I hear you on the sanity checks—been there myself. Took investor funding once, and it felt like I was designing by committee half the time. Had one investor who insisted on imported Italian tiles (beautiful, sure, but budget nightmare). Next project, switched gears and went with a bank loan. Definitely more freedom, but man, the sleepless nights crunching numbers solo... not fun. Pros and cons either way, I guess. Now I just keep good coffee and a reliable sounding board handy.
"Had one investor who insisted on imported Italian tiles (beautiful, sure, but budget nightmare)."
Ha, feel your pain there. Sometimes investors get caught up in the shiny stuff without seeing the practical side. Sounds like you've found your balance now though—good coffee helps more than people realize...
Haha, imported Italian tiles... been there myself. Had an investor once who insisted on custom-made doors from some boutique workshop overseas. Beautiful craftsmanship, sure, but the delays and shipping costs nearly killed the timeline. Honestly, sometimes a straightforward bank loan feels simpler—at least the bank doesn't care if your tiles are from Milan or Home Depot, as long as the numbers line up.
"Honestly, sometimes a straightforward bank loan feels simpler—at least the bank doesn't care if your tiles are from Milan or Home Depot, as long as the numbers line up."
Haha, true enough... but do you think simplicity always outweighs the flexibility an investor might offer? I've done both, and while banks don't fuss over tile origins (thank goodness), they also don't budge much when unexpected costs pop up. Investors can be quirky, sure—but sometimes that flexibility can save your project. Curious if others have found a sweet spot between the two?
We went the bank route for our build, and yeah, it was straightforward at first—until we hit a snag with some unexpected foundation issues. Suddenly, the bank's "straightforwardness" felt more like rigidity. We ended up scrambling to cover costs out-of-pocket. Looking back, having someone flexible enough to roll with those punches might've eased a lot of stress. Guess it depends how smooth you expect your project to go... ours definitely wasn't smooth sailing, haha.
