As our readers know, in 2009, First Corporate Solutions (FCS) became active on several social networking sites.
In addition to here on the blog, you can find FCS on:
Become a fan on our Facebook page to track our trade show appearances and read insider industry tips on searching, filing and more!
Learn more about First Corporate Solutions by visiting our official company page
Follow FCS on Twitter to receive the latest news on holiday schedules, filing office closures, jurisdictional delays, new legislation and other important changes that could affect your business.
In January, First Corporate Solutions sponsored a contest to encourage customers to become a fan on our Facebook page. Anyone who became a fan during the month of January was automatically entered into a drawing to win a fabulous prize!
We are excited to announce that we have drawn the winning name.
And the winner is…
Vincent Pitts from United Pacific Bank!
Congratulations to Vincent and thank you to everyone who participated!
The contest may be over, but you can still become a fan to receive the latest news and tips from First Corporate Solutions.
First Corporate Solutions introduces new results reports, enhances client communication
First Corporate Solutions (FCS) began circulating newly designed customer results reports last week. The enhanced reports feature a sleek new look and more in depth reporting of findings.
The updated report style is designed to communicate public records findings to our lending, legal and wholesale customers with improved clarity while maintaining the accuracy and integrity customers have come to expect from FCS.
Each new report contains a service recap followed by a results section with a comprehensive listing of findings. The expanded results portion now includes detailed party and lien information in an intuitive, logical layout.
FCS believes that results reports are one of the primary ways a service company communicates with its customers.
Bearing that in mind, we invested a lot of time creating the new reports to be complete and accurate as well as visually pleasing.
If you are our existing clients, feel free to leave us a comment and let us know if you like the new report style.
2/12/2010 Update: First Corporate Solutions’ Delaware Branch Office is open today and businesses are back to normal.
Due to severe snowstorm in Delaware, First Corporate Solutions’ Delaware Branch Office is closed today (2/11/2010). Please contact our California office at 800.406.1577 or at www.ficoso.com if you have any questions.
From our Delaware Branch Staff:
For those of us located in the Mid-Atlantic Region, this should come as no surprise since we’re currently experiencing the second major snow storm in five days, but for those of you in the rest of the country we think it’s important to note that Governor Jack Markell has declared a State of Emergency in all three counties in the state of Delaware. What this means for the people snowed in Delaware is that the roads are off-limits to all non-essential personnel, and anyone found driving unnecessarily can be ticketed. For those of you outside the state of Delaware, this means that if you need any searches, certificates, or copies from the Secretary of State, you’re out of luck for the time being. This State of Emergency, which was declared as of 12:01 a.m. on February 10th, will continue until terminated by the Governor. For current information on the storm, you can keep checking with the State via twitter: http://twitter.com/destorminfo.
Protect yourself from mis-indexed UCC Filings and Surprise Creditors by ordering a Search to Reflect
In order to perfect their security interest, secured parties should file their financing statements swiftly, on the correct debtor names and in the appropriate filing office. A diligent secured party’s efforts, however, do not end once the filing office acknowledges acceptance of their financing statement. Experienced filers know that at that point they need to initiate a post filing verification search, more commonly known as a “search to reflect.” A search to reflect is a search of the UCC records of the filing office where you filed your lien, after your document has posted to the index.
The benefits of obtaining in a Search to Reflect are twofold:
1. Confirm State Indexing
Tough economic times have forced many filing offices to make cuts to staffing levels and/or hours of operation in order to save money. With fewer employees responsible for that same amount of work, there is an increased chance of typographical errors when indexing filing information. These data entry errors can cause a filing to be difficult to locate in the public record and put secured parties at risk. Now more than ever, UCC filers are encouraged to adopt a search to reflect as a final step in their UCC filing process.
2. Verify Position
Even when a secured party performs conscientious pre-funding due diligence searches, there is a possibility that a surprise lien could sneak in ahead of their Financing Statement or that a lien was missed on their initial search effort. A search to reflect offers assurance of a filer’s priority position to collect on debts by revealing their position relative to any other claim holders.
A search to reflect is a critical step in the due diligence process. If you are not currently performing any post-funding due diligence, consider adding a search to reflect to your filing process. Many private service companies offer filing packages that include a search to reflect for a small additional charge.
Since the uniform commercial code isn’t exactly applied uniformly throughout all the states, and due to the high volume of searching the state of Delaware, service companies get a lot of questions from people wondering what words are dropped when they do a Delaware UCC search with the Secretary of State. Thankfully, the Secretary of State’s office publishes a list to identify the words they ignore when performing UCC searches, also known as their “noise words.”
You can follow this link to a comprehensive list of the State’s noise words: http://corp.delaware.gov/uccsearch.shtml
A quick comment on the State’s list – It is important to note that the ending noise words are just that: they will only be dropped if they appear at the end of your search name. That means that if you search “ABC Company,” your listing will include filings indexed under “ABC Company” as well as “ABC LP” and “ABC Limited Liability Company,” but will not include filings indexed under “ABC Company Holdings” or “ABC Company, a Delaware Corporation,” for example.
Lastly, please keep in mind that although the State programmed their system to drop certain noise words, errors can occur. If you ever get results that you suspect are not correct, always check in with your UCC & corporate service provider or the Secretary of State to double-check.
Creating a title report is a complex and detailed process. It requires experience and industry expertise to craft a comprehensive report that you can trust to assist you in making decisions.
Reliability
1. Does your search company keep their word? Do you get your reports when promised?
2. Do they have errors & omissions insurance?
3. How often do they communicate with you? If your work will be delayed, do they tell you before it is due, or when it is already late?
4. How long has your search company been in business? First Corporate Solutions has been around since 1987.
Quality
5. Is your search company knowledgeable about title norms and customs?
6. Do they have a detailed understanding of title documents?
7. Do they read and understand all legal descriptions? Most searchers rely on addresses or parcel numbers instead of carefully reviewing the legal description. This practice can lead to incomplete and inaccurate reporting.
Coverage
8. Does your search company cover the entire country?
9. Do they offer the full spectrum of public records research or title services only?
10. Finally, is your search company’s goal simply to sell you title reports?
First Corporate Solutions works with our customers to first understand their needs, then create a customized report that satisfies them.
FRAUD ALERT: Watch out for Misleading Corporate Filing and Renewal Solicitations – UPDATE
Regular readers of our blog may recall that several weeks ago we posted an item about misleading solicitations being sent to California small businesses. These official-looking notices demand exorbitant fees for the filing of annual statements or the drafting of corporate minutes and threaten loss of corporate status for failure to comply.
The Secretary of State’s office has issued a new Customer Alert to inform the public that the scope of the misleading solicitations has expanded to include dissolution filings.
The solicitation letters originate from a company called Business Filings Division. The letter instructs recipients to send $495 and a completed form to them for processing in order to dissolve their entity. The steps and verbiage suggested in the letter DO NOT meet the requirements of the California Corporations Code.
For more information and to view a sample of the misleading solicitation, you can follow this link to the Secretary of State’s New Customer Alert:
http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/alert-misleading-solicitations-terminations.htm
Please take some time to investigate the links included above and remember to review all notices carefully before submitting payment for services. If in doubt about a notice your firm has received by mail, call a public records specialist to discuss specific filing requirements for your organization.
While everyone is in the midst of the holiday chaos, we’d like to throw out a friendly reminder that Delaware annual reports and annual franchise taxes for corporations are due on 3/1/2010 for 2009.
ALL corporations incorporated in the State of Delaware are required to file an annual report, and all but exempt domestic corporations are required to pay taxes. The annual report filing has been raised to $50.00 this year, with minimum tax at $75.00 and maximum tax at $180,000.00.
Any corporations who do not file their annual report on or before March 1st will be required to pay an additional penalty of $100.00, as well as interest on any unpaid tax balance which accrues at 1.5% per month.
It’s also important to note that any corporations that owe $5,000.00 or more pay estimated taxes in quarterly installments.
All annual reports and tax payments must be completed online via the DE SOS website: http://corp.delaware.gov/paytaxes.shtml
The site is very easy to use, but the folks at the State office are always ready to answer any questions that might arise.
Given the uncertainty of today’s economy, businesses across the nation are looking for meaningful ways to reduce spending. Lenders however, should be cautious where they make cuts and think twice before cutting too deeply from their due diligence budgets. Now more than ever, lenders need to have a clear picture of a prospect’s financial solvency before making their funding decision.
It is advisable to let your legal and risk management departments determine what searches to perform to best mitigate your risk for loss. That being said, the following due diligence search package provides for comprehensive reporting of existing financial obligations and encumbrances in the public record:
- UCCs (and available Tax Liens or Judgments) at the State Level
- UCCs/Fixture Filings, Tax Liens and Judgments at the County Level
- Civil Litigation at the State Court of General Jurisdiction
- Civil Litigation at the U.S. District Court
- Bankruptcy at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Thorough due diligence searching can help lenders make funding decisions with confidence. For more information on search options, contact a public records professional. Many service companies can customize a search package to meet your specific pre and post-funding due diligence needs.
California public records professionals have learned of a troubling new con taking place in our state. Over the last couple of years, we have fielded countless phone calls from anxious clients regarding suspicious notices they have received in the mail. The official-looking notices demand exorbitant fees for the filing of annual statements or the drafting of corporate minutes and threaten loss of corporate status for failure to comply.
THESE NOTICES ARE FRAUDULENT. Although they may appear to come from a legitimate government agency, refer to specific code sections in the text or contain an official-looking seal, they are actually solicitations for business from phony companies that prey on earnest small business owners, hoping trick them into paying something for nothing.
Prompted by thousands of complaints, the Attorney General’s office is taking action. Last month, Attorney General Edmond G. Brown, Jr. filed suit against several individuals and businesses that have been running misleading solicitation scams.
You can read the Attorney General’s press release by following this link:
http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1817&
The Secretary of State’s office has issued a Customer Alert that provides valuable tips for spotting fraudulent notices:
http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/alert-misleading-solicitations.htm
Please take some time to investigate the links provided above and remember to review all notices carefully before submitting payment for services. If in doubt about a notice your firm has received by mail, call a public records specialist to discuss specific filing requirements for your organization.
