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Show Summary
In this episode of the Investor Fuel podcast, host Michelle Kesil speaks with Carol Sankar, a dynamic real estate investor who shares her journey from multifamily to single-family investments. Carol discusses the challenges she faced during her transition, her future goals in new development, and the importance of networking and education in the real estate space. She emphasizes the need for persistence in finding investment opportunities and offers valuable insights for aspiring investors.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Carol Sankar (00:00)
I’m actually working on one of those now. As we speak, I purchased a property in May with the, I bought it at the best price possible in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the top markets. I don’t live in Charlotte, so it was like, ⁓ can’t get better than this. My first deal in a major city, major intersection, hot area, can’t lose. Go, I gamble, I say, okay, I’m gonna take it.Michelle Kesil (00:01)
⁓ amazing. Okay.Carol Sankar (00:25)
I buy it, ⁓ I didn’t even inspect it. was like, listen, I’m pulling the trigger. I’m getting in. So like I’m moving away from the sub markets and getting into the main markets. Buy the deal. I’m resting too much on my, this is nothing. This is, you know, regular townhouse. We fix it up, put it on the market, never sold. And I’m not a flipper.So you’re talking about somebody who’s put a lot of money into a project and then it just doesn’t sell. So what do you do when the exit strategy was to buy it, fix it, flip it, and just keep cashflow going until you find the next one? It’s now going to be a rental. So we ended up having to take out some of the fixtures that we put in there and I’m kind of re-rehabbing it to make it rent ready because I did it to make it resale ready.
⁓ And if I have to make it rent ready, there’s certain fixtures that I think were maybe a little too higher end because the neighborhood I’m not gonna get ⁓ my rent my expected rent for it back. So ⁓ I put it on the market the first of July. We’re now at the end of August. So now that I know it’s not gonna sell back to the drawing board and we just add it to the portfolio. So you just have to pivot when you know, of course the first few days when you like I put it on the market and nothing happened.
Do you realize where this is and then it doesn’t sell? You’re just like, well, let’s roll with the punches
Michelle Kesil (03:17)
Hey everyone, welcome to the Investor Fuel podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil. Today I’m joined by someone I’ve been looking forward to chatting with, Carol Sankar, who’s been making serious moves in the real estate investing space. So really glad to have you here on the show today, Carol.Carol Sankar (03:37)
Glad to be here. Thank you so much.Michelle Kesil (03:39)
Yeah, absolutely. I think the listeners are really going to take something away from how you’re approaching growing your business and having your rental properties. So excited to dive into these topics with you.Carol Sankar (03:55)
Excited as well. Thank you.Michelle Kesil (03:58)
Awesome. So just first off for those who are not familiar with you and your world, can you give a short version of what your main focus is these days?Carol Sankar (04:08)
These days I’m working on kind of going out of the multifamily real estate investing space. I mostly only focus on rentals. I’ve only done a few flips here and there, a handful, but I’m now working on getting into the single family space as far as rentals in this market. So kind of graduating backwards, as some people will say, like I never started with the single family. So I went straight to multifamily and now I’m just seeing a shift in the market and trying to start really focusing on.Single family market a little bit.
Michelle Kesil (04:37)
Awesome. And what markets do you operate in?Carol Sankar (04:40)
North, South Carolina and Tennessee for now.Michelle Kesil (04:43)
Awesome. So how did you get started on this journey?Carol Sankar (04:47)
⁓ So COVID happened and at the time I was a writer, I was a speaker, I was doing all of these amazing things. My bio looked great, I had done Forbes and all the great things. And then I come home, they tell us, you know, we’re gonna have to be locked in place for two weeks. Two weeks became two months and I’m bored. And I really, at the time I was leasing a house to live in my family and I, and ⁓ my husband and were talking about buying a home before COVID started.Luckily, he was an essential worker, so we were thinking maybe what we’ll do is instead of renewing our lease, we’ll buy a duplex and do this quote unquote house hack thing. We didn’t know what it was. And then one thing led to another. We started looking at duplexes very seriously, but I didn’t realize I didn’t want to live with anyone. just not, I’m not built for it. I looked at a few, I’m still hearing the noise next door, I’m hearing the people in the backyard, I’m smelling their food, hearing their dog. I don’t want any part of that.
It just so happens that ⁓ my husband and I were approved for two different types of loans. We had an investment loan for regular DSCR and he had also been approved for a conventional. So we said, let’s just use everything we’ve got and invest in as many things as we can get our hands on. So we ended up buying a duplex during COVID and that literally was our saving grace because our mortgage was really cheap at the time. had, you know, one of those 2 % mortgages and the excess was able to basically fund our lifestyle for a while.
And then we got the DSCR, we bought another property, and then we sold another property, and then we just started rolling into the flow of becoming full-time investors, which helped us to be able to qualify for our first home, because like I said, I didn’t want to live with anyone. And since then, ⁓ we have amassed a few doors, and we’ve done fairly okay for ourselves, and I have never had to go back to quote unquote work again. So that was our saving grace.
Michelle Kesil (06:37)
amazing, what an, yeah, valuable and exciting story. So thank you for sharingthat. What has been the key to keeping this business running smoothly and getting to the place that you are right now?
Carol Sankar (07:31)
Yeah.I think the key is to never stop looking. So even when I don’t need, I’m always looking ⁓ and never really give up on the idea that you can change according to the market. I would have never seen myself when we first began. It was a duplex, then we bought a triplex. Literally, I think we bought the duplex in March. We bought a triplex in April. We bought another quad by August.
And so you’ll always need to consistently keep looking and always consistently network No matter what you’re doing Just get out of the house drive around because you to be present a seller is gonna expect you to be in their face They expect you to be present so with us or with me more specifically because I am the only part of the business My husband has since said hey, this is not for me you go ahead I have to step out because you can’t take some of the risky moves that I have to make on a daily basis, but
For the most part, you always have to consistently keep looking.
Michelle Kesil (08:36)
Yeah, I think that’s important advice and it’s really what separates those that are just dabbling versus the ones that are here for a long-term vision.Carol Sankar (08:46)
Mm-hmm, exactly. Yeah, because I think some people give up. They don’t get it perfect on the first try. And they just kind of like, okay, well, I don’t see it on Zillow. I don’t see it on Realtor, and I’m done. I have never bought a property off the MLS. So that’s why you have to consistently keep looking. You have to consistently keep yourself out there, consistently broaden your spectrum of how you meet people and how you introduce yourself to people.Michelle Kesil (09:09)
Yeah, I think that’s such important advice. So let me ask you this. Every operator I know has moments in their business where things get more real. Maybe deals go sideways or you have to make fast pivots. Would you mind sharing one of those moments that you’ve experienced?Carol Sankar (09:14)
Mm-hmm.Mm-hmm.
I’m actually working on one of those now. As we speak, I purchased a property in May with the, I bought it at the best price possible in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the top markets. I don’t live in Charlotte, so it was like, ⁓ can’t get better than this. My first deal in a major city, major intersection, hot area, can’t lose. Go, I gamble, I say, okay, I’m gonna take it.
Michelle Kesil (09:31)
⁓ amazing. Okay.Carol Sankar (09:54)
I buy it, ⁓ I didn’t even inspect it. was like, listen, I’m pulling the trigger. I’m getting in. So like I’m moving away from the sub markets and getting into the main markets. Buy the deal. I’m resting too much on my, this is nothing. This is, you know, regular townhouse. We fix it up, put it on the market, never sold. And I’m not a flipper.So you’re talking about somebody who’s put a lot of money into a project and then it just doesn’t sell. So what do you do when the exit strategy was to buy it, fix it, flip it, and just keep cashflow going until you find the next one? It’s now going to be a rental. So we ended up having to take out some of the fixtures that we put in there and I’m kind of re-rehabbing it to make it rent ready because I did it to make it resale ready.
⁓ And if I have to make it rent ready, there’s certain fixtures that I think were maybe a little too higher end because the neighborhood I’m not gonna get ⁓ my rent my expected rent for it back. So ⁓ I put it on the market the first of July. We’re now at the end of August. So now that I know it’s not gonna sell back to the drawing board and we just add it to the portfolio. So you just have to pivot when you know, of course the first few days when you like I put it on the market and nothing happened.
Do you realize where this is and then it doesn’t sell? You’re just like, well, let’s roll with the punches here.
Michelle Kesil (11:49)
Yeah, absolutely. That’s so important to know what your other options are and other strategies that you can always pivot to. And yeah, just keep working towards it.Carol Sankar (11:52)
Yeah.Yeah,
exactly. And like I said earlier, I’m not a single family home specialist, so I have none that I’m holding on to right now. So this would be my first single family, my first Charlotte property. So all the firsts I’m going to experience through this. My first rental where I had to kind of declutter and take off some of the things in it. It’s located pretty far away from me, but I have to do what I have to do.
considering that what I expected it to do and what it is doing is two different things. But I’m not disappointed. It’s part of the game that we play when we’re playing this investing game.
Michelle Kesil (12:36)
Yeah, absolutely. So what are you most focused on solving or scaling next?Carol Sankar (12:43)
I really want to get into new development and new construction. That’s my 2027 goal. I know that, you know, I’m two years ahead of the game, but I’m trying to learn everything that I need to learn about how the process works from beginning to end. So I’m sitting with some of the best mentors, the best advisors, the best builders to kind of get an idea because I don’t want to build and it, you know, same thing, not sell. So I’m trying to figure out whether I want to do town homes or single family homes. So right now I’m just kind of playing.back and forth with different ideas, but I am literally in the cusp of, okay, I’ve done all of the multifamilies I know how to do, ⁓ and in order for me to scale to the next level, new construction, in my opinion, is the next step, because now I’ve already done the single family one or two times, so let’s get ready to do new construction and new development and see how that works, whether we’re building to rent, building to sell.
But we need to start the building process. So how does that work? What am I looking for? What kind of lots? What kind of lot sizes? So that’s the part that I’m into right now.
Michelle Kesil (13:44)
that’s exciting to learn a whole new skill set.Carol Sankar (13:47)
Yeah,yeah, it feels like it. It feels scary too, but I think it’s worth it.
Michelle Kesil (13:51)
Of course.Yeah, scary and exciting. Kind of feels similar. Awesome. So what are some of those educational tools that you’ve used to support you on this journey, maybe for those that are just starting that are listening? How can someone start to learn more about this world?
Carol Sankar (13:56)
Yeah.If you’re to get into rentals, I always say the first thing you need to know is how to calculate the rule of 72. Basically, it is the rule I live by. When I’m putting out an exact amount of a down payment, how long am I going to take for me to get that money back? If I’m going to hold a property, what kind of profit base am I seeking? I’m not a formula kind of person. I’m not someone who lives by, got to, you know, this cap rate and I don’t do that. I’m just trying to get back my initial investment.
If a property cash flows $200 a month, that’s fine for me in the beginning. It’s always fine for me in the beginning, as long as it’s producing enough income to start getting ready to knock down the Rule of 72. So I think that’s the first thing ⁓ the beginning investor needs to understand, because when you’re investing, you have to be patient. My first duplex I ever purchased, I still have it. ⁓ And it’s still cash flows, but it’s a different time and it’s a different market. So I’ve already
recaptured all of my initial investment. Now everything from here on is just profit. So you just have to know what are you investing in? How long is it going to take you to get back? And then the other thing is you just have to understand don’t babysit it. Walk away. Because if you babysit your investments too often, you’ll start losing it because you want to overdo it for the investment. So I don’t try to babysit the tenants. I don’t try to go over there and see the property. I don’t have
that kind of feeling. So from an educational standpoint, in the beginning, when I first got my first one, I used to go there, plant flowers every week. And now I don’t go at all. I used to be so overly involved in making sure the front steps were clean. And now I don’t do that. I just do, you know, every three or four months we do inspections and that’s about it. So.
Just understand when you’re gonna get back your investment and how to not micromanage the company is really important.
Michelle Kesil (16:10)
Yeah, totally. So do you have a team or someone supporting you in the other tasks?Carol Sankar (16:16)
I have a great construction team. As far as property management, I self-manage for right now. ⁓ I find it to be not as hard of a job as I thought it was, because at first I was looking for the right property managers and this and that. I’m like, this is not as hard as it seems to be. I have not had the horror stories that people talk about. And it could be because of where I’m investing and the income strategies I have behind it.But if I have a leaky faucet once every six months, I mean, the only things that really break are refrigerators and dishwashers. haven’t had, and I’m gonna say that with a little bit of laughter, I haven’t had any horror stories. ⁓ The worst thing that has ever happened, we had a tree that fell through a roof. That’s an act of God, that’s an insurance issue. I have not had to.
Michelle Kesil (16:55)
YeahCarol Sankar (17:05)
do all the things I was told to do. when I’m forced with people saying, you need to get a team, I’m like, we thought about that, but nothing has happened. Like nothing that has taken up my entire day. If I replaced 10 refrigerators in a month, okay? If we replace five dishwashers, if the toilet handle is jiggling, I just have not had.⁓ the horror story. maybe I’ve just been lucky. So I haven’t needed a team until I figure out how long is it going to take until I start encountering those kinds of problems, but I haven’t encountered them.
Michelle Kesil (18:23)
awesome and I think that can be helpful for people to hear because maybe someone thinks they need a team but ⁓ it can be simpler. It depends on the situation of course.Carol Sankar (18:30)
Yeah.Yeah, and
it also depends on the kind of tenants you’re after. ⁓ I focus on a middle income market, so my tenants take a little bit more pride in some of their things, and I also focus on corporations that need temporary rentals for employees. So I don’t really have any major issues. I would say the things you just need to be prepared for is, depending on the market you’re in, HVAC issues.
and maybe appliances because appliances do go out pretty often even in your own house appliances go out like I’ve lived in my own house now for four years and my stove went out it is what it is so you know just think of it that way but other than that I have never I see myself having a team soon because you know the number of doors and a number of people that have to and I’m responsible for has grown however the level of responsibility I have not seen the
the need ⁓ to appropriate myself to say, I don’t need to do it. We’ll hire this team to be able to do it. Don’t get me wrong. I would love to, but ⁓ taking some of the mundane tasks off of my table would mean that somebody else just has to answer whether or not Lowe’s can come and deliver a refrigerator today. That doesn’t take a lot to do. Just call Lowe’s and tell them, bring the refrigerator. It’s not that hard. So other than that, I haven’t had any issues.
Michelle Kesil (19:51)
Yeah. Definitely.So when it comes to growing your business and your network as well, what has made like the biggest difference for you?
Carol Sankar (20:01)
Mm-hmm.⁓ I’d say the biggest networking tool I have used literally is if I find another property from another investor, I want to the investor. Just literally not limiting myself to just waiting to meet real tours. Just go meet as many investors as I can. ⁓ You’d be shocked how many people you learn from when you’re not DMing them. And I think that we’re living in a time where people forgot how to network, how to…
get dressed and leave the house and go meet one person, not for a networking event, but just to go meet a guy named Mike at the corner. Those are the things that are really important to me. For example, I do go to Lowe’s a lot because I do buy materials when they’re on sale just to keep around, just God’s fear something happens. And there’s been an investor that always is in Lowe’s every time I go and I’ve always wanted to meet him, but I never, it always seems like we’re running into, he’s running out of the door and I’m running in at the same time. Well,
I take Lowe’s seriously. And one day I saw him walking in there, I was like, listen, I’m not going to miss this one. I know who you are. you know, just take that opportunity to, for that person to get to know me. So that they know that I’m playing a very serious game the same way that they are. And, you know, that led to me having a conversation with him and his wife and we, you know, we met and we talked about some deals we can do together. You have to learn how to do the one-on-one experience too. ⁓ It’s not just about being in crowded rooms. You have to learn how to be in solo spaces.
where you can meet the person directly, face-to-face contact, because facial recognition in this business is extremely important. Like I said, I’ve never bought a deal off the MLS, and that’s strictly because I’m having face-to-face contact with a lot of investors.
Michelle Kesil (21:42)
Yeah, that’s such good advice. And how are you finding where these investors are or finding where to connect with them on this one-to-one level?Carol Sankar (21:53)
Well, some of it is just, like I said, going to loans. Another part is ⁓ the more properties you buy with the same name, people are looking and seeing who’s buying properties in the same area. They’ll reach out to you. They want to know who owns that LLC. They want to know who just purchased that deal. You’ll start getting a lot of mailers from other investors who is like, you know, we buy houses. So you start seeing them. Call them. There’s nothing wrong with saying that. Don’t just toss it and say, well, they’re just advertising to me. No, call them becauseMichelle Kesil (21:57)
Yeah.Carol Sankar (22:22)
That might be a networking opportunity. Also, when I’m driving around, see things. I start putting feelers out there. I still door knock, hey, your grass is a little bit overgrown. You’re interested in selling. And also, I hate to say it like this, but check the obituaries. Sometimes those are where your sellers are. You have families who are in deep need of meeting an investor to be able to figure out how to sell mom and dad’s house because they can’t keep up withpayments or the maintenance or whatever it is for themselves. So you have to put yourself in odd situations, but you have to be there on a daily basis.
Michelle Kesil (22:56)
Yeah, I think that creativity piece is something that you’re really taking on and that’s so valuable. Yeah, of course. So before we wrap up here, if someone wants to reach out, connect, collaborate or learn more from you, where is the best place for them to find you?Carol Sankar (23:03)
Yeah, thank you.carolsankar.com, C-A-R-O-L-S-A-N-K-A-R.com and on socials at all things CarolSankar. So Twitter, this is not Twitter anymore, I’m sorry, X. LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, all at CarolSankar.
Michelle Kesil (23:27)
YouWell, listen, I really appreciate your time, your story and perspective. We need more people in this space doing things in this right way. So thank you for being here.
Carol Sankar (23:38)
thing here.Thank you. I really appreciate it.
Michelle Kesil (23:46)
Awesome. For those of you that are tuning in, if you got value from this, make sure that you’ve subscribed. We have more conversations coming soon with operators just like Carol, who are building real businesses. And we’ll see you all on the next episode.
