You can understand real estate development perfectly on paper and still lose a deal.
Michael Ruge has learned that experience is not only about knowing what should happen.
It is about knowing what to do when things stop happening the way they should.
One story from his development career makes that point particularly well.
A deal was approaching closing when the seller apparently began to realise the property might be worth more than the agreed price.
Suddenly, the atmosphere changed.
What had looked like an ordinary closing started feeling very different.
When the clock becomes part of the deal
Delays are common in real estate.
Lawyers negotiate extensions. Paperwork takes longer than expected. One day becomes two.
That alone does not mean anything is wrong.
But experienced developers learn to recognise when a delay is not really a delay.
Michael’s team realised the seller appeared to be trying to run out the clock.
If the deal did not close by 5:00 p.m., the seller could walk.
At that point, discussion was no longer useful.
Execution mattered.
The 4:59 p.m. closing
Michael told the lawyer to take the certified cheque across town and get it delivered before the deadline.
She arrived at 4:59 p.m.
The other legal office had already closed early.
Rather than accept defeat, the team photographed the certified cheque at the office door with the time visible and sent the evidence immediately.
The deal closed.
Michael jokingly refers to that kind of urgency as a little “Blues Brothers energy”.
Not the chaos.
The mission.
When the window is closing, keep moving.
Funding only matters if you can execute
This story also says something important about real estate development funding.
You can have private capital in place.
You can have a strong property.
You can have an excellent plan.
None of it guarantees that every person involved will do exactly what they are supposed to do.
That is why Michael believes developers have to remain engaged.
You cannot simply assume the lawyer remembered the deadline, the lender completed the transfer or the consultant filed the document.
Follow up.
Check.
Inspect.
Stop worrying about what people “should” do
Michael has a phrase for one of the most common traps in business: “shoulding” all over yourself.
The city should move faster.
The lender should understand.
The seller should honour the agreement.
The lawyer should have caught the issue.
Maybe all of those things are true.
They still do not get the deal closed.
Real estate development rewards people who can deal with what is happening rather than becoming paralysed by what ought to be happening.
Michael’s attitude is practical.
Identify the problem.
Decide what you can do.
Then move.
Persistence is an underrated advantage
Michael readily admits he has met plenty of people who are smarter than he is.
His advantage, he says, has often been staying engaged after everyone else becomes tired.
That matters in development because projects are long.
Funding takes work.
Approvals take work.
Land negotiations take work.
Construction takes work.
There will almost always be a moment when somebody wants to stop pushing.
Persistence becomes a competitive advantage.
Inspect, don’t merely expect
One of Michael’s favourite practical lessons is this:
It is not what you expect of people. It is what you inspect of people.
The line may sound slightly tough, but the meaning is useful.
Good people still miss things.
Busy professionals forget deadlines.
Messages get lost.
A developer’s responsibility is to keep the thread together until the job is complete.
That can mean following up with a private lender.
It can mean calling the city.
It can mean checking with the lawyer.
Sometimes it means pushing yourself.
Real estate development is lived, not studied
Books, courses and presentations are valuable.
Michael believes in learning.
But eventually there is a real seller, real funding, a real deadline and real money on the line.
That is where experience becomes different from theory.
Real estate development is not about aggression or making noise for the sake of it.
It is about staying involved long enough to solve the problems that appear.
Michael Ruge has learned that funding gets you into the deal.
Execution gets you out the other side.
And sometimes one minute can make all the difference.
Michael Ruge’s new book “Building Hope in the Housing – How to Solve the Rental Affordability Crisis” will be realeased this fall (2026).
Links to Michael Ruge, Affordable Apartments and his Initiatives:
Michael Ruge Says the Housing Crisis Is Solvable. Here’s Why He’s Right.
From Marsel to the Mongol Rally: The Iconic Vehicles of Michael Ruge’s Adventures
Michael Ruge: Small Spaces, Big Heart: How Tiny Homes Are Changing the Game
