Arkansas • Thinking of selling
Worried your Arkansas building's problems will trap you — should you sell now?
When a Arkansas owner senses their building is in decline — rising assessments, an insurance scramble, a lawsuit — the instinct to get out is rational. But selling a troubled condo has its own traps, and the first step is seeing the building the way a buyer's lender will.
The short answer
Special assessments, insurance trouble, litigation, or lender 'ineligible' status can make a Arkansas condo hard to sell — often to cash buyers and investors only. No statutory resale/disclosure packet and no buyer cancellation period; Arkansas is a caveat emptor state. Obtain a written statement of unpaid assessments before closing (survival risk, § 18-13-116(d)). CondoSignal reads your building's documents to show what a buyer will see and whether selling now is the right move. Free.Arkansas at a glance
Resale disclosure
Buyer cancellation
None — no statutory rescission
Super-lien
None
Insurance market
Stressed
Permissive coverage in a worsening severe-convective-storm market. Under § 18-13-117 the co-owners 'may, upon resolution of a majority' insure the building — master coverage is permissive, not mandatory. Homeowners premiums reported up ~15–20% in 2024; March 14–15, 2025 produced two EF-4 tornadoes and a federal Major Disaster Declaration.
Top climate risk
Tornado / severe convective storms (Dixie Alley; two EF-4s March 2025)
Hail (leading roof-claim and percentage wind/hail-deductible driver), Riverine flooding (Arkansas, Mississippi, White, Red rivers)
What makes a condo hard to sell
Four things scare buyers and their lenders: a pending or recent special assessment, a master-insurance problem, active litigation, and a building on Fannie Mae's or Freddie Mac's 'ineligible' list. In Arkansas, permissive master insurance means an older condo can be thin or uninsured; §§ 18-13-118 to -119 then force pro-rata reconstruction funding on a shortfall. Climbing percentage wind/hail deductibles; effective July 1, 2026 the GSEs cap the allowable per-unit master deductible at $50,000. adds to the pressure. Any one of these can shrink your buyer pool to cash and investors.
What you'll have to disclose in Arkansas
No statutory resale/disclosure packet and no buyer cancellation period; Arkansas is a caveat emptor state. Obtain a written statement of unpaid assessments before closing (survival risk, § 18-13-116(d)). Buyers here also get a cancellation window (none — no statutory rescission), so a hidden problem tends to surface and unwind the deal. Trying to sell around a known assessment or lawsuit usually backfires.
How the lien and insurance picture affects your sale
Not a super-lien state — under § 18-13-116(c) past-due taxes and a recorded first mortgage prime the assessment claim. BUT the debt survives foreclosure: § 18-13-116(d) makes the purchaser jointly and severally liable for unpaid assessments, with no foreclosure exception (First State Bank v. Metro District Condominiums, 2014 Ark. 48) and no statutory estoppel. No statutory property, liability, fidelity, flood, wind, or D&O requirement. Standard policies exclude flood — river-corridor buildings need NFIP/private flood coverage. If the building is genuinely distressed, a realtor experienced with these sales — or an investor/cash buyer — may be the faster path.
Your rights in Arkansas
As a Arkansas seller you generally must disclose assessments and known problems, typically through the association's resale documents, and buyers get a cancellation window. None of this is legal advice — confirm against the current statute and a licensed professional in your state.
What to check
- Identify any pending or recent special assessment.
- Check the master policy for non-renewal or a high deductible.
- Find out whether the building is on a lender 'ineligible' list.
- Check for active litigation involving the association.
- Get the resale documents and see what a buyer will.
- Decide whether to sell before the next assessment or renewal.
Sources
- Ark. Code § 18-13-116 — Liability for expenses and assessments(High)
- Arkansas Code Title 18, Ch. 13 — Horizontal Property Act(High)
- Act 516 of 2025 (SB 323) — Horizontal Property Act modernization(High)
Educational only — not legal, financial, or engineering advice. Confirm against the current statute and, where it matters, a Arkansas-licensed professional.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
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