The issues on appeal are: (1) whether the trial court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident trust which holds notes secured by deeds of trust on North Carolina real property; and (2) when the statutes of limitations begin to run for an action alleging a usurious loan origination fee and a violation of the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act ("UDTPA"). Based on the specific facts of this loan agreement and the relationship of the parties, we hold that there is no personal jurisdiction over the trust and accordingly, affirm the Court of Appeals. Because we *207resolve this case on the basis of personal jurisdiction, we do not reach the statute of limitations issues.
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiffs obtained a mortgage loan in the principal amount of $45,000.00 from defendant Preferred Credit Corporation ("Preferred Credit") on 22 January 1997. This loan was secured by a second deed of trust on plaintiffs' residence, under which First Carolina Bank was the trustee. The interest rate on the loan was 14.75% with a disclosed annual percentage rate of 16.902%, at a term of 180 months. The fees and costs charged to plaintiffs at closing were in the amount of $5,225.70, which included a $3,600.00 origination fee.
After closing, on 1 March 1997, Preferred Credit as seller entered into a Pooling and Servicing Agreement ("PSA") with Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corporation ("Credit Suisse") as depositor, Advanta Mortgage Corporation USA ("Advanta") as servicer, and Bankers Trust Company n/k/a Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas ("DB Trust Co.") as trustee. Under this PSA, the Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corporation Preferred Credit Asset-Backed Certificates, Series 1997-1 ("1997-1 Trust") was formed.
Under a related but separate Sale and Purchase Agreement ("SPA"), Credit Suisse purchased mortgage loans from Preferred Credit. Credit Suisse then assigned all rights under the SPA to the 1997-1 Trust, thereby transferring certain mortgage loans with borrowers in North Carolina and thirty-seven other states. North Carolina notes composed approximately 3% in number and value of the 3,537 loans held by the 1997-1 Trust.
The PSA appointed DB Trust Co. as trustee of the 1997-1 Trust (which is different from the trustee under plaintiffs' deed of trust, First Carolina Bank). David Co, vice president of DB Trust Co., averred that the purpose of the 1997-1 Trust (through its trustee DB Trust Co.) is "to hold mortgage loans ..., receive income from the mortgage loans ..., distribute payments received from the Servicer ..., and issue certificates under the terms of the [PSA]." The 1997-1 Trust was formed and is administered under the laws of the State of New York. The 1997-1 Trust has no office other than the corporate offices of its trustee in California and New York; it has no employees; no employees or agents of the trust have traveled to North Carolina on its behalf; the trust does not "own, possess, lease, or use real estate" in North Carolina; it does not "engage in or transact any business"; it does not make contracts nor has it "contracted to supply any service or thing to anyone"; it has neither solicited nor entered into mortgage loan agreements in North Carolina; and it has not "directly collected payments, fees or commissions" from any borrowers associated with these loans.
Pursuant to the PSA forming the 1997-1 Trust, Advanta was named servicer of the mortgage loans eventually deposited with the 1997-1 Trust. Subsequently, Advanta transferred its servicing rights and responsibilities to Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation ("Chase"). By the terms of the PSA, the 1997-1 Trust's trustee is not authorized to directly collect payments on loans or enforce rights under the terms of the mortgage agreements; rather, the servicer Chase is authorized to "do any and all things in connection with ... servicing and administration [of the loans] which the Servicer may deem necessary or desirable." In the event of default, the servicer Chase is authorized to "take such action as it shall deem to be in the best interest of the Certificate holders and the Certificate Insurer." Chase is empowered to determine "in its discretion," whether to foreclose upon a defaulted loan or to allow its assumption by another borrower. The PSA further provides that "[i]f reasonably required by the Servicer, the Trustee [DB Trust Co.] shall execute any powers of attorney furnished to the Trustee by the Servicer and other documents necessary or appropriate to enable the Servicer to carry out its ... duties."
Chase services the 1997-1 Trust's mortgage loans from its office in California. This includes submitting statements to the borrowers and receiving payments therefrom in its California office. After collecting payments *208in California, Chase deducts its servicing fee and then remits the balance collected on the loans held by the 1997-1 Trust to trustee DB Trust Co. in New York.
Plaintiffs filed the present action1 alleging defendant Preferred Credit, the loan originator, charged excessive loan origination fees and usurious interest rates and violated the UDTPA. Multiple defendants were named in the complaint, but through the course of litigation and appeals, various defendants were dismissed. Preferred Credit was never served and has not made any appearance in this case. Chase, the loan servicer, is not a party to this action. The remaining defendants relevant to this appeal are the 1997-1 Trust and its trustee DB Trust Co.
The trial court dismissed plaintiffs' complaint against the 1997-1 Trust under Rules 12(b)(2) and 12(b)(6) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. It also allowed DB Trust Co.'s motion to dismiss under Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). The Court of Appeals, in a divided opinion, affirmed the trial court's dismissal of plaintiffs' claims against defendants on two alternative bases: (1) lack of personal jurisdiction; and (2) expiration of the applicable statutes of limitations. Skinner v. Preferred Credit, 172 N.C.App. 407, 616 S.E.2d 676 (2005). The dissenting opinion at the Court of Appeals only discussed the personal jurisdiction issue, id. at 415-27, 616 S.E.2d at 681-88 (Bryant, J., dissenting), and plaintiffs appealed as of right on that issue. Subsequently, we allowed plaintiffs' petition for writ of certiorari to review the statute of limitations issues. 360 N.C. 177, 626 S.E.2d 650 (2005).
II. PERSONAL JURISDICTION
As a preliminary matter, we note that plaintiffs do not allege or argue that personal jurisdiction over the 1997-1 Trust could be based on contacts that trustee DB Trust Co. might have with North Carolina. Moreover, there is no evidence in the record regarding any contacts DB Trust Co. has with North Carolina. Thus, analysis in this case will focus only on the 1997-1 Trust.
The question presented is whether North Carolina courts can exercise personal jurisdiction over the 1997-1 Trust. To determine whether a nonresident defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction in North Carolina, our Court employs a two-step analysis. First, jurisdiction over the action must be authorized by N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4, our state's long-arm statute. Dillon v. Numismatic Funding Corp., 291 N.C. 674, 675, 231 S.E.2d 629, 630 (1977). Second, if the long-arm statute permits consideration of the action, exercise of jurisdiction must not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Id.
A. Long-Arm Statute
Plaintiffs argue that three subsections of the long-arm statute grant jurisdiction over this action: N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(1)(d), (5)(d), and (6)(b). None of these provisions authorizes the exercise of our jurisdiction.
1. Substantial Activity
N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(1) applies to defendants with a "Local Presence or Status" and grants personal jurisdiction "[i]n any action ... in which a claim is asserted against a party who ... [i]s engaged in substantial activity within this State, whether such activity is wholly interstate, intrastate, or otherwise." N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(1)(d) (2005). This Court has stated that the enactment of N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(1)(d) was "intended to make available to the North Carolina courts the full jurisdictional powers permissible under federal due process." Dillon, 291 N.C. at 676, 231 S.E.2d at 630 (citing 1 McIntosh, North Carolina Practice & Procedure § 937.5 (Supp. 1970)).
However, by its plain language the statute requires some sort of "activity" to be conducted by the defendant within this state. Here, the 1997-1 Trust was created after the origination of plaintiffs' loan as a mechanism for holding notes, receiving income, and issuing related certificates. Only 114 (approximately 3%) of the 3,537 loans deposited at *209the inception of the 1997-1 Trust related to North Carolina indebtedness. These activities occurred outside of North Carolina, in California and New York. The only local activities that link the plaintiffs to the 1997-1 Trust are: (1) the loan itself, an activity completed by Preferred Credit before the creation of 1997-1 Trust; and (2) loan payments made by the plaintiffs, activities conducted by a separate servicer, not by the 1997-1 Trust. Thus, even under N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(1)(d)'s very broad terms, the facts of this case fail to invoke jurisdiction.
2. Things of Value
N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(5) addresses actions relating to "Local Services, Goods or Contracts" and authorizes jurisdiction over "any action which ... [r]elates to goods, documents of title, or other things of value shipped from this State by the plaintiff to the defendant on his order or direction." N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(5)(d) (2005). Essentially, this section of the long-arm statute reaches defendants who engage in commercial transactions with residents of this state. See Johnston Cty. v. R.N. Rouse & Co., Inc., 331 N.C. 88, 95, 414 S.E.2d 30, 35 (1992) (describing N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(5) as "authoriz[ing] the courts of North Carolina to exercise jurisdiction over a nonresident contracting within the state or contracting to perform services within the state").
In this case, the main transaction at issue, the origination of the mortgage loan, was conducted by Preferred Credit before the creation of the 1997-1 Trust. The only things "shipped from this State" are the loan payments, but the servicer Chase handles all aspects of these transactions. As noted previously, Chase does not act "at the order or direction" of the 1997-1 Trust but rather, is authorized to make its own decisions about how best to administer the loans it services, including discretion as to how to handle a default. There is no direct contact between plaintiffs and the 1997-1 Trust. Although this statutory grant of jurisdiction is far-reaching, the transactions in this case do not fall within its grasp.
3. Tangible Property
N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(6) concerns actions related to "Local Property" and permits our courts to hear cases which arise out of "[a] claim to recover for any benefit derived by the defendant through the use, ownership, control or possession by the defendant of tangible property situated within this State either at the time of the first use, ownership, control or possession or at the time the action is commenced." N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(6)(b) (2005). Plaintiffs' mortgage was in the form of a deed of trust. A deed of trust is a three-party arrangement in which the borrower conveys legal title to real property to a third party trustee to hold for the benefit of the lender until repayment of the loan. See 1 James A. Webster, Jr., Webster's Real Estate Law in North Carolina § 13-1, at 538 (Patrick K. Hetrick & James B. McLaughlin, Jr. eds., 5th ed. 1999). This three-party arrangement differs from a two-party mortgage in which the conveyance is directly to the lender; here, the conveyance is to a trustee for the lender's benefit. See id. § 13-3, at 540-41. When the loan is repaid, the trustee cancels the deed of trust, restoring legal title to the borrower, who at all times retains equitable title in the property. See id. § 13-1, at 538.
In this case, as a result of the execution of a deed of trust for a second mortgage loan, equitable title in the property remained with plaintiffs; legal title was conveyed to nonparty trustee First Carolina Bank; and beneficial interest was ultimately held by the 1997-1 Trust. The beneficial interest held by the 1997-1 Trust does not constitute "use, ownership, control or possession" of the property.
This Court has not specifically addressed the application of N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(6)(b) to a case such as this. However, our Court of Appeals has considered a factually similar case and concluded that our courts lacked personal jurisdiction. In Whitener v. Whitener, 56 N.C.App. 599, 289 S.E.2d 887, disc. rev. denied, 306 N.C. 393, 294 S.E.2d 221 (1982), the plaintiff, a North Carolina resident, brought an action seeking an accounting of payments received by his ex-wife on a purchase money note. Id. at 599, 289 S.E.2d at 888. The plaintiff argued that personal *210jurisdiction existed under N.C.G.S. § 1-75.4(6)(b), contending that the defendant derived benefit through her ownership of real estate in North Carolina. Id. at 601, 289 S.E.2d at 889. The plaintiff and the defendant sold the North Carolina property in question more than fifteen years before the action was filed and, as part of the sale, took a purchase money note secured by a deed of trust. Id. at 599, 289 S.E.2d at 888. At the time of the sale and thereafter, the defendant was domiciled in Florida where she received payments on the note sent from North Carolina. Id. On these facts, our Court of Appeals concluded that there was no personal jurisdiction. 56 N.C.App. at 602, 289 S.E.2d at 890.
Whitener is persuasive because it involved a deed of trust arrangement analogous to the one in this case with two important distinctions. In the instant case, the nonresident holding the beneficial interest under the deed of trust, the 1997-1 Trust, does not directly collect payments from North Carolina residents as the defendant in Whitener did. Further, the 1997-1 Trust did not participate in the transaction giving rise to the deed of trust as the Whitener defendant did by participating in the sale of her land. Thus, the 1997-1 Trust's connections to North Carolina are even more tenuous than those of the defendant in Whitener.
As the Court of Appeals acknowledged in Whitener, exercising personal jurisdiction over a party who holds the beneficial interest in a deed of trust secured by North Carolina real property but has no other connections to this state would arguably violate due process requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Id. at 601-03, 289 S.E.2d at 889-90. Hence, the analysis under this provision of our long-arm statute blends to some extent with the next step in the personal jurisdiction inquiry: whether 1997-1 Trust has sufficient minimum contacts with North Carolina to comport with due process requirements.
B. Due Process Analysis
Even assuming arguendo that North Carolina's long-arm statute authorizes jurisdiction over the 1997-1 Trust, exercise of that jurisdiction would violate due process requirements. To satisfy the due process prong of the personal jurisdiction analysis, there must be sufficient "minimum contacts" between the nonresident defendant and our state "such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend `traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.'" Int'l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 158, 90 L.Ed. 95, 102 (1945) (quoting Milliken v. Meyer, 311 U.S. 457, 463, 61 S.Ct. 339, 343, 85 L.Ed. 278, 283 (1940)). This Court has stated:
The concept of "minimum contacts" furthers two goals. First, it safeguards the defendant from being required to defend an action in a distant or inconvenient forum. Second, it prevents a state from escaping the restraints imposed upon it by its status as a coequal sovereign in a federal system.
Miller v. Kite, 313 N.C. 474, 477, 329 S.E.2d 663, 665 (1985) (citing World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980)).
There are two types of personal jurisdiction. General jurisdiction exists when the defendant's contacts with the state are not related to the cause of action but the defendant's activities in the forum are sufficiently "continuous and systematic." See Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414-16, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 1872-73, 80 L.Ed.2d 404, 410-13 (1984). Specific jurisdiction exists when the cause of action arises from or is related to defendant's contacts with the forum. See id. at 414 n. 8, 104 S.Ct. at 1872 n. 8, 80 L.Ed.2d at 411 n. 8. Plaintiffs only argue that specific jurisdiction exists. This Court has noted that, for the purposes of asserting specific jurisdiction, "[o]ur focus should ... be upon the relationship among the defendant, this State, and the cause of action." Tom Togs, Inc. v. Ben Elias Indus. Corp., 318 N.C. 361, 366, 348 S.E.2d 782, 786 (1986). We have also observed:
Application of the "minimum contacts" rule "will vary with the quality and nature of the defendant's activity, but it is essential in each case that there be some act by which the defendant purposefully avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities *211within the forum State, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws."
Chadbourn, Inc. v. Katz, 285 N.C. 700, 705, 208 S.E.2d 676, 679 (1974) (quoting Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 253, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 1240, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283, 1298 (1958)).
In this case, plaintiffs argue personal jurisdiction over the 1997-1 Trust exists on three bases: (1) Preferred Credit's origination of plaintiffs' loan in North Carolina; (2) deeds of trust on North Carolina property; and (3) loan payments sent from North Carolina. We address each of these "contacts" in turn.
First, the 1997-1 Trust did not exist at the time the loan in question was created. The loan originator, Preferred Credit, was the entity that solicited plaintiffs' business and executed the loan. This loan was sold to Credit Suisse who then assigned the loan to the 1997-1 Trust. Thus, the 1997-1 Trust is at least two steps removed from the North Carolina origins of this loan. Further, the 1997-1 Trust as an entity was not an active participant in either the loan execution or subsequent assignment. It was created as a passive depository for 3,537 loans, only 3% of which have ties to North Carolina. Moreover, its creation occurred outside of this state. Its day-to-day operations, which consist of its accounts and the office of its trustee DB Trust Co., are in New York.
Second, plaintiffs argue that by virtue of being assigned loans secured by deeds of trust on North Carolina property, the 1997-1 Trust has a significant enough contact with North Carolina to support jurisdiction. The interest held by the 1997-1 Trust is simply a beneficial interest in North Carolina property. It does not hold title to any North Carolina property; legal title is held by a trustee (for plaintiffs' deed of trust, First Carolina Bank), which has no relationship to the 1997-1 Trust apart from the deed of trust. Thus, the nature of this particular contact with North Carolina is insufficient to support jurisdiction, even as arguably the only "direct" contact the 1997-1 Trust has with North Carolina.
Third, the loan payments in question are not received directly by the 1997-1 Trust, but instead by a separate servicer, Chase. In essence, the 1997-1 Trust serves as the depository for income derived, in part, from North Carolina loans. More importantly, plaintiffs did not make Chase a party to this action. Plaintiffs' allegations stem from the execution of the original loan, not the manner in which Chase is collecting or allocating payments.
Our cases analyzing minimum contacts rarely have dealt with so "passive" a defendant. However, we have acknowledged that passivity can result in a lack of jurisdiction even when there is a very direct, intentional contact. In United Buying Group, Inc. v. Coleman, 296 N.C. 510, 251 S.E.2d 610 (1979) we found that a defendant who signed a conditional promissory note, which was the subject of the action, to a North Carolina company, but had no other contacts with the state, had insufficient contacts to support personal jurisdiction. Id. at 518, 251 S.E.2d at 616. Although the defendant could have anticipated being sued in North Carolina, this Court concluded the fact that the defendant's only contact was signing a note to guarantee a debt owed to a North Carolina company, which "his brother ... happened to be doing business with," was inadequate to exercise personal jurisdiction over him. Id. at 517, S.E.2d at 615. Thus, even though the defendant signed a note that created a relationship with North Carolina residents, we could not automatically exercise personal jurisdiction. Here, the 1997-1 Trust is more passive an "actor" than the defendant in United Buying Group. The trust exists as an entity created for the purpose of being assigned income from mortgage notes, some of which happen to be secured by North Carolina property.
Additionally, we note that other jurisdictions have considered similar facts and concluded that there was no personal jurisdiction over the defendants. In fact, one such case involved the same defendant as the present action. The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee held that Tennessee lacked personal jurisdiction over the 1997-1 Trust. See Frazier v. Preferred Credit, No. 01-2714 GB, 2002 WL 31039856, at *10 (W.D.Tenn. July 31, 2002) (unpublished) (referring to the 1997-1 Trust as part of the collective "First Boston *212Trusts"). In conducting its due process analysis, the court noted the plaintiffs failed to point to any evidence in the record regarding the 1997-1 Trust's contacts with Tennessee and resolved the jurisdiction question over the 1997-1 Trust in that manner. Id. at *7. However, the court did analyze the facts of similar trusts, noting the plaintiffs alleged the following contacts supported personal jurisdiction over those defendants: "defendants' purchase of at least seventy-four second mortgage loans secured by property held by Tennessee residents; defendants' receipt of income from these mortgages; and defendants' holding of notes secured by mortgages from Tennessee residents secured by real property located within the state." Id. at *6 (citations omitted). Concluding it lacked jurisdiction over the defendants, the court in Frazier cited facts essentially indistinguishable from the instant case, including that "an independent servicer has exclusive power to perform all acts in connection with administering the loans, including collecting payments and enforcing performance of or seeking remedies with respect to the loans." Id. The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee has reached the same result in other cases. See Williams v. Firstplus Home Loan Owner Trust, 310 F.Supp.2d 981 (W.D.Tenn. 2004); Mull v. Alliance Mortgage Banking Corp., 219 F.Supp.2d 895 (W.D.Tenn. 2002); Street v. PSB Lending Corp., No. 01-2751 GV, 2002 WL 1797773 (W.D.Tenn. July 31, 2002) (unpublished); Berry v. GMAC-Residential Funding Corp., No. 01-2713 GB, 2002 WL 1797779 (W.D.Tenn. July 31, 2002) (unpublished).
Similarly, the United States District Court for the District of Kansas held it did not have personal jurisdiction over nonresident assignees in an action brought by consumers claiming that second mortgages violated provisions of the Kansas Uniform Consumer Credit Code. See Pilcher v. Direct Equity Lending, 189 F.Supp.2d 1198 (D.Kan. 2002) (mem.). Another federal district court reached the same conclusion under relevant Michigan statutes. Mazur v. Empire Funding Home Loan Owner Trust 1997-3, No. 03-CV-74103-DT (E.D.Mich. Jan. 9, 2004) (unpublished).
Other jurisdictions have indicated a reluctance to exercise personal jurisdiction over nonresident trusts based on actions by the loan originator. Barry v. Mortgage Servicing Acquisition Corp., 909 F.Supp. 65, 74 (D.R.I. 1995) ("Here, there is no evidence to suggest that [the defendant trust] had anything to do with the origination of this loan. Thus, [the originating mortgagee's] origination of the loan in Rhode Island is irrelevant to [the defendant trust's] contacts with the state."); see also Rogers v. 5-Star Mgmt., Inc., 946 F.Supp. 907, 912 (D.N.M. 1996) (mem.) ("`[T]he unilateral activity of parties other than the non-resident defendant cannot satisfy the requirement of the defendant's contact with the forum state.'" (quoting Barry, 909 F.Supp. at 74)). While these cases from other jurisdictions are certainly not controlling on this Court, they persuasively support our conclusion on the personal jurisdiction issue.
Two federal courts have found personal jurisdiction in cases with seemingly similar facts, but these cases are distinguishable. In Easter v. American West Financial, 381 F.3d 948 (9th Cir. 2004), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found it had, under Washington state law, personal jurisdiction over trusts similar to the 1997-1 Trust. Id. at 960-61. As is true for the 1997-1 Trust, the trusts in Easter were the beneficiaries of deeds of trust for real property located in the forum state, and the trusts ultimately received money from forum state residents. Id. at 961. However, in Easter, the borrowers' actions arose "out of the Trust Defendants' contacts with the forum because the suit [was] for recovery of the allegedly excessive interest payments Borrowers made on their notes." Id. (emphasis added). There is an important distinction between an allegation of a usurious interest rate which is collected over the life of the loan and that of illegal origination fees which are charged at closing. In Easter, the borrowers' actions arose out of interest payments that were paid while the defendant trusts were beneficial owners of the deeds of trust. The defendant trusts received payments that included usurious interest. In this case, the plaintiffs' cause of action arose *213out of allegedly usurious fees paid at closing, before the 1997-1 Trust was created. As such, the rationale of the Tennessee, Kansas, and Michigan cases is more applicable.
Likewise, Johnson v. Long Beach Mortgage Loan Trust, 451 F.Supp.2d 16 (D.D.C. 2006) (mem.), a District of Columbia federal district court case relying on Easter to find personal jurisdiction over a nonresident trust, is distinguishable. Johnson concerned a dispute over the validity of the security interest created by a mortgage, not whether origination fees paid at closing were usurious. Id. at 33 (distinguishing Pilcher, discussed above, by noting that because the essence of the plaintiffs' case was illegally charged interest and fees, "[t]he cause of action in Pilcher might therefore not be said to arise out of or relate to the trusts' interests in Kansas real property").
On the facts in this case, the 1997-1 Trust lacks sufficient minimum contacts to meet the due process requirements for personal jurisdiction. In terms of fairness, it is important to note that the 1997-1 Trust can be sued elsewhere. The 1997-1 Trust admits in its brief that personal jurisdiction exists in New York, where it maintains its office and accounts. We also acknowledge our state's public interest in enforcing its consumer protection laws, but this Court has observed, in a case involving the important interest of enforcing child support obligations, that "[a]bsent the constitutionally required minimum contacts, ... this interest will not suffice to make North Carolina a proper forum in which to require the defendant to defend the action." Miller, 313 N.C. at 480, 329 S.E.2d at 667 (citing Kulko v. Super. Ct. of Cal., 436 U.S. 84, 100-01, 98 S.Ct. 1690, 1701, 56 L.Ed.2d 132, 146-47 (1978)).
III. CONCLUSION
We hold that North Carolina courts lack personal jurisdiction over a nonresident trust that has no connections to this state other than holding mortgage loans secured by deeds of trust on North Carolina property. Because we decide this case based on personal jurisdiction, it is unnecessary to address when the statutes of limitations for plaintiffs' claims began to run. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals.
AFFIRMED.