Author: Chris Prefontaine

24 Apr

Posted at 16:16h in Blog

Wondering how to juggle real estate and a full-time job? In this blog post, Don Strickland, one of our High 6 Associates and an engineer turned real estate investor, shares how he became one of our most successful Associates while still working nine-to-five. It's possible! Below you'll find some of his best tips and advice. Life is busy. I try to juggle my kids’ sports, my full-time job, the real estate business, and everything else in life. But being out there and seeing what Chris and his team do propelled me even further. Seeing how Chris has been able to create a...

17 Apr

Posted at 06:55h in Blog

Rent to own deals are perfect for people who are building credit or have bad credit due to some past circumstances. We provide them with a way to build their credit and purchase a home when they would be otherwise unable to do so. But what if the buyer has no credit history whatsoever? It might sound crazy, but it does happen. In this case, our Associate found a buyer who is self-employed and has paid for everything in his life with cash. So when they checked his credit history, nothing came up. Here's what they did… The seller who needs to...

10 Apr

Posted at 08:10h in Blog

We'll be the first to tell you that there are no overnight successes in this niche. Just like every other industry, you can't expect to get into the terms niche and start making millions right off the bat. It's not uncommon for our Associates to go one, two, three, even six months without getting a deal under their belt. And that's okay, because we're in this for the long haul (and you should be too, if you're interested in getting involved in this niche). Just take a look at Bill Reich. He is one of our best performing Associates in the High...

03 Apr

Posted at 07:25h in Blog

In this blog post, Don Strickland shares his story of how he got involved in the terms niche to supplement his income as an engineer. After going through books and courses in other areas of real estate with varied success, he found Smart Real Estate Coach and never looked back, eventually turning it into his full-time career. My professional career started in engineering, and then I got into telecommunications; I’ve been in that business for 25+ years, managing and building out networks. That’s what I do full-time, professionally. Course after course, but no results Many years ago, traveling through different states on business,...

27 Mar

Posted at 13:30h in Blog

In this blog post, we hear from Bill Reich on how he's been able to build a seven-figure terms business in the DC Metro Area. At the time of writing this — around 2017 — Bill was a High 6 Associate and still making his way toward seven figures. He has now achieved that goal, as you'll see below. When I first joined Smart Real Estate Coach, I went right to the High 6 Associate Level. My goal has always been to become the go-to company in the Washington-Baltimore area for anybody who wants to entertain selling or buying a house...

20 Mar

Posted at 11:15h in Blog

Buying "on terms" means conducting a transaction without banks and without using your own cash; specifically, buying property via lease purchase, owner financing, and subject to existing financing. There is no better time than right now to begin building a real estate portfolio this way. Amongst all the chaos across the globe, I can tell you that many industries have continued to thrive, and the terms real estate niche that I’m in is no exception. Part of the reason for that could be because this niche was built up just after the 2008 recession. My best-selling book Real Estate On...

13 Mar

Posted at 08:00h in Blog

We often talk about making "pivots" in terms deals. There are many ways that you can change a deal to benefit you, the buyer, or the seller —- if you know how. So, instead of walking through all 3 Paydays™ like we would normally do in this column, I'd like to open your eyes up to some of the pivots you can do in the terms niche to make more income for yourself while also helping the buyer and seller. We like to call this "the deal after the deal." My First Sandwich Deal My first ever sandwich deal, back in 2013, also...

06 Mar

Posted at 05:00h in Blog

As we are well into the first quarter of 2021, I got to thinking about the Power of a Revolution.  All successful people I’ve had the pleasure of shadowing, coaching, or simply speaking to have one common thread – they are great at starting, maintaining, and/or joining a true Revolution, and then they are amazing organizers of resources, people, time, money, energy, etc.  Today more than ever the power of a revolution via the Perfect Triangle that I’ve been speaking about since the start of COVID is not only more important as we all seek community, but it’s also providing...

02 Mar

Posted at 11:06h in Blog

In this chapter, we highlight Mike Makredes from Fresno, California, one of our High 6 Associates. He did 3 deals in his first 10 months! Mike was in sales all of his professional life and was working for the largest melon, broccoli, and corn grower in the United States when he first came to us. He handled sales for over 12 million cases, or about $150 million of produce a year. Now, Mike has joined our team as a certified coach and does dozens of deals per year in addition to coaching our Associates.  Here's the story of how he got...

27 Feb

Posted at 05:00h in Blog

Everyone wants to know how to find perfect buyers for terms deals. And it makes sense! Anyone getting into the terms niche wants to know 1) that they'll be able to find a buyer, and 2) that the buyer will be well-qualified and capable of closing out the deal at the end of the term. In our experience, finding a well-qualified tenant-buyer is easier than most people think (actually the easiest part of the process) — for a few key reasons. The House That Wouldn't Sell! In this deal, the house itself had been on the market for a while and never received...