Chris Prefontaine rebuilt his life after the 2008 financial crisis through creative real estate, turning repossessions and IRS problems into opportunities. He argues that downturns create buying chances others miss, and that a W-2 job carries more risk than market volatility. His "3 Paydays" model has generated payouts from $45,000 to $350,000.
Chapters
The people all around me also said to me, don't buy real estate. What are you, crazy? You just went through all that and just the wrong time, blah, blah, blah. So I consciously said, that's a sign to go the other direction. Welcome to this week's Motivational Monday. You know, we just had our Wicked Smart Summit last week, just last week, and I talked to them about a bunch of stuff relative to how cool it is, how much of an opportunity is right now. In my 33 years, never has it been the same. for creative real estate. And I started the whole event. And by the way, when I'm talking about events, I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope you are registered for the QLS Live event in Boston, Mass. this year. It's the first year in Boston. We're making it super easy for you guys to get there. It's in a brand new facility. Go to qlslive.com. So on the summit, what I said was, I said, look, if the masses are going in one direction, please consciously go in the other direction. Now let me tell you why I said that. For 2 reasons. One is the world full of people who get up every single day, no matter how hot it is, no matter how long it takes, And they do whatever it takes to accomplish all their goals. Unfortunately, no. Or maybe fortunately for us who want to do that, it's a good— it's a good thing. Now, a direct story for me. I will tell you that my wife reminds me of this all the time, and that is in 2013, after the crash and after all the mayhem for 4 years digging myself out. And I know a lot of you guys have challenges. I had— I had repossessions for cars coming out my door. I had IRS, I had credit cards, you name it. So I get what it takes to dig out and I can help you do that if that's you. Now, in 2013, everyone also said to me, the masses, the people all around me also said to me, don't buy real estate. What are you, crazy? You just went through all that and just the wrong time, blah, blah, blah. So I consciously said, that's a sign to go the other direction. The media does it to you. The media doesn't know. Your friends don't know. The naysayers don't know creative real estate. If they did, they'd be telling you to do it because they'd know what I know. Right. And the last I checked, They weren't certified with the CFREA, the Creative Financing Real Estate Association. By the way, side note, I hope you realize you can be super— you can be the authority and you can be super unique in your area by being certified by the Creative Financing Real Estate Association. How do you do that? You just go through the QLS Home Study Course. There's a test after each one, and that validates you and certifies you. And those of you decide to work with us in our special associate program, you actually get accredited. Again, side note, but these are all things to be aware of. In the market, it's funny when I say the market, the stock market and the real estate market are the only two markets that when things go on sale, people panic. Think about that. The market drops and they go on sale. Stocks drop, they go on sale and people panic. It's the only two. Someone said that to me a while ago. Maybe I read it. I don't know. I can't take credit for it. But the bottom line is it's super accurate. You just have to know instead of panicking or instead of listening to the media or instead of listening to the naysayers, You just have to know how to operate and pivot like me in 2013. There's, gosh, I don't know, 400 or so videos, maybe a little less, maybe a little more on Deal Structure Sunday here on YouTube. Just subscribe to the channel and every Sunday when a deal comes out, immerse yourself in it and you'll understand how we pivot. And then I would obviously— I'm biased to our Wicked Smart community. I'd encourage you to get around other Wicked Smart community members so you can understand how they're pivoting. How and why I scream from the rooftops quite often when I know the market's going sideways, I scream from the rooftops to absolutely double down. That's when to double down. Now, I'd ask you guys to think about, the wicked smart viewers here, to think about if you have a W-2, that is, that you realize that's the biggest risk. Not the market, not the naysayers, none of that, not the media. Your biggest risk is your W-2. Okay? And if that hits you between the eyes, it's okay. Please realize it's a fact. In our community, we have John in Boston, John in Colorado, and Judy in Maine with big companies they work for. And then they're, they're making enormous layoffs. And the beautiful thing about Judy is she's begging them to have her be next because she's with us in the Wicked Smart community. Now, let me ask you a question. Have you ever, ever, ever in your adult life looked in the mirror and said, you know what, I'm just not where I thought I'd be right now? That was me in 2008 through '13, through '12, because I started back in '13. And I guess I'd ask you to go even deeper on this gut check and say, if in 10 years from now you're in the exact same spot as you are now, are you okay with it? And only you know that. So many of us beat ourselves up when I say, have you looked in the mirror? So many people beat us— so many of us beat ourselves up when we look in the mirror. My suggestion, and again, I read this, I heard this somewhere, it's a really cool suggestion. Behind that mirror, if you break it, break the damn mirror, and behind that mirror picture there are Thousands, thousands of people in your particular area who need help. You can go out, help them, get rewarded by the 3 Paydays, create a win-win relationship with them, and go ahead and create a dynasty for yourself. Our 3 Paydays range from $45 grand to now a new high of $350 grand was created this past month. As of the filming of this, it's March. In February, a new high Payday 3 was created. We used to say up to $250, now it's up to $350. That's what we've seen in our community. That's not a promise of what you'll do. That's just statistically what we see. Now, having said that, only 7.9% of US businesses hit $1 million. Yet our associates can go out and do that. You can go out and do that with 10 or 15 deals depending on your price range in your area. Please realize creative real estate has been around since the 1600s, guys. And the only thing stopping you is your mindset right here. Creative real estate won't fail you. They won't. And we won't. If you're, if you, if you're floundering, we won't fail you. There's no question about it. If you're committed and serious, the Wicked Smart community is here for you. So do you believe you can do it? I'd like you to email me, chris@smartrealestatecoach.com. Yes, I check my emails, as does my assistant. Do you believe you can do this? Email me. Yes, yes or no, why? Yes, I believe I can do it. No, why? And then if you do believe you can do it, what the heck is stopping you? Because it's only belief, right? A belief is really just a sort of a feeling about something or what we think about something, like what we think we can and cannot do. It's what we consider to be possible, right? See how these words are kind of gray and soft and wimpy? There's nothing about capability in there. Nothing. You're capable. It's just what you believe about you that's getting in your way. I get it. I may have been there. I was there from 8 to 12. It took me till 13 to go, oh, I guess I can do this and reach out to the right people to help me out. Our community has done a lot to improve that, really has a lot to help you go from A to Z, figure out what's in the middle, tear it apart and give you a plan for it. Everybody's route's different because everybody comes to the table with different baggage. But I'd like to help you crush those beliefs and raise up new ones because that's what it's going to take. And everybody's different. So we use our genius model to do that. But why don't you come explore and see what we're all about? If you want a free call with me, just go to smartrealestatecoach.com/chrisprefontaine. Pre-call. That's not our sales team. That's not our advisory team. That's a direct call with me. I want to help you. I want to help you crush the beliefs and raise up new ones. And I also would love to meet you in person at one of our upcoming private in-office boot camps or the QLS Live event. Guys, make it an outstanding week and I hope to see you at the next event. See you in the next Motivational Monday too.
