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You have more options than you think. Four of these let you keep your house. The other four let you sell before the auction and walk away with your equity instead of losing it at the courthouse. Written by Justin Taylor, a licensed Arkansas Realtor and local cash home buyer who has helped families across Northeast and Northwest Arkansas work through exactly this.
“Justin was very informative and provided some quick solutions and opportunities for selling my house. I would recommend his company.”— Darrel G., Google review
“Justin answered all my questions and provided options and recommendations to assist me in making an informed decision that worked best for me. Very helpful and knowledgeable.”— Tana S., Google review
“Justin provided exceptional assistance and found an alternative solution despite being unable to purchase my home.”— Alex G., Google review
Arkansas is a non-judicial foreclosure state. Under the Statutory Foreclosure Act, your lender doesn’t have to sue you. It records a Notice of Default and Intention to Sell with the county clerk, mails you a copy, and advertises the sale in a local newspaper for four consecutive weeks. The auction can happen as soon as 60 days after that notice is recorded — at the county courthouse or at the property, on a weekday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The takeaway: from your first missed payment to the auction is usually six to eight months, and the last sixty days go fast. Read the eight options below, pick the one or two that fit your situation, and act this week — not after the next letter.
Selling is never your only choice. If you have income again — or can get it — one of these four can let you stay.
The simplest fix is also the one people are most embarrassed to try: borrow the past-due amount from family, a friend, a 401(k) loan, or a credit union, and bring the loan current. In Arkansas you have the right to reinstate — pay everything that’s owed, including the lender’s fees — right up until the sale takes place. Once you do, the foreclosure stops and the loan goes back to normal.
Best for: A shortfall of a few thousand dollars, where the reason you fell behind is over.
Your servicer is required by federal rules to review you for loss-mitigation options before it forecloses, and it can’t even start the process until you’re more than 120 days behind. A loan modification permanently changes the loan — usually by adding the missed payments to the back end, lowering the rate, or stretching the term — so the new payment is one you can actually make. A forbearance pauses or reduces payments temporarily; a repayment plan spreads the arrears over several months on top of your regular payment.
Best for: You have income again, but the missed payments are too big to catch up in one lump.
If the payment is more than you can carry but the house would rent for that much or more, you can move somewhere cheaper, put a tenant in, and let the rent cover the mortgage while you catch up. Rents across Jonesboro, Paragould, Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville have climbed enough that this pencils out for a lot of families now.
Best for: The house would rent for more than the payment and you have somewhere affordable to live in the meantime.
We are not attorneys and this is not legal advice — but you should know the option exists. Filing Chapter 13 triggers an automatic stay that stops a scheduled foreclosure sale immediately. You then repay the missed payments through a court-approved plan over three to five years while keeping up with the regular mortgage payment. Chapter 7, by contrast, only delays the sale.
Best for: Steady income, you want to stay long-term, and the sale is days away.
Not sure which of these your lender will actually approve? Call or text Justin at (870) 729-8704. We’ve seen hundreds of these files and we’ll tell you which one to push for — free, even if you never sell us anything.
The same one-page checklist we hand to homeowners in person — all eight options, which ones let you keep the house, and what each one takes. Enter your info and it’s yours instantly. Free, confidential, no obligation.
If staying isn’t realistic, the goal changes: get the house sold before the sale date so the lender is paid off and the equity you’ve built goes to you, not to whoever bids at the courthouse. Which route makes sense depends on how much time you have, how much equity is in the house, and what shape it’s in.
If you have real equity and a few months before the sale date, the math can favor fixing the house up and listing it. A renovated home in Northwest Arkansas or Jonesboro sells fast and for a premium; you pay off the lender at closing and keep the difference. The catch is that repairs cost money you may not have, and a listing takes 60–90 days plus a buyer’s financing — so this only works if the clock allows it.
Best for: 3+ months on the clock, meaningful equity, and cash (or a contractor willing to be paid at closing) for repairs.
You don’t have to renovate to list. An as-is listing on the MLS puts the house in front of thousands of buyers — including investors — and can still bring a strong price if it’s priced right. You’ll pay a commission and you’ll need enough time for showings, an inspection, and the buyer’s loan to close, but it usually nets more than a straight cash sale when the house is in decent shape.
Best for: A livable house, 60–90 days, and you want the market to set the price.
When the auction is weeks away, a cash sale is the surest way to stop it. An investor buys the house exactly as it sits — no cleaning, no repairs, no showings — and closes on your timeline, sometimes in as little as seven days. The lender is paid off at closing, the foreclosure is cancelled, and whatever equity is left comes to you instead of disappearing on the courthouse steps. A good buyer covers the closing costs, so the number on the offer is the number you walk away with (minus what you owe).
Best for: The sale date is close, the house needs work, or you simply need certainty and a fast, clean exit.
Most investors only make cash offers, and cash offers don’t work well when there’s little or no equity — there’s nothing left to offer. That’s where subject-to and owner-financing deals come in. In a subject-to purchase, the buyer takes over the property and brings your existing loan current and keeps paying it, with the loan staying in your name for a period of time. In owner financing, you sell the house and the buyer pays you over time. Both are more complex and need to be papered by an attorney, but they often produce a higher payout than a cash sale when equity is thin.
Best for: You owe close to what the house is worth and a cash offer would leave you with nothing.
Here’s how we think about it when a homeowner calls. It’s not legal advice — it’s the honest starting point we’d use for our own family.
| Your situation | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Income is back and you’re only a few payments behind | 1, then 2 | Reinstating is the cleanest fix; a repayment plan or modification if the lump sum is too big. |
| Steady income, sale date is close, and you want to stay long-term | 4 (talk to an attorney), 2 | Chapter 13 stops the sale immediately and gives you years to catch up. |
| Payment is too high but the house would rent for more | 3 + 1 or 2 | A tenant carries the mortgage while you rebuild; you keep the asset. |
| Lots of equity, house in good shape, 3+ months | 5 or 6 | A listing usually nets the most when the clock allows it. |
| Sale date under 60 days away, or the house needs work | 7 | A cash sale closes in days and stops the foreclosure with certainty. |
| You owe close to (or more than) the house is worth | 8, or 6 as a short sale | Subject-to or owner financing can pay you more than cash when equity is thin. |
Free, government-backed help is also available: HUD-approved housing counselors will review your options at no charge — call (800) 569-4287 or visit hud.gov/findacounselor. We’re happy to work alongside your counselor.
Hi, I’m Justin Taylor. My wife Emily and I run Best Flipping Friends LLC out of Paragould, Arkansas. We buy houses with our own money across Craighead, Greene, Washington, and Benton counties (and Pulaski and Faulkner), and I’m a licensed Arkansas Realtor — which means when you call, you get an honest comparison of every option, not a sales pitch for one. We’ve helped families stop sales that were days away, and we’ve told plenty of people to call their lender instead of us. Everything you tell us stays confidential.
Timelines, courthouse details, and local options for each area we serve:
Yes. In Arkansas the Notice of Default and Intention to Sell starts a clock of at least 60 days before the sale, and you can reinstate the loan, get a modification approved, file Chapter 13, or sell the house right up until the auction takes place. The earlier you act, the more of these options are realistic.
Faster than most states. Under federal servicing rules your lender generally can’t start until you’re more than 120 days behind. Once it records the Notice of Default, Arkansas law allows the sale as soon as 60 days later — no lawsuit or courtroom required. From first missed payment to auction is often six to eight months, and there is no right of redemption after a non-judicial sale.
Yes. You own the house until the sale happens. At closing, the title company pays off your lender (including the past-due amounts and fees) from the sale proceeds and you receive whatever is left. A cash sale can close in as little as seven days, which is why it’s the most common way to stop a foreclosure that’s only weeks away.
It can. If the house sells at auction for less than what you owe, Arkansas allows the lender to sue you for the deficiency within 12 months after the sale. That’s one of the strongest reasons to sell before the auction: a negotiated sale — or a short sale where the lender agrees to accept less — usually resolves the balance instead of leaving a judgment behind.
Filing bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay that stops a scheduled sale. Chapter 13 lets you catch up the missed payments through a three- to five-year plan while keeping the house; Chapter 7 usually only delays the sale. Talk to an Arkansas bankruptcy attorney before the sale date — we’re not attorneys, but we can refer you to one at no cost.
Nothing. We’ll walk through every option on this page with you for free, tell you which one we’d pick in your shoes, and only talk about buying the house if that’s actually the best fit. If you do sell to us, we pay the closing costs and add up to $5,000 in moving assistance. If listing would net you more, Justin can list it as a licensed Realtor. Everything is confidential.
Free, confidential, and no pressure. Tell us where you are in the process and we’ll tell you which of the eight options fits — and if it’s a sale, you’ll have a written cash offer within 24 hours.
(870) 729-8704Call or text Justin directly — or enter your address below and we’ll be in touch within 24 hours.
🔒 100% confidential | 🏠 Arkansas local buyers | No obligation, ever.
Best Flipping Friends LLC buys houses with our own funds; a cash offer from us is not a listing. Justin Taylor is a licensed Arkansas real estate agent with Dustin White Realty. Nothing on this page is legal or financial advice — foreclosure and bankruptcy law is complex and deadlines matter, so please talk to an Arkansas attorney or a HUD-approved housing counselor about your specific situation. Moving assistance up to $5,000 is available to qualifying sellers at closing.
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