Canadian Private Lenders’ Podcast

Ep.135 | The Riskiest Loan in Private Lending

Neal Andreino and Ryan MacNeil Episode 135

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0:00 | 41:02

 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: ryan@keycap.ca