@Jeff V.Step one you go down your REIA and find the best contract attorney for residential property you can findStep twoUnderstand that even if you buy it on contract for deed like contract and you sell it for agreement as @Bill Gulley so accurately states, you have legal risks as to CFD like purchases, e.g. in finding the seller when you want to buy for cash and get on real title, seller going bankrupt, seller dying without a will, heirs contesting will, competency, etc.There are stronger ways to buy, as in a note and mortgage.Get a lawyer that KNOWS THE LOCAL JUDGES. 

Who died, went to a nursing home, got a promotion, lost a job, who wants to retire, is getting married, is having a baby, new to the area, lost a law suit, going bankrupt,  had a vehicle repo, has a code violation, does a contractor have a lien on any property, any child support liens, you get the picture.

But not having money set aside for unexpected costs like repairs, new boilers or roofs, etc could bankrupt you. 

I've seen too many investors loose literally everything because of a $75 contract [one friend of mine actually went bankrupt and got divorced because of a inadequate contract].I would suggest you contact a real estate friendly attorney [you can probably find here on BP] in the state the land is located in to prepare the contract or at the very least have a local realtor prepare it using a State approved purchase agreement.Then you have the tax situation to deal with.  

I suppose I could have just as a easily titled this: How did people go bankrupt in 2008?

I'm pretty sure the builder that gave the seller carry back went bankrupt, but the seller carry back mortgage is in a personal name.  

If they get into a bind with one property, they can simply bankrupt that LLC and move on.  

Had he held that house in a separate LLC however, that LLC could go bankrupt and the plaintiffs would not be able to touch the other assets

The city itself was bankrupt couple of years ago, it was the hardest hit market by the crash in 2008, not enough jobs, etc etc.On the flip side, if i want to go out of Stockton, San francisco & Chicago are pretty much same to me, well they are both about 24 hours plane ride away.

The interest rate differential is the carrying risk of a defaultable private loan vs. a low rate non-defaultable, non-bankruptable, loan.