Author

Chris Prefontaine

Chris Prefontaine is a real estate investor with over 27 years’ experience in the field.

Experience
Chris is the bestselling author of Real Estate on Your Terms and founder of Smart Real Estate Coach and host of the Smart Real Estate Coach podcast.

He lives in Newport, R.I., with his wife Kim and their family. Chris operates the family business with his son Nick, his daughter Kayla, his son-in-law Zach, and an amazing team. Together, they co-authored the book The New Rules of Real Estate Investing, released in 2019.

Chris has been a big advocate of constant education. He and his family mentor, coach, consult, and actually partner with students around the country, teaching them to do exactly what their company does. Between their existing associates nationwide and their own deals, Chris and his family are still acquiring five to 10 properties every month and control between $20 to $30 million worth of real estate deals—all done on terms without using their own cash, credit, or signing for loans.

Chris and his family believe strongly in giving back to the community. They currently support Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Brighton, Mass., 3 Angels Foundation in Newport, R.I., and the Wounded Warrior Project by giving a percentage of all deals to those causes.

Chris has been featured on Joe Fairless’ Best Ever podcast, discussing high-level investing.

Follow

SmartRealEstateCoach.com
Smart Real Estate Coach podcast
LinkedIn
Facebook

Chris Prefontaine is a real estate investor with over 27 years’ experience in the field.

Experience
Chris is the bestselling author of Real Estate on Your Terms and founder of Smart Real Estate Coach and host of the Smart Real Estate Coach podcast.

Chris has been featured on Joe Fairless’ Best Ever podcast, discussing high-level investing.

Follow

SmartRealEstateCoach.com
Smart Real Estate Coach podcast
LinkedIn
Facebook

Acquiring Property 3 min read

Jun 08, 2019Jan 15, 2024 Chris Prefontaine

Lease-Purchase Agreements: What If There’s an Existing Tenant?

A lease-purchase deal with a renter already in the home will be the same as usual, but it’s the details of their lease and the math that matters here. As…

Real Estate Investing For Beginners 4 min read

Jun 06, 2019Mar 16, 2021 Chris Prefontaine

Be a Good Person: Helping Buyers & Sellers Solve Problems Pays Off—Literally

Two questions came straight from our mailbag: Is using a buyer's tax refund as a down payment hurting them or their chance to buy a home? What do you do…

Finding Deals 4 min read

May 25, 2019Mar 16, 2021 Chris Prefontaine

A Seller Wants Way Too Much for Their Property—What Now?

"What if a seller wants way too much for their property?" This was a question posed by one of our associates, and while it is a simple one, it’s worth…

Commercial Real Estate Investing 4 min read

May 23, 2019Oct 14, 2022 Chris Prefontaine

Owning Your Own Office Is Easier Than You Think

Nothing hurts a real estate investor quite like writing a rent check, especially for their own offices. But there are subtle aspects of a deal that can help you buy…

Exiting 3 min read

May 22, 2019Jan 15, 2024 Chris Prefontaine

Don’t Panic If Your Buyer Defaults! How to Save a Deal Gone Sour

There’s no question, you will come across complications in property deals that will make you want to throw your hands up. But sometimes difficulties can become a source of added…

Real Estate Business Management 3 min read

May 17, 2019Feb 24, 2024 Chris Prefontaine

How to Buy a Home Without Being an Active Investor

Purchasing a property for yourself is a life-changing investment, as is buying investment property to create passive income. And you can do either (or both) sooner and for less money…

Success Stories 5 min read

May 16, 2019Feb 24, 2024 Chris Prefontaine

How I Dug My Way Out of $2.2 Million in Losses

The real estate market came to a halt in 2007-08. I had no safeguard against it nor any ongoing cash flow. My properties were all either in foreclosure, going through…

Finding Deals 5 min read

May 15, 2019Mar 16, 2021 Chris Prefontaine

What to Do When a Deal Goes Sideways (Hint: Don’t Panic!)

Start thinking now about how you'll react when a deal gets complicated, because one inevitably will. Let's talk about the less rosy side of the business, when something happens to…

Real Estate Business Management 10 min read

Apr 18, 2019Mar 16, 2021 Chris Prefontaine

Why Do Some Real Estate Investors Fail?

Can you imagine buying a franchise or starting a business and not being fully committed? It wouldn't make sense. Real estate is no different. But the fact is some people just…

Refinancing 6 min read

Apr 09, 2019Feb 17, 2024 Chris Prefontaine

How Do You Cash Out a Sandwich Lease?

Having done hundreds of lease purchase deals—most of them whereby we stay in the middle or our partners stay in the middle, called a sandwich lease—I'm asked weekly how the…

Personal Development & Goals 4 min read

Mar 26, 2019Mar 16, 2021 Chris Prefontaine

How I Profited $63,000 on a Property—Sight Unseen

Investing in property out of state is trending big time on the BiggerPockets forums, with tons of people discussing and looking for information on the topic. So, my company and…

Success Stories 3 min read

Mar 21, 2019Feb 24, 2024 Chris Prefontaine

How Remaining Flexible Resulted in a $54,000 Profit

As a real estate investor, it’s important to exercise due diligence but also remain flexible. If you refuse to be flexible, you’ll likely miss out on some deals. This is…

Success Stories 5 min read

Mar 19, 2019Feb 24, 2024 Chris Prefontaine

How I Went From Paying $2,700 Monthly Rent to Turning a $3,200 Monthly Profit

My company buys and sells 5-10 homes monthly. We typically create 3 paydays per deal and don't use our own cash. But recently, we took a chance and did something…