An investor group was evaluating a HUD-financed deal on Canyon Corporate and asked our Strata partner directly to lay out his own general contracting experience with HUD deals before the group met.
I looped Jon in right away and told the group plainly a response might take a bit since Jon was traveling, instead of answering the credibility question myself in his absence.
HUD financing runs on the general contractor's own track record. That's Jon's story to tell firsthand, not mine to summarize secondhand. Answering for him would have undercut both the credibility of the answer and his own ownership of his qualifications.
We scheduled the meeting once both partners were back in town, and Jon addressed the HUD experience question directly instead of it getting smoothed over by someone else.
When a lender or partner asks who can vouch for the work, put the person with the actual track record in front of them. Don't answer for him.
Respecting a partner's own voice and credibility, even when it costs a few days of delay, that beats trading his standing for a faster answer.