All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Schelkopf

@Ryan Blackstone Hmm, I don't see it. I checked the spam folder too. Can you double-check my email address? There are two n's at the end - often that gets missed :)

That would be great, @Ryan Blackstone!

I wish I knew! 

Arvest Bank released their Skyline Report a few days ago. I've found this report to be a great numbers-based analysis of the Northwest Arkansas real estate market.

Here's a link to the article: https://share.arvest.com/newsr...

My big takeaway is that there's a lot of room to raise rents. The report notes that the average apartment lease has risen 26.4% since 2016, but the overall vacancy rate is at 3.4%.

Anecdotally, I've noticed a little cooling off on MLS over the last month, with less aggressive pricing and longer DOM. However, I'm seeing appraisal turn-around causing issues, especially for multifamily. For rentals, I've seen reports from family members and neighborhood groups of people struggling to find a place; many seem to be listed and have accepted applications same day.

What about you - Is there anything in this report that surprises you?

Hi @Juan Mercado, I'm buying in NWA as well. I purchased a quadplex and a SFH this year. Here's what I'm doing:

1. Have a realtor setup auto email searches for you. You can get pretty creative with these. For example: bank owned properties, keywords like fixer upper or handyman, and properties listed at least 30 days

2. Join Facebook investor groups for Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas. I’m addition to good advice and communities, you’ll find that wholesalers often post to these about their deals. Ask them to add you to their email list even if you don’t like the deal they post that day, so you’ll be notified about all their deals 

3. Let people know that you are buying. I started posting about real estate on my personal profile, and two people I haven’t seen in years sent me deals

4. Get out there and see houses, even if they don’t look like the perfect deal on paper. I’ve been surprised a few times by houses that are in much better condition that I expected from online photos, so the repair cost was way lower than I had estimated. I’m also new to Northwest Arkansas, and this helps me get to know the area.

One last thing: be ready to move fast. I’ve found that if I wait 3-4 days to see a good deal then it’s already under contract. A responsive realtor makes a big difference. I use and recommend Charles Rullmann: https://www.realtor.com/reales...

Hope that helps!

Hi Steven, Arkansas is a beautiful state. I think you’ll love it here.

I’ve been investing in Arkansas for 7 years. Here’s a few things I’ve observed:

Little Rock and surrounding area seems to be most active area for real estate investors. It’s the biggest city, and there is a lot of housing that is older and can be purchased cheaply. I suspect it has the best cash flow potential for LTRs.

Northwest Arkansas is growing incredibly quickly. It’s home to the state’s largest university, several big tourist destinations (mountain biking, art museums, lake), and large growing corporations (Walmart, Tysons). It’s harder to find houses at low price points; the area has appreciated quickly, and the housing stock trends newer. I see fewer deals from wholesalers in this area.

I haven’t looked much at the other areas in the state, such as Fort Smith (third biggest city, cheaper houses are easier to find), Northeast Arkansas (I’ve heard it’s growing rapidly), and Conway (close to Little Rock, but I’m calling it out because I’ve heard it’s had tremendous growth in the last 20 years).

In addition to Bigger Pockets, you can find Facebook groups for Arkansas real estate investors. I also recommend the rei-nwa group if you end up in the Northwest Arkansas area: https://www.rei-nwa.com/

One more thing: if you don’t have a realtor yet and decide to move to Northwest Arkansas, I recommend Charles Rullmann. I worked with him to purchase my personal house and several investment properties. Contact info: https://nwahomesbycharles.kw.c...

Investment Info:

Large multi-family (5+ units) buy & hold investment in Hot Springs.

Purchase price: $200,000
Cash invested: $96,000
Sale price: $400,000

This is a 5-unit MFH in Hot Springs, AR. Property was nearly a hundred years old when we purchased it. It had been poorly maintained and needed significant repairs when we acquired it.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We expected to achieve great cash flow for the property by improving the property management. Here's what we roughly estimated:

Purchase price: $200,000
Repairs: $10,000
ARV: $330,000

Projected rent: $4,100
Gross income (not incl. P&I): $3,000
Cash flow (incl. P&I): $2,000

These numbers were wildly inaccurate. The property needed significantly more repairs and capital expenses than we estimated.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

A family member asked us to purchase the property, as they were struggling to make it profitable. At the time we believed we were purchasing it far below market value.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional 7-year ARM with 20% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

Significant repairs, including: roofs, flooring, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, drywall, ceiling, and more. We hired a property management company that did a better job of placing tenants than the previous owners had done.

What was the outcome?

We sold the property for $400,000, realizing a capital gain of $104,000 or 11.6% annualized over the holding period. We are doing a 1031-exchange to defer taxes.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We learned a TON from this property. The biggest lessons were:

- Get an inspection
- Include capital expenses in your analysis
- Be skeptical of ARVs for unusual properties
- Look for properties that are low maintenance. Modern plumbing and electrical, brick exterior, water drains away from house, no large trees near house, etc
- No one will look after your property as well as you want them to. Expect to manage the property manager
- Prune your portfolio when the market is hot

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I recommend our selling agent, Nancy Bergamon. She did a great job with negotiating the deal.

I recommend Brandi Hoskins at Advantage Title in Fayetteville. I’ve used her for a number of properties, even when the other side is closing at a different title company. She’s very efficient and a great communicator.

I never did find much online content about NWA investors. I ended up creating my own. Sharing in case anyone else is interested in hearing Arkansas investor stories: https://www.facebook.com/jandm...

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Springdale.

Purchase price: $205,000
Cash invested: $56,110

3 bed, 2 ba all-brick home. Located in an established working neighborhood with great access to a park and school, and near a quaint commercial district. Home was built in 1978 but was in excellent structural shape. Remodeling to current aesthetic standards, but no major changes.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found on MLS, purchased for $15K under list price

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional with 25% down

How did you add value to the deal?

Remodeling to bring to current aesthetic standards

What was the outcome?

Remodel in progress

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Charles Rullmann was our realtor - super fast and responsive, experienced with home repairs and remodels. Highly recommended.