Pretend you’re lying in bed after a long, hard day at work, and you’re just getting comfortable when you realize you left the front door unlocked. Do you get up and lock it or fall asleep?
Probably nothing would happen, you say to yourself. After all, when was the last time someone tried to break into your house? What are the chances of a burglar deciding to rob your house on the very night you decide to leave your door open — especially when there’s never been an attempt before?
It’s a convincing argument, but most of us end up getting out of bed and locking the door anyways. Why? Because it’s the smart and responsible thing to do. It’s a relatively effortless risk mitigation technique. Better safe than sorry.
It’s the same story with a UCC Search to Reflect; it’s a critical piece of the due diligence process and the smart and responsible thing for a secured party to do. Here’s why.
True Due Diligence is a UCC Search to Reflect
After a UCC-1 filing or amendment, secured parties should perform a UCC search to reflect, which is a UCC debtor search of the office where the UCC document was filed after the filing posts to the index.
It’s a double-check — more for peace of mind than anything else — but it can save a secured party’s priority position by revealing whether or not the filing office committed any typographical errors. Financing statement errors, such as to the debtor’s name, can cause your filing to be lost in the public record and can put a secured party at risk.
A UCC search to reflect will also reveal whether or not another creditor filed another UCC, or one of the many other types of liens, against the debtor.
A Better Way to Close with BNN Services
Since 2008, BNN Services has been trusted by title agencies, mortgage lenders, servicers, and consumers to perform loan and document signings in multiple languages across the country. Unlike other signing services, BNN Services “touches” each and every file 8 or 9 times to ensure the process moves forward free of delays. That’s why we’ve completed over 250,000 signings in all 51 jurisdictions and maintained a closing ratio of 96 percent.