And from cursory investigation and observation, the real estate investors in the Springdale/Fayetteville/Rogers area are (for the most part) a tight-knit and tight-lipped group.

@Frank ChinThe answer to that is a big fat NO, which makes this seem even more like harassment and knit picking.  

Very closed knit group of professional investors.

I'm glad to be starting out in a smaller, more tight-knit HOA where I will presumably have 25% of the voice. 

However, my students and I have created a very close knit investment community that we protect, similar to the posts by Account Closed to make sure the Bigger Pockets community is protected.  

The small success I have had so far is nothing to the potential that I know I can achieve in this tight knit community and I attribute all of it to BP and the amazing members I have met so far.

Kind of like your aunt that does knitting.

I would do this deal all day with collecting at least 2 months of security deposit in case things go south.They seem to be a very tight-knitted family.

I second @Samuel Eddinger on this - we have a very tight-knit community with CTREIA and networking locally will be worth its weight when just starting out your investing journey.

Wilmington is a very close-knit community, especially for a city of this size.