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Subsequent Event
 3 Months Ended
Feb. 29, 2024
Subsequent Events [Abstract]  
Subsequent Event Subsequent Event
In pursuing strategic e-commerce opportunities in the late-1990s, we made investments in certain technology businesses through separate limited liability companies (“LLCs”) established to hold each such investment. Among these businesses, we invested through the relevant LLC approximately $1.8 million in a privately held technology company, accounted for under the cost method. The investment was subsequently written off in 2001-2002, along with the other e-commerce business investments, as it was determined not to be recoverable due to the then-extended technology industry downturn and related severe stock market correction. The investee company subsequently developed a viable business providing online listing and, over time, other marketing services designed specifically for promoting new home communities that we and other homebuilders, which comprised the company’s shareholders, found to be useful.
On March 1, 2024, substantially all the assets of this investee company, in which we had an approximately 13.5% aggregate indirect ownership interest, were sold to a privately held buyer. From the sale and certain related transactions, we received approximately $1.7 million in cash along with equity interests in the privately held buyer. We may receive additional nominal cash proceeds in later periods upon the expiration, and subject to the terms, of certain sale transaction-related escrows. We are in the process of evaluating the fair value of the equity interests, as there are no quoted prices for identical or similar assets, and determining the resulting gain from this transaction, which we expect to record in our 2024 second quarter. In addition, we received a proportionate indirect equity interest in a privately held entity to which the investee company distributed certain assets prior to completing the sales transaction.
Certain of our current and former executives are eligible to receive a portion of the cash proceeds from the sale transaction, including any later distributions from the sale transaction-related escrows, pursuant to nominal interests they acquired in the relevant LLC in 2000 under an incentive program. This includes our chairman and chief executive officer, who represented our ownership interest as a member of the privately held technology company’s board of directors (without compensation from us or the company) from 2006 through to the time of the sale transaction, and our executive vice president, real estate and business development. The program is described in the Proxy Statement for our 2001 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and provides for certain distributions to the eligible executives in accordance with their proportionate share in the LLC. The timing and manner of such distributions are also subject to certain terms and conditions. In addition, per their LLC interests, the eligible executives are entitled to their proportionate share of future proceeds, if any, associated with the equity interests we received.
For the years ended November 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we paid the investee company $2.3 million, $1.1 million and $.8 million, respectively, for marketing services related to our new home communities. As part of the sale transaction, we agreed to continue to use such services for a five-year period.