Invest With Rackley

The Rackley Investor Playbook

For people ready to go all in on buying, flipping, and holding real estate in Central Arkansas. How deals are really found, how to run the numbers, who belongs on your team, and how we work together.

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Three truths about flipping

You make your money when you buy.Most flips that lose money weren't bad remodels. They were overpriced purchases.
The best deals are rarely listed.A listed house is priced for the open market. The deepest discounts come from direct conversations with owners who need a solution more than top dollar.
Deals come from volume.Plan on roughly one accepted deal for every 20–30 offers. Build a pipeline, not a wish list.
Run it before you love it

Deal math

The 70% rule is a first filter. It saves about 30% of the after-repair value (ARV) for closing costs on both ends, holding costs, selling costs, and your profit.

Max offer = (ARV × 70%) − Rehab budget
Max offer$130,000
vs. asking−$20,000

Example numbers. Change any box to test a deal.

If it's a hold

Pad every rehab budget with a 10–15% contingency. Foundations, sewer lines, electrical panels, and roofs are the budget-killers. Inspect all four before you close.

Your time, talent & relationships

Where deals come from

Your relationships

You

Tell everyone, clearly and often: "We buy houses that need work: as-is, quick close, no repairs." Church, friends, business contacts, retirees, landlords. This channel costs nothing and earns the most trust.

Referral professionals

You

Probate and estate attorneys, divorce attorneys, CPAs, financial planners, insurance agents, and contractors all meet people with a house problem before any Realtor does. Take one to lunch every week.

Offers on listed properties at volume

Both

Send many fast, as-is, below-list offers on stale listings (60+ days on market, price cuts, estate sales) and follow up only where the listing Realtor engages. Software makes this nearly automatic. See Tools.

Driving for dollars

You

Log distressed houses in your target neighborhoods: overgrown yards, boarded windows, tarps on roofs. Look up the owner, then send a letter or handwritten note, or knock on the door.

Tired landlords

You

Long-time and out-of-state rental owners are often ready to sell, sometimes a whole package at once.

Wholesalers

You find · we verify

Wholesaling is legal in Arkansas. Get on every local wholesaler's buyer list and join the investor groups where deals get posted. Never trust a wholesaler's ARV or repair estimate. Send every deal to us for comps first.

Public records & auctions

You

Probate filings, code violations, pre-foreclosures, and tax-delinquent parcels (auctioned through the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands). Auction.com and HUD homes can be deals too, once you have a system.

Full transparency

Why you're positioned for deals we can't chase

As licensed Realtors, we owe duties to the public and to our clients that private buyers don't. That's why this partnership works best when each side does what it's positioned to do.

What our license limits

  • We must disclose we're licensed any time we try to buy a property.
  • A homeowner who comes to us is our client. Our duty is their best outcome, not a discount for an investor.
  • We can't pay referral fees to unlicensed people.
  • Confidential client information and MLS data can't be used against our clients.

What you can do as a private buyer

  • Talk directly with owners as a buyer, not as their representative.
  • Make low, as-is, quick-close offers. Always honest, always respectful.
  • Market directly to distressed owners and build your referral network.
  • Be on site, manage contractors, and control the timeline.

What Rackley brings

How we work together

Simple investor pricing

Buy-side representationFlat, per purchase closing$1,500
Listing your flipCommission on the sale price5%
Managing your holdsRackley Rentals, percent of rent collected15%

Purchases through us are handled under a written buyer agreement. Any compensation we receive from any party is disclosed to you in writing.

Rackley Recommends · Investor edition

Your team, ready to call

Line these up before the first deal. Tell them Rackley sent you.

Lender · Local credit union

Brandon Showmar

Arkansas Federal Credit Union

Your local lending relationship. Start here for pre-approval, proof of funds, and a conversation about purchase, rehab, and rental financing.

Lender · Fix-and-flip & DSCR

Investor specialist lenders

Easy Street Capital · Kiavi · Lima One Capital

Fast, asset-based loans that fund both purchase and rehab, plus DSCR rental loans that qualify on the property's rent instead of your income. They cost more than a bank, so use them for speed and scale.

Title & closing

Robbie Wilson

Attorney's Title Group · Real estate attorney & owner

Attorney-owned title company. A real estate attorney at the closing table protects you on every purchase, sale, and assignment.

Attorney

Kendel Grooms

Campbell, Grooms & Spaulding, PLLC

For work beyond the closing table: contracts, construction disputes, leases, and business litigation.

Repairs & punch lists

Austin Liberton

Liberton Home Repairs

Your first call for repairs and make-ready work while you build your own bench of subcontractors.

General contractor · Full rehabs

Yancy Cundall

Carpentry · Remodels · Decks

A contractor we use on our own renovation projects, with itemized material and labor bids.

General contractor · Repairs & rehabs

Trey Cole

TC Repair & Construction

A residential general contractor for repairs and full renovation scopes.

General contractor · Roofing & rehab

Malik Matthews

Elite Roofing & Rehab

A licensed general contractor who handles roofing and remodeling under one roof. That's a big help when the roof is part of the rehab.

Home inspection

Dale Foster

Sterling Home Inspections

Inspect every purchase, especially as-is deals. His report sets your rehab budget and your negotiation.

Insurance · Investor coverage

Jay Snider

Shelter Insurance

Coverage built for investors: vacant-property or builder's risk while you renovate, and landlord policies once a property is rented. Call him before you close on your first purchase.

CPA · Tax consultant

Aaron Gerbitz

Enterprise Accounting Partners · CEO

Meet with him before your first purchase to set up your entity, plan taxes on flip income vs. rental income, and get bookkeeping in place from day one.

Property management

Rackley Rentals

Leasing · Rent collection · Maintenance

When a flip becomes a hold, or you buy to rent, we manage it for 15% of rent collected.

Leverage

Tools worth paying for

Rackley home searchFree

Save searches for stale, as-is, and price-reduced listings in your buy box and get alerts the moment something hits. MLS access comes through us.

PropStreamYou

The investor's database: owner lookup, equity, pre-foreclosures, vacancy, tax delinquency, skip tracing, and marketing lists.

DealMachineYou

Driving for dollars in an app: snap a photo, get the owner, send a letter from your phone.

AcquireFlow / FlipPilotBoth

Offer-at-volume software for listed properties. It sends many fast below-list offers, starts the conversations, and surfaces the listings where the seller is flexible.

REDXYou

Pre-foreclosure, FSBO, and expired-listing leads with phone numbers and a built-in dialer. Follow Do Not Call rules.

StessaYou

Free rental bookkeeping that your CPA will thank you for.

ArkREIA & BiggerPocketsYou

Local investor meetings, where wholesalers, lenders, and contractors show up, plus the largest investor forum and calculators online.

Rackley Reads

The investor's shelf

Read these in order. The first book gives you the mindset, and each one after it adds a skill you'll use on real deals.

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor

Gary Keller

How long-term wealth gets built through real estate, and the criteria that separate good deals from busy work.

The Book on Flipping Houses

J Scott

The complete flip playbook, from finding the deal to selling the finished house.

The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs

J Scott

Walk a house and price the work within a few thousand dollars. This is where flips are won or lost.

The Book on Negotiating Real Estate

J Scott, Mark Ferguson & Carol Scott

How to make low offers without burning bridges, and how to hold your number.

Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat

David Greene

How a well-bought flip turns into a rental that pays for the next deal.

The Book on Rental Property Investing

Brandon Turner

How to evaluate, finance, and manage rentals so a hold works for you.

Getting started

Your first 90 days

  1. Wk 1–2
    Set up the foundation. Meet Aaron Gerbitz and form your LLC. Get pre-approved and a proof-of-funds letter. Define your buy box with us. Turn on saved searches.
  2. Wk 2–4
    Build the bench. Meet title, your lender, your insurance agent, and your repair contact. Join ArkREIA and get on local wholesaler buyer lists. Start your weekly referral lunches.
  3. Month 2
    Turn on the pipeline. Drive for dollars twice a week, start mailing, and set up offer-at-volume software. Walk houses with a contractor to sharpen your estimates.
  4. Month 3
    Make offers. Stay disciplined on max-offer math. Expect lots of "no." Goal: first property under contract.

Weekly scorecard

20seller or referral conversations
10properties analyzed
5+offers written
1relationship lunch
Protect yourself

Guardrails

  • Calls and texts are regulated. Scrub Do Not Call lists and follow federal consumer-contact rules. Letters and door-knocking are simpler.
  • If you wholesale, market your contract interest, not the house. Disclose the assignment in writing and close through an attorney-owned title company.
  • Raising money from others can trigger securities rules. Use attorney-drafted loan or partnership documents.
  • Never skip the inspection to win a deal, and never pay contractors ahead of completed work.
  • Handle vulnerable sellers with care: estates, elderly owners, people in hardship. Your reputation is your deal flow.
Bring us your next deal.

Send the address and we will run the comps and the after-repair value before you offer.

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