Ep.135 | The Riskiest Loan in Private Lending

Construction loans can be incredibly rewarding, but when they go sideways, they can turn your lending business into a project management nightmare. In this episode, Neal and Ryan break down why incomplete construction loans are the riskiest deals in private lending, sharing a real story from their own portfolio where two simultaneous builds went off the rails. They cover the critical decision every lender faces in default: sell as-is or complete the build, the red flags to watch for, and the internal tools and processes that have saved them from bigger losses. Show Notes: 0:07 - Cold open & intro 5:15 - Amazon building a 1M sq ft warehouse in Halifax 8:50 - What's the riskiest loan in private lending? 10:02 - Real story: Keystone's two construction loans that went wrong 13:37 - How secondary security saved them 16:30 - Sell as-is vs. complete the build 17:56 - Decision framework by completion percentage 24:13 - Red flag: when your borrower goes silent 26:02 - Ryan's biggest blow-up: fire + lapsed insurance on a 12-unit build 28:33 - Active management & draw tracking 37:10 - Key takeaways & best risk mitigation tools Resources: Keystone Capital Group CPLP Instagram: @cplpodcast Keystone Instagram: @keycapgroup Find Neal On: Instagram: @neal.andreino LinkedIn: Neal Andreino Find Ryan on: LinkedIn: Ryan MacNeil E-mail: [email protected]