Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Realtor has interesting history
BELLA VISTA — Realtor Linda Lloyd has always been interested in building houses, and she started as soon as she was able.
“When I was a kid, I would read house plan books instead of comic books,” she said. “Right when I got out of college, I started renovating houses and then started building new ones.”
She grew up in Baltimore and earned her bachelor’s degree at Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts and her master’s degree at Penn State. After college, she began renovating houses in downtown Baltimore.
Before coming to Bella Vista, she worked in Vermont for a time and then moved from there to Amarillo, Texas, to work on an ecovillage. She said she does a lot of design on green, affordable houses. An ecovillage makes use of healthy material and doesn’t use plastic or vinyl. It is comprised of smaller, energy-efficient homes.
Lloyd had a friend in Amarillo who had a second home in Bella Vista, and she told her about it. Lloyd moved here in January 2011. She had been a licensed Realtor since 1973, and she worked for a realty company for a year and then opened her own company, Acorn Realty, the next year.
She now employs herself and two agents who are new to the business. She said she has had several agents who have retired.
She said she enjoys helping first-time homebuyers get started and get a stake in their financial future. She said it’s hard now because there is a low supply and first-time home buyers get beaten by investors or cash buyers.
She also noted this year has been a very busy one for real estate. The last couple of years have been busy, and she sold twice this year what she did last year, she said. She was surprised with the covid-19 pandemic that the market was so active.
She recently finished four years serving on the City Council. With a background in land development and real estate, she was interested in planning for the future of the city. Among the things she worked on were the proposed new septic ordinance and the 2040 comprehensive plan.
“I really liked the opportunity to serve the residents,” she said. “A lot of the things we do aren’t very glamorous,” for example, answering an email to help someone whose neighbor has junk in his yard. However, it is important to respond to those things, she said.
“I very much liked interacting with the community,” she said.
She added she still plans to be on city committees and help with the septic ordinance.
“I think it’s important to be involved in the place you’re living and just help out the community,” she said.
Lloyd has been involved with the Yestermorrow Design Build School for about 30 years, taking classes and serving on the board of directors. The school teaches designing and building and energy efficiency.
She also serves on the Bella Vista Museum board and as a volunteer docent.
“I really enjoy the museum,” she said. “Every time I’m down there, I learn something new because we have a lot of exhibits and they keep changing. It’s good to learn about the place where you’re living.”
She formerly served on the board of the community television station and with the Bella Vista Ambassadors, but she left those organizations when she joined the City Council. She co-hosted a show at the community television station called Bella Vista and Beyond.
Lloyd trains and judges show dogs. She has only one dog right now, a poodle named Scout, who is getting ready for agility and obedience training. Her last four dogs were therapy dogs she would take to nursing homes.
She also plays tennis and does water fitness to stay active.
“I don’t get bored,” she said.
While she has experienced life in other places, she has found her home in Bella Vista.
“I can’t imagine living anywhere else,” she said.