Ark. Code Ann. § 18-50-103 (2026)
Conditions to exercise of power of sale
A beneficiary or mortgagee may not initiate a foreclosure under this chapter unless:
- The deed of trust or mortgage is filed for record with the recorder of the county in which the trust property is situated;
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The beneficiary or mortgagee:
- Has personal knowledge of the records and information provided under this subdivision (2); and
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At least ten (10) days before initiating the foreclosure has provided by standard mail to the grantor, mortgagor, or obligor at the address of the property encumbered by the mortgage or deed of trust or the mailing address of the grantor, mortgagor, or obligor:
- A true and correct copy of the note with all required endorsements, the mortgage, or the deed of trust;
- The name of the holder and the physical location of the original note;
- A true and correct copy of the original mortgage or deed of trust and if in the possession of the beneficiary or mortgagee, each assignment or allonge of the mortgage or deed of trust;
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Information, including the applicable telephone number and Internet address, regarding the availability to the grantor, mortgagor, or obligor of each program for loan modification assistance or forbearance assistance offered:
- Solely by the beneficiary or the mortgagee; or
- By a government agency if the beneficiary or mortgagee participates in the government agency's program; and
- If the default is the result of the failure to make payment, a payment history showing the date of default.
- If a true and correct copy of the original note, mortgage, deed of trust, or an assignment or allonge of the note, mortgage, or deed of trust is lost or otherwise unavailable, the beneficiary or mortgagee may, instead of providing true and correct copies of the note, mortgage, deed of trust, or assignment or allonge of the note, mortgage, or deed of trust, provide a statement that the document is lost or otherwise unavailable, and shall recite the good faith efforts the beneficiary or mortgagee has made to locate the document.
- The duties of the beneficiary or mortgagee to provide information under this subdivision (2) are not delegable to the beneficiary's trustee or the mortgagee's attorney-in-fact;
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The beneficiary or mortgagee:
- There is a default by the mortgagor, grantor, or obligor with respect to any provision in the mortgage or deed of trust that authorizes sale in the event of default of the provision; and
- No action has been instituted to recover the debt or any part of it secured by the mortgage or deed of trust or, if such action has been instituted, the action has been dismissed.
History. Acts 1987, No. 53, § 3; 1999, No. 983, § 3; 2011, No. 885, § 2.
Amendments. The 1999 amendment rewrote the introductory language and (1).
The 2011 amendment, in the introductory language, substituted “beneficiary” for “trustee” and substituted “initiate a foreclosure under this chapter” for “sell the trust property”; inserted (2), deleted former (3) and (5), and redesignated the remaining subdivisions accordingly; and rewrote present (3).
Research References
ALR.
Necessity of Production of Original Note Involved in Mortgage Foreclosure — Twenty-First Century Cases. 86 A.L.R.6th 411.
Ark. L. Notes.
Nate Coulter, The Impact of the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement’s Servicing Standards, 2013 Ark. L. Notes 1084.
Ark. L. Rev.
Dale A. Whitman & Drew Milner, Symposium Article: Foreclosing on Nothing: The Curious Problem of the Deed of Trust Foreclosure Without Entitlement to Enforce the Note, 66 Ark. L. Rev. 21 (2013).
Nate Coulter, 2013-14 University of Arkansas School of Law Student-Run Clinics Yield Policy Insights and Practical Foreclosure Advice to Homeowners, 68 Ark. L. Rev. 551 (2015).
Case Notes
Legislative Intent.
The General Assembly intended for all documents relating to the same piece of real property be filed in the same location; consequently, the General Assembly intended such documents to be filed with the recorder in the district which the property is situated. Henson v. Fleet Mtg. Co., 319 Ark. 491, 892 S.W.2d 250 (1995).
Notice of Default.
Where notice of default gave as the place of sale “Sebastian County Courthouse,” which encompasses two distinct locations for the place of sale, the notice, in essence specifying two possible locations for the sale, was deficient. Henson v. Fleet Mtg. Co., 319 Ark. 491, 892 S.W.2d 250 (1995).
Strictly construing non-judicial foreclosure law, the court set aside the sale of certain real property as the bank failed to include the correct address in the notice of default; thus, the notice failed to satisfy the requirements of § 18-50-104, and sale was not authorized pursuant to this section. In re Gatlin, 357 B.R. 519 (Bankr. W.D. Ark. 2006).
Sebastian County.
The two districts of Sebastian County are, in effect, separate counties, so far as the recording requirements of this section are involved. Henson v. Fleet Mtg. Co., 319 Ark. 491, 892 S.W.2d 250 (1995).