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Allied Bank Properties Put Up On the Block

2 min read

Perhaps you noticed the appearance of auction signs on property in central or northwest Arkansas owned by Allied Bank of Mulberry.

The $107 million-asset lender has retained the services of Little Rock’s Blackmon Auctions to sell real estate collected mostly from borrowers on loans gone bad.

Also among the roster of properties marked for sale July 21-24 are three closed Allied branches at 4900 Kavanaugh Blvd. and 1022 W. Capitol Ave. in Little Rock and 112 W. Pointer Trail in Van Buren.

Perhaps the most interesting property up for auction is in Franklin County near Altus: 449 acres divided into four tracts at the corners of Interstate 40 and Arkansas 186.

You might recall this is the same property that Allied attempted to sell last year through an online auction. The acreage then carried a list price of $3.5 million and a starting bid of $1.1 million.

Allied entered the ownership picture in April 2010 when Wiederkehr Wine Cellars Inc. transferred the property to the bank. The deed indicated little to no money changed hands.

On the surface, it looked like property forfeited in lieu of foreclosure, and that’s what the appraiser concluded in January 2014.

“The conveyance to Allied Bank was not fully explained to the appraiser but logically was apparently part of a forbearance agreement. The lease back and option to purchase appears to be an accommodation to the former owner, allowing the repurchase of the whole property at a price akin to the mortgage balances.

“None of the agreements or option remains in effect except the right of first refusal, which expires in less than 90 days.”

But in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in August 2014, Al Wiederkehr indicated the change of ownership was tied to a nominal sale and leaseback deal, there was no loan default and no financial problems with creditors.

At that time, Wiederkehr also said his family still had a right of first refusal on the property, indicating Allied had extended the terms. Hmmm.

From the curious to the mundane, Allied Bank is selling seven houses, 10 residential lots and 67 acres scattered across Saline County, Hot Springs, Malvern and Little Rock.

Elsewhere, the bank is selling two houses and 30 residential lots in Mansfield, a former furniture store in Alma, three undeveloped commercial parcels in Fayetteville and one each in Rogers and Springdale and two small commercial projects in Fayetteville.

Allied’s parent company, Acme Holding, is in bankruptcy court.

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