Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 23 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND REGULATED INDUSTRIES (§§ 23-1-101 — 23-119-105) › Subtitle 3 - INSURANCE (§§ 23-60-101 — 23-103-417) › Chapter 63 - INSURANCE COMPANIES GENERALLY (§§ 23-63-101 — 23-63-2010) › Subchapter 8 - INVESTMENTS (§§ 23-63-801 — 23-63-842) › Section 23-63-826 - Real estate mortgages - Definition

(a)
(1)
An insurer may invest any of its funds in bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness which are secured by first mortgages or deeds of trust upon improved real property located in the United States or which are secured by first mortgages or deeds of trust upon leasehold estates having an unexpired term of not less than twenty-one (21) years, inclusive of the terms which may be provided by enforceable options of renewal, in improved real property located in the United States.
(2)
Investments made under this section may be effected by acquisition or by agreement to acquire, in the form of a guaranty, credit draw arrangement, or other like form.
(3)
In all cases the security for the loan must be a first lien upon the real property, and there must not be any condition or right of reentry or forfeiture not insured against, under which, in the case of real property other than leaseholds, the lien can be cut off or subordinated or otherwise disturbed or under which, in the case of leaseholds, the insurer is unable to continue the lease in force for the duration of the loan.
(4)
Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit any investment by reason of the existence of any prior lien for grounds rents, taxes, assessments, or other similar charges not yet delinquent.
(5)
This section shall not be deemed to prohibit investment in mortgages or similar obligations when made under §
23-63-824
as to foreign securities.
(b)
"Improved real estate" means all farmlands used for tillage, crop or pasture, timberlands, and all real estate on which permanent improvements suitable for residence, institutional, commercial, or industrial use are, or are being, situated.
(c)
(1)
No mortgage loan made or acquired by an insurer on any one (1) property shall, at the time of investment by the insurer, exceed the larger of the following amounts, as applicable:
(A)
Three-fourths (3/4) of the value of real property or leasehold securing the loan;
(B)
The amount of any insurance or guaranty of the loan by the United States or by any agency or instrumentality thereof or, with respect to single-family dwellings, by a mortgage insurance company authorized to transact business in this state; or
(C)
Three-fourths (3/4) of the value of the real property or leasehold securing the loan, plus the amount by which the excess of the loan over the three-fourths (3/4) is insured or guaranteed by the United States or by any agency or instrumentality thereof or, with respect to single-family dwellings, by a mortgage insurance company authorized to transact such business in this state.
(2)
Except that, in the case of a purchase money mortgage given to secure the purchase price of real estate sold by the insurer, the amount so loaned or invested shall not exceed the unpaid portion of the purchase price.
(d)
No mortgage loan shall be made or acquired by an insurer except after an appraisal has been made by a competent appraiser for the purpose of the investment.
(e)
No mortgage loan made or acquired by an insurer which is a participation or a part of a series or issue secured by the same mortgage or deed of trust shall be a lawful investment under this section unless the entire series or issue which is secured by the same mortgage or deed of trust is held by the insurer or unless the insurer holds a participation in such a mortgage or deed of trust, giving it and other holders of the issue substantially the rights of a first mortgagee.
(f)
No mortgage loan upon a leasehold shall be made or acquired pursuant to this section unless the terms thereof shall provide for amortization payments to be made by the borrower on the principal thereof at least once in each year in amounts sufficient to amortize the loan completely within a period of four-fifths (4/5) of the term of the leasehold, inclusive of the terms which may be provided by enforceable options of renewal, which is unexpired at the time the loan is made, but in no event exceeding thirty-five (35) years.
Acts 1959, No. 148, § 122; 1961, No. 466, § 8; 1973, No. 177, § 1; 1983, No. 800, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 66-2626.