Indian Affairs Manual

INDIAN AFFAIRS MANUAL
Part 52
Chapter 4

Real Estate Services
Processing Mortgages of Trust Properties

Page 1

1.1

Purpose. This chapter establishes the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) policy,
responsibilities, and procedures for the management and processing of leasehold and land
mortgages of trust property. All references to “days” within this policy are calendar days,
not business days.

1.2

Scope. This policy applies to all BIA management and staff involved in processing
mortgages of trust property. This policy may also apply to entities carrying out activities on
behalf of BIA under contracts or other agreements if expressly agreed to in the contracts or
agreements, or if the requirement to abide by such policy is otherwise required by law.
These entities may include contractors or Tribes operating through contracts issued
pursuant to Public Law (P.L.) 93-638.

1.3

Policy. It is the policy of Indian Affairs (IA) to:
A. assist Native Americans/Alaska Natives and Tribal organizations with home ownership
and economic development;
B. implement fiduciary practices to protect and preserve Indian trust assets from loss,
damage, unlawful alienation, waste, depletion, and to make decisions concerning trust
lands that are in the best interest of the Indian landowner; and
C. process mortgages of trust land in an accurate, standardized, and timely manner, and in
compliance with all applicable regulations and standards.

1.4

Authority.
A. Statutes and Regulations.
1) 25 U.S.C. § 5135, Mortgages and deeds of trust by individual Indian owners
2) 25 CFR 152.34, Approval of mortgages and deeds of trust
3) 25 CFR 162.357, Residential leasehold mortgages
4) 25 CFR 162.457, Business leasehold mortgages
5) 25 CFR 162.582, Wind and Solar Resource leasehold mortgages
6) 25 CFR 169.210, Rights-of-way mortgages

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Chapter 4
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Real Estate Services
Processing Mortgages of Trust Properties

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Responsibilities.
A. Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is responsible for ensuring that appropriate
organizational arrangements, resources, and personnel are available to implement and
maintain the mortgage program. The Director serves as the Senior Accountable Official
for the mortgage program, and has primary responsibility for implementing and executing
BIA programs in accordance with statute, regulation, and Departmental policy.
B. Deputy Bureau Director, Field Operations, BIA is responsible for overseeing the
Regional Directors (RDs) and for ensuring that processes and resources are in place to
disseminate policy which impacts the regions.
C. Deputy Bureau Director (DBD), Office of Trust Services (OTS), BIA is responsible
for ensuring that statutory or regulatory timetables for mortgage application processing are
met, and that guidance is available to regional and agency staff tasked with processing
mortgage applications.
D. Chief, Division of Real Estate Services, OTS is responsible for establishing BIA’s
mortgage program policies, guidance, and standards for complying with statutory and
regulatory requirements; providing technical assistance and training to BIA regions as
appropriate; managing BIA’s federal reporting requirements for real estate services;
initiating periodic reviews of regional and agency programs; and assisting in the
development and dissemination of trust resource policy to the RDs.
E. BIA RDs serve as the senior accountable official for the mortgage program in their
respective regions. RDs are responsible for approving or disapproving land mortgage
applications; interacting with federal and Tribal governments and lending institutions;
assuring their respective region meets mortgage processing deadlines; requiring
accountability from regional and agency managers in their respective regions; and
conducting mortgage program reviews.
F. BIA Agency Superintendents are responsible for managing and maintaining their
respective organization’s mortgage program compliance, including: meeting mortgage
processing deadlines; interacting with federal and Tribal governments and lending
institutions; identifying opportunities for performance and process improvements;
and/or submitting recommendations for approval or disapproval to the RD.
G. Regional Realty Officer is responsible for reviewing land mortgage applications and
responding to mortgage reporting requirements.

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Processing Mortgages of Trust Properties

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Definitions.
A. Land mortgage means a mortgage obtained by an individual Indian who owns a tract
of trust land for the purpose of home acquisition and construction, home
improvements, and/or economic development.
B. Lease is a written contract between an Indian landowner(s) and a lessee that grants
the lessee a right to possess Indian land for a specified purpose and duration. The
lessee’s right to possess will limit the Indian landowner’s right to possess the leased
premises only to the extent provided in the lease. A “lease document” means a lease,
amendment, assignment, sublease, or leasehold mortgage.
C. Leasehold is a condition of holding property by lease.
D. Leasehold mortgage is a mortgage, deed of trust, or other instrument that pledges a
lessee’s leasehold interest as security for a debt or other obligation owed by the lessee
to a lender or other mortgagee.
E. Mortgage/Deed of Trust is sometimes called a mortgage loan. It is a security interest
in real property held by a lender as a security for a debt, usually a loan of money. A
mortgage in itself is not a debt, but rather it is the lender's security for a debt. It is a
transfer of an interest in land (or the equivalent).

1.7

Procedures. The items listed below summarize critical requirements in order to facilitate
the timely processing of mortgages and ensure compliance with regulations and standards.
These steps differ slightly depending on the type of mortgage being processed.
A. Leasehold Mortgages – Leases
1) Agency staff conducts a preliminary review within ten (10) days of receipt of the
proposed mortgage package to ensure it contains all required documents.
2) Agency staff conducts a comprehensive review within 20 days of receipt of a
complete mortgage package and prepares a Decision Letter to approve or disapprove.
If the decision is to disapprove, the letter will contain appeal language. The letter must
be sent to the lender by the 20th day.
3) If the decision is to approve the mortgage, Agency staff issues a Certificate of
Approval, which is signed by the Superintendent. A blank “Certificate of Approval –
Leasehold Mortgages” document can be found on the IA Online Forms webpage:
https://www.bia.gov/policy-forms/online-forms under the “Indian Affairs Specific
Forms and Guidance” tab.

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Part 52
Chapter 4

Real Estate Services
Processing Mortgages of Trust Properties

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4) Agency staff transmits the approved mortgage documents to the Land Titles and
Records Office (LTRO) for recording within two (2) days of approval.
5) Agency staff requests a Certified Title Status Report (TSR) using the Trust Asset
Accounting Management System (TAAMS) TSR module concurrently with the
request to record the leasehold mortgage documents.
6) Agency staff returns the recorded approved mortgage documents and Certified TSR to
the lender within two (2) days of receiving the documents from LTRO.
B. Leasehold Mortgages – Rights of Way
1) Agency staff conducts a preliminary review within ten (10) days of receipt of the
proposed mortgage package to ensure it contains all required documents.
2) Agency staff conducts a comprehensive review within 30 days of receipt of a
complete mortgage package and prepares a Decision Letter to approve or disapprove.
If the decision is to disapprove, the letter will contain appeal language. The letter must
be sent to the lender by the 30th day.
3) If the decision is to approve the mortgage, Agency staff issues a Certificate of
Approval, which is signed by the Superintendent. The same “Certificate of Approval –
Leasehold Mortgages” document posted on the IA Online Forms webpage can be used
for this purpose.
4) Agency staff transmits the approved mortgage documents to LTRO for recording
within two (2) days of approval.
5) Agency staff requests a Certified TSR using the TAAMS TSR Module concurrently
with the request to record the leasehold mortgage documents.
6) Agency staff returns the recorded approved mortgage documents and Certified TSR to
the lender within two (2) days of receiving the documents from LTRO.
C. Land Mortgages
1) Agency staff conducts a preliminary review after receipt of the proposed land
mortgage package to ensure it contains all required documents. Agency staff
then transmits the package to the applicable regional office for further review and
approval.

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