Benton vs Bryant vs Conway - Where To Live? (Little Rock: middle-class, for sale by owner)

[YouSeeYourGypsy]

Originally Posted by texas7

We own property in AR but have not built. I have an elderly parent who i have twice had to take to Houston after doctors/hospitals in Little Rock were not able to diagnose or treat correctly. The second time, the hospital said to just go home and call hospice. Had a procedure in Houston and five years later, that parent is still here and well. Arkansas is beautiful but I wouldn’t expect stellar care.

Wow that sounds like a nightmare!! My family has gone through similar in Mississippi and Alabama. In fact, my grandmother just died in Alabama due to the tiny local hospital giving up on her and family didn't feel like taking her elsewhere for other treatments and second opinions. Although I didn't talk to her for years. Anyway...

That is sad to hear about the medical care in Arkansas. Since I'm younger, hopefully neither of us will be having a medical catastrophe anytime soon, although something like gallstones/kidney stones or cancer can happen at any age. I hope one day when I'm older I'll have long been in Spain or something

[latunafish]

Originally Posted by texas7

We own property in AR but have not built. I have an elderly parent who i have twice had to take to Houston after doctors/hospitals in Little Rock were not able to diagnose or treat correctly. The second time, the hospital said to just go home and call hospice. Had a procedure in Houston and five years later, that parent is still here and well. Arkansas is beautiful but I wouldn’t expect stellar care.

here is my anecdotal true story. my next door neighbor went to a famous houston clinic for cancer treatment. ( she was in her 40's and had kids ) they sent her home to arkansas, with the advice to get her affairs in order, there was no hope or treatment. she then returned arkansas, found a cancer doctor at uams. 5 years later, no cancer at the present time and i saw her Sunday, she is living a wonderful life.



now, i love this houston cancer clinic and their mission to treat and extend lives of cancer patients. i know plenty of patients that have received the best of care from there. we also have a family friend that works there. there are hospitals all over texas and arkansas that are giving excellent health care. i appreciate each and everyone of them.


i am a 12 year cancer survivor and i received all my care and treatments in little rock. i could filibuster this forum with survivor stories, some were treated in arkansas and some in texas.

[texas7]

Originally Posted by YouSeeYourGypsy

Wow that sounds like a nightmare!! My family has gone through similar in Mississippi and Alabama. In fact, my grandmother just died in Alabama due to the tiny local hospital giving up on her and family didn't feel like taking her elsewhere for other treatments and second opinions. Although I didn't talk to her for years. Anyway...

That is sad to hear about the medical care in Arkansas. Since I'm younger, hopefully neither of us will be having a medical catastrophe anytime soon, although something like gallstones/kidney stones or cancer can happen at any age. I hope one day when I'm older I'll have long been in Spain or something

If you’re young and healthy, probably not a biggie but if someone is older and runs into a serious illness such as heart surgeries, I think they need to be prepared to go to a larger city if they need specialized surgeries, etc.

[texas7]

Originally Posted by YouSeeYourGypsy

Wow that sounds like a nightmare!! My family has gone through similar in Mississippi and Alabama. In fact, my grandmother just died in Alabama due to the tiny local hospital giving up on her and family didn't feel like taking her elsewhere for other treatments and second opinions. Although I didn't talk to her for years. Anyway...

That is sad to hear about the medical care in Arkansas. Since I'm younger, hopefully neither of us will be having a medical catastrophe anytime soon, although something like gallstones/kidney stones or cancer can happen at any age. I hope one day when I'm older I'll have long been in Spain or something

If you’re young and healthy, probably not a biggie but if someone is older and runs into a serious illness like heart surgery, I think they need to be prepared to go to a larger city if they need specialized surgeries, etc. Spain sounds lovely!!

[texas7]

Originally Posted by latunafish

here is my anecdotal true story. my next door neighbor went to a famous houston clinic for cancer treatment. ( she was in her 40's and had kids ) they sent her home to arkansas, with the advice to get her affairs in order, there was no hope or treatment. she then returned arkansas, found a cancer doctor at uams. 5 years later, no cancer at the present time and i saw her Sunday, she is living a wonderful life.



now, i love this houston cancer clinic and their mission to treat and extend lives of cancer patients. i know plenty of patients that have received the best of care from there. we also have a family friend that works there. there are hospitals all over texas and arkansas that are giving excellent health care. i appreciate each and everyone of them.


i am a 12 year cancer survivor and i received all my care and treatments in little rock. i could filibuster this forum with survivor stories, some were treated in arkansas and some in texas.

It’s good to know they have good cancer treatments there. Congrats on your great outcome.

[YouSeeYourGypsy]

Well guys, sadly putting in house offers is not going very well. I've hit the point I'm even putting in offers on houses I don't really even like. Most homes, according to my realtor, are getting up to 12 offers just over a period of several days. Part of the reason I decided to move to Little Rock because it appeared less competitive at first glance, compared to the Carolinas.

I just put in an offer 20K above list price and lost. Then I put in an offer a little less than list price in West Little Rock because going by the crime map, the area is going downhill. I lost, the sellers had 11 offers on it. I was amazed, especially since the schools zoned to that house totally suck and the crime is getting worse in that particular area.

So I don't know. Should've never sold my house, don't know what I was thinking. It's so hard. Like a pack of vultures picking over a small scrap of meat.

There's simply not enough inventory for all of us buyers.

I know there will be slightly more listings come April and May, we will see.

[BMW335i]

Originally Posted by YouSeeYourGypsy

Well guys, sadly putting in house offers is not going very well. I've hit the point I'm even putting in offers on houses I don't really even like. Most homes, according to my realtor, are getting up to 12 offers just over a period of several days. Part of the reason I decided to move to Little Rock because it appeared less competitive at first glance, compared to the Carolinas.

I just put in an offer 20K above list price and lost. Then I put in an offer a little less than list price in West Little Rock because going by the crime map, the area is going downhill. I lost, the sellers had 11 offers on it. I was amazed, especially since the schools zoned to that house totally suck and the crime is getting worse in that particular area.

So I don't know. Should've never sold my house, don't know what I was thinking. It's so hard. Like a pack of vultures picking over a small scrap of meat.

There's simply not enough inventory for all of us buyers.

I know there will be slightly more listings come April and May, we will see.

Sorry it's stressful! Be vigilant...hopefully things will work out well for you!

[YouSeeYourGypsy]

I have a question for anyone: Why do property taxes in the Little Rock urban area appear to be higher than the property taxes around Conway and Benton (Saline county)?

Because the schools look better in Conway and Benton/Bryant so shouldn't it be the opposite?

Now I'm looking at an older ranch home with lots of character in WLR but the property taxes show as about $1,600 for that home as of 2020. Trying to figure out if the future outlook for WLR is good and justifies it.

A home of similar square footage in Benton or Conway is significantly less tax. I don't understand why, given that those suburbs have both better schools and appear to be higher growth.

Just a bit puzzled.

[YouSeeYourGypsy]

Really hate how all these homes go pending like in 48 hours. I plan on finally going up there this weekend (husband went last time and really liked it) and going around, although I bet this ranch home will be gone

Hate how this insane market situation has it where people get very little time to think about the decision.

When I got my first home back in 2019 (right before covid) the house sat literally 2 months and I had tons of time to think about everything then eventually settled on that house. This just sucks!! Haha..

[latunafish]

Originally Posted by YouSeeYourGypsy

I have a question for anyone: Why do property taxes in the Little Rock urban area appear to be higher than the property taxes around Conway and Benton (Saline county)?

Because the schools look better in Conway and Benton/Bryant so shouldn't it be the opposite?

Now I'm looking at an older ranch home with lots of character in WLR but the property taxes show as about $1,600 for that home as of 2020. Trying to figure out if the future outlook for WLR is good and justifies it.

A home of similar square footage in Benton or Conway is significantly less tax. I don't understand why, given that those suburbs have both better schools and appear to be higher growth.

Just a bit puzzled.

every county has different "millage rates" for a variety of different taxing units. these can include schools, cities, city roads, county, hospital, library, county roads, etc. (example: i had two comparable condos, one in little rock and one in hot springs, the one in little rock had real estate taxes that were several hundred dollars higher. i have a property in a mostly rural county of arkansas that is worth more than either condo and the real estate taxes are over $1k cheaper.)


the real estate market is maybe the craziest i have seen in my lifetime. same day listing and sellling above listing price has been common for almost two years. ( i have a property, that it is common knowledge, i will be vacating within the next year and i get phone calls all the time with cash offers for way more than i expected)