Re: Installment Sale

Reader comment on: Buffett's Latest
in response to reader comment: Depending on the credit standing of the purchaser

Submitted by Russell Fuhrman (United States), Nov 26, 2012 23:18

However, you really must consider taking the credit risk of providing vendor financing, especially late in life when one just wants peace of mind. I have direct first person knowledge of small business owners selling their business on a contractual basis only to get same back, sometimes more than once and in ever poorer condtion. This, also, goes for real estate sales. If the buyer can't get bank financing that should be one big red flag! You might wish to review the late and great John MacArthur for his late in life business practises wherein he intenetionally sold swathes of Florida land from his vast portfolio on a contractual basis only to repeatedly get same back, which was his intention as he really wanted to hold for the very long term. However, he was one rare bird with great wealth and cold-blooded shrewdness whereas most just want to cash out their restaurant or dry cleaners, take the wife, and retire to the golf courses of the sunbelt, enjoy their few remaining years, and sleep nights.

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