Wendell’s Weekly Wins and Whiffs

👋 Welcome to Wendell’s Weekly Wins & Whiffs — your front-row seat to the entrepreneurial and real estate rollercoaster, complete with high-fives, facepalms, and everything in between. Each week, I’ll peel back the curtain on life as an active investor and business builder: the triumphs that feel like victory laps, the flops that sting like a surprise plumbing leak, and the behind-the-scenes grind of running multiple companies. From flips that soar to admin headaches that test my patience, you’ll get the real, unfiltered scoop on both deals and business operations. Why? Because building wealth isn’t just about properties — it’s about building systems, partnerships, and businesses that can stand the test of time. My goal is to share the wins, the whiffs, and the lessons learned so you can sharpen your own edge in both investing and entrepreneurship.

Author

Wendell Butler
October 01, 2025

🏆 This Week’s Win - Flip Fuel Lending Comes Full Circle
This week’s win is especially meaningful: Flip Fuel Lending isn’t just launching, it represents a full-circle moment in my career. Years ago, I started as a hard money and conventional loan originator, learning firsthand how critical speed, clarity, and investor relationships are in this business. Now, I’ve come back around, this time as the owner of my own lending company.

Why This Win Stands Out
I’m in the process of hiring loan originators and building out our systems, processes, and SOPs from the ground up. But what excites me most is the chance to train my team to communicate with investors the right way, with urgency, transparency, and a partnership mindset. In this industry, speed and communication beat everything else, and with Flip Fuel Lending’s competitive terms and strong culture, we’re setting the bar high.

The Lesson
Sometimes the biggest wins aren’t just about closing deals, they’re about building the machine that will close thousands of them. Drawing on my own journey as an originator, I know the roadblocks and pain points loan officers face. By solving for those now, we’re creating a company that’s scalable, investor-friendly, and built to dominate.

What’s Next
The vision is simple but bold: to fund thousands of loans a year in no time. With the right people, the right systems, and a relentless focus on speed and communication, Flip Fuel Lending is well on its way to becoming the go-to hard money lender for investors across the Carolinas and beyond.

👉 Check out the website here: flipfuellending.com→ and reach out with any questions!

💨 This Week’s Whiff — The Closing Circus & The Refinance Rollercoaster
This week was less about big wins and more about survival mode. Two different deals tested every ounce of patience, brain power, and coffee reserves I had.

Deal #1 - The Fix & Flip Title Fiasco
What should’ve been a straightforward closing turned into a circus act. Instead of having the property properly set up in a trust or will, the seller decided to throw eight different people onto the title. Cue a signing headache from hell. Every additional signature delayed the process, the lender got antsy, the seller got antsy, and I got a front-row seat to paperwork purgatory. Somehow, we muscled through, but not without a few extra gray hairs.

Deal #2 - The Refinance Brain Drain
Meanwhile, on another project, we refinanced a new build after subdividing land from a flip. Permits dragged forever, and when we finally got the green light, the lender’s paperwork came back with spelling errors. Instead of a smooth signing, I spent days driving back and forth to the attorney’s office fixing clerical mistakes. By the end, my brain felt like it had been through a blender. Let’s just say mobile notaries might be an expense I start happily paying very soon.

The Silver Lining
Real estate isn’t all highlight reels and profit margins, sometimes it’s about surviving the chaos and still moving forward. These headaches reminded me that even when everything feels like it’s on fire, persistence and problem solving push the deal across the finish line.

The Mindset
Patience, adaptability, and speed still win in this game. Yes, weeks like this drain you, but they also sharpen you. Every messy closing, every misstep from a lender, every back-and-forth teaches resilience. And resilience is what separates those who make it in this business from those who fold.

Here’s to fewer title circuses and refinance marathons in the weeks ahead.

🎯 Tactical Tip of the Week: Build Your A-Team with Attorneys & Title Companies
If there’s one thing that can make or break your deals (and your sanity), it’s having the right attorney and title company in your corner. Real estate closings are rarely smooth. Documents get missed, sellers drag their feet, lenders make mistakes. Without the right professionals to step up, small hiccups can become deal-killers.

Here’s why strong legal/title partners matter:

Problem Solvers, Not Paper Pushers
A great team doesn’t just process documents, they solve problems. On one of our recent closings, a paralegal at Southern Law Group here in Charlotte, NC, literally drove out to the seller’s house to get a last-minute signature. That’s the kind of hustle you want on your side. (Shout out to Rachel Sharpe — amazing stuff! And if you call Southern Law Group, let them know I sent you 😉).

Speed is Everything
Closings fall apart when communication lags or when title/attorneys don’t move fast enough. Investors live and die by timelines, your partners should understand that. Speed and urgency should be baked into their culture just like it is in yours.

Partnership Mindset
Look for attorneys and title companies who treat your deals as their own. When they understand your business model (fix & flips, new builds, BRRRRs, etc.), they’re not just closing files, they’re protecting your margins and helping you scale.

✨ The Takeaway
Don’t shop for the cheapest attorney or title company. Shop for the right one. The difference between a deal saved and a deal lost often comes down to who’s sitting on the other side of the closing table. Build relationships, vet for speed and problem-solving, and give credit where it’s due, because those partnerships are worth their weight in gold.

🔦 FROM THE FIELD: Problem-Solving Is the Job
If there’s one universal truth about both entrepreneurship and real estate investing, it’s this: you’re going to spend your days solving problems. Big ones, small ones, unexpected ones… they never stop coming. And if you’re not ready to embrace that, this business probably isn’t for you.

 Why does this matter?
Too many people look at real estate and think it’s all about finding deals, raising capital, and cashing checks. The reality? Every deal comes with challenges such as title issues, lender delays, construction setbacks, permit nightmares. Being successful isn’t about avoiding problems; it’s about how quickly and creatively you solve them.

✅ Tactical Takeaways:

  • Adopt a problem-first mindset. Don’t waste energy asking “Why is this happening to me?” Instead, ask “What’s the fastest solution?”

  • Stay calm under pressure. Problems feel bigger when you panic. The best investors keep a level head and move to action.

  • Build a strong network. Attorneys, contractors, lenders, and partners who can jump in with solutions are your greatest asset.

  • Think long-term. Every problem you solve builds resilience and sharpens your ability to scale. Today’s headache becomes tomorrow’s advantage.

✨ Closer Thought:
In this field, success belongs to those who see problems not as roadblocks, but as the work itself. If you want easy, look elsewhere. If you want growth, lean into the problems — that’s where the breakthroughs live.

🎤 FINAL WORD

This week highlighted the real heartbeat of entrepreneurship and real estate investing: the wins, the whiffs, and the grind in between. Launching Flip Fuel Lending is a full-circle milestone, proof that persistence pays off. The closing delays and refinance headaches were reminders that problem-solving isn’t a side task in this business, it is the business. And the tactical tip drove home that success isn’t just about capital or deals, it’s about surrounding yourself with the right partners like attorneys, title companies, contractors who can help you push through when things get messy.

The lesson? Real estate isn’t about smooth sailing. It’s about showing up ready to solve problems, protecting your investors, and building systems that make you sharper with every deal. Wins give us momentum, whiffs give us wisdom, and strong relationships give us resilience.

So here’s the send-off: embrace the problems, double down on your people, and keep moving forward: faster, smarter, and stronger.

✨ Join us at The Hive networking event this Thursday at 5:30pm — let’s connect, share stories, and keep building together.

All the best,