How one realtor made money during a recession

This may be an old tactic, but I saw it work very well for a realtor during the horrible recession of 1982. He would sell houses that could be sold with no money down, and carry his commission as a note , with monthly payments. The interest rates for his notes was 10% and they were due in several years. After a short while he had a good stream of high interst payments flowing in. It was slower than being paid instantly, but each sale netted him more in the long run.