Land auction includes failed development

Twenty acres cleared for an ill-fated equestrian-focused community are among the more than

400 tax-delinquent Garland County parcels that will be auctioned Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

The Akers Road parcel owned by Arkansas Land & Equipment LLC is $367 arrears in 2014,

2015 and 2016 real estate taxes, the state land commissioner’s office said.

Developer Robert Malt, the owner of Arkansas Land & Equipment, told The Sentinel-Record in

2014 he planned to subdivide the land into lots for ranch-style homes. A barn occupied by a live-in caretaker would be at the center of the development, he said, stabling horses for residents to ride.

He said the neighborhood would feature riding trails and an arena, serving what he said was a burgeoning market for ranch-style living scaled to those lacking ranch-style means.

“As most people know, there’s a necessary affluence that comes with horse ownership,” he

said. “What we want to do is provide affordable homes for families with young children, young girls, to provide the opportunity to learn a hobby that will have a positive impact on them.”

Malt’s vision never came into focus, as his company has since been beset by foreclosures, liens and tax delinquencies. Simmons Bank concluded foreclosure proceedings last year on properties Malt owned in the Forest Lakes Garden Homes development he built off Twin Points Road.

The foreclosure was the result of the $1.8 million judgment the bank won against Malt after he defaulted on two loans.

A group of Forest Lakes residents purchased the neighborhood clubhouse and more than 12 acres of common area Malt owned from Bank of the Ozarks in 2016. The bank paid the land commissioner’s office $33,624 in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties to acquire the properties.

It also has title to land Malt owned between Twin Points and Higdon Ferry roads stemming from Malt’s default on the $2 million revolving line of credit he took out in March 2007, according to property records.

The Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board revoked Robert Malt Construction Inc.’s license in September 2015, levying $322,000 in civil penalties for misconduct and operating without a license for 730 days.

The board said Malt convinced property owners to deed him lots they had purchased for prospective homes his companies were contracted to build. In some instances, the title was never transferred back to the original property owners, making it difficult for them to get a clear title.

Tuesday’s auction also includes an undeveloped Forest Lakes parcel owned by Malt that is $711 arrears in unpaid taxes.

The land commissioner’s office doesn’t guarantee title to tax-delinquent properties sold at auction. Original owners have 10 business days to redeem properties after they’re sold at auction, the land commissioner’s office said.

An auction catalog can be viewed at the land commissioner’s website, http://www. cosl.org.