Year-End Reflection: What slowed your deals this year?

Question

As the year wraps up, I’m reviewing what slowed deals the most in 2025—financing timelines, underwriting surprises, or deal structure issues.
Curious what others experienced this year and what you’re planning to adjust going into next year.

Jeremy Horton · Answer

I pretty much pivoted away from LTRs - high prices, relatively high interest rates, massive increases in insurance rates etc. The strategy would be flipping - whether that's a house, mobile home, land plot etc. I don't have the time or desire to do that right now. So I actually decided to get out of LTR investing as a whole. Plan is to 1031 all my LTRs into a STR.

The stock market has been on fire - so that's where my money over the last 2 years has been going.

Stuart Udis · Answer

I experienced some administrative and procedural delays this year. On a condo development project, I discovered that the zoning approvals conflicted with the building code due to a design team oversight. That conflict caused a significant delay and required an amendment to the previously approved zoning approvals. That process is currently underway, and I am hoping to pour foundations this spring.

At another location, a neighboring party protested the transfer of a liquor license that I needed to advance a restaurant fit out, resulting in a roughly six-month delay before the protest was ultimately dismissed.

In both instances, the lenders were understanding and are there for me to advance the development phases and replenished interest reserves and/or increased construction budgets where needed. Reason why strong relationship-oriented lender relationships are so critical in this business but would have benefited from raising additional contingency reserves for both. I was fortunate each project had strong collateral which influenced the lenders decision making but in the future, I will be making sure there's additional contingency funds set aside.