Anyone ever do credit checks

[wildhorses]

I am wondering if anyone here ever does or has ever done a credit check on someone you are looking at selling a horse to on terms, payment plan, etc? I would like to be able to do this, but not sure if there is any way to do this that is free or that is accurate. I sell alot on terms and have had pretty good luck but have also found recently that some people are starting to overextend themselves, and would be nice to know ahead of time if there may be a problem. Just something I am curious about. Thanks.

 

[Genie]

When I worked in a financial institution we had to do credit checks on loan applicants and they can only be performed with the client's permission which they provide on a legal document.

I would not know how else you could do a credit check on someone.

That being said, if a client is in good standing with their bank they would not require you to provide them with credit, their bank would happily provide the loan, one would think.

 

[ruffian]

Haven't in the past, but having been burned this year and having to take someone to court, absolutely I would.

 

[ohmt]

You have to pay to do credit checks and yes, you must have the person give consent and sign a legal document. If their credit score is checked a certain number of times, it drops their points a little bit. I can't remember how many times, but I do know that when my dad was a loan officer, he made sure he only had to check a score once.

Sorry, but I would not want someone other than a bank checking my credit score. If you're worried about it, tell them to get a loan from the bank for the horse. Then the bank can check their credit score and deal with their payments.

What I do is get a non-refundable down payment from the buyer. I NEVER let a horse leave until it's paid for in full. I write up a payment plan for the buyer and make sure all details are agreed upon. I allow two months of missing payments (I charge a fee though) and then after that if they still haven't paid I put the horse back up for sale, keep the down payment, and send back any amount they paid above that. So far I've never had problems with this method. The only two times I've let a horse leave without getting full payment, I never received a payment once they were loaded on the trailer.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

Coming from the buyers prospective....

I have bought two horses on payments and both times I have always paid the seller in full before loading the horse and going home with it.

If you are so concerned with it just make the buyer pay in full with a nonrefundable deposit of atleast 25% if under $1000 or 10% if over $1000. That's what I've always done for my sellers I interact with.

 

[HGFarm]

I have only had a couple of bad experiences over the years but the rest were wonderful. There are other 'safety' measures you can take besides doing a credit check. The horse can stay on your property until paid for in full and all funds clear. Make sure you have a contract that states what will happen if the horse is not paid for and by what date, etc..... Put EVERYTHING in writing- it covers you AND the buyer.

 

[walkermini]

I agree with everyone that has said dont let the horse(s) leave until paid in full. I would also do a contract that states you keep the downpayment and maybe even any other payments they make if they default. That way if they default, at least you have some compensation for your time and effort. I personally as a buyer would avoid a seller that wanted to do a credit check on me.

 

[Coventry Lane Farm]

We do sell horses with contracts with low monthly payments here and there are a few details that we go by now after selling a horse to a woman in Vermont with the down payment and I held the papers while she had the horse, in the mean time, she had sold the horse on Craigslist for a few hundred dollars as a pet without the papers of course, and she still advertises in that manner with selling her stock on various equine sale boards. And her answer to me was..go ahead and take me to court... after finally calling her from my work number since she knew my other phone numbers to actually avoid talking to me or my husband. And I never did see the rather large amount of money that she owed us over a year ago.

So ...I couldn't even repo the horse and I had the papers for, which are worthless, and some people don't care about the registration papers either.

Lesson to be learned, never let the horse leave the property without being paid in full and before the check clears the bank. I have had people come really close for us to repo the horses but then decide they better do something about the late payments which now in my contracts I have a NSF and Late Fee. Some people ask for references also, I would not go as far as a credit check though. We try to make sure everything is covered anymore since times have gotten tougher with the money situation. I have had people give me rubber checks and took some time to get cleared up, but that was a few years ago and then they were on money order only then after. Most of the time we have had some great repeat buyers which do make up for a few bad ones.

 

[OhHorsePee]

I echo the others on keeping the horse or pony until it is paid off. I didn't use to feel this way. We have had a bad year with selling. Everyone needs to really be careful when you are selling. This year we were even handed three post dated checks. Each check came back as NSF status. It was such a headache! We are still owed bad check fees. All sellers need to be very cautious! We were given so many different stories. Even once told that DNR papers were being signed. Do I sound cold? Really I am not. This same person that is trying to give people the impression that she is on deaths door is still trying to buy horses and ponies. Why would someone that is dying buy more animals? Hmmm.... Sellers really need to watch out. This same person is sending email inquiries to people about their ponies under an assumed name using their minor child's cell phone for contact info. Sad, huh? We have learned to watch people that this person is surrounding herself with and are now having the feelings that we need to be weary of these people also. This person owes people in multiple states so not sure if a credit check would be of any benefit. Then you still wouldn't know unless people turned her in.

Let me fill you in on something else that bad checks from others do to you. We are going to refinance. I would deposit the checks. They would come back as NSF. She would then send monies in either wire or money order so I would deposit that. Well, when the banker looked at all of this "extra" income that it appeared I had doouble of what I reported as income. I had to do a report on it so I could prove I wasn't fraudulent with the income I had reported. NICE! Now it all turned out fine because I could prove the first deposits were of NSF status so all of my income matched up as reported. It was just one more headache to add to this experience. Just be careful!

 

[alphahorses]

From a buyer's perspective, and I tell you that I would not have been able to purchase my best horses I have if a payment plan were not an option. I try to return the favor to the Seller by keeping in contact with them, sending payments on time or ahead of schedule, and letting them know when a payment is in the mail so that they can notify me if it does not arrive within a reasonable time. (I've only had 1 payment get lost in 10 years, but it does happen).

From a seller's perspective, I "pay forward" this kindnesses whenever I can by providing payment plans. But I have learned that getting references whenever possible is important. Now horses can only leave the farm after they are paid for unless I know the buyer or have excellent references. If they do leave before they are paid for, they need to be w/in a day's driving distance (in case I have to go get it) and I need a large enough deposit to pay for my trip (even though the contract stipulates that travel is their responsibility). However, for the most part I now require that they be paid off before they leave. I will bend over backwards to work with people, but I do not tolerate bounced checks. Fortunately, I've only had one - for $50 - in the past 10 years.

I have also learned that the law in "commonwealth" states is different from states that are not commonwealth if things get sticky.

To do a credit check, I would have to have a buyer's personal information. I am not willing to give that information to an individual (I don't even like giving it to companies), and I do not want the responsiblity of having someone else's information, so I do not do credit checks.

 

[Katiean]

I have bought horses on payments. A contract is the best way IMHO. The last one I bought on payments, the owner figured what she would sell the horse for with out papers. When I had paid that amount she said I could take the horse home (even to another state). However, the weather was really nasty when we hit that mid point so the horse stayed at her breeders until the weather cleared and I took the remaining balance with me to pick up the horse. All I had seen were pictures of the mare until I went to pick her up. I just asked others for their take on the breeder and I gave her some references from me.

 

[midnight star stables]

As an honest buyer it saddens me to see what some sellers have to go through!

I don't personally like the idea of a credit check, but that is just me.

 

[GrullaBlue]

I come from both sides, I have sold horses on payments, and I have bought horses on payments (Quarter Horses, not minis). When I sold, the horse didn't leave my property until fully paid for. I also charged board. In one case, the horse was here for about 10 months, but I knew he would be when I agreed to it. I received a payment every month, including board. I'd probably do it again....if I ever sold another horse.

As a buyer, I bought three horses on payments. They were from someone we either knew fairly well or my husband did work for... and we were allowed to bring the horses home before paid in full. Normally I wouldn't suggest doing this...but she had space limitations and she knew we were good for our word. Of course we paid in full (within a couple of months) and all was well.

Also as a buyer, I wouldn't be comfortable with anyone asking to do a credit check on me for a horse sale. I mean, there are just as many dishonest horse sellers as there are buyers....perhaps.... I'm considering buying a new riding horse next year, and if someone asked to perform a credit check on me, I'd move on to the next one. I understand the reasoning, and selling is not a fun job sometimes (which is why I stopped breeding), but I think that is just a bit too much information, if ya know what I mean.

BUT...some states have an open records law (court cases, etc)...and I have checked ours for things like that.... and just doing a google search of the person's name or Email address can sometimes give you info! I was considering selling a horse to a woman once who turned out to have many issues with the law for horse neglect/cruelty, carcasses on her property, not paying her help....and she completely lied to me, telling me over the phone she was one thing, when she was not. (career). She later was even featured on America's Most Wanted for something completely unrelated. I KID YOU NOT!

Nope, I don't breed and sell anything anymore....lol

Angie

 

[HGFarm]

Yes I have heard from others about them having problems with buyers and every excuse in the book why the 'check they put in the mail' has not arrived, not sending payments promised and literally dragging things out for months.....

After I almost made a run to KS with a truck and trailer to repo a big POA mare I had and was not getting paid for (one excuse was that someone stole her dog but they got it back 2 days later - okay that was over a period of MONTHS that she was not paying, and what does that have to do with anything?!) I just decided it is better off to have the horses stay here til paid for.

And yes, now I write contracts that include everything..... ha never thought about charging for an NSF or late fees, but how are you going to get that if you can't even get paid anyway?

I try to keep things as simple as possible, but now days it seems you really have to cover yourself. I would be VERY unhappy if someone sold a horse on CL without papers and they still owed me money, so the horses stay here.

But, I must say, I have had excellent experiences too with folks that did what they said they were going to do and even paid off horses early.

 

[alphahorses]

I have bought horses on payments. A contract is the best way IMHO.

I agree - a contract is essential. If I am buying a horse and the seller doesn't have a contract, I write it myself, just so expectations are clear and there are no misunderstandings between us.

But while a contract gives us a common frame of reference - and gives you a legal leg to stand on should it come to that - I am finding more and more that contracts mean nothing to a lot of people. I don't have to tell anyone here that there is a growing trend in our society to accumulate debt, then not pay it. It used to be that people felt guilty (or at least stressed!) over not meeting their financial responsibilities. But especially in the past 2 years, I've seen a rather alarming shift in many people's attitudes toward debt: they either just don't care, or somehow feel entitled not to pay. It is very sad.