Source: https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/foreclosure/laws-in-arkansas.html
Timestamp: 2019-07-16 00:45:24
Document Index: 530211882

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 18', '§ 18', '§ 18', '§ 12', '§ 12', '§ 23', '§ 23', '§ 18', '§ 18', '§ 18']

Arkansas Home Foreclosure Laws | AllLaw
Arkansas Home Foreclosure Laws
Read about important features of Arkansas foreclosure law and procedure.
If you are a struggling homeowner facing a foreclosure in Arkansas, you should learn about your state’s laws regarding how much notice you’ll get before the foreclosure sale takes place, the deadline to catch up on the past-due payments (reinstate) before the sale, when you have to leave your home after the sale, and more.
Below you’ll find a summary of some of the key aspects of Arkansas foreclosure law along with citations to the statutes so you can read the law yourself.
How to Find Arkansas’ Foreclosure Laws
The citations to Arkansas’ foreclosure statutes are:
Arkansas Code Annotated Sections 18-49-101 through 18-49-106, and
Arkansas Code Annotated Sections 18-50-101 through 18-50-116.
You can find the Arkansas Code on the Arkansas legislature’s website at www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2013/2014S2/Pages/Home.aspx. If you need help locating the statutes, see Finding Your State’s Foreclosure Laws.
Key Features of Arkansas’ Foreclosure Laws
We’ve summarized important parts of Arkansas’ foreclosure laws below. You can find more detailed articles on various aspects of Arkansas foreclosure law in Nolo’s Arkansas Foreclosure Law Center.
Most Common Type of Foreclosure Procedure in Arkansas
In Arkansas, most foreclosures are nonjudicial, which means they happen outside of court. Judicial foreclosures, which go through the court system, are also possible. (Learn more about nonjudicial and judicial foreclosures.) Since most foreclosures in Arkansas are nonjudicial, this article focuses on that process.
In a nonjudicial foreclosure, the lender must mail a notice to the borrower that includes information about the availability of loan modification assistance, among other things, at least ten days before starting a foreclosure. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-50-103.
To officially start the foreclosure, the lender must record a notice of default and intention to sell with the county recorder at least 60 days before the sale. The lender must then mail a copy of the notice to the borrower (and various other parties) by both certified and first-class mail within 30 days after recording the notice. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-50-104.
In addition, the lender must:
publish the notice in a newspaper in general circulation in the county where the property is located (or a newspaper of general statewide publication) once a week for four consecutive weeks, with the last publication no more than ten days before the sale date
post the notice in a place in the county courthouse where foreclosure sales are usually advertised and conducted, and
use a third-party to advertise the notice on the internet. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-50-105.
Special Foreclosure Protections in Arkansas
Arkansas law provides special protections to military service members and to borrowers who take out a certain type of loan called a “high-cost home loan.”
Protection against foreclosure for military service members. Arkansas law generally follows the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which provides certain foreclosure protections to military service members. (Learn about federal protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.) A lender may not foreclose on a military service member for nonpayment or any breach occurring during military service without a court order if:
the mortgage was taken out before military service
the service member owned the property before military service, and
the service member still owns the property. Ark. Code Ann. § 12-62-716.
Applies to National Guard members called into active military service by the governor for more than 180 days. Ark. Code Ann. § 12-62-704.
Protections regarding high-cost home loans. The Arkansas Home Loan Protection Act prohibits various practices related to high-cost home loans. (A high-cost home loan is a particular type of mortgage loan where the annual percentage rate or points and fees exceed certain amounts.)
Under the Arkansas Home Loan Protection Act, creditors may not (among other things):
engage in “flipping” home loans (that is, the making of a high-cost home loan to a borrower that refinances an existing home loan when the new loan results in little or no economic benefit to the borrower)
have balloon payments on loans with terms of less than ten years (unless certain specifications are met)
recommend or encourage default of a debt in connection with the closing of a high-cost loan that refinances any portion of the existing debt, or
use mandatory arbitration clauses. Ark. Code Ann. § 23-53-104.
An intentional violation of the Arkansas Home Loan Protection Act renders the loan agreement void. The lender then has no right to collect, receive, or retain any principal, interest, or other charges at all with respect to the loan, and the borrower may recover any payments made under the agreement. Ark. Code Ann. § 23-53-106.
You Can Reinstate the Mortgage Before the Foreclosure Sale in Arkansas
Under Arkansas law, you can reinstate the mortgage at any time after the lender records the notice of default and before the sale. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-50-114.
Right of Redemption After Foreclosure in Arkansas
In some states, you can redeem (repurchase) your home within a certain period of time after the foreclosure. In Arkansas, foreclosed homeowners do not get the right to redeem the home after a nonjudicial foreclosure. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-50-108. (To get details on redemption after a foreclosure in Arkansas, see Nolo’s article If I lose my home to foreclosure in Arkansas, can I get it back?)
Arkansas’ Deficiency Laws
In Arkansas, the lender can sue you for a deficiency judgment following a nonjudicial foreclosure if it does so within 12 months after the foreclosure sale. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-50-112. (For a summary of the deficiency law in Arkansas, see Arkansas Laws on Post-Foreclosure Deficiency.)
After an Arkansas foreclosure sale, the purchaser can start an eviction action.