(a) Every mortgage, deed of trust, and instrument supplementary thereto, amendatory thereof, or in satisfaction thereof, covering any real property situated in more than one (1) county in this state and made by a corporation subject to regulation by the Arkansas Public Service Commission, or its successor, shall be executed and acknowledged in the manner provided by law and may be recorded or filed in the office of the Secretary of State, but the recording or filing is not mandatory.
(b) The recording or filing of the instrument in the office of the Secretary of State shall be notice to all subsequent purchasers and encumbrancers of the rights and interests of the parties thereto as to property described in the recorded or filed instrument.
(c) A general description of the property of the mortgagor, rather than a specific description of each parcel or item, shall be an adequate description.
(d) Any such instrument previously recorded or filed in the office of the county recorder or circuit clerk of any county in this state may be rerecorded or refiled in the office of the Secretary of State in the manner provided in this section. The rerecording or refiling thereafter shall be of the same effect as to any property not previously released from the mortgage or deed of trust as if the instrument had been originally recorded or filed in the office of the Secretary of State.
(e) Any mortgage properly filed in the office of the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be a lien on the mortgaged property from the time it is filed, and not before.
(f) Upon the filing of any instrument as provided in this section, there shall also be filed with the recorder of deeds of the county wherein the mortgaged property is situated a brief statement containing the names of the mortgagor and mortgagee and a description of the property. An adequate property description shall consist of language reading substantially as follows: "All property owned by mortgagor and situated in ................... County, Arkansas."
(g) Instruments recorded or filed prior to July 24, 1973, shall not be affected by this section.
(h) All other laws not in conflict with this section which relate to the time when, or manner or place in which, mortgages, deeds of trust, or instruments supplementary thereto, amendatory thereof, or in satisfaction thereof are filed, executed, or acknowledged or which relate to the manner of endorsement of the record where the instrument is recorded shall be construed to apply to instruments recorded or filed in the office of the Secretary of State pursuant to this section.
Section: Previous 18-40-102 18-40-103 18-40-104 18-40-105 18-40-106 18-40-107 18-40-108 18-40-109 18-40-110Last modified: November 15, 2016