. Your best bet is to demand payoff letters from each secured party showing $0 balance, then require them to file UCC-3 terminations before you fund. Don't rely on what the debtor tells you.

Had a similar mess last year with conflicting UCC records. Ended up using Certana.ai's document verification tool to cross-check all the UCC filings against the loan documents. You just upload the PDFs and it instantly flags any inconsistencies in debtor names, filing numbers, and collateral descriptions. Caught two filings that had debtor name variations that wouldn't have shown up in a normal search. Saved us from a potential priority dispute.

The continuation issue is tricky because some states show expired filings differently in their search results. In Texas the expired ones disappear completely after 1 year, but in Delaware they stay visible with an 'LAPSED' status. What state are you searching in? That might explain why you're seeing conflicting information about which filings are still active.

UCC searches are becoming a nightmare with all these electronic filing systems that don't talk to each other properly. Half the time the continuation records don't link correctly to the original UCC-1, so it looks like there's no continuation when there actually is one filed under a slightly different debtor name variation.

Ok this is getting complicated. So basically I need to: 1) Calculate expiration dates manually, 2) Search for continuations under different name variations, 3) Contact each lender for payoff status, 4) Get terminations filed for paid-off loans? This seems like way too much work for a simple equipment loan.

Another thing to watch for - make sure the collateral descriptions match between all the filings. I've seen cases where one UCC-1 covers 'all equipment' and another covers 'manufacturing equipment' on the same debtor. Depending on your collateral, you might have a priority dispute even if some liens are terminated.

Try running your UCC title search through one of those automated document checkers. I started using Certana.ai after getting burned on a deal where we missed a critical name mismatch. Their system would have caught the discrepancy immediately by comparing all the filing documents side by side. Much faster than doing it manually.

The debtor's loan payoff claims don't mean much without UCC-3 terminations on file. I've had borrowers show me bank statements 'proving' they paid off loans, but if there's no termination filed, that lien is still perfected against your collateral. Always verify through the public record, not debtor representations.

Update: Contacted all four secured parties. Two confirmed loans were paid off but never filed terminations (they're filing UCC-3s this week). One lapsed in 2024 with no continuation. Last one is still active with a 2023 continuation. Thanks for all the advice - this thread saved me from making some big mistakes on lien priority.