Mich. Comp. Laws § 500.942 — MI Code / Chapter 500 / Act Act-218-of-1956 / Section 500.942
Qualified assets in real estate loans; purchase of loan or certificate of participation.
Status: in_force

Sec. 942.

Qualified assets for purposes of section 901 include real estate loans secured by first liens upon improved or income bearing real estate, including also improved farmland and improved business and residential properties, or that are secured by first mortgages or deeds of trust on leasehold estates having an unexpired term equivalent to the term of the mortgage, inclusive of the term or terms that may be provided by enforceable options of renewal. Vacant property, at least 60% of which is under contract of sale and the contract or contracts in connection therewith trusteed or pledged as additional collateral, is income bearing real estate within the meaning of this section.

Real estate is not encumbered within the meaning of this section because it is subject to lease in whole or in part and rents or profits are reserved to the owner or because it is subject to an easement for a right of way.

A loan secured by real estate shall be in the form of obligations secured by mortgage, trust deed, or other such instrument upon real estate, and an insurer may purchase an obligation so secured when the entire amount of the obligation is sold to the insurer, except that an insurer may purchase a part of an obligation if the investment of each participant is not less than $50,000.00 at the time of the insurer's investment, if all other participants are insurers, banks, savings and loan associations, or any other financial institution as that term is defined in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act, public law 106-102, 113 Stat. 1338, 12 U.S.C. 1811, and if the entire indebtedness of which participation is a part would qualify under the provisions of this section, and either the insurer holds a senior participation, giving it substantially the rights of a first mortgagee, or each participation is of equal rank.

Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any portion of a loan that exceeds 66-2/3% of the appraised value, at the time of the loan, of the real estate constituting or offered as security and any loan the term of which exceeds 5 years is not a qualified asset for purposes of section 901. However, the following loans are qualified assets for the purposes of section 901:

A loan on land improved with permanent buildings used for agriculture or pasture in an amount not to exceed 75% of the appraised value, at the time of the loan, of the real estate constituting or offered as security if the loan is secured by an amortized mortgage, deed of trust, or other instrument under the terms of which the installment payments are sufficient to amortize on not to exceed an annual basis of 40% or more of the principal of the loan within a period of not more than 10 years.

A loan on single family residential property in an amount not to exceed 80% of the appraised value, at the time of the loan, of the real estate offered as security, if the loan is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other instrument for a term of not more than 35 years.

Subject to subsection (6), a loan on multifamily residential property in an amount not to exceed 85% of the appraised value, at the time of the loan, of the real estate offered as security, if the loan is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other instrument for a term of not more than 35 years.

A loan in an amount not to exceed 75% of the appraised value of the real estate offered as security and for a term not longer than 35 years, if the real estate is improved if it is not used for agriculture or pasture, and if the loan is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other instrument for a term of not more than 35 years.

The limitations and restrictions in subsection (4) do not apply to real estate loans that are insured under the provisions of title II of the national housing act, chapter 847, 48 Stat. 1247, 12 U.S.C. 1707 to 1709, 1710 to 1715g, 1715k to 1715r, and 1715t to 1715z-1, by the federal housing administration, to loans insured under the Canadian national housing act of 1954 by the central mortgage and housing corporation, or to real estate loans that are guaranteed as to principal by the United States government or Canadian government or an agency or instrumentality of the United States or Canadian government.

If the total amount of multifamily residential loans that exceed 75% of the appraised value of the real estate offered as security for those loans is greater than 20% of an insurer's mortgage portfolio, the portion of those loans that exceed 75% of the appraised value shall not be treated as a qualified asset for purposes of section 901.

An insurer shall not make any such loan unless an appraisal has been made in writing by a competent appraiser appointed or employed by the insurer and filed with the investment committee authorized to approve the loan.

Qualified assets for the purposes of section 901 include a loan or certificate of participation secured by a loan made on a single-family residential property in an amount not to exceed 95% of the appraised value, at the time of the loan, of the real estate offered as security, if the loan is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other instrument for a term of not more than 35 years, and the loan is insured by a private mortgage insurer approved by the federal home loan mortgage corporation and the federal national mortgage association and is licensed to do business in the state of Michigan.

Qualified assets for the purposes of section 901 include real estate loans that do not qualify as first mortgages as described in subsections (1) and (3). Total investments that may be treated as qualified assets under this subsection shall not exceed 25% of the insurer's total investments in real estate loans as described in subsections (1) and (3).

A domestic insurer shall not invest more than 10% of its surplus in real estate loans that exceed the appraised value limitations under subsection (4), (6), or (8) unless the real estate loan is the result of a restructuring of an existing real estate loan and the insurer provides written notice to the commissioner on or before the date of the restructuring. The commissioner may increase the 10% investment limit of this section to 20% for an insurer who demonstrates to the commissioner's satisfaction the soundness of a particular investment or investment strategy that would cause the insurer to exceed the lower limit. If the loans under this subsection exceed 5% of an insurer's assets within any 12-month period, no other loans may be made pursuant to this subsection except with the commissioner's prior approval.

A domestic insurer shall not invest more than 20% of its mortgage portfolio in multifamily residential mortgages that exceed 75% of the appraised value, at the time of the loan, of the real estate offered as security.

History: 1956, Act 218, Eff. Jan. 1, 1957; Am. 1957, Act 91, Eff. Sept. 27, 1957; Am. 1961, Act 128, Eff. Sept. 8, 1961; Am. 1969, Act 318, Eff. Mar. 20, 1970; Am. 1974, Act 330, Imd. Eff. Dec. 17, 1974; Am. 1982, Act 338, Imd. Eff. Dec. 17, 1982; Am. 1984, Act 90, Imd. Eff. Apr. 19, 1984; Am. 2002, Act 462, Imd. Eff. June 21, 2002