Joy Duggar Forsyth And Husband Are Catching Heat For Their Alleged Real Estate Venture

The Duggar family of "19 Kids & Counting" fame has always prioritized a self-sufficient lifestyle. As Insider noted, patriarch Jim Bob has been able to live debt-free through a combination of frugal living and self-employment. Inspired by his real estate success, many of the Duggar children and their spouses are self-employed, as developers or house flippers.

Among them are daughter Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth and her husband, Austin Forsyth. The parents of two — with one on the way this year — support their family independently through Austin's contracting business, Joy's sponsored social media partnerships, and her YouTube vlog where she shares her family's adventures with tens of thousands of fans. Her most recent video showed a busy day taking her children, Gideon and Evelyn, to swim lessons, an obstetrician's appointment, and an evening church service. 

However, one of the couple's recent income ventures is causing a major stir with their neighbors. According to Katie Joy of the Without a Crystal Ball Instagram page, the Forsyths own 12 acres of unoccupied land in Elkins, Arkansas. Per World Population Review, Elkins is a small lower-middle-class town of fewer than 4,000 residents. As seen in Katie Joy's photographs of official documents, the couple has reportedly applied to have the area rezoned to accommodate an RV park. This isn't sitting well with some locals, who claim the couple is putting their own interests above the welfare and safety of their town.

Presumably, Joy-Anna and Austin Forsyth, are looking to rent out their unused land to RV users. With a third baby joining their family soon — Joy has addressed speculation that she's pregnant with twins — some additional cash would be helpful.

But an Elkins resident has told Without a Crystal Ball there's a lot of pushback against the rezoning in their town. Normally, RV parks are located near forests or other recreational areas. The Forsyths' land is in a residential neighborhood with no sewer or water hookup. Locals are said to be worried the park would attract a constant stream of visitors, potentially creating undesirable situations such as noise and substance use. The land parcels are also right by an elementary school and a daycare center, raising worries about the children's safety. A public hearing is scheduled for January 16 to address the issue.

One commenter to the post spoke from personal experience: "My kids go to that school. My grandkids go to that daycare. I'm not ok with this. It's not the right place for an RV park." Another said, "No water or sewer in a campground??? That's not a campground for RV's, that's for tents." Many others expressed concern about who is going to be staying at the proposed RV park.

Joy and Austin have not commented on the rumored rezoning as of this writing, nor is it known whether they will appear at the hearing.