LexisNexis ( April 18, 2019, 9:04 AM EDT) -- When it comes to perfecting security interests, the line between real estate and personal property can be fuzzy. In a notable decision from the Seventh Circuit, applying Wisconsin law, the court ruled that a real estate mortgage can attach to a vendor’s interest in a land contract, including the stream of payments coming from the vendee. The court also ruled that the secured lender properly perfected its lien on the vendor’s interest by recording its mortgage in the county land records rather than by filing a UCC financing statement with the Wisconsin secretary of state. The Seventh Circuit decision clashes with cases in some other jurisdictions holding that a vendor’s interest in a real estate sales contract is personal property rather than real estate; it is an “account” under Article 9 that requires the filing of a financing statement....