Taking A Walk

by Dwayne Phillips

I am seeing this sign more often the past week in southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee. Mostly at car dealerships – used car dealerships.

These businesses make their money on financing. There is no telling what kind of interest rates they charge and what they find for collateral. My guess is they use land that either the buyer or a relative of the buyer owns.

I went to high school in a rural area, and my mother still lives there. It is common for a parent to give an adult child a corner lot of the family acres. This practice means that many under-employed or unemployed adults “own some land.”

The car dealers sell cars with zero-down and a high interest rate. They “buyer” gets a car with monthly notes that they usually can afford. A few missed payments, and the car dealer gets the land.

A similar deal occurs at the mobile and modular home places we see everywhere in the rural areas. They often advertise “You own land? Zero down.” The land – given to the purchaser by a parent – is the collateral. You miss a few payments and the home seller gets the home and the land.

These are legitimate business practices. As always, only borrow what you can repay. I have, however, seen families ruined by an adult child that takes advantage of the family acres to buy things, never pay for them, and ruin the family acres. Some parents cannot say no to some of their adult children.