Wendell’s Weekly Wins and Whiffs

🏆 Win of the Week: Closing the Loop and Reopening the Funnel

This week’s win was a tangible one. We officially closed one of our flip projects, which is always a good feeling, but the real win is what that closing unlocks next.

On top of that, we also signed for another closing that will officially close while we’re in Hawaii, which feels like the perfect example of the business continuing to move even while we step away briefly. Momentum without being glued to the wheel.

These closings put fresh capital back on the balance sheet, and once I’m back from a quick reset in Hawaii, that capital gets redeployed with intention. Marketing. Lead flow. Fueling the systems we’ve spent months building.

For the last stretch, Tide & Timber Ventures has been in a true pre scale phase. Tightening operations. Cleaning up processes. Building acquisition and disposition infrastructure that can actually handle volume instead of breaking the moment leads turn on. That phase is finally complete. At least until we break it again and rebuild it better.

Now we get to do the fun part. Turning the faucet back on.

With capital freed up and systems ready, we’re excited to get Tide & Timber Ventures fully back in action on both acquisitions and dispositions. The focus shifts from preparation to execution. Consistent lead flow in. Clean offers out. Efficient closings through the pipeline.

This win is a reminder that progress does not always look like nonstop motion. Sometimes it looks like slowing down long enough to build the engine properly. Then when the timing is right, pressing the gas with confidence.

Vacation first. Closings still happening. Marketing launch next. Back to work, but this time with leverage.

💨 Whiff of the Week: When Buyers Smell Blood in a Tough Market

This week was a reminder that in a difficult market, buyers know exactly how much leverage they think they have and some will try every stunt imaginable to use it.

Our closing this week was smooth sailing right up until the twelfth hour. Literally the day before closing, the buyer started causing absolute mayhem.

They began complaining about items we had already addressed and fixed during due diligence. Then came last second requests for permits. Then vague threats about backing out. No clear asks. No proposed solutions. Just panic energy and shutdown behavior. It honestly sounded like someone spiraling rather than negotiating.

We stayed calm and professional. We offered multiple logical paths forward to help them feel comfortable and get the deal across the finish line. They refused to engage with any of them. No counter options. No collaboration. Just stonewalling.

At a certain point, the only move left was strength and clarity.

We made it clear that backing out at the last hour would be ridiculous, that we would keep their due diligence money and their earnest money of five thousand dollars, and that once they terminated we are confident we could list and have the property back under contract within twenty four hours. Little did they know, we did not want them to terminate because that just loses us time and money in the long run due to holding costs.

That is when the truth finally came out.

They wanted an additional five thousand dollars in seller credit to move forward. The reason? A dented gutter and a puddle outside the house. You genuinely cannot make this stuff up.

We respectfully declined that nonsense. After more back and forth, we ultimately agreed to fifteen hundred dollars in seller credit and a home warranty. The deal closed. But the way it unfolded was insane.

What made it worse was that the real estate agent seemed to be egging the behavior on instead of grounding their client in reality.

This is the market we are in right now. Buyers are nervous. Capital is tight. Headlines are loud. And some people respond by trying to manufacture leverage at the very last second.

The whiff was not the outcome. We handled it correctly and logically.

The whiff was the reminder that you cannot negotiate with emotion or fear. You can only respond with calm, structure, and boundaries.

In markets like this, the operators who survive are the ones who hold strong, use common sense, and refuse to reward bad behavior just to avoid temporary discomfort.

🔦 From the Field: Watching a Building Come to Life

One of the coolest parts of new build construction is seeing how fast things go vertical once framing starts. Day by day, framing climbs higher, and suddenly what was lines on a plan becomes a real structure you can walk through.

It is always wild to see a building in its raw state. The studs fully exposed before insulation, drywall, and finishes go in. You can see every room, every hallway, every decision. Nothing hidden yet. Just structure, logic, and craftsmanship working together.

What blows my mind every time is the speed. I would bet that in two weeks this building will be mostly livable. That is how fast these crews move when everything is coordinated. Multiple trades. Clear plans. Everyone executing their role in sync. It is genuinely mind blowing.

Growing up in a house, I remember thinking, how the heck was this even built? It felt almost abstract. Like houses just existed. Now, being part of the process and watching it unfold in real time is a completely different perspective.

It is a powerful reminder of what humans can do when we work as a team. Dozens of people, each with a specific skill set, showing up day after day to turn nothing into something real.

Being able to help make that happen and see it come together piece by piece is a beautiful thing.

📸 Framing Progress Photo

Keep growing or die,