5 Reasons to request a lien search

You deal in used equipment one way or another whether buying, selling, auctioning, brokering, end-user, or as a creditor. What drives your reasons for having a lien search run or not to do so? Below are considerations for having lien searches conducted.

You trust your customer. I get that. Lien search is not spying. It is public information, and it is due diligence for your business. Last year the average search with Ground Clearance cost $123.00. Not bad. Not the million bucks you thought it might cost. The seller will never know you had a lien search run unless you receive something worth discussing with them. Then it becomes a very valuable tool for you. If the search doesn’t reveal anything – Great. You can breathe easy, and you did your due diligence for your buyers.
If the seller wants the check cut to him/her personally rather than the business, they might be in trouble. It isn’t legal to sell equipment that does not belong to you. You set up a company to add a layer of protection and you lose that if you don’t sell under the name you bought under. Ponder this: if the unit falls off the trailer during transport, whose insurance is paying? The one with the insurance is whose name should be on the bill of sale.
If the seller cannot produce a real bill of sale from the purchase or if the bill of sale seems bogus or does not have all 5 legal items (buyer, seller, date, price, and complete unit information) it isn’t legal. Make sure who they bought from is legitimate – do they exist? Is the date on the bill of sale suspicious? Too soon to sell for their line of work? If they say they are a construction company but opened their doors in the past couple of months.
If the seller states they are a broker but won’t divulge any information – send them to Ground Clearance. If they refuse a lien search on the seller, there is a good chance the unit is stolen. In that case, check with IronCheck at NER. They can provide the history of the machine as told through insurance policies, claims, and national theft resources.
To keep from getting burned. Too many people start requesting searches after something bad has happened. Then they are mad, paying an attorney, going to court, and all that headache. Don’t do lien search as a regret, do it because it is good for your business.

Learn more here at Ground Clearance LLC.com