Christopher Sandys

I was born and raised in Toledo, attended OLPH and Saint John's High School. Immediately upon graduating from Saint John's I went to Colorado to get a BA in Aeronautical Engineering (thermodynamics specialty) and a regular officer commission into the Air Force via the Air Force Academy, class of 1993. Since then, I have lived in Los Angeles (Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, West Los Angeles); Washington, DC (Adams Morgan); Midtown Manhattan (NYC); and Greenwich, CT. In 2021 I moved back to Toledo, and I am very interested in building a rental housing empire. I have extensive experience in the capital markets as a former I-Bank institutional bond salesman. I specialized in options, swaps, and derivatives, and mortgage backed securities. I do not, however, have any experience in residential real estate or property management. Time to learn! I am foremost attracted to residential real estate, because of the tremendous leverage opportunities. Few other investment opportunities I have seen have the capability to take a 100% stake with only 5% (or less) down. The only time I've seen anything come close were the synthetic CDOs of the 2008 financial debacle (near total economic collapse). Interestingly, those were leveraged products based on ... Residential Real Estate. The concept of buy-fix-flip does not appeal to me. I am not a market timer guy; I am a time in market guy. Cashflow is hedge - a coupon I'll happily clip every month. It is my plan to be a very hands-on landlord. I will do (within reason) all repairs, rehabs, et al. I'll manage screening, renting, evictions, and chasing people down for rent. I want to be in trenches. Landlords don't make money because it's an easy job. I think that dealing with deadbeat tenants will be a strong point for me. I hope my screening can largely avoid this, but no system is perfect. I'm not shy about holding counterparties to their commitments. That being said, I don't sweat small stuff. It's important to act in good faith with your business partners. I'm not a lawyer. My biggest concern at this moment with the Toledo market is the Lead Safe Toledo initiative. Lead poisoning in the US is at an all-time low, which is rational and explainable. I learned the hard way with my first home purchase that a "good deal" on a 1917 craftsman home in Olde Towne came with an estimated $18,000 lead abatement liability. As with many things driven by the public sector, it's all about money and control. I don't buy for a second that it's about protecting our children. I have a goal of acquiring and managing 2 houses per year, for starters, for the next three years. As I build equity, I want to compound my acquisition rate. My inspiration is my landlord cousin in Grand Rapids, MI. He's a diesel mechanic who started buying houses many years ago. He now has 100+ homes with an average value north of $250k. The landlord business has been great to him, and I think the secret to his success is an insatiable appetite for work. I am interested in learning more about the non-conventional real estate market. For example, I've read a lot about different kinds of lending and buying houses that aren't even on the market. Those skills are fascinating to me, and I hope to learn them in the coming years. I'm also interested in learning more about the "guaranteed" income opportunities. The first one that comes to mind is the Section 8 housing, but I'm not thrilled about the concept of an unaccountable tenant. Renting to college students I would put into this category. They have money, and they have parents that can co-sign. Also, from my time in the military, I know that servicemen are tremendously responsible with paying their rent. And they usually rent instead of buying, because the military moves them every few years. Eastern Dayton near Wright Patterson Air Force Base and Wright State University may be on my RADAR in the future.