Watch the interview below or read the transcript below as Chanda Brigance and Tyler Banks discuss Charm City Builders’ work in the community.
Chanda:
Tyler, thank you so much for sitting with me today, allowing me to take up a little bit of your time, and being here with you in your space. Tell us a little bit about this space.
Tyler:
Of course! The space we are meeting in right now is part of what we are doing in the community. We are going to use this space to host Freedom Group, a curriculum that helps people grow in their faith and release things from their lives. We’re also going to do real estate investing courses here and have prayer meetings. So the space will be used to help people grow in multiple different ways…
Chanda:
I know you are such a busy man, but the first thing I want to say is thank you for your service. You are a retired veteran who served in the Marine Corps.
Tyler:
Yeah, my service in the Marine Corps actually started when I was introduced to a man named Kevin. Kevin and I were both football players, and Kevin decided he was going into the Marine Corps. When I met him, he said, “Have you ever thought about going into the Marines?” I said, “I never thought about it. Tell me about it.” He said, “Why don’t you come over to the recruiting office today with me? I’m going there.” I said, “All right, let’s go.” These guys looked like the toughest guys I had ever met, and they started talking about the challenge of being in the Marine Corps and I said, “I’m in.”
At the time, I didn’t really understand the patriotism part of it until I got there and saw what it meant. But actually, seeing the vision—being part of a team, the unity, the discipline, the challenge of it all—that really inspired me to want to do it. Both my Mom and my Dad were like, “You did what? Are you sure about this?” I said, “Absolutely. 100%, I’m in.”
Chanda:
Tyler, how do you go from being a Marine into real estate investing?
Tyler:
Well, being a Marine, you don’t really make all that much money. I was able to get a VA loan to buy my first house with about $1,500 to my name. So, I was able to get into that condo, live in it for a year, and fix it up little by little. Then I sold that property, and what I realized was, “This is where I need to be.”
Chanda:
You’re married to Candice, your beautiful wife, and you have two sons.
Tyler:
Candice is definitely my better half, and my sons mean the world to me. We met probably in 2009, and she really helped me a lot and balanced me out. I’m very serious about things, and she’s creative and loose about things, so she helps me a tremendous amount. Jackson is our younger son, and Hudson is our older son. They’re 10 and 12, and we spend a lot of time on the baseball field.
Chanda:
Of course, the third child is Marie?
Tyler:
Yes, Marie the Frenchie. She is such a sweetheart.
Chanda:
Why is it so important for you to be so active and involved in your community?
Tyler:
I went through a restoration process in my own life. After that restoration, I believe what God really started to speak to me was to utilize the gift He’s given me to be a part of creating communities where we can walk this life out together—sharing each other’s burdens, celebrating each other’s victories, and doing it together. What I’ve found is, in every place He’s blessed me, whether it’s in the real estate investing community or the baseball team with my sons, I want to do everything that I can to glorify God in all that I do.
In that real estate investing community, if I can teach them and help them see that we’re not just here to make money—buying houses, fixing them up for a profit—but along the way, we can engage with the world and the community around us. That’s what I’m here to do.
Chanda:
Tyler, thank you so much for sitting with me today. Thank you for your service, and thank you for the love that you pour into our Baltimore community.
Tyler:
You’re welcome. Thank you for having me.