In this instructional video, real‑estate investor Chris Prefontaine explains why sellers sometimes choose creative financing over a traditional listing. He argues that investors must shift from a buyer‑centric mindset to a problem‑solver mindset, focusing on the seller’s underlying issues. Prefontaine outlines three primary reasons sellers say yes to creative deals: (1) they want to avoid the pain, uncertainty, and costs of a conventional sale; (2) their personal or property situation doesn’t fit the “ideal seller” profile (e.g., behind on payments, inherited, divorce, commercial property); and (3) they can secure terms that better meet their financial or tax goals. He illustrates each point with real examples—a distressed divorce property and a commercial office building financed with a principal‑only, balloon‑then‑amortized note. He emphasizes that structuring deals to solve the seller’s problem creates a steady income stream (the “3‑payday” model) and ensures a constant flow of opportunities. The video concludes with calls to action for viewers to access free resources, watch Deal Structure Sunday videos, and obtain a blueprint via 3paydaysbooks.com/youtube.
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Here's the question I hear constantly, and honestly, it's the reason that most investors never do a deal. Well, Chris, why would a seller ever agree to creative financing when they could just list with an agent and get cash? If you don't understand this, you're going to keep analyzing deals instead of actually doing them. See, the mistake that most investors make is they're thinking like a buyer. In other words, a buyer would say, well, what deal can I get? Instead of thinking completely opposite, like a problem solver. What problem does this seller need solved? Or what can I help the seller achieve that the market's not giving them? Remember this, you're doing one of those 2 things. You're either solving a problem or helping them accomplish something the market is not presently helping them do. Example, they might be behind on payments. That equals a problem. They might be free and clear owner looking for top price. That's not a problem. That is more something the market may not deliver right now. Top price or even premium. We're in the trenches doing these deals every single week. And I can tell you, today's market is one of the best environments that we've seen for creative financing. I'm going back 34 and a half years at the time of this filming. And there are 3 reasons. Let me just break these down for you. Primarily, there's all kinds of nuance, but 3 reasons mainly. That the seller would say yes. Number one, they don't want the pain of selling traditionally. Listing sounds easy until it's not, right? Like I'm talking about showings, inspections, price drop negotiations, haggling happens every deal, the need to pay commissions, deals falling apart. Look, as of the time of this filming, Wall Street Journal reported fractured closings. Those are closings that fall apart at the closing table for one reason or the other. They're hovering around 20% of deals. That's a lot of deals dying. So for a lot of sellers right now, certainty beats top dollar. But sometimes here's the cool thing. We can accomplish both, right? Creative financing literally gives them a predictable outcome and not a guessing game at all. Number 2, their situation doesn't fit the perfect seller box, like behind on payments, landlords burned out, inherited property. Moving for job or life situations, right? These things just happen. And these aren't HGTV sellers, right? These are real people with real problems. And when the property or situation is messy, creative financing becomes a creative solution. Okay. Number 3, the seller actually gets terms that helps them. So here's what most investors miss. This isn't about you getting a deal. Like I said earlier, they're going to like a buyer. It's about structuring a deal That works the best for them. Always doing the right thing for the seller. When you do that, you'll never, ever be without deals. And frankly, you're never without any 3-payday deals. And when you talk about our 3 paydays ranging on average $45,000 to $350,000 over time per deal, that's a big number, guys, to walk away from. Example, monthly income instead of a lump sum might be an idea for them. Higher price in exchange for terms, tax advantages. Estate planning. See, we're not asking sellers to take less. We're offering them a totally different path, a different way to win that fits their situation. Custom. We did a deal recently where the owners were in an ugly divorce. They were behind on payments 2 months, I think it was. So approaching not a great time for foreclosure. One spouse was on the deed, one was on the mortgage. Going back and forth was fun, you know, Entirely, completely asshole on all ends. They tried listing and they couldn't get it sold. Okay, so we stepped in, we structured it so that they essentially got what they would have netted if they sold. They didn't, after commissions and fees and being on the conventional market. But again, they didn't do it. So it was a win for them, it was a win for us. And that's why they said yes, plain and simple. They wanted closure, not because we convinced them, Because it simply solved their problem. And don't think this is just homes. We bought our office building this way, note owner financing. I'll give you a quick example. We had 18 months of principal only on a commercial building. No interest. Not sure where to get started? Go to smartrealestatecoach.com/getgoing for free books, strategy calls, and a whole bunch more. We're going to help you get going the wicked smart way. We've been after this for over a decade doing exactly that. Then we took the balance of that and turned it into a fully amortized note with what the seller originally wanted for interest with a 20-year balloon. Now, the seller and I got what we each wanted. 20-year term, no banks, no commercial underwriting, no 25 to 35% down payment, none of those conventional headaches. And if you're sitting there thinking, why would a seller ever do this? You're asking the wrong question. Again, the real question is, Do you understand the seller's problem well enough to structure a solution? That's it. Now, that's what we do every single week, every single week in the trenches. And it's exactly what we teach. And if you want to see how these deals actually get structured, check out the Deal Structure Sunday videos right here on YouTube. Just be sure to subscribe so you don't miss them as they come out every single Sunday and have for almost a decade now. And we break these down all the time. And if you don't yet have our full blueprint of what works in today's market, I want to give you a gift. Just go to 3paydaysbooks.com/youtube. So the number 3, paydaysbooks.com/youtube and get our blueprint for what's working right now. And then you can get after it with some guidance. See you next week on the next Q&A Thursday.
