Arkansas is really two lending markets wearing one state’s name, and treating them as one is the most common mistake out-of-state investors make here.
Northwest Arkansas Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, Fayetteville has one of the most concentrated corporate relocation economies in the country, built around Walmart’s headquarters and the supplier ecosystem that orbits it, plus Tyson, J.B. Hunt, and the logistics network along I-49. That corridor generated an unusually dense population of independent consultants and vendor-side contractors paid on 1099, many of them earning well into six figures.
Central, eastern, and southern Arkansas price and rent very differently, with a different borrower profile: owner-operator truckers along I-40, poultry and agricultural contractors, healthcare and legal independents around Little Rock.
Both groups have the same problem tax returns that badly understate what they earn but they need different things from a lender.
Two Constraints Before You Shop
Loan minimums. Arkansas has substantial investment inventory below common Non-QM floors of roughly $150,000. In the Delta and much of south Arkansas that floor is genuinely binding. In Bentonville it is irrelevant. Ask every lender for their minimum before anything else, because it decides whether the conversation is worth having.
Business-purpose lending is straightforward here. Loans on investment property for business purposes are treated as exempt from consumer lending regulation in Arkansas, which is one reason investor Non-QM moves relatively cleanly in the state. This does not change your qualification, but it does mean fewer procedural obstacles than in some Northeastern states.
The Lenders
Select Home Loans
Select Home Loans is a Non-QM mortgage broker (NMLS #2384002) writing 1099 investor loans in Arkansas. Working across multiple wholesale investors matters here specifically because of the loan-minimum spread investor floors vary considerably, and a $120,000 Jonesboro purchase that one shelf declines outright is routine at another.
We quote the DSCR and bank statement alternatives alongside the 1099 program so you can compare products rather than take the first number offered.
Get a quote · (888) 550-3296
Other lenders worth calling — listed in no particular order:
Brokers First Funding A wholesale Non-QM lender holding an Arkansas Combination Mortgage Banker-Broker-Servicer License (#243082) under the Arkansas Fair Mortgage Lending Act, with 1099, bank statement, DSCR, and asset utilization programs. Reached through a broker. Notably, they market specifically around Arkansas profiles Walmart supplier executive compensation, Tyson equity comp, Ozark and Buffalo River short-term rentals.
Capital Home Mortgage Arkansas Maintains Arkansas operations across 1099, bank statement, asset, and DSCR programs, plus ITIN lending.
NQM Funding A wholesale Non-QM lender that publishes Arkansas-specific investor content and supports brokers with scenario-based underwriting. Broker channel.
Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions A Non-QM wholesale investor licensed in Arkansas with a dedicated 1099 income program. Reached through a broker.
Griffin Funding Publishes qualifying on 90 to 100 percent of gross 1099 income, 620 minimum credit, and loan amounts to $4 million. Also publishes Arkansas-specific asset-based and DSCR content.
NASB (North American Savings Bank) Long-established in alternative documentation lending, with a 1099-NEC based program.
Verify current licensure and program availability before relying on any listing. See the disclaimer at the end of this page.
The Owner-Operator Case
This deserves its own section in Arkansas because trucking is such a large share of the state’s 1099 income.
An owner-operator running a truck carries enormous documented business expense fuel, maintenance, insurance, tires, equipment payments. Conventional underwriting reads the net after all of it and sees a small number. A bank statement program applying a 50 percent expense factor to business deposits penalizes the same borrower a second time for the same expenses.
A 1099 program qualifying on gross receipts frequently produces two to three times the qualifying income of either alternative for this profile. It is the clearest single case in Arkansas for choosing the 1099 product specifically, and it applies equally to trades carrying heavy material costs and to agricultural contractors.
If this describes you, the question to open with is not “what’s your rate” it is “do you qualify on gross 1099 income or do you apply an expense factor.”
How Qualifying Works
A 1099 loan qualifies you on income documented on your 1099 forms rather than the net profit shown after deductions. Appraisal, assets, credit, reserves, and ability-to-repay analysis all work normally.
Programs split into two camps. Some apply 90 percent or more of gross 1099 income with no expense deduction. Others apply an expense factor of 10 to 25 percent first.
On $180,000 of annual 1099 income:
| Method | Qualifying income |
| 90% of gross | $162,000/yr — $13,500/mo |
| Gross less 20% expense factor | $144,000/yr — $12,000/mo |
| Net profit from your tax return | frequently under $80,000 |
One year or two
One-year suits growing income, a recent change in client mix, or one strong full year plus prior W-2 work in the same field.
Two-year suits seasonal or project-based income, or a recent year with a disruption.
For Northwest Arkansas consultants whose income tracks a single anchor client’s project cycle, the two-year average is usually the safer representation. For an owner-operator whose rates improved recently, the one-year may serve better.
Note that the two-year self-employment history requirement and the two-year income lookback are different things. Ask about both.
What Else Shapes an Arkansas File
Appraisal support varies enormously by region. Northwest Arkansas has deep comparable sales data and rising values. Parts of the Delta and south Arkansas have thin comps, which produces slow appraisals and occasional low valuations. Build time into the contract outside the growth corridor.
Non-judicial foreclosure. Arkansas permits non-judicial foreclosure under a statutory power-of-sale process. Investors treat this favorably, which generally supports better LTVs than judicial states.
Short-term rental markets are real but seasonal. The Buffalo National River corridor, the Ozarks, Eureka Springs, and Hot Springs support genuine STR demand concentrated in defined seasons. Razorback gameday demand in Fayetteville is its own micro-market. Seasonality affects your returns and, if you later refinance to DSCR, your rent documentation.
Property taxes are low, which helps DTI, but millage varies by county enough to matter across a multi-county portfolio.
Investment Property Terms
- Down payment: 20–25 percent typical, better pricing at 25 percent and above
- Credit: 620 floor at most investors; real improvements at 680, 700, 740
- Reserves: 6–12 months PITIA, often with additional reserves per financed property already owned
- Prepayment penalties: common on investment property, typically 1–3 years, often buyable at a quarter to a half point
1099 or DSCR?
Arkansas is one of the better DSCR states in the country. Acquisition prices well below comparable Sun Belt metros produce rent-to-price ratios that clear a 1.0 DSCR comfortably in most of the state.
That makes DSCR the default here more than in most places but two things push toward a 1099 loan. First, if the property falls below the DSCR investor’s loan minimum, your personal income may open doors the property cannot. Second, an STR property in a seasonal market can be hard to document for rent, and a 1099 loan sidesteps that entirely.
Run both. In Arkansas the answer genuinely goes either way.
Questions to Ask
- What is your minimum loan amount? (Ask this first outside Northwest Arkansas.)
- Do you qualify on gross 1099 income, or apply an expense factor?
- Will you run both the 1-year and 2-year scenarios?
- Can you quote the DSCR alternative on the same property?
- Have you closed outside the Northwest Arkansas corridor recently, and how did the appraisal go?
- What is the prepayment penalty, and what does removing it cost?
Disclaimer
The lenders described on this page are listed in no particular order. Select Home Loans appears first because we publish this page and originate these loans; we have a commercial interest in this category. No lender listed has paid for placement.
This page reflects our opinion based on publicly available information at the time of writing. It is general information, not a recommendation, an endorsement, or an offer of credit. Lender programs, guidelines, licensure, pricing, and availability change frequently and without notice, and nothing here guarantees that any lender is currently licensed in Arkansas, currently offers the program described, or will approve your file.
Consult a licensed mortgage professional and where appropriate a tax advisor, attorney, or financial advisor before making any borrowing decision. Your circumstances are specific to you, and only a licensed professional reviewing your actual documents can tell you what you qualify for. Verify any lender’s licensure independently through NMLS Consumer Access at nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
Select Home Loans, NMLS #2384002. Equal Housing Opportunity.
