We Buy Houses for Cash in Arkansas

In Arkansas, the rights you have when a foreclosure starts depend on which of two paths your lender picks. Under the Statutory Foreclosure Act a lender can sell after a recorded notice of default, and once the sale happens nobody can redeem. If the lender goes to court instead, the owner has a year to buy the property back. The Arkansas Real Estate Commission says no state law requires every owner to disclose all aspects of a property's condition, and the state charges a transfer tax on the deed. Whether your house is in Little Rock, Fort Smith, a Delta farm town or the Ozark hills, Swifty Home Buyers can make a cash offer on it as it stands, with no agent commission or repair list, and close on your schedule. Here is how the Arkansas pieces fit together.

We buy houses in all 50 states. This guide covers the rules that matter in Arkansas.

Arkansas charges a real property transfer tax under Ark. Code 26-60-105. Subsection (a) levies $1.10 for each $1,000 of consideration or fractional part on each deed conveying realty for more than $100, and subsection (b) adds another $2.20 per $1,000, for a combined $3.30 per $1,000. The Department of Finance and Administration states the same rate and works the arithmetic: $330 on a $100,000 transfer, so about $825 on $250,000. Section 26-60-106 says the tax applies at the time of transfer, is computed on the full consideration for the real estate, and unless agreed otherwise is paid one-half by the grantor or seller and one-half by the grantee or purchaser. Subsection 105(b), however, describes the additional $2.20 as to be paid by the purchaser, so who bears what is a point to settle in the contract with your title company. The tax does not reach consideration given for tangible or intangible personal property, so only the real property portion is taxed. The state issues transfer stamps for the tax, and county circuit clerks who record deeds ask for a transfer tax form. On top of that a seller who lists usually pays an agent commission, which is negotiable and is often the largest cost, plus the payoff of the mortgage and prorated property taxes. When you sell to Swifty there is no commission, and we show you a written breakdown of costs first.

Arkansas has two foreclosure paths, and the difference is large. Under the Statutory Foreclosure Act, Ark. Code 18-50-101 and following, the lender or trustee records a notice of default and intention to sell, mails it by certified and first-class mail to the borrower within 30 days of recording, and cannot sell until at least 60 days after the recording. The sale notice must be published once a week for four consecutive weeks, with the last publication no more than 10 days before the sale. The sale is held at the property or at the front door of the county courthouse between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., not on a weekend or holiday, and no bid can be accepted for less than two-thirds of the entire debt at the date of sale. You can reinstate at any time after the notice of default is recorded and before the sale by paying what is then due plus enforcement costs and fees. Once the sale happens, section 18-50-108 says it terminates all rights of redemption. The lender may then seek a money judgment within twelve months for the balance, limited to the lesser of the debt over fair market value or the debt over the sale price. The other path is judicial foreclosure in court, where Ark. Code 18-49-106 lets the mortgagor redeem within one year from the date of sale by paying the sale price, interest at the judgment rate and the cost of foreclosure, unless the mortgage waived redemption. The Attorney General's foreclosure page recommends free HUD-certified counseling, lists the HOPE hotline at 888-995-4673, and warns against anyone who asks you to transfer the deed to save your home. If you sell before the sale date, the payoff comes out of the proceeds and the remaining equity is yours.

• Sell as-is
• Inherited house
• Foreclosure
• Tenants or rental property

Pulaski County (Little Rock)

The Pulaski County Circuit Clerk's Real Estate Department records deeds for Little Rock and the surrounding county. Its page says the recording fee is $15 for the first page and $5 for each additional page, that a completed Transfer of Tax form is required, that documents must be on 8 1/2 by 11 paper with a grantor, a grantee and a title, that deeds carry a completed Prepared By statement, and that only original documents or certified copies of court documents are accepted. Documents must be notarized in accordance with Ark. Code 14-15-403, and the office accepts filings through approved e-recording vendors. If you are selling a Pulaski County house, your title company can prepare those pieces for you.