The information in this preliminary Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Base Prospectus is not complete and may be changed. A registration statement relating to the securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
 Registration No. 333-262859
    ​

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MARCH 3, 2022

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus Dated February 25, 2022)

$       Principal Amount

           % Notes due 2027

We are offering $       million in aggregate principal amount of      % notes due 2027, which we refer to as the “Notes.” The Notes will mature on March       , 2027. We will pay interest on the Notes on March 30, June 30, September 30 and December 30 of each year they are outstanding, beginning on             30, 2022. We may redeem the Notes in whole or in part at any time, or from time to time on or after March   , 2024, at the redemption price of par, plus accrued interest, as discussed under the caption “Description of the Notes — Optional Redemption” in this Prospectus Supplement. The Notes will be issued in minimum denominations of $25.00 and integral multiples of $25.00 in excess thereof.

The Notes will be our direct unsecured obligations and, upon issuance, rank pari passu to all our currently outstanding unsecured unsubordinated indebtedness, any unsecured unsubordinated indebtedness that we may issue in the future and all other unsecured liabilities. At September 30, 2021, the aggregate principal amount of our outstanding unsubordinated unsecured indebtedness was $114.5 million. In December 2021, we issued an additional $51.75 million aggregate principal amount of unsecured subordinated indebtedness. Our general unsecured liabilities were approximately $0.2 million at September 30, 2021 and $1.2 million as of the date of this prospectus supplement.

As the Notes are not secured by any of our assets; as such, they are effectively subordinated to all our existing and future secured indebtedness (including indebtedness that is initially unsecured to which we subsequently grant security), to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. At September 30, 2021, the aggregate outstanding amount of our secured liabilities was approximately $30.1 million. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, the aggregate outstanding amount of our secured liabilities was approximately $33.1 million.

The repayment of the Notes is not guaranteed. In any liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or other similar proceeding, the holders of our existing or future secured indebtedness may assert rights against the assets securing that indebtedness in order to receive full payment of their indebtedness before the assets may be used to pay other creditors, including the holders of the Notes.

We intend to list the Notes on the NYSE American under the trading symbol “SCCE,” and we expect trading to commence within 30 days of the original issue date. The Notes are expected to trade “flat.” This means that purchasers will not pay, and sellers will not receive, any accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes that is not included in the trading price. Currently, there is no public market for the Notes and there can be no assurance that one will develop.

Investing in the Notes involves significant risks. Please read “Risk Factors” on page S-23 of this Prospectus Supplement, on page 15 of the accompanying Base Prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference into this Prospectus Supplement.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved the Notes or determined if this Prospectus Supplement is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

You should read this Prospectus Supplement in conjunction with the accompanying Base Prospectus, including any supplements and amendments thereto. This Prospectus Supplement is qualified by reference to the accompanying Base Prospectus, except to the extent that the information in this Prospectus Supplement supersedes the information contained in the accompanying Base Prospectus. This Prospectus Supplement is not complete without, and may not be delivered or utilized except in connection with, the accompanying Base Prospectus, including any supplements and amendments thereto.

(1)

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., as representative of the underwriters, may exercise an option to purchase up to an additional $      aggregate principal amount of Notes offered hereby, within 30 days of the date of this Prospectus Supplement. If this option is exercised in full, the total public offering price will be $      , the total underwriting discount paid by us will be $        and total proceeds to us, before expenses, will be approximately $      .

​

(2)

Total expenses of the offering payable by us, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, are estimated to be approximately $      .

​

THE NOTES ARE NOT DEPOSITS OR OTHER OBLIGATIONS OF A BANK AND ARE NOT INSURED BY THE FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION OR ANY OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCY.

Delivery of the Notes offered hereby, in book-entry form only through The Depository Trust Company, will be made on or about March   , 2022.

Joint Book-Running Managers

Co-Manager

Colliers Securities LLC

Prospectus Supplement dated            , 2022

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prospectus Supplement

Base Prospectus

 

S-i

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

You should carefully read this entire Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Base Prospectus, including the information included and referred to under “Risk Factors” below and in the accompanying Base Prospectus, the information incorporated by reference in this Prospectus Supplement and in the accompanying Base Prospectus, and the financial statements and the other information incorporated by reference in this Prospectus Supplement and in the accompanying Base Prospectus, before making an investment decision.

This Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Base Prospectus form part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. This document contains two parts. The first part consists of this Prospectus Supplement, which provides you with specific information about this offering. The second part, the accompanying Base Prospectus, provides more general information, some of which may not apply to this offering. Generally, when we refer only to the “Prospectus,” we are referring to both parts combined. This Prospectus Supplement may add, update, or change information contained in the accompanying Base Prospectus. To the extent that any statement we make in this Prospectus Supplement is inconsistent with statements made in the accompanying Base Prospectus or any documents incorporated by reference herein or therein, the statements made in this Prospectus Supplement will be deemed to modify or supersede those made in the accompanying Base Prospectus and such documents incorporated by reference herein and therein.

This Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Base Prospectus relate to the offering of the Notes. Before buying any Notes we urge you to carefully read this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Base Prospectus, together with the information incorporated herein and therein by reference as described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.” These documents contain important information that you should consider when making your investment decision. This Prospectus Supplement may add, update, or change information in the accompanying Base Prospectus.

You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus Supplement, the accompanying Base Prospectus and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize for use in connection with this offering. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not making an offer to sell the Notes in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted or in which the person making that offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make an offer or solicitation. You should assume that the information appearing in this Prospectus Supplement, the accompanying Base Prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering is accurate only as of the date of those respective documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. You should carefully read this entire Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Base Prospectus, including the information included and referred to under “Risk Factors” below, the information incorporated by reference in this Prospectus Supplement and in the accompanying Base Prospectus, and the financial statements and the other information incorporated by reference in the accompanying Base Prospectus, before making an investment decision. You should also read and consider the information in the documents to which we have referred you in the section of this Prospectus Supplement entitled “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.”

This Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Base Prospectus contain summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been or will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this Prospectus Supplement is a part or as exhibits to documents incorporated by reference herein, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.” We note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference herein were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreement, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.

 

S-1

 

The industry and market data and other statistical information contained in the documents we incorporate by reference are based on our own estimates, independent publications, government publications, reports by market research firms or other published independent sources, and, in each case, are believed by us to be reasonable estimates. Although we believe these sources are reliable, we have not independently verified the information.

Securities offered pursuant to the registration statement to which this Prospectus Supplement relates may only be offered and sold if not more than three years have elapsed since the initial effective date of the registration statement, subject to the extension of this period in compliance with applicable SEC rules.

All references in this Prospectus Supplement to “us,” “we,” or “our,” are references to Sachem Capital Corp. and its predecessor, Sachem Capital Partners, LLC, or SCP, unless specified otherwise.

 

S-2

 

​

S-3

 

S-4

 

​

S-5

 

​

S-6

 

​

S-7

 

S-8

 

S-9

 

S-10

 

S-11

 

S-12

 

Payment Date	​	​	Amount Per Share				​
2022	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
January 10Ω	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
2021	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
October 29	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
July 30	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
April 16	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
January 8¥	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
2020	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
November 4	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
August 7	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
January 27*	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
2019	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
October 22	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
July 29	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
April 18	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
January 10**	​	​	​	$	0.17	​	​
2018	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
November 6	​	​	​	$	0.12	​	​
July 27	​	​	​	$	0.11	​	​
April 27***	​	​	​	$	0.105	​	​
February 27****	​	​	​	$	0.105	​	​
2017	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
November 17	​	​	​	$	0.105	​	​
July 27	​	​	​	$	0.105	​	​
April 27	​	​	​	$	0.05	​	​

​

S-13

 

​

S-14

 

​

S-15

 

​

S-16

 

S-17

 

S-18

 

​

S-19

 

S-20

 

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S-21

 

S-22

 

RISK FACTORS

Investing in the Notes involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks referenced below and described in the documents incorporated by reference in this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Base Prospectus, as well as other information we include or incorporate by reference into this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Base Prospectus, before making an investment decision. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by the materialization of any of these risks. The trading price of the Notes could decline due to the materialization of any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment. This Prospectus Supplement and the documents incorporated herein by reference also contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks referenced below and described in the documents incorporated herein by reference, including (i) our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which is on file with the SEC and is incorporated herein by reference, (ii) our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021, which are incorporated by reference into this Prospectus Supplement, and (iii) other documents we file with the SEC that are deemed incorporated by reference into this Prospectus Supplement.

Risks Related to the Notes

The Notes will be unsecured and therefore are effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness we have incurred or may incur in the future.

The Notes will not be secured by any of our assets. As a result, the Notes will be effectively subordinated to all our existing secured indebtedness as well as any secured indebtedness that we may incur in the future, or any indebtedness that is initially unsecured to which we subsequently grant a security interest, to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, we had aggregate outstanding secured indebtedness of approximately $33.1 million, consisting of $13.2 million outstanding on the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account, and $19.1 million outstanding under the Churchill Facility and $750,000 outstanding under the NHB Mortgage. In any liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or other similar proceeding, the holders of any of our existing or future secured indebtedness may assert rights against the assets pledged to secure that indebtedness in order to receive full payment of their indebtedness before the assets may be used to pay other creditors, including the holders of the Notes. Loans under the Churchill Facility are secured by a first priority security interest on the mortgage loans pledged as collateral under the facility, loans under the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account are collateralized by our portfolio of short-term securities held at Wells Fargo and the NHB Mortgage is secured by first mortgage liens on our current corporate headquarters and our new corporate headquarters.

The Notes will be structurally subordinated to the indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries.

The Notes will be obligations exclusively of Sachem Capital Corp., and not any of our subsidiaries. In addition, the Notes will not be guaranteed by any third-party, whether an affiliate or unrelated. None of the assets of our subsidiaries will be directly available to satisfy the claims of holders of the Notes. Except to the extent we are a creditor with recognized claims against our subsidiaries, all claims of creditors of our subsidiaries will have priority over our equity interests in such entities (and therefore the claims of our creditors, including holders of the Notes) with respect to the assets of such entities. Even if we are recognized as a creditor of one or more of these entities, our claims would still be effectively subordinated to any security interests in the assets of any such entity and to any indebtedness or other liabilities of any such entity senior to our claims. Consequently, the Notes will be structurally subordinated to all indebtedness and other liabilities of any of our subsidiaries. In addition, our subsidiaries and these entities may incur substantial indebtedness in the future, all of which would be structurally senior to the Notes.

The indenture under which the Notes are issued contains limited protection for holders of the Notes.

The indenture under which the Notes are issued offers limited protection to holders of the Notes. The terms of the indenture and the Notes do not restrict our ability to engage in, or otherwise be a party to, a variety of corporate transactions, circumstances or events that could have a material adverse impact on your

 

S-23

 

investment in the Notes. In particular, except in limited circumstances, the terms of the indenture and the Notes do not restrict our ability to:

•

issue securities or otherwise incur additional indebtedness or other obligations, including (1) any indebtedness or other obligations that would be equal in right of payment to the Notes, (2) any indebtedness or other obligations that would be secured and therefore rank effectively senior in right of payment to the Notes to the extent of the values of the assets securing such debt, (3) indebtedness that we incur that is guaranteed by one or more of our subsidiaries and which therefore is structurally senior to the Notes and (4) securities, indebtedness or obligations issued or incurred by our subsidiaries that would be senior to our equity interests in those entities and therefore rank structurally senior to the Notes with respect to the assets of these entities;

​

•

pay dividends on, or purchase or redeem or make any payments in respect of, capital stock or other securities ranking junior in right of payment to the Notes, including subordinated indebtedness;

​

•

sell assets (other than certain limited restrictions on our ability to consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets);

​

•

enter into transactions with affiliates;

​

•

create liens or enter into sale and leaseback transactions;

​

•

make investments; or

​

•

create restrictions on the payment of dividends or other amounts to us from our subsidiaries.

​

In addition, the indenture does not require us to offer to purchase the Notes in connection with a change of control or any other event.

Similarly, the terms of the indenture and the Notes do not protect holders of the Notes in the event that we experience changes (including significant adverse changes) in our financial condition, results of operations or credit ratings, if any, as long as we adhere to the Asset Coverage Covenant (see pages S-21 and S-38 of this Prospectus Supplement).

Our ability to recapitalize, incur additional debt and take a number of other actions that are not limited by the terms of the Notes may have important consequences for you as a holder of the Notes, including making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to the Notes or negatively affecting the trading value of the Notes.

Other debt we issue or incur in the future could contain more protections for its holders than the indenture and the Notes, including additional covenants and events of default. For example, the indenture under which the Notes are issued does not contain cross-default provisions. The issuance or incurrence of any indebtedness with incremental protections could affect the market for and trading levels and prices of the Notes.

An increase in market interest rates could result in a decrease in the value of the Notes.

In general, as market interest rates rise, notes bearing interest at a fixed rate decline in value. Consequently, if you purchase the Notes, and the market interest rates subsequently increase, the market value of your Notes may decline. We cannot predict the future level of market interest rates.

There is no existing trading market for the Notes, and, even if the NYSE American approves the listing of the Notes, an active trading market for the Notes may not develop, which could limit your ability to sell the Notes and/or the market price of the Notes.

The Notes will be a new issue of debt securities for which there initially will not be a trading market. Although the June 2024 Notes are listed on the NYSE American and trade under the symbol “SCCB,” the December 2024 Notes are listed on the NYSE American under the symbol “SACC,” the 2025 Notes are listed on the NYSE American under the symbol “SCCC” and the 2026 Notes are listed on the NYSE American under the symbol “SCCD,” we cannot assure you that the Notes will be approved for listing on the NYSE American or that trading of the Notes will commence within 30 days of the original issue date.

 

S-24

 

Moreover, even if the listing of the Notes is approved, we cannot provide any assurances that an active trading market will develop or be maintained for the Notes or that you will be able to sell your Notes. If the Notes are traded after their initial issuance, they may trade at a discount from their initial offering price depending on prevailing interest rates, the market for similar securities, our credit ratings, if any, general economic conditions, our financial condition, performance and prospects and other factors. The underwriters have advised us that they intend to make a market in the Notes, but they are not obligated to do so. The underwriters may discontinue any market-making in the Notes at any time at their sole discretion.

We cannot assure you that the Notes will be approved for listing on the NYSE American, that a liquid trading market will develop for the Notes, that you will be able to sell your Notes at a particular time or that the price you receive when you sell will be favorable. To the extent an active trading market does not develop, the liquidity and trading price for the Notes may be harmed. Accordingly, you may be required to bear the financial risk of an investment in the Notes for an indefinite period of time.

We may choose to redeem the Notes when prevailing interest rates are relatively low.

On or after March   , 2024, we may choose to redeem the Notes from time to time, especially when prevailing interest rates are lower than the rate borne by the Notes. If prevailing rates are lower at the time of redemption, you would not be able to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable security at an effective interest rate as high as the interest rate on the Notes being redeemed. Our redemption right also may adversely impact your ability to sell the Notes as the optional redemption date or period approaches.

If we default on our obligations to pay our other indebtedness, we may not be able to make payments on the Notes.

Any default under the agreements governing our existing indebtedness, including a default under indebtedness to which we may be a party that is not waived by the required lenders, and the remedies sought by the holders of such indebtedness could make us unable to pay principal and interest on the Notes and substantially decrease the market value of the Notes. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow and are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal and interest on our indebtedness, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the various covenants, including financial and operating covenants, in the instruments governing our indebtedness, we could be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such indebtedness, including the Notes. In the event of such default, the holders of such indebtedness could elect to declare all the funds borrowed thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest. In addition, the lenders under any revolving credit facility or other financing that we may obtain in the future could elect to terminate their commitment, cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. Any such default may constitute a default under the Notes and the Existing Notes, which could further limit our ability to repay our indebtedness, including the Notes. If our operating performance declines, we may in the future need to seek to obtain waivers from our existing lenders at the time to avoid being in default. If we breach any loan covenants, we may not be able to obtain such a waiver from the lenders. If this occurs, we would be in default under the credit arrangement that we have, the lender could exercise its rights as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we are unable to repay indebtedness, lenders having secured obligations could proceed against the collateral securing the debt. Because the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account, the Churchill Facility, the NHB Mortgage have and any future credit facilities are likely to have, customary cross-default provisions, if the indebtedness under the Notes, the Existing Notes or under any future credit facility is accelerated, we may be unable to repay or finance the amounts due.

We will have broad discretion with respect to the use of the proceeds of this offering.

We will have broad discretion to use the net proceeds from this offering for any of the intended purposes described in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds,” and you will not have the opportunity as part of your investment decision to determine how the net proceeds will be used. Because of the number and variability of factors that will determine how we use the net proceeds from this offering, their ultimate use may vary. The failure by us to apply these funds effectively could harm our business. We are not obligated to contribute to a sinking fund to retire the Notes and the Notes are not guaranteed by a third-party.

 

S-25

 

We are not obligated to contribute funds to a sinking fund to repay principal or interest on the Notes upon maturity or default. The Notes are not certificates of deposit or similar obligations of, or guaranteed by, any depositary institution. Further, no private party or governmental entity insures or guarantees payment on the Notes if we do not have enough funds to make principal or interest payments.

A downgrade, suspension or withdrawal of the credit rating assigned by a rating agency to us or the Notes, if any, could cause the liquidity or market value of the Notes to decline significantly.

Our credit rating is an assessment by third parties of our ability to pay our obligations. Consequently, real or anticipated changes in our credit rating will generally affect the market value of the Notes. Our credit rating, however, may not reflect the potential impact of risks related to market conditions generally or other factors discussed above on the market value of or trading market for the Notes. Credit ratings are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and may be revised or withdrawn at any time by the issuing organization in its sole discretion.

The Notes have received a private rating of BBB+ from Egan-Jones Ratings Company. An explanation of the significance of ratings may be obtained from the rating agency. Generally, rating agencies base their ratings on such material and information, and such of their own investigations, studies and assumptions, as they deem appropriate. Neither we nor any underwriter undertakes any obligation to maintain our credit rating or to advise holders of the Notes of any changes in our credit rating. There can be no assurance that our credit rating will remain for any given period of time or that such credit rating will not be lowered or withdrawn entirely by the rating agency if in their judgment future circumstances relating to the basis of the credit rating, such as adverse changes in our company, so warrant.

If we default on our obligations under the Churchill Facility, the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account and the NHB Mortgage, we may suffer adverse consequences and may not be able to make payments on the Notes or the Existing Notes.

To secure our obligations under the Churchill Facility, Churchill has a first priority security interest on the mortgage loans pledged as collateral under the Churchill Facility. If we default on our obligations under the Churchill Facility and fail to cure, Churchill will have the right to assign, sell, or otherwise transfer, the mortgage loans subject to their security interests. If Churchill exercises its right to sell the mortgage loans pledged under the Churchill Facility, such sales may be completed at distressed sale prices, thereby diminishing or potentially eliminating the amount of cash available to us after repayment of the amounts outstanding under the Churchill Facility. In addition, the outstanding balance on the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account is collateralized by our portfolio of short-term securities held at Wells Fargo. Finally, the outstanding balance on the NHB Mortgage is secured by a first mortgage lien on our current and future corporate headquarters. A decline in the value of such securities below the margin call limit may require us to provide additional funds or securities to Wells Fargo to avoid a forced sale of such securities. The occurrence of either or both of the foregoing events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, cash flows, our ability to make distributions to shareholders and make the interest payment on the Notes or the Existing Notes.

Any default under the agreements governing our existing indebtedness, including a default under the Churchill Facility or the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account or NHB Mortgage or other indebtedness to which we may be a party that is not waived by the required lenders, and the remedies sought by the holders of such indebtedness could make us unable to pay principal and interest on the Notes and substantially decrease the market value of the Notes. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow and are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal and interest on our indebtedness, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the various covenants, including financial and operating covenants, in the instruments governing our indebtedness, we could be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such indebtedness, including the Notes. In the event of such default, the holders of such indebtedness could elect to declare all the funds borrowed thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest. In addition, the lenders under any revolving credit facility or other financing that we may obtain in the future could elect to terminate their commitment, cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, and force us into bankruptcy or liquidation. Any such default may constitute a default under all of our indebtedness, including the Notes, which could further limit

 

S-26

 

our ability to repay our indebtedness, including the Notes. If our operating performance declines, we may in the future need to seek to obtain waivers from our existing lenders at the time to avoid being in default. If we breach any loan covenants, we may not be able to obtain such a waiver from the lenders in which case we would be in default under the credit arrangement and the lender could exercise its rights as described above, and we may be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we are unable to repay indebtedness, lenders having secured obligations could proceed against the collateral securing the debt. Because the Churchill Facility, the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account and the NHB Mortgage have, and any future credit facilities will likely have, customary cross-default provisions, if repayment of any outstanding indebtedness, such as the Notes, the Churchill Facility, the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account, the NHB Mortgage or any future credit facility, is accelerated, we may be unable to repay or finance the amounts due.

Supplemental Risks Relating to Our Business

The Ukrainian-Russian conflict could have a material adverse impact on our business.

The Ukrainian-Russian conflict, the responses thereto, such as sanctions imposed by the United States and other western democracies, and any expansion thereof is likely to have unpredictable and wide-ranging effects on the domestic and global economy and financial markets, which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Already the conflict has caused market volatility, a sharp increase in certain commodity prices, such as wheat and oil, and an increasing number and frequency of cybersecurity threats. So far, we have not experienced any direct impact from the conflict and, as our business is conducted exclusively in the United States, we are probably less vulnerable than companies with international operations. Nevertheless, we will continue to monitor the situation carefully and, if necessary, take action to protect our business, operations and financial condition.

 

S-27

 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Prospectus Supplement includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Prospectus Supplement, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, strategy and plans, and our expectations for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” “seek,” “intend,” “believe,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “likely,” “continue,” “design,” and the negative of such terms and other words and terms of similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in “Risk Factors.” In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this Prospectus Supplement may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. In addition, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. We disclaim any duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this Prospectus Supplement to confirm these statements in relationship to actual results or revised expectations.

All forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements as well as others made in this Prospectus Supplement. You should evaluate all forward- looking statements made by us in the context of these risks and uncertainties.

 

S-28

 

USE OF PROCEEDS

We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes offered under this Prospectus Supplement for working capital and general corporate purposes, i.e., to fund new real estate loans secured by first mortgage liens. Pending such use, the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes may be temporarily invested in short-term government securities and other low risk investments.

 

S-29

 

CAPITALIZATION

The following table shows our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of September 30, 2021:

•

on an actual basis;

​

•

on a pro forma basis to give effect to: (i) the sale of 7,112,466 common shares from October 1, 2021 through the date of this prospectus supplement and the receipt of approximately $40.9 million of net proceeds therefrom; (ii) the sale of the $51.75 million aggregate principal amount of 2026 Notes and the receipt of approximately $49.9 million in net proceeds therefrom after payment of underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses; (iii) a $16.8 million decrease in the amount outstanding under the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account; (iv) an approximate $19.1 million increase in the amount outstanding under the Churchill Facility; (v) a $750,000 advance under the NHB Mortgage; (vi) the issuance of 24,992 common shares upon the cashless exercise of warrants; and (vii) the issuance of 48,500 common shares to employees under our 2016 Equity Compensation Plan; and

​

•

on a pro forma, as adjusted basis, giving effect to the pro forma adjustments and sale of Notes in this offering and the receipt of net proceeds of approximately $      million from this offering, after deducting underwriting commissions of $      and estimated offering expenses payable by us of approximately $      (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional Notes).

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You should read the data set forth in the table below in conjunction with “Use of Proceeds,” appearing elsewhere in this Prospectus Supplement, as well as our unaudited financial statements and the accompanying notes and the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” each included in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and incorporated by reference into this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying base prospectus.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF THE NOTES

The Notes will be issued under the Indenture dated as of June 21, 2019, between us and the U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association (as successor in interest to U.S. Bank, N.A.), as trustee, and a Fifth Supplemental Indenture thereto, dated as of March   , 2022. We refer to the Indenture, as well as the Fifth Supplemental Indenture thereto, as the “Indenture” and to U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association (as successor in interest to U.S. Bank, N.A.) as the “trustee.” The Notes are governed by the Indenture, as required by federal law for all bonds and notes of companies that are publicly offered. An Indenture is a contract between us and the financial institution acting as trustee on your behalf and is subject to and governed by the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended. The trustee has two main roles. First, the trustee can enforce your rights against us if we default. There are some limitations on the extent to which the trustee acts on your behalf, described in the second paragraph under “— Events of Default — Remedies if an Event of Default Occurs.” Second, the trustee performs certain administrative duties for us with respect to the Notes.

This section includes a description of the material terms of the Notes and the Indenture. Because this section is a summary, however, it does not describe every aspect of the Notes and the indenture. We urge you to read the Indenture because it, and not this description, defines your rights as a holder of the Notes. The Indenture has been filed as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by us on June 25, 2019 and September 9, 2020.

General

The Notes will mature on March   , 2027. The principal payable at maturity will be 100% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount. The interest rate of the Notes is       % per year and will be paid every March 30, June 30, September 30, and December 30, beginning             30, 2022, and the regular record dates for interest payments will be every March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15, beginning             15, 2022. If an interest payment date falls on a non-business day, the applicable interest payment will be made on the next business day and no additional interest will accrue as a result of such delayed payment. The initial interest period will be the period from and including March   , 2022, to, but excluding June 30, 2022, and the subsequent interest periods will be the periods from and including an interest payment date to, but excluding, the next interest payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be.

The Notes will be issued, in denominations of $25.00 and integral multiples of $25.00 in excess thereof. They are not subject to any sinking fund and holders thereof will not have the option to have them repaid prior to the stated maturity date.

Except as described under the captions “Events of Default” and “Merger or Consolidation” ​(see pages S-34 through S-35, below), the Indenture does not contain any provisions that give you protection in the event we issue a large amount of debt or we are acquired by another entity.

Optional Redemption

The Notes may be redeemed in whole or in part at any time or from time to time at our option on or after March   , 2024 upon not less than 30 days nor more than 60 days written notice by mail prior to the date fixed for redemption thereof. The redemption price shall include (i) 100% of the outstanding principal amount of the Notes called for redemption on the date fixed for redemption plus (ii) all accrued and unpaid interest payments otherwise payable thereon through the date fixed for redemption.

You may be prevented from exchanging or transferring your Notes when they are subject to redemption. In case of a partial redemption, the redemption notice will provide that, upon surrender of the Note as, you will receive, without a charge, a new Note (or Notes) of authorized denominations representing the principal amount of your remaining unredeemed notes. Any exercise of our option to redeem the Notes will be done in accordance with the Indenture.

If we redeem only some of the Notes, the trustee will determine the method for selection of the particular notes to be redeemed, in accordance with the Indenture and in accordance with the rules of any

 

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national securities exchange or quotation system on which the Notes are listed. Unless we default in payment of the redemption price, on and after the date of redemption, interest will cease to accrue on the notes called for redemption.

Private Rating of the Notes

The Notes have a private credit rating of BBB+ from Egan-Jones Ratings Company. An explanation of the significance of ratings may be obtained from the rating agency. Generally, rating agencies base their ratings on such material and information, and such of their own investigations, studies and assumptions, as they deem appropriate. The rating of the Notes should be evaluated independently from similar ratings of other securities. A credit rating of a security is paid for by the issuer and is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and maybe subject to review, revision, suspension, reduction or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. See “Risk Factors — A downgrade, suspension or withdrawal of the credit rating assigned by a rating agency to us or the Notes, if any, could cause the liquidity or market value of the Notes to decline significantly.”

Global Securities

Each Note sold will be issued in book-entry form and represented by a global security that we deposit with and register in the name of The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York, known as DTC, or its nominee. A global security may not be transferred to or registered in the name of anyone other than the depositary or its nominee, unless special termination situations arise. As a result of these arrangements, the depositary, or its nominee, will be the sole registered owner and holder of all the Notes, represented by a global security, and investors will be permitted to own only beneficial interests in a global security. For more information about these arrangements, see “— Book-Entry Procedures” below.

Termination of a Global Security

If a global security is terminated for any reason, interests in it will be exchanged for certificates in non-book-entry form (certificated securities). After that exchange, the choice of whether to hold the certificated Notes directly or in street name will be up to the investor. Investors must consult their own banks or brokers to find out how to have their interests in a global security transferred on termination to their own names, so that they will be holders.

Payment and Paying Agents

We will pay interest to the person listed in the trustee’s records as the owner of Notes at the close of business on a particular day in advance of each due date for interest, even if that person no longer owns the Note on the interest due date. That day, usually about two weeks in advance of the interest due date, is called the “record date.” Because we will pay all the interest for an interest period to the holders on the record date, holders buying and selling Notes must work out between themselves the appropriate purchase price. The most common manner is to adjust the sales price of Notes to prorate interest fairly between buyer and seller based on their respective ownership periods within the particular interest period. This prorated interest amount is called “accrued interest.”

Payments on Global Securities

We will make payments on the Notes so long as they are represented by a global security in accordance with the applicable policies of the depositary as in effect from time to time. Under those policies, we will make payments directly to the depositary, or its nominee, and not to any indirect holders who own beneficial interests in the global security. An indirect holder’s right to those payments will be governed by the rules and practices of the depositary and its participants, as described under “— Book-Entry Procedures.”

Payments on Certificated Securities

In the event the Notes become represented by certificated securities, we will make payments on the Notes as follows. We will pay interest that is due on an interest payment date to the holder of the Notes as shown on the trustee’s records as of the close of business on the regular record date at our office in Branford,

 

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Connecticut. We will make all payments of principal and premium, if any, by check at the office of the applicable trustee in New York, New York and/or at other offices that may be specified in the Indenture or a notice to holders against surrender of the Note. Alternatively, at our option, we may pay any cash interest that becomes due on the Notes by mailing a check to the holder at his, her or its address shown on the trustee’s records as of the close of business on the regular record date or by transfer to an account at a bank in the United States, in either case, on the due date.

Payment When Offices Are Closed

If any payment is due on the Notes on a day that is not a business day, we will make the payment on the next day that is a business day. Payments made on the next business day in this situation will be treated under the Indenture as if they were made on the original due date. Such payment will not result in a default under the Notes or the Indenture, and no interest will accrue on the payment amount from the original due date to the next day that is a business day.

Book-entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on how they will receive payments on the Notes.

Events of Default

You will have rights if an Event of Default occurs in respect of the Notes, as described later in this subsection.

The term “Event of Default” in respect of the Notes means any of the following:

•

We do not pay the principal (or premium, if any) of any Note when due.

​

•

We do not pay interest on any Note when due, and such default is not cured within 30 days.

​

•

We remain in breach of a covenant in respect of the Notes for 60 days after we receive a written notice of default stating we are in breach (the notice must be sent by either the trustee or holders of at least 25% of the principal amount of the Notes, including the Notes, as a single series).

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•

We file for bankruptcy or certain other events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occur and in the case of certain orders or decrees entered against us under bankruptcy law, such order or decree remains undischarged or unstayed for a period of 60 days.

​

An Event of Default for the Notes does not necessarily constitute an Event of Default for any other series of debt securities issued under the same or any other Indenture. The trustee may withhold notice to the holders of the Notes of any default, except in the payment of principal or interest, if it in good faith considers the withholding of notice to be in the best interests of the holders.

Remedies if an Event of Default Occurs

If an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the Notes, including the Notes, as a single series, may declare the entire principal amount of all such notes to be due and immediately payable. This is called a declaration of acceleration of maturity. In certain circumstances, a declaration of acceleration of maturity may be canceled by the holders of a majority in principal amount of the Notes, including the Notes, as a single series, if (1) we have deposited with the trustee all amounts due and owing with respect to such notes (other than principal that has become due solely by reason of such acceleration) and certain other amounts, and (2) any other Events of Default have been cured or waived.

Except in cases of default, where the trustee has some special duties, the trustee is not required to take any action under the Indenture at the request of any holders unless the holders offer the trustee protection from expenses and liability (called an “indemnity”). If indemnity is provided, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the Notes may direct the time, method and place of conducting any lawsuit or other formal legal action seeking any remedy available to the trustee. The trustee may refuse to follow those directions in certain circumstances. No delay or omission in exercising any right or remedy will be treated as a waiver of that right, remedy or Event of Default.

 

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Before you are allowed to bypass the trustee and bring your own lawsuit or other formal legal action or take other steps to enforce your rights or protect your interests relating to the Notes, the following must occur:

•

you must give the trustee written notice that an Event of Default has occurred and remains uncured;

​

•

the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the Notes, including the Notes, as a single series, must make a written request that the trustee take action because of the default and must offer indemnity and/or security to the trustee against the cost and other liabilities of taking that action;

​

•

the trustee must not have taken action for 60 days after receipt of the above notice and offer of indemnity and/or security; and

​

•

the holders of a majority in principal amount of the Notes, including the Notes, as a single series, must not have given the trustee a direction inconsistent with the above notice during that 60- day period.

​

However, you are entitled at any time to bring a lawsuit for the payment of money due on your Notes on or after the due date.

Book-entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on how to give notice or direction to or make a request of the trustee and how to declare or cancel an acceleration of maturity.

Each year, we will furnish to the trustee a written statement of certain of our officers certifying that to their knowledge we are in compliance with the Indenture and the Notes, or else specifying any default.

Waiver of Default

The holders of a majority in principal amount of the Notes, including the Notes, as a single series, may waive any past defaults other than:

•

the payment of principal or interest; or

​

•

in respect of a covenant that cannot be modified or amended without the consent of each holder.

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Merger or Consolidation

Under the terms of the Indenture, we are generally permitted to consolidate or merge with another entity. We are also permitted to sell all or substantially all of our assets to another entity. However, we may not take any of these actions unless all the following conditions are met:

•

Where we merge out of existence or convey or transfer our assets substantially as an entirety, the resulting entity must agree to be legally responsible for our obligations under the Notes.

​

•

The merger or sale of assets must not cause a default on the Notes and we must not already be in default (unless the merger or sale would cure the default). For purposes of this no-default test, a default would include an Event of Default that has occurred and has not been cured, as described under “Events of Default” above. A default for this purpose would also include any event that would be an Event of Default if the requirements for giving us a notice of default or our default having to exist for a specific period of time were disregarded.

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•

We must deliver certain certificates and documents to the trustee.

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Modification or Waiver

There are three types of changes we can make to the Indenture and the Notes.

Changes Requiring Your Approval

First, there are changes that we cannot make to the Notes without your specific approval. The following is a list of those types of changes:

•

change the stated maturity of the principal of or interest on such notes;

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•

reduce any amounts due on such notes;

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•

reduce the amount of principal payable upon acceleration of the maturity of a note following a default;

​

•

change the place or currency of payment on a note;

​

•

impair your right to sue for payment;

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•

reduce the percentage of holders of notes whose consent is needed to modify or amend the Indenture; and

​

•

reduce the percentage of holders of notes whose consent is needed to waive compliance with certain provisions of the Indenture or to waive certain defaults.

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Changes Not Requiring Approval

The second type of change does not require any vote by the holders of the Notes. This type is limited to clarifications and certain other changes that would not adversely affect holders of such Notes in any material respect.

Changes Requiring Majority Approval

Any other change to the Indenture and the Notes would require the following approval:

•

if the change affects only the Notes, it must be approved by the holders of a majority in principal amount of such notes; and

​

•

if the change affects more than one series of debt securities issued under the same Indenture, it must be approved by the holders of a majority in principal amount of the series affected by the change, with all affected series voting together as one class for this purpose.

​

In both cases, the required approval must be given by written consent.

The holders of a majority in principal amount of a series of debt securities issued under an Indenture, voting together as one class for this purpose, may waive our compliance with some of our covenants in that Indenture. However, we cannot obtain a waiver of a payment default or of any of the matters covered by the bullet points included above under “— Changes Requiring Your Approval.”

Further Details Concerning Voting

When taking a vote, we will use the following rules to decide how much principal to attribute to the Notes:

The Notes will not be considered outstanding, and therefore not eligible to vote, if we have deposited or set aside in trust money for their payment or redemption. The Notes will also not be eligible to vote if they have been fully defeased as described later under “Defeasance — Full Defeasance.”

We will generally be entitled to set any day as a record date for the purpose of determining the holders of the Notes that are entitled to vote or take other action under the Indenture. However, the record date may not be more than 30 days before the date of the first solicitation of holders to vote on or take such action. If we set a record date for a vote or other action to be taken by holders of the Notes, that vote or action may be taken only by persons who are holders of the Notes on the record date and must be taken within eleven months following the record date.

Book-entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on how approval may be granted or denied if we seek to change the Indenture or the Notes or request a waiver.

Defeasance

“Defeasance” means that, by depositing with a trustee an amount of cash and/or government securities sufficient to pay all principal and interest, if any, on the Notes when due and satisfying any additional conditions noted below, we will be deemed to have been discharged from our obligations under the Notes. In

 

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the event of a “covenant defeasance,” upon depositing such funds and satisfying similar conditions discussed below we would be released from the restrictive covenants under the Indenture.

The following defeasance provisions will be applicable to the Notes:

Covenant Defeasance

Under the Indenture, we can make the deposit described below and be released from some of the restrictive covenants in the Indenture. This is called “covenant defeasance.” In that event, you would lose the protection of those restrictive covenants but would gain the protection of having money or money and government securities set aside in trust to repay your Notes. If we achieve covenant defeasance and your Notes were subordinated as described under “Indenture Provisions — Ranking” below, such subordination would not prevent the trustee from applying the funds available to it from the deposit described in the first bullet to the payment of amounts due in respect of such debt securities for the benefit of the subordinated debtholders. In order to achieve covenant defeasance, we must do the following:

•

Since the Notes are denominated in U.S. dollars, we must deposit in trust for the benefit of all holders of the Notes either cash or a combination of cash and U.S. government or U.S. government agency notes or bonds that will generate enough cash to make interest, principal and any other payments on such notes on their various due dates.

​

•

We must deliver to the trustee a legal opinion of our counsel confirming that, under current U.S. federal income tax law, we may make the above deposit without causing you to be taxed on the Notes any differently than if we did not make the deposit.

​

•

We must deliver to the trustee a legal opinion of our counsel stating that the above deposit does not require registration by us under the 1940 Act, and a legal opinion and officers’ certificate stating that all conditions precedent to covenant defeasance have been complied with.

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•

Defeasance must not result in a breach or violation of, or result in a default under, the Indenture or any of our other material agreements or instruments.

​

•

No default or event of default with respect to the Notes shall have occurred and be continuing and no defaults or events of default related to bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization shall occur during the next 90 days.

​

If we accomplish covenant defeasance, you can still look to us for repayment of the Notes if there were a shortfall in the trust deposit or the trustee is prevented from making payment. For example, if one of the remaining Events of Default occurred (such as our bankruptcy) and the Notes became immediately due and payable, there might be a shortfall. Depending on the event causing the default, you may not be able to obtain payment of the shortfall.

Full Defeasance

We can legally release ourselves from all payment and other obligations on the Notes (called “full defeasance”) if we put in place the following other arrangements for you to be repaid:

•

Since the Notes are denominated in U.S. dollars, we must deposit in trust for the benefit of all holders of the Notes a combination of money and U.S. government or U.S. government agency notes or bonds that will generate enough cash to make interest, principal and any other payments on the Notes on their various due dates.

​

•

We must deliver to the trustee a legal opinion confirming that there has been a change in current U.S. federal tax law or an IRS ruling that allows us to make the above deposit without causing you to be taxed on the Notes any differently than if we did not make the deposit. Under current U.S. federal tax law the deposit and our legal release from the Notes would be treated as though we paid you your share of the cash and notes or bonds at the time the cash and notes or bonds were deposited in trust in exchange for your Notes and you would recognize gain or loss on the Notes at the time of the deposit.

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•

We must deliver to the trustee a legal opinion of our counsel stating that the above deposit does not require registration by us under the 1940 Act, and a legal opinion and officers’ certificate stating that all conditions precedent to defeasance have been complied with.

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•

Defeasance must not result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default under, of the Indenture or any of our other material agreements or instruments.

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•

No default or event of default with respect to the Notes shall have occurred and be continuing and no defaults or events of default related to bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization shall occur during the next ninety (90) days.

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If we ever did accomplish full defeasance, as described above, you would have to rely solely on the trust deposit for repayment of the Notes. You could not look to us for repayment in the unlikely event of any shortfall. Conversely, the trust deposit would most likely be protected from claims of our lenders and other creditors if we ever became bankrupt or insolvent. If your Notes were subordinated as described later under “— Indenture Provisions — Ranking,” such subordination would not prevent the trustee from applying the funds available to it from the deposit referred to in the first bullet of the preceding paragraph to the payment of amounts due in respect of the Notes for the benefit of the subordinated debtholders.

Asset Coverage Covenant

In addition to any other covenants described in this Prospectus Supplement, as well as standard covenants relating to payment of principal and interest, maintaining an office where payments may be made or where securities can be surrendered for payment, payment of taxes by us and related matters, the Indenture prohibits us from, for the period of time during which the Notes are outstanding, paying any dividends or make distributions in excess of 90% of our taxable income, incurring any indebtedness or purchasing any shares of our capital stock unless we have an “Asset Coverage Ratio” of at least 150% after giving effect to the incurrence of such indebtedness and the application of the net proceeds therefrom or after taking into account the purchase price for such shares, as the case may be. “Asset Coverage Ratio” means the ratio (expressed as a percentage) of the value of our total assets bears to the aggregate amount of our indebtedness (including the aggregate of the involuntary liquidation preference of redeemable preferred stock, if any).

Form, Exchange and Transfer of Certificated Registered Securities

If Notes cease to be issued in book-entry form, they will be issued:

•

only in fully registered certificated form;

​

•

without interest coupons; and

​

•

unless we indicate otherwise, in denominations of $25 and amounts that are multiples of $25.

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Holders may exchange their certificated securities for notes of smaller denominations or combined into fewer notes of larger denominations, as long as the total principal amount is not changed and as long as the denomination is equal to or greater than $25.

Holders may exchange or transfer their certificated securities at the office of the trustee. We have appointed the trustee to act as our agent for registering notes in the names of holders transferring Notes. We may appoint another entity to perform these functions or perform them ourselves.

Holders will not be required to pay a service charge to transfer or exchange their certificated securities, but they may be required to pay any tax or other governmental charge associated with the transfer or exchange. The transfer or exchange will be made only if our transfer agent is satisfied with the holder’s proof of legal ownership.

We may appoint additional transfer agents or cancel the appointment of any particular transfer agent.

We may also approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts.

If any certificated securities of a particular series are redeemable and we redeem less than all the debt securities of that series, we may block the transfer or exchange of those debt securities during the period

 

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beginning 15 days before the day we mail the notice of redemption and ending on the day of that mailing, in order to freeze the list of holders to prepare the mailing. We may also refuse to register transfers or exchanges of any certificated securities selected for redemption, except that we will continue to permit transfers and exchanges of the unredeemed portion of any debt security that will be partially redeemed.

If a registered debt security is issued in book-entry form, only the depositary will be entitled to transfer and exchange the debt security as described in this subsection, since it will be the sole holder of the debt security.

Resignation of Trustee

The Trustee may resign or be removed with respect to the Notes provided that a successor trustee is appointed to act with respect to such notes. In the event that two or more persons are acting as trustee with respect to different series of indenture securities under the Indenture, each of the trustees will be a trustee of a trust separate and apart from the trust administered by any other trustee.

Indenture Provisions — Ranking

The Notes will be our direct unsecured obligations and rank:

•

Pari passu with, which means equal to, all outstanding and future unsecured unsubordinated indebtedness issued by us, including the June 2024 Notes, the December 2024 Notes, the 2025 Notes and 2026 Notes. They also rank pari passu with our general liabilities, which consist of trade and other payables, including any outstanding dividend payable, interest and debt fees payable, vendor payables and accrued expenses such as auditor fees, legal fees, director fees, etc. In total, these general liabilities were approximately $0.2 million as of September 30, 2021 and $1.2 million as of the date of this prospectus supplement.

​

•

Senior to any of our future indebtedness that expressly provides it is subordinated to the Notes. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, we do not have outstanding debt that is subordinated to the Notes and do not currently intend to issue indebtedness that expressly provides that it is subordinated to the Notes. Therefore, the Notes, as currently contemplated, will not be senior to any indebtedness or obligations.

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•

Effectively subordinated to all of our existing and future secured indebtedness (including indebtedness that is initially unsecured to which we subsequently grant a security interest), to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. At September 30, 2021, our secured indebtedness was approximately $30.1 million, the outstanding balance under the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, our aggregate outstanding secured indebtedness was approximately $33.1 million, consisting of $13.2 million outstanding under the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account, $19.1 million outstanding under the Churchill Facility and $750,000 outstanding under the NHB Mortgage. In any liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or other similar proceeding, the holders of any of our existing or future secured indebtedness may assert rights against the assets pledged to secure that indebtedness in order to receive full payment of their indebtedness before the assets may be used to pay other creditors, including the holders of the Notes, and any assets of our subsidiaries will not be directly available to satisfy the claims of our creditors, including holders of the Notes.

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•

Structurally subordinated to all existing and future indebtedness and other obligations of any of our subsidiaries and financing vehicles since the Notes are obligations exclusively of Sachem Capital Corp. and not of any of our subsidiaries. Structural subordination means that creditors of a parent entity are subordinate to creditors of a subsidiary entity with respect to the subsidiary’s assets.

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Book-Entry Procedures

The Notes will be, represented by global securities that will be deposited and registered in the name of DTC or its nominee. This means that, except in limited circumstances, you will not receive certificates for your Notes.

 

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Beneficial interests in the Notes will be represented through book-entry accounts of financial institutions acting on behalf of beneficial owners as direct and indirect participants in DTC. Investors may elect to hold interests in Notes through either DTC, if they are a participant, or indirectly through organizations that are participants in DTC.

The Notes will be issued as fully registered securities registered in the name of Cede & Co. (DTC’s partnership nominee) or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. One fully-registered certificate will be issued for each issuance of Notes, in the aggregate principal amount of such issue, and will be deposited with DTC. Interests in the Notes will trade in DTC’s Same Day Funds Settlement System, and any permitted secondary market trading activity in the Notes will, therefore, be required by DTC to be settled in immediately available funds. We will not have, and neither the trustee nor the paying agent will have, any responsibility for the performance by DTC or its participants or indirect participants of their respective obligations under the rules and procedures governing their operations.

DTC is a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law, a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York Banking Law, a member of the Federal Reserve System, a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code, and a “clearing agency” registered pursuant to the provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act. DTC holds and provides asset servicing for over 1.3 million issues of U.S. and non-U.S. equity, corporate and municipal debt issues, and money market instruments from over 131 countries and territories that DTC’s participants (“Direct Participants”) deposit with DTC. DTC also facilitates the post-trade settlement among Direct Participants of sales and other securities transactions in deposited securities through electronic computerized book-entry transfers and pledges between Direct Participants’ accounts. This eliminates the need for physical movement of securities certificates. Direct Participants include both U.S. and non-U.S. securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations, and certain other organizations. DTC is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (“DTCC”).

DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as both U.S. and non-U.S. securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies and clearing corporations that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a Direct Participant, either directly or indirectly (“Indirect Participants”). The DTC Rules applicable to its participants are on file with the SEC. More information about DTC can be found at www.dtcc.com and www.dtc.org.

Purchases of Notes under the DTC system must be made by or through Direct Participants, which will receive a credit for the Notes on DTC’s records. The ownership interest of each actual purchaser of each security, or the “Beneficial Owner,” is in turn to be recorded on the Direct and Indirect Participants’ records. Beneficial Owners will not receive written confirmation from DTC of their purchase. Beneficial Owners are, however, expected to receive written confirmations providing details of the transaction, as well as periodic statements of their holdings, from the Direct or Indirect Participant through which the Beneficial Owner entered into the transaction. Transfers of ownership interests in the Notes are to be accomplished by entries made on the books of Direct and Indirect Participants acting on behalf of Beneficial Owners. Beneficial Owners will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in the Notes, except in the event that use of the book-entry system for the Notes is discontinued.

To facilitate subsequent transfers, all Notes deposited by Direct Participants with DTC are registered in the name of DTC’s partnership nominee, Cede & Co. or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. The deposit of the Notes with DTC and their registration in the name of Cede & Co. or such other DTC nominee do not effect any change in beneficial ownership. DTC has no knowledge of the actual Beneficial Owners of the Notes; DTC’s records reflect only the identity of the Direct Participants to whose accounts Notes are credited, which may or may not be the Beneficial Owners. The Direct and Indirect Participants will remain responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers.

Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to Direct Participants, by Direct Participants to Indirect Participants, and by Direct Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners will be

 

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governed by arrangements among them, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in effect from time to time.

Redemption notices shall be sent to DTC. If less than all of the Notes are redeemed, DTC’s practice is to determine by lot the amount of the interest of each Direct Participant in each note to be redeemed.

Redemption proceeds, distributions, and interest payments on the Notes will be made to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. DTC’s practice is to credit Direct Participants’ accounts upon DTC’s receipt of funds and corresponding detail information from us or the trustee on the payment date in accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTC’s records. Payments by Participants to Beneficial Owners will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such Participant and not of DTC nor its nominee, the trustee, or us, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in effect from time to time. Payment of redemption proceeds, distributions, and interest payments to Cede & Co. (or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC) is the responsibility of us or the trustee, but disbursement of such payments to Direct Participants will be the responsibility of DTC, and disbursement of such payments to the Beneficial Owners will be the responsibility of Direct and Indirect Participants.

DTC may discontinue providing its services as securities depository with respect to the Notes at any time by giving reasonable notice to us or to the trustee. Under such circumstances, in the event that a successor securities depository is not obtained, certificates are required to be printed and delivered. We may decide to discontinue use of the system of book-entry-only transfers through DTC (or a successor securities depository). In that event, certificates will be printed and delivered to DTC.

The information in this section concerning DTC and DTC’s book-entry system has been obtained from sources that we believe to be reliable, but we take no responsibility for the accuracy thereof.

 

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CERTAIN U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The following discussion is a general summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations (and, in the case of a non-U.S. holder (as defined below), certain U.S. federal estate tax consequences) applicable to an investment in the Notes. This summary does not purport to be a complete description of the income and estate tax considerations applicable to such an investment. The discussion is based upon the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), Treasury Regulations, and administrative and judicial interpretations, each as of the date of this Prospectus Supplement and all of which are subject to change, potentially with retroactive effect. You should consult your own tax advisor with respect to tax considerations that pertain to your purchase, ownership and disposition of the Notes.

This discussion deals only with Notes held as capital assets within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, property held for investment) and does not purport to deal with persons in special tax situations, such as financial institutions, insurance companies, controlled foreign corporations, passive foreign investment companies and regulated investment companies (and shareholders of such corporations), dealers in securities or currencies, traders in securities, former citizens of the United States, persons holding Notes as a hedge against currency risks or as a position in a “straddle,” “hedge,” “constructive sale transaction” or “conversion transaction” for tax purposes, entities that are tax-exempt for U.S. federal income tax purposes, retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, tax-deferred accounts, persons subject to the alternative minimum tax, pass-through entities (including partnerships and entities and arrangements classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes) and beneficial owners of pass-through entities, or persons whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar. It does not deal with beneficial owners of Notes other than original purchasers of Notes who acquire Notes in this offering for a price equal to their original issue price (i.e., the first price at which a substantial amount of the notes is sold other than to bond houses, brokers, or similar persons or organizations acting in the capacity of underwriters, placement agents or wholesalers). It also does not address the U.S. federal income tax consequences to beneficial owners of Notes subject to the special tax accounting rules under Section 451(b) of the Code. In addition, this summary only addresses U.S. federal income tax consequences, and, except as otherwise noted below, does not address any U.S. state or local or non-U.S. tax consequences. If you are considering purchasing Notes, you should consult your own tax advisor concerning the application of the U.S. federal tax laws to you in light of your particular situation, as well as any consequences to you of purchasing, owning and disposing of Notes under the laws of any other taxing jurisdiction.

For purposes of this discussion, the term “U.S. holder” means a beneficial owner of a Note that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any State thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) a trust (a) subject to the control of one or more U.S. persons and the primary supervision of a court in the United States, or that existed on August 20, 1996 and has made a valid election (under applicable Treasury Regulations) to be treated as a domestic trust, or (iv) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source. The term “non-U.S. holder” means a beneficial owner of a Note that is not a U.S. holder. An individual may, subject to exceptions, be deemed to be a resident alien, as opposed to a non- resident alien, by, among other ways, being present in the United States (i) on at least 31 days in the calendar year, and (ii) for an aggregate of at least 183 days during a three-year period ending in the current calendar year, counting for such purposes all of the days present in the current year, one-third of the days present in the immediately preceding year, and one-sixth of the days present in the second preceding year. Resident aliens are subject to U.S. federal income tax as if they were U.S. citizens.

If a partnership (including an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds any Notes, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner of the partnership generally will depend upon the status of the partner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner level. Partners of partnerships holding Notes should consult their own tax advisors.

 

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Taxation of Note Holders

Under present law, the Notes will constitute our indebtedness for U.S. federal income tax purposes and this discussion assumes that to be the case. Accordingly, we intend to treat all payments made with respect to the Notes consistent with this characterization.

Taxation of U.S. Holders.   Payments or accruals of interest on a Note generally will be taxable to a U.S. holder as ordinary interest income at the time they are received (actually or constructively) or accrued, in accordance with the U.S. holder’s regular method of tax accounting.

Upon the sale, exchange, redemption, retirement or other taxable disposition of a Note, a U.S. holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized on the sale, exchange, redemption, retirement or other taxable disposition (excluding amounts representing accrued and unpaid interest, which are treated as ordinary income to the extent not previously included in income) and the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in such Note. A U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in a Note generally will equal the U.S. holder’s initial investment in such Note. Capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if such Note was held for more than one year. Long-term capital gains recognized by certain other non-corporate U.S. holders (including individuals) generally are eligible for reduced rates of taxation. The distinction between capital gain or loss and ordinary income or loss is also important in other contexts; for example, for purposes of the limitations on a U.S. holder’s ability to offset capital losses against ordinary income.

Unearned Income Medicare Contribution.   A tax of 3.8% will be imposed on certain “net investment income” ​(or “undistributed net investment income,” in the case of estates and trusts) received by taxpayers other than corporations with adjusted gross income above certain threshold amounts. “Net investment income” as defined for U.S. federal Medicare contribution purposes generally includes interest payments and gain recognized from the sale, exchange, redemption, retirement or other taxable disposition of the Notes. Tax-exempt trusts, which are not subject to income taxes generally, and foreign individuals will not be subject to this tax. U.S. holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the effect, if any, of this tax on their ownership and disposition of such Notes.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Holders.   A non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding taxes on payments of principal or interest on a Note provided that (i) income on such Note is not effectively connected with the conduct by the non-U.S. holder of a trade or business within the United States, (ii) the non-U.S. holder is not a controlled foreign corporation related to Sachem Capital Corp through stock ownership, (iii) the non-U.S. holder is not a bank receiving interest described in Section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, (iv) the non-U.S. holder does not own (directly or indirectly, actually or constructively) 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of capital stock of Sachem Capital Corp, and (v) the non-U.S. holder has provided a statement in the year in which a payment occurs or in the preceding three years, on an Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) Form W-8BEN, Form W-8BEN-E, or other applicable form signed under penalties of perjury that includes its name and address and certifies that the non-U.S. holder is the beneficial owner and is not a U.S. person in compliance with applicable requirements, or satisfies documentary evidence requirements for establishing that it is a non-U.S. holder.

Non-U.S. holders may be required to update those forms periodically.

A non-U.S. holder that is not exempt from tax under these rules generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding on payments of interest on the Notes at a rate of 30% unless (i) the income is effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business (and, under certain income tax treaties, is attributable to a permanent establishment maintained in the United States by the non-U.S. holder), so long as the non-U.S. holder has provided an IRS Form W-8ECI or substantially similar substitute form stating that the interest on such Notes is effectively connected with the non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the U.S. in which case the interest will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis as applicable to U.S. holders generally (unless an applicable income tax treaty provides otherwise), or an applicable income tax treaty provides for a lower rate of, or exemption from, withholding tax.

In the case of a non-U.S. holder that is a corporation and that receives income that is effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business, such income may also be subject to a branch profits tax (which is generally imposed on a non-U.S. corporation on the actual or deemed repatriation from the

 

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United States of earnings and profits attributable to a U.S. trade or business) at a 30% rate. The branch profits tax may not apply (or may apply at a reduced rate) if the non-U.S. holder is a qualified resident of a country with which the United States has an income tax treaty.

To claim the benefit of an income tax treaty or to claim exemption from withholding because income is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business, the non-U.S. holder must timely provide the appropriate, properly executed IRS forms. The non-U.S. holder must inform the recipient of any changes on these forms within 30 days of such change. These forms may be required to be periodically updated. Also, a non-U.S. holder who is claiming the benefits of a treaty may be required to obtain a United States taxpayer identification number and to provide certain documentary evidence issued by foreign governmental authorities to prove residence in the foreign country.

Generally, a non-U.S. holder will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding taxes on any amount that constitutes capital gain upon the sale, exchange, redemption, retirement or other taxable disposition of a Note, provided that (i) the gain is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States by the non-U.S. holder (or, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is not attributable to a permanent establishment maintained in the United States by the non-U.S. holder) and (ii) the non-U.S. holder is not an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of the sale, exchange, redemption, retirement or other taxable disposition and meets certain other conditions (unless such holder is eligible for relief under an applicable income tax treaty). Certain other exceptions may be applicable, and a non-U.S. holder should consult its tax advisor in this regard.

A Note that is held by an individual who, at the time of death, is not a citizen or resident of the United States (as specially defined for U.S. federal estate tax purposes) generally will not be subject to the U.S. federal estate tax, unless, at the time of death, (i) such individual directly or indirectly, actually or constructively, owns ten percent (10%) or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of our stock entitled to vote within the meaning of Section 871(h)(3) of the Code or (ii) such individual’s interest in such Note is effectively connected with the individual’s conduct of a U.S. trade or business.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding.   A U.S. holder (other than an “exempt recipient,” including a corporation and certain other persons who, when required, demonstrate their exempt status) may be subject to backup withholding on, and to information reporting requirements with respect to, payments of principal and interest on, and proceeds from the sale, exchange, redemption, retirement or other taxable disposition of a Note. In general, if a non-corporate U.S. holder subject to information reporting fails to furnish a correct taxpayer identification number or otherwise fails to comply with applicable backup withholding requirements, backup withholding at the applicable rate may apply currently at the rate of 24%.

The amount of interest we pay to a non-U.S. holder with respect to a Note will be reported to such non- U.S. Holder and to the IRS annually on an IRS Form 1042-S even if the non-U.S. holder is exempt from the 30% withholding tax described above. Copies of the information returns reporting those payments and the amounts withheld, if any, may also be made available to the tax authorities in the country where the non- U.S. holder is resident under provisions of an applicable income tax treaty or agreement.

In addition, backup withholding tax and certain other information reporting requirements apply to payments of principal and interest on, and proceeds from the sale, exchange, redemption, retirement or other taxable disposition of a Note, unless an exemption applies. Backup withholding and information reporting will not apply to payments we make to a non-U.S. holder if such non-U.S. holder has provided to the applicable withholding agent under penalties of perjury the required certification of their non-U.S. person status as discussed above (and the applicable withholding agent does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that they are a U.S. person) or if the non-U.S. holder is an exempt recipient.

If a non-U.S. holder sells or redeems a Note through a U.S. broker or the U.S. office of a foreign broker, the proceeds from such sale or redemption will be subject to information reporting and backup withholding unless such non-U.S. holder provides a withholding certificate or other appropriate documentary evidence establishing that such non-U.S. holder is not a U.S. person to the broker and such broker does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such non-U.S. holder is a U.S. person, or the non-U.S. holder is an exempt recipient eligible for an exemption from information reporting and backup withholding.

 

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If a non-U.S. holder sells or redeems a Note through the foreign office of a broker who is a U.S. person or has certain enumerated connections with the United States, the proceeds from such sale or redemption will be subject to information reporting unless the non-U.S. holder provides to such broker a withholding certificate or other appropriate documentary evidence establishing that the non-U.S. holder is not a U.S. person and such broker does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such evidence is false, or the non-U.S. holder is an exempt recipient eligible for an exemption from information reporting. In circumstances where information reporting by the foreign office of such a broker is required, backup withholding will be required only if the broker has actual knowledge that the non-U.S. holder is a U.S. person.

You should consult your tax advisor regarding the qualification for an exemption from backup withholding and information reporting and the procedures for obtaining such an exemption, if applicable. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules from a payment to a beneficial owner generally would be allowed as a refund or a credit against such beneficial owner’s U.S. federal income tax provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

Legislation commonly referred to as the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act,” or “FATCA,” generally imposes a 30% withholding tax on payments of certain types of income to foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”) unless such FFIs either (i) enter into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury to report certain required information with respect to accounts held by U.S. persons (or held by foreign entities that have U.S. persons as substantial owners) or (ii) reside in a jurisdiction that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement (“IGA”) with the United States to collect and share such information and are in compliance with the terms of such IGA and any enabling legislation or regulations. Under proposed regulations promulgated by the Treasury Department on December 13, 2018, which state that taxpayers may rely on the proposed regulations until final regulations are issued, this withholding tax will not apply to the gross proceeds from any sale or disposition of the Notes. The information required to be reported includes the identity and taxpayer identification number of each account holder that is a U.S. person and transaction activity within the holder’s account. In addition, subject to certain exceptions, this legislation also imposes a 30% withholding on payments to foreign entities that are not FFIs unless the foreign entity certifies that it does not have a greater than 10% U.S. owner or provides the withholding agent with identifying information on each greater than 10% U.S. owner. Depending on the status of a non-U.S. holder and the status of the intermediaries through which they hold the Notes, non-U.S. holders could be subject to this 30% withholding tax with respect to interest paid on the Notes. Under certain circumstances, a non-U.S. holder might be eligible for refunds or credits of such taxes.

You should consult your own tax advisor with respect to the particular tax consequences to you of an investment in the Notes, including the possible effect of any pending legislation or proposed regulations.

 

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UNDERWRITING

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., is acting as representative of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions stated in the underwriting agreement dated March   , 2022, each underwriter named below has agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell to that underwriter, the aggregate principal amount of Notes set forth opposite the underwriter’s name.

The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the Notes included in this offering are subject to approval of legal matters by counsel and to other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to purchase all the Notes (other than those covered by the overallotment option described below) if they purchase any of the Notes.

The underwriters have agreed to purchase the Notes from us at 96.75% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes, which will result in aggregate proceeds to us of $       million, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option, and before deducting expenses payable by us, and $       million, assuming full exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option.

The underwriters propose to offer some of the Notes directly to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and some of the Notes to dealers at the public offering price less a concession not to exceed     % of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes. The underwriting discount of $     per Note is equal to     % of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes. If all of the Notes are not sold at the offering price, the representative may change the public offering price and other selling terms. Investors must pay for any notes purchased on this offering on or before March   , 2022. The representative has advised us that the underwriters do not intend to confirm any sales to any accounts over which they exercise discretionary authority.

The underwriters hold an option, exercisable for thirty days from the date of this Prospectus Supplement, to purchase up to an additional $       million aggregate principal amount of Notes at the public offering price less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise the option solely for the purpose of covering overallotments, if any, in connection with this offering. To the extent such option is exercised, each underwriter must purchase a number of additional Notes approximately proportionate to that underwriter’s initial purchase commitment.

We have agreed that, for a period of 60 days from the date of this Prospectus Supplement, we will not, without the prior written consent of Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., on behalf of the underwriters, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell or otherwise dispose of or agree to sell or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly or hedge any debt securities issued or guaranteed by us or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for debt securities issued or guaranteed by us or file any registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any of the foregoing. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.

The 60-day period in the preceding paragraph will be extended if (i) during the last 17 days of the 60- day period we issue an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to us occurs or (ii) prior to the expiration of the 60-day period, we announce that we will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the 60-day period, in which case the restrictions described in

 

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the preceding sentence will continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the announcement of the material news or the occurrence of the material event.

We intend to list the Notes on the NYSE American. We expect trading in the Notes on the NYSE American to begin within 30 days after the original issue date under the trading symbol “SCCE.” We offer no assurances that an active trading market for the Notes will develop and continue after the offering.

The following table shows the public offering price, the underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid to the underwriters and the proceeds, before expenses, to us in connection with this offering. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional Notes.

(1)

The expenses associated with the offering, including the underwriting discount, are paid by us and are ultimately borne by our shareholders.

​

We have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel, including in connection with the review and qualification of this offering with FINRA up to a maximum of $65,000.

We estimate expenses payable by us in connection with this offering, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions referred to above, will be approximately $      .

We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make because of any of those liabilities.

Certain underwriters may make a market in the Notes. No underwriter is, however, obligated to conduct market-making activities and any such activities may be discontinued at any time without notice, at the sole discretion of the underwriter. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity of, or the trading market for, the Notes as a result of any market-making activities undertaken by any underwriter. This Prospectus Supplement is to be used by any underwriter in connection with the offering and, during the period in which a prospectus must be delivered, with offers and sales of Notes in market-making transactions in the over-the- counter market at negotiated prices related to prevailing market prices at the time of the sale.

In connection with the offering, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., on behalf of the underwriters, may purchase and sell Notes in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, syndicate covering transactions and stabilizing transactions. Short sales involve syndicate sales of Notes in excess of the number of Notes to be purchased by the underwriters in the offering, which creates a syndicate short position. “Covered” short sales are sales of Notes made in an amount up to the number of Notes represented by the underwriters’ overallotment option. In determining the source of Notes to close out the covered syndicate short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of Notes available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase Notes through the overallotment option. Transactions to close out the covered syndicate short position involve either purchases of Notes in the open market after the distribution has been completed or the exercise of the overallotment option. The underwriters may also make “naked” short sales of Notes in excess of the overallotment option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing Notes in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of Notes in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of bids for or purchases of Notes in the open market while the offering is in progress.

 

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The underwriters also may impose a penalty bid. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., repurchases Notes originally sold by that syndicate member in order to cover syndicate short positions or make stabilizing purchases.

Any of these activities may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the Notes, including the Notes. They may also cause the price of the Notes, including the Notes, to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriters may conduct these transactions on the NYSE American, or in the over-the-counter market, or otherwise. If the underwriters commence any of these transactions, they may discontinue them at any time.

A Prospectus Supplement in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by one or more of the underwriters. The representative may agree to allocate a number of Notes to underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. The representative will allocate Notes to underwriters that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations. In addition, Notes may be sold by the underwriters to securities dealers who resell Notes to online brokerage account holders.

Certain underwriters may, from time to time, engage in transactions with or perform services for us, our investment adviser and our affiliates in the ordinary course of business.

The principal business address of Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. is 640 Fifth Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10019.

Settlement

We expect that delivery of the Notes will be made against payment therefor on or about March   , 2022, which will be the second business day following the date of the pricing of the notes. Under Rule 15c6-1 under the Exchange Act, trades in the secondary market generally are required to settle in two business days, unless the parties to any such trade expressly agree otherwise.

Other Jurisdictions

The Notes may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, nor may this Prospectus Supplement or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the offer and sale of any Notes be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of that jurisdiction. Persons into whose possession this Prospectus Supplement comes are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restriction relating to the offering and the distribution of this Prospectus Supplement. This Prospectus Supplement does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the Notes in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or a solicitation is unlawful.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses, including acting as underwriters for our securities offerings. In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of our company. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

 

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Specifically, pursuant to an underwriting agreement dated June 21, 2019 with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., as representative of the several underwriters, we issued approximately $23.7 million in aggregate principal amount of the June 2024 Notes for net proceeds of approximately $22.5 million after deducting underwriting commissions of approximately $0.9 million and expenses of approximately $0.3 million. Pursuant to an underwriting agreement dated October 31, 2019 with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., as representative of the several underwriters, we issued $34.5 million in aggregate principal amount of the December 2024 Notes for net proceeds of approximately $33.0 million after deducting underwriting commissions of approximately $1.2 million and expenses of approximately $0.3 million. Pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, dated August 28, 2020, with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., as representative of the several underwriters named therein, we issued approximately $14.4 million aggregate principal amount of 2025 Notes for net proceeds of approximately $13.6 million after deducting underwriting commissions of approximately $0.5 million and expenses of approximately $0.25 million. Pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, dated October 21, 2020, with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., as representative of the several underwriters named therein, we issued $14.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2025 Notes for net proceeds of approximately $13.3 million after deducting underwriting commissions of approximately $0.5 million and expenses of approximately $0.2 million. Pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, dated December 18, 2020, with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., as representative of the several underwriters named therein, we issued $28.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2025 Notes for net proceeds of approximately $26.6 million after deducting underwriting commissions of approximately $0.9 million and expenses of approximately $0.2 million. Additionally, pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, dated December 14, 2021, with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., as representative of the several underwriters named therein, we issued $51.75 million aggregate principal amount of 2026 Notes for net proceeds of approximately $49.9 million after deducting underwriting commissions of approximately $1.7 million and expenses of approximately $0.2 million. Pursuant to an At Market Issuance Sales Agreement dated April 9, 2021, we engaged Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Janney Montgomery Scott LLC as agents in connection with the issuance of up to $43,636,250 of common shares from time to time in an at-the market offering for which we will pay the agents a fee equal to 2.0% of the gross proceeds from the sale of the common shares. We paid the agents aggregate commissions of approximately $0.9 million under this agreement. Pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, dated June 23, 2021, with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., as representative of the several underwriters named therein, we issued 1,903,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock for net proceeds of approximately $45.5 million after deducting underwriting commissions of approximately $1.9 million and expenses of approximately $0.2 million. Pursuant to an At Market Issuance Sales Agreement dated December 6, 2021, we engaged Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Janney Montgomery Scott LLC as agents in connection with the issuance of up to $44,925,000 of common shares from time to time in an at-the market offering for which we will pay the agents a fee equal to 2.0% of the gross proceeds from the sale of the common shares. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, we paid the agents aggregate commissions of approximately $0.5 million under this agreement.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the shares offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Kurzman Eisenberg Corbin & Lever, LLP, White Plains, New York. Certain partners of Kurzman Eisenberg Corbin &Lever, LLP own in the aggregate 52,000 common shares. Certain legal matters in connection with this offering will be passed upon for the distribution agent by Blank Rome LLP, New York, New York.

EXPERTS

Our financial statements as of, and for each of the years ended, December 31, 2020 and 2019 have been so included in reliance on the report of Hoberman & Lesser CPA’s, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, included in this Prospectus Supplement given on the authority of such firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

 

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION; INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act with respect to the shares offered hereby. This Prospectus Supplement, which constitutes a part of the registration statement, does not contain all the information set forth in the registration statement or the exhibits and schedules filed therewith. For further information about us and our shares offered hereby, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed thereto. Statements contained in this Prospectus Supplement regarding the contents of any contract or any other document that is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement are not necessarily complete, and each such statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the full text of such contract or other document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement.

We are a reporting company and file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other material with the SEC. You may read and copy our reports, proxy statements and other information, including the registration statement of which this Prospectus Supplement is a part at the Public Reference Room of the SEC, 100 F Street, N. E., Room 1580, Washington D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference rooms by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is www.sec.gov.

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information into this Prospectus Supplement, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this Prospectus Supplement, except for any information superseded by information in this Prospectus Supplement or any document that we file in the future with the SEC. This Prospectus Supplement incorporates by reference the documents set forth below that we have previously filed with the SEC and all documents that we file with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (other than any portion of the respective filings that are furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of a Current Report on Form 8-K (including exhibits related thereto) or other applicable SEC rules, rather than filed) after the date of this Prospectus Supplement from their respective filing dates. These documents contain important information about us, our business and our finances.

 

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At your request, either orally or in writing, we will provide you with a copy of any or all documents which are incorporated by reference. Such documents will be provided to you free of charge, but will not contain any exhibits, unless those exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference into those documents. Requests should be addressed to Sachem Capital Corp., 698 Main Street, Branford, Connecticut 06405, Attention: Chief Financial Officer, telephone number (203) 433-4736.

 

S-52

PROSPECTUS

$300,000,000

Common Shares, Preferred Shares, Debt Securities, Guarantees of Debt Securities, Warrants and Units

We may, from time to time, offer, in one or more series or classes, separately or together, and in amounts, at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more supplements to this prospectus, the following securities:

•

common shares, par value $0.001 per share;

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•

preferred shares, par value $0.001 per share;

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•

warrants to purchase common shares or preferred shares;

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debt securities;

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•

guarantees of debt securities; or

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•

units consisting of two or more of the classes of securities listed above.

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We refer to the common shares, preferred shares, warrants, debt securities and units collectively as the “Securities” in this base prospectus.

This base prospectus describes some of the general terms that may apply to the Securities and the general manner in which they may be offered. The specific terms of any Securities to be offered, and the specific manner in which they may be offered will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. The prospectus supplement will also contain information, where applicable, about the material federal income tax considerations relating to, and any listing on a securities exchange of, the Securities covered by such prospectus supplement. It is important that you read both this base prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement before you invest in the Securities.

The Securities may be offered and sold to or through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers, on a continuous or delayed basis. The prospectus supplement will describe the terms of the plan of distribution and set forth the names of any agents, dealers or underwriters involved in the sale of the securities. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page 67 for more information on this topic. No Securities may be sold without delivery of a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of the Securities.

Our common shares are listed on the NYSE American under the symbol “SACH.” On February 17, 2022, the closing sale price of the common shares on NYSE American was $4.96 per share. In addition, we have (i) four series of five-year unsecured unsubordinated notes listed on the NYSE American under the symbols “SCCB,” “SACC,” “SCCC” and “SCCD” and (ii) a 7.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, $0.001 par value per share, listed on the NYSE American under the symbol “SACHPRA.” None of the other Securities are currently listed on any exchange or quoted on any other trading venue or system.

See “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 31, 2021, with respect to our year ended December 31, 2020, in Item 1A of each subsequently filed Quarterly Report on form 10-Q (which documents are incorporated by reference herein) as well as the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this base prospectus or any prospectus supplement hereto before making a decision to invest in the Securities. See “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation By Reference” on page 70 of this base prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of the Securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is February 25, 2022.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this base prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different or additional information. If anyone provides you with different or additional information, you should not rely on it. We are not making an offer to sell Securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. The information appearing in this base prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein is accurate only as of their respective dates or on other dates which are specified in those documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

For investors outside the United States: We have not done anything that would permit any offering under this base prospectus or any prospectus supplement to this prospectus or possession or distribution of this base prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this base prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of Securities and the distribution of this base prospectus outside the United States.

 

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This base prospectus is part of a shelf registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, in accordance with General Instruction I.B.1 of Form S-3, using a “shelf” registration process for the delayed offering and sale of Securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. Under the shelf registration process, we may, from time to time, sell the Securities described in this base prospectus in one or more offerings. This base prospectus provides you with a general description of the Securities we may offer. Each time we sell Securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement containing specific information about the terms of the Securities being offered and the manner in which they will be offered. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this base prospectus.

This base prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement do not contain all the information included in the registration statement. We have omitted parts of the registration statement in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further information, we refer you to the registration statement on Form S-3 of which this base prospectus is a part, including its exhibits. Statements contained in this base prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement about the provisions or contents of any agreement or other document are not necessarily complete. If the SEC’s rules and regulations require that an agreement or document be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, please see that agreement or document for a complete description of these matters.

You should read this base prospectus together with any additional information you may need to make your investment decision. You should also read and carefully consider the information in the documents we have referred you to in “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference” below. Information incorporated by reference after the date of this base prospectus may add, update or change information contained in this base prospectus. Any information in such subsequent filings that is inconsistent with this base prospectus will supersede the information in this base prospectus or any earlier prospectus supplement.

The industry and market data and other statistical information, if any, contained in this base prospectus and in the documents that we incorporate by reference are based on our own estimates, independent publications, government publications, reports by market research firms or other published independent sources, and, in each case, are believed by us to be reasonable estimates. Although we believe these sources are reliable, we have not independently verified the information.

All references in this base prospectus to “us,” “we,” or “our,” are references to Sachem Capital Corp. and its predecessor, Sachem Capital Partners, LLC, or SCP, unless specified otherwise.

 

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2

 

3

 

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4

 

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6

 

7

 

8

 

9

 

10

 

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12

 

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13

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves risks. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below and under the heading “Risk Factors” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, as such risk factors may be updated in our subsequent filings with the SEC (including our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q) and the other information contained in this document, in an applicable prospectus supplement or incorporated by reference herein or therein, before purchasing any of our securities. See “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference” in this base prospectus. These risks are not the only ones faced by us. Additional risks not presently known or that are currently deemed immaterial could also materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, business and prospects. In connection with the forward-looking statements that appear in this prospectus, you should carefully review the factors referred to above and the cautionary statements referred to in “Forward-Looking Statements May Prove Inaccurate” below. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks faced by us described above and in the documents incorporated herein by reference.

We may not have sufficient authorized shares to raise additional capital or complete an acquisition or other strategic transaction.

Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, authorizes the issuance of 100,000,000 common shares and 5,000,000 preferred shares. As of February 15, 2022, 35,361,390 common shares were issued and outstanding, and 1,955,000 preferred shares have been designated as Series A Preferred Stock, of which 1,903,000 were issued and outstanding. In addition, as of February 15, 2022, 55,550,481 common shares are held in reserve for future issuance including 6,607,327 shares reserved for issuance in the New ATM Offering, 1,318,935 shares reserved for issuance under our 2016 Equity Compensation Plan, 49,219 shares for issuance upon the exercise of warrants issued to the Underwriters in our follow-on public offering and 47,575,000 shares reserved for issuance in the event of the conversion of the outstanding shares of our Series A Preferred Stock. Thus, we have only 9,088,129 common shares and 3,045,000 preferred shares available for future issuance. An amendment to our certificate of incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of capital stock requires approval of our shareholders. Our shareholders did not approve the proposal to increase the number of common shares and preferred shares which was presented at our 2021 annual meeting of shareholders and there can be no assurance that we will be able to increase the number of authorized shares in the future. As a result, if we need to raise additional working capital through additional equity financings or to complete an acquisition or other strategic transaction through the issuance of our shares in the future, the number of shares available for future issuance may not be sufficient and may limit our ability to raise additional working capital, when needed, or complete an acquisition or other strategic transaction in the future.

If we default on our obligations under the Churchill Facility and the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account we may suffer adverse consequences and may not be able to make payments on the Existing Notes.

To secure our obligations under the Churchill Facility, Churchill has a first priority security interest on the mortgage loans pledged as collateral under the Churchill Facility. If we default on our obligations under the Churchill Facility and fail to cure, Churchill will have the right to assign, sell, or otherwise transfer, the mortgage loans subject to their security interests. If Churchill exercises its right to sell the mortgage loans pledged under the Churchill Facility, such sales may be completed at distressed sale prices, thereby diminishing or potentially eliminating the amount of cash available to us after repayment of the amounts outstanding under the Churchill Facility. In addition, the loans under our margin loan account with Wells Fargo are collateralized by our portfolio of short-term securities held at Wells Fargo. A decline in the value of such securities below the margin call limit may require us to provide additional funds or securities to Wells Fargo to avoid a forced sale of such securities. The occurrence of either or both of the foregoing events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, cash flows, our ability to make distributions to shareholders and make the interest payment on the Existing Notes.

      Any default under the agreements governing our existing indebtedness, including a default under the Churchill Facility or the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account or other indebtedness to which we may be a party

 

15

 

that is not waived by the required lenders, and the remedies sought by the holders of such indebtedness could make us unable to pay principal and interest on the Existing Notes and substantially decrease the market value of the Existing Notes. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow and are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal and interest on our indebtedness, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the various covenants, including financial and operating covenants, in the instruments governing our indebtedness, we could be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such indebtedness, including the Existing Notes. In the event of such default, the holders of such indebtedness could elect to declare all the funds borrowed thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest. In addition, the lenders under any revolving credit facility or other financing that we may obtain in the future could elect to terminate their commitment, cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, and force us into bankruptcy or liquidation. Any such default may constitute a default under all of our indebtedness, including the Existing Notes, which could further limit our ability to repay our indebtedness, including the Existing Notes. If our operating performance declines, we may in the future need to seek to obtain waivers from our existing lenders at the time to avoid being in default. If we breach any loan covenants, we may not be able to obtain such a waiver from the lenders in which case we would be in default under the credit arrangement and the lender could exercise its rights as described above, and we may be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we are unable to repay indebtedness, lenders having secured obligations could proceed against the collateral securing the debt. Because the Churchill Facility and the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account have, and any future credit facilities will likely have, customary cross-default provisions, if repayment of any outstanding indebtedness, such as the Existing Notes, the Churchill Facility, the Wells Fargo Margin Loan Account or any future credit facility, is accelerated, we may be unable to repay or finance the amounts due.

 

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and certain documents incorporated by reference herein include certain statements that may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions thereof. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this prospectus and certain documents incorporated by reference herein that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including such matters as future capital expenditures, dividends and acquisitions (including the amount and nature thereof), development trends of the real estate industry and the New York metropolitan area markets, business strategies, expansion and growth of our operations and other similar matters, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by us considering our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate.

Forward-looking statements are not guaranties of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially, and we caution you not to place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend,” “project,” “continue,” or the negative of these words, or other similar words or terms. Forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus and certain documents incorporated by reference herein are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made by us. These risks and uncertainties include those described in detail in our annual, quarterly and current periodic reports filed pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and that are incorporated herein by reference, as well as any additional risk factors included in any prospectus supplement used in connection with the offering and sale of any Securities, as well as others that may not be included in these reports and prospectus supplements. In addition, many of the risk factors that could adversely impact our business, operations and financial results are beyond our control. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this prospectus and the incorporated documents might not occur and actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from that anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities offered hereby for general corporate purposes and working capital, which may include repaying existing indebtedness, investing in real estate opportunities other than as a mortgage lender and acquisitions of existing mortgage loan portfolios or real estate finance companies as suitable opportunities arise. Further details relating to the use of the net proceeds from any particular offering of Securities will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

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MARKET PRICE OF COMMON SHARES
AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS

Market Information

On February 10, 2017, our common shares listed on the NYSE American and began trading under the symbol “SACH”. Prior to its listing on the NYSE American, our common shares were not publicly traded.

On February 17, 2022, the last reported sale price of our common shares on NYSE American was $4.96 per share.

Holders

As of February 15, 2022, we had 53 shareholders of record. The number of holders does not include individuals or entities who beneficially own shares but whose shares, which are held of record by a broker or clearing agency but does include each such broker or clearing agency as one record holder.

 

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DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTION POLICY

U.S. federal income tax law generally requires that a REIT distribute annually at least 90% of its taxable income. To the extent that it annually distributes less than 100% of its taxable income, the undistributed amount is taxed at regular corporate rates.

We intend to pay regular quarterly dividends in an amount necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT. Any distributions we make to our shareholders, the amount of such dividend and whether such dividend is payable in cash, our common shares or other property, or a combination thereof, is at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our actual results of operations and liquidity. These results and our ability to pay distributions will be affected by various factors, including the net interest and other income from our portfolio, our operating expenses and other expenditures and the restrictions and limitations imposed by the New York Business Corporation Law, referred to as the BCL, and any restrictions and/or limitations imposed on us by our creditors.

To comply with certain REIT qualification requirements, we will, before the end of any REIT taxable year in which we have accumulated earnings and profits attributable to a non-REIT year, declare a dividend to our shareholders to distribute such accumulated earnings and profits, referred to as a Purging Distribution. As of January 1, 2017, we had no accumulated earnings and profits.

The table below sets forth dividends paid to the holders of our common shares since we began operating as a REIT.

Ω

A portion represents a distribution of 2021 income.

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¥

A portion represents a distribution of 2020 income.

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*

A portion represents a distribution of 2019 income.

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**

Represents a distribution of 2018 income.

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***

A portion represents a distribution of 2017 income.

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****

Represents a distribution of 2017 income.

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Our ability to pay dividends, the amount of the dividend and the frequency at which we will pay dividends is subject to numerous factors, including the following:

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how quickly we can deploy the net proceeds from the sale of Securities to make new loans;

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our ability to increase the interest rate on our loans to keep pace with the frequency and size of rate increases under our existing and future credit facilities;

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our ability to manage and control our operating and administrative expenses, particularly those relating to our status as a public reporting REIT;

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defaults by our borrowers;

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the rate of prepayments on our outstanding loans and our ability to reinvest those payments in new loans;

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regional and national economic conditions;

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competition from banks and other financing sources;

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our cash flow from operations;

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unanticipated developments, write-offs or liabilities;

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restrictions and limitations imposed by the BCL; and

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restrictions in our existing and future credit facilities.

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See, generally, “Risk Factors” incorporated herein by reference.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF COMMON SHARES

The following description of our common shares is only a summary. This description and the description contained in any prospectus supplement is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, each as amended, each of which has previously been filed with the SEC and which we incorporate by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and the BCL.

Authorized Capitalization

Our authorized capital stock includes 100,000,000 common shares, par value $0.001 per share. At February 15, 2022, we had 35,361,390 common shares issued and outstanding, and 55,550,481 common shares held in reserve for future issuance including 6,607,327 shares reserved for issuance in the New ATM Offering, 1,318,935 shares reserved for issuance under our 2016 Equity Compensation Plan, 49,219 shares for issuance upon the exercise of warrants issued to the Underwriters in our follow-on public offering and 47,575,000 shares reserved for issuance in the event of the conversion of the outstanding shares of our Series A Preferred Stock.

Common Shares

Subject to preferences that may apply to preferred shares outstanding at the time, the holders of outstanding common shares are entitled to receive dividends out of assets legally available therefor at such times and in such amounts as the board of directors may from time to time determine. Each shareholder is entitled to one vote for each common share held on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders. Directors are elected by plurality vote. Therefore, the holders of a majority of the outstanding common shares voted can elect all the directors then standing for election. Holders of common shares are not entitled to preemptive rights and are not subject to conversion or, as more fully described below in “Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer of Capital Stock,” except in the case of a prohibited transfer, redemption. If we liquidate or dissolve or our business is otherwise wound up, the holders of common shares would be entitled to share ratably in the distribution of all of our assets remaining available for distribution after satisfaction of all our liabilities and the payment of the liquidation preference of any outstanding preferred shares. Each outstanding common share is, and all common shares outstanding upon completion of an offering of common shares will be, fully paid and nonassessable.

Authorized but Unissued Shares of Capital Stock

New York law does not require shareholder approval for any issuance of authorized shares. However, the listing requirements of NYSE American, which would apply for so long as our common shares are listed on the NYSE American, require shareholder approval of certain issuances (other than a public offering) equal to or exceeding 20% of the then outstanding voting power or then outstanding common shares, as well as for certain issuances of shares of capital stock in compensatory transactions. These additional shares may be used for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings, to raise additional capital or to facilitate acquisitions. One of the effects of the existence of unissued and unreserved common shares may be to enable our board of directors to sell common shares to persons friendly to current management, for such consideration, in form and amount, as is acceptable to the board, which issuance could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, and thereby protect the continuity of our management and possibly deprive shareholders of opportunities to sell their common shares at prices higher than prevailing market prices.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common shares is Computershare Trust Company, N. A. located at 150 Royal1 Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021.

Listing

Our common shares are currently listed on the NYSE American under the symbol “SACH.”

 

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DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED SHARES

The following description of the terms of our preferred shares is only a summary. This description and the description contained in any prospectus supplement is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, each as amended, each of which has previously been filed with the SEC and which we incorporate by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and the BCL. In addition, the specific terms of any series of preferred shares will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Authorized and Issued Preferred Shares

Our authorized capital stock includes 5,000,000 preferred shares, $0.001 par value per share, of which 1,955,000 preferred shares have been designated as 7.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (“Series A Preferred Stock”). Terms of the Series A Preferred Stock are set forth in a certificate of amendment adopted by our board of directors and filed in accordance with the BCL. Currently, 1,903,000 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock are issued and outstanding.

Currently, 3,045,000 authorized but unissued preferred shares are available for issuance. Our board of directors may, without the approval of holders of the Series A Preferred Stock or our common shares, classify additional classes or series of authorized and unissued preferred shares ranking junior to or on parity with the Series A Preferred Stock or designate additional shares of the Series A Preferred Stock and authorize the issuance of such shares. Our board of directors may, with the affirmative vote or consent of the holders of at least two-thirds of the shares of the Series A Preferred Stock outstanding at the time (voting together as a single class with other classes or series of our preferred shares we may issue ranking on a parity with the Series A Preferred Stock and upon which like voting rights have been conferred and are exercisable), classify and designate equity securities ranking senior to the Series A Preferred Stock.

Transfer Agent and Registrar for our Series A Preferred Stock

The transfer agent and registrar for the Series A Preferred Stock is Computershare Trust Company, N. A. located at 150 Royal1 Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021.

Listing of the Series A Preferred Stock

The Series A Preferred Stock is currently listed on the NYSE American under the symbol “SACHPRA.”

General

The following description of the preferred shares sets forth general terms and provisions of the preferred shares to which any prospectus supplement may relate. The statements below describing the preferred shares are in all respects subject to and qualified in their entirety by reference to the applicable provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, each as amended, designating the terms of a series of preferred shares.

The issuance of preferred shares could adversely affect the voting power, dividend rights and other rights of holders of common shares. Our board of directors could establish another series of preferred shares that could, depending on the terms of the series, delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control of our company that might involve a premium price for the common shares or otherwise be in the best interest of the holders thereof. Management believes that the availability of preferred shares will provide us with increased flexibility in structuring possible future financings and acquisitions and in meeting other needs that might arise.

Terms

Subject to the limitations prescribed by our certificate of incorporation, as amended, our board of directors is authorized to fix the number of preferred shares constituting each series and the designations and powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, including provisions as may be desired concerning voting, redemption, dividends, dissolution or the distribution of assets, conversion or exchange, and other subjects or matters as

 

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may be fixed by resolution of the board of directors. The preferred shares, when issued in exchange for the consideration therefor, will be fully paid and nonassessable by us and will have no preemptive rights.

Reference is made to the prospectus supplement relating to the series of preferred shares offered thereby for the specific terms thereof, including:

•

The title and stated value of the preferred shares;

​

•

The number of preferred shares in the class, the liquidation preference per share and the offering price;

​

•

The dividend rate(s), period(s) and/or payment day(s) or method(s) of calculation thereof applicable to the preferred shares;

​

•

The date from which dividends on the preferred shares shall accumulate, if applicable;

​

•

The procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any, for the preferred shares;

​

•

The provision for a sinking fund, if any, for the preferred shares;

​

•

The provision for redemption, if applicable, of the preferred shares;

​

•

Any listing of the preferred shares on any securities exchange;

​

•

The terms and conditions, if applicable, upon which the preferred shares may or will be convertible into common shares, including the conversion price or manner of calculation thereof;

​

•

The relative ranking and preferences of the preferred shares as to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs;

​

•

Any limitations on direct or beneficial ownership and restrictions on transfer, in each case as may be appropriate to preserve the status of our company as a REIT;

​

•

A discussion of federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred shares; and

​

•

Any other specific terms, preferences, rights, limitations or restrictions of the preferred shares.

​

Rank

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the preferred shares will, with respect to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, rank:

•

senior to all classes or series of common shares and to all equity securities issued by us the terms of which provide that the equity securities shall rank junior to the preferred shares;

​

•

junior to all equity securities issued by us which the terms of the preferred shares provide will rank senior to it. The term “equity securities” does not include convertible debt securities; and

​

•

on a parity with all equity securities issued by us other than those referred above.

​

Dividends

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the preferred shares will have the rights with respect to payment of dividends set forth below.

Holders of the preferred shares of each series will be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by our board of directors, out of our assets legally available for payment, cash dividends in the amounts and on the dates as will be set forth in, or pursuant to, the applicable prospectus supplement. Each dividend shall be payable to holders of record as they appear on our share transfer books on the record dates as shall be fixed by our board of directors.

Dividends on any series of preferred shares may be cumulative or non-cumulative, as provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. Dividends, if cumulative, will be cumulative from and after the date set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. If the board of directors fails to declare a dividend payable on a dividend payment date on any series of preferred shares for which dividends are non-cumulative, then the holders of such series of preferred shares will have no right to receive a dividend in respect of the related

 

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dividend period and we will have no obligation to pay the dividend accrued for the period, whether or not dividends on such series of preferred shares are declared payable on any future dividend payment date.

Redemption

If so provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, the preferred shares will be subject to mandatory redemption or redemption at our option, as a whole or in part, in each case upon the terms, at the times and at the redemption prices set forth in the prospectus supplement.

Liquidation Preference

Upon any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs, then, before any distribution or payment shall be made to the holders of any common shares or any other class or series of our capital stock ranking junior to the preferred shares of such series in the distribution of assets upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, the holders of the preferred shares shall be entitled to receive out of the assets of our company legally available for distribution to shareholders liquidating distributions in the amount of the liquidation preference per share that is set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, plus an amount equal to all dividends accumulated and unpaid thereon, which shall not include any accumulation in respect of unpaid dividends for prior dividend periods if the preferred shares do not have a cumulative dividend. After payment of the full amount of the liquidating distributions to which they are entitled, the holders of preferred shares will have no rights or claim to any of our remaining assets. In the event that, upon any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up, our available assets are insufficient to pay the amount of the liquidating distributions on all outstanding preferred shares of such series and the corresponding amounts payable on all shares of other classes or series of capital stock of our company ranking on a parity with the preferred shares in the distribution of assets, then the holders of the preferred shares and all such other classes or series of capital stock shall share ratably in any distribution of assets in proportion to the full liquidating distributions to which they would otherwise be respectively entitled.

In determining whether a distribution (other than upon our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up) by dividend, redemption or other acquisition of shares of our stock or otherwise is permitted under the BCL, no effect shall be given to amounts that would be needed, if we were to be dissolved at the time of the distribution, to satisfy the preferential rights upon dissolution of holders of any series of preferred shares whose preferential rights upon dissolution are superior to those receiving the distribution.

Voting Rights

Holders of preferred shares will not have any voting rights, except as set forth below or as otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Conversion Rights

The terms and conditions, if any, upon which any series of preferred shares is convertible into common shares will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms will include the number of common shares into which the preferred shares are convertible, the conversion price, or manner of calculation thereof, the conversion period, provisions as to whether conversion will be at the option of the holders of the preferred shares or us, the events requiring an adjustment of the conversion price and provisions affecting conversion in the event of the redemption of the preferred shares.

Restrictions on Ownership

As discussed below under “Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer of Capital Stock,” for us to qualify as a REIT under the Code, not more than 50% in value of our outstanding capital stock may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals at any time during the last half of a taxable year. An individual for these purposes is defined by the federal income tax laws pertaining to REITs. The application of the Code restrictions on stock ownership is very complex. Therefore, the certificate of designation for each series of preferred shares may contain provisions restricting the ownership and transfer of such series of preferred shares. The applicable prospectus supplement will specify any additional ownership limitation relating to a series of preferred shares.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

The following description of warrants is only a summary. This description is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, the provisions of the applicable warrant agreement.

Warrants Outstanding

In connection with a public offering of common shares in October-November 2017, we issued to the underwriters warrants to purchase an aggregate of 187,500 common shares at an exercise price of $5.00 per share. These warrants are exercisable at any time, and from time to time, in whole or in part, commencing on October 24, 2018 and expire on October 24, 2022. As of February 15, 2022, 49,219 of these warrants were outstanding.

General

The following description, together with the additional information we may include in any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer under this prospectus. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any warrants that we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any warrants offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below.

We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or will incorporate by reference from another report that we file with the SEC, the form of warrant agreement, which may include a form of warrant certificate, that describes the terms of the particular series of warrants we are offering before the issuance of the related series of warrants. The following summary of material provisions of the warrants and the warrant agreements are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the warrant agreement and warrant certificate applicable to a particular series of warrants. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplements related to the particular series of warrants that we sell under this prospectus, as well as the complete warrant agreements and warrant certificates that contain the terms of the warrants.

We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms relating to warrants being offered including:

•

the offering price and aggregate number of warrants offered;

​

•

if applicable, the designation and terms of the securities with which the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each such security or each principal amount of such security;

​

•

if applicable, the date on and after which the warrants and the related securities will be separately transferable;

​

•

in the case of warrants to purchase common shares or preferred shares, the number of shares of common shares or preferred shares, as the case may be, purchasable upon the exercise of one warrant and the price at which these shares may be purchased upon such exercise;

​

•

the terms of any rights to redeem or call the warrants;

​

•

any provisions for changes to or adjustments in the exercise price or number of securities issuable upon exercise of the warrants;

​

•

the dates on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and expire;

​

•

the manner in which the warrant agreements and warrants may be modified;

​

•

federal income tax consequences of holding or exercising the warrants, if material;

​

 

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•

the terms of the securities issuable upon exercise of the warrants; and

​

•

any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of or restrictions on the warrants.

​

Before exercising their warrants, holders of warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the securities purchasable upon such exercise, including, in the case of warrants to purchase common shares or preferred shares, the right to receive dividends, if any, or payments upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs or to exercise voting rights, if any.

Exercise of Warrants

Each warrant will entitle the holder to purchase the securities that we specify in the applicable prospectus supplement at the exercise price that we describe in the applicable prospectus supplement. Unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may exercise the warrants at any time up to the specified time on the expiration date that we set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will become void.

Holders of the warrants may exercise the warrants by delivering the warrant certificate representing the warrants to be exercised together with specified information and paying the required amount to the warrant agent in immediately available funds, as provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. We intend to set forth in any warrant agreement and in the applicable prospectus supplement the information that the holder of the warrant will be required to deliver to the warrant agent.

Upon receipt of the required payment and any warrant certificate or other form required for exercise properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will issue and deliver the securities purchasable upon such exercise. If fewer than all the warrants represented by the warrant or warrant certificate are exercised, then we will issue a new warrant or warrant certificate for the remaining amount of warrants. If we so indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may surrender securities as all or part of the exercise price for warrants.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

The following description of the terms of debt securities that we may issue and the related indenture, if any, is only a summary. This description and the description contained in any prospectus supplement are subject to and qualified in their entirety by reference to the applicable indentures, which will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

We may offer secured or unsecured debt securities in one or more series which may be senior, subordinated or junior subordinated, and which may be convertible or exchangeable into another security. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will be issued in one or more series under the Indenture, dated June 21, 2019, between us and U.S. Bank, N.A. (the “Indenture”), and the specific terms applicable to such debt securities will be set forth in a supplement to such Indenture and in the applicable debt securities in accordance with the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “TIA”).

The following description of selected provisions of the Indenture and the debt securities that may be issued thereunder is not complete, and the description of the selected terms of a specific series of debt securities included in the applicable prospectus supplement also will not be complete. You should review the form of the Indenture, any supplemental indentures and the form of the applicable debt security, which forms have been or will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or as exhibits to documents which have been or will be incorporated by reference in this base prospectus. To obtain a copy of the form of the Indenture or the form of the applicable debt securities, see “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus. The following description of debt securities and the description of the debt securities of the particular series in the applicable prospectus supplement are qualified in their entirety by reference to all of the provisions of the Indenture, any supplemental indentures and the applicable debt securities, which provisions, including defined terms, are incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this section shall have the meanings assigned to those terms in the Indenture.

General

The aggregate principal amount of debt securities that we may issue under the Indenture is unlimited. The prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities that we may offer will contain the specific terms of the debt securities. These terms may include the following:

•

the issuer or co-obligors of such debt securities;

​

•

the guarantors of each series, if any, and the terms of the guarantees (including provisions relating to seniority, subordination and release of the guarantees), if any;

​

•

the title and aggregate principal amount of the debt securities and any limit on the aggregate principal amount;

​

•

whether the debt securities will be senior, subordinated or junior subordinated;

​

•

whether the debt securities will be secured or unsecured;

​

•

any applicable subordination provisions;

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•

the maturity date(s) or method for determining same;

​

•

whether the debt security is rated, by whom it was rated and the rating;

​

•

the interest rate(s) or the method for determining same;

​

•

the dates on which interest will accrue or the method for determining dates on which interest will accrue and dates on which interest will be payable and whether interest shall be payable in cash or additional securities;

​

•

whether the debt securities are convertible or exchangeable into other securities and any related terms and conditions;

​

•

redemption or early repayment provisions;

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•

authorized denominations;

​

•

form;

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•

if other than the principal amount, the principal amount of debt securities payable upon acceleration;

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•

place(s) where payment of principal and interest may be made, where debt securities may be presented and where notices or demands upon us may be made;

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•

whether such debt securities will be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global securities and the date as of which the securities are dated if other than the date of original issuance;

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•

amount of discount or premium, if any, with which such debt securities will be issued;

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•

any covenants applicable to the debt securities being issued;

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•

any defaults and events of default applicable to the debt securities being issued;

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•

the currency, currencies or currency units in which the purchase price for, the principal of and any premium and any interest on, such debt securities will be payable;

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•

the time period within which, the manner in which and the terms and conditions upon which the holders of the debt securities or the issuer or co-obligors, as the case may be, can select the payment currency;

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•

our obligation or right to redeem, purchase or repay debt securities under a sinking fund, amortization or analogous provision;

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•

any restriction or conditions on the transferability of the debt securities;

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•

the securities exchange(s) on which the debt securities will be listed, if any;

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•

whether any underwriter(s) will act as a market maker(s) for the debt securities;

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•

the extent to which a secondary market for the debt securities is expected to develop;

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•

provisions granting special rights to holders of the debt securities upon occurrence of specified events;

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•

compensation payable to and/or reimbursement of expenses of the trustee of the series of debt securities;

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•

provisions for the defeasance of the debt securities or related to satisfaction and discharge of the indenture:

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•

provisions relating to the modification of the indenture both with and without the consent of holders of debt securities issued under the indenture and the execution of supplemental indentures for such series; and

​

•

any other terms of the debt securities (which terms shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of the TIA, but may modify, amend, supplement or delete any of the terms of the indenture with respect to such series debt securities).

​

We may sell the debt securities, including original issue discount securities, at par or at a substantial discount below their stated principal amount. Unless we inform you otherwise in a prospectus supplement, we may issue additional debt securities of a particular series without the consent of the holders of the debt securities of such series or any other series outstanding at the time of issuance. Any such additional debt securities, together with all other outstanding debt securities of that series, will constitute a single series of securities under the applicable indenture.

We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement any other special considerations for any debt securities we sell which are denominated in a currency or currency unit other than U.S. dollars. In addition, debt securities may be issued where the amount of principal and/or interest payable is determined by reference to one or more currency exchange rates, commodity prices, equity indices or other factors. Holders of such securities may receive a principal amount or a payment of interest that is greater than or less than the amount of principal or interest otherwise payable on such dates, depending upon the value of the applicable

 

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currencies, commodities, equity indices or other factors. Information as to the methods for determining the amount of principal or interest, if any, payable on any date, the currencies, commodities, equity indices or other factors to which the amount payable on such date is linked.

United States federal income tax consequences and special considerations, if any, applicable to any such series will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Unless we inform you otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not be listed on any securities exchange.

Debt securities to be issued in fully registered form without coupons and in various denominations. Subject to the limitations provided in the Indenture, applicable indenture supplement and/or in the prospectus supplement, debt securities that are issued in registered form may be transferred or exchanged at the designated corporate trust office of the trustee, without the payment of any service charge, other than any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection therewith.

Global Securities

Unless we inform you otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities of a series may be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, a depositary identified in the applicable prospectus supplement. Global securities will be issued in registered form and in either temporary or definitive form. Unless and until it is exchanged in whole or in part for the individual debt securities, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary for such global security to a nominee of such depositary or by a nominee of such depositary to such depositary or another nominee of such depositary or by such depositary or any such nominee to a successor of such depositary or a nominee of such successor. The specific terms of the depositary arrangement with respect to any debt securities of a series and the rights of and limitations upon owners of beneficial interests in a global security will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Governing Law

The Indentures and the corresponding debt securities shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of New York.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF GUARANTEES OF DEBT SECURITIES

We, or a subsidiary of ours, may guarantee (either fully and unconditionally or in a limited manner) the due and punctual payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on one or more series of debt securities issued by us or a subsidiary of ours, as the case may be, whether at maturity, by acceleration, redemption or repayment or otherwise, in accordance with the terms of the applicable guarantee and the applicable indenture.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF UNITS

We may issue units consisting of a combination of two or more of any offered Securities, at a single price or at a separate price for each security included in the unit. The Securities offered may be issued separately or may be evidenced by a separate unit certificate, which may or may not trade separately. The terms and conditions governing the issuance of any units, including the form and content of any certificate evidencing the units, will be described in detail in the prospectus supplement to be filed in connection with the offering of such units.

 

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CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF NEW YORK LAW AND
OF OUR CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS

The following summary of certain provisions of New York law, our certificate of incorporation, as amended, and our bylaws does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the New York Business Corporation Law and to our certificate of incorporation, as amended, and bylaws. Copies of our certificate of incorporation, as amended, and bylaws are filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Our Board of Directors

We have one class of directors. Each director serves for a one-year term or until his or her successor is elected and qualified. Our bylaws provide that our board of directors will consist of not less than one and not more than five directors. Our board of directors currently consists of four members.

Election of Directors; Removals; Vacancies; Meetings

Directors are elected by a plurality of all the votes cast in the election of directors. Under our bylaws a director may be removed for cause by the board of directors or by shareholders acting by a simple majority. Our bylaws provide that vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by the remaining directors, even if the remaining directors do not constitute a quorum. However, only shareholders can fill a vacancy on our board of directors that is caused by the removal of a director by action of shareholders. Any director elected to fill a vacancy will serve for the remainder of the full term of the director he or she is replacing or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualifies. Our bylaws provide as follows:

•

The annual meeting of the board of directors for the election of officers and the transaction of such other business as may come before the meeting, shall be held, without notice, immediately following the annual meeting of shareholders.

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•

Regular meetings of the board of directors shall be held at such time and place as may be fixed by resolution of the Board, and when so fixed, no further notice thereof need be given. Regular meetings not fixed by resolution of the board of directors may be held on notice at such time and place as shall be determined by the board of directors.

​

•

Special meetings of the board of directors may be called on notice at any time by the Chairman, if one shall have been appointed, or the President, and shall be called by the Chairman, if one shall have been appointed, or by the President at the written request of a majority of the directors then in office.

​

Meetings of Shareholders

Our bylaws provide that a meeting of our shareholders for the election of directors and the transaction of any business will be held annually on such day during the period from May 1 through October 31, other than a legal holiday and at the time and place set by the board of directors. Our bylaws provide that a special meeting of shareholders may be called at any time by the president and must be called by the president at the request in writing of a majority of the directors then in office or at the request in writing filed with our secretary by the holders of a majority of our issued and outstanding shares of capital shares entitled to vote at such a meeting.

Shareholder Actions by Written Consent

Under Section 615 of the BCL and our certificate of incorporation, as amended, shareholder action may be taken without a meeting if a written consent, setting forth the action so taken, is given by the shareholders entitled to cast not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting of shareholders.

Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Under the BCL, a New York corporation may amend its certificate of incorporation if such action is declared advisable by the board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of shareholders entitled

 

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to cast a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Our bylaws provide that each of our board of directors and our shareholders has the power to adopt, alter or repeal any provision of our bylaws and to make new bylaws.

Transactions Outside the Ordinary Course of Business

Under the BCL, a New York corporation generally may not dissolve, merge or consolidate with another entity, sell all or substantially all its assets or engage in a statutory share exchange unless the action is declared advisable by the board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of shareholders entitled to cast a majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, unless a greater percentage is specified in the corporation’s certificate of incorporation. Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, does not provide for a super majority vote on any matter.

Business Combinations

Under the BCL, certain “business combinations” ​(including a merger, consolidation, statutory share exchange and, in certain circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities) between a New York corporation and an “interested shareholder” ​(defined generally as any person who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 20% or more of the voting power of the corporation’s outstanding voting shares or an affiliate of such an interested shareholder) are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested shareholder becomes an interested shareholder. Thereafter, any such business combination must generally be recommended by the board of directors of the corporation and approved by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding voting shares of the corporation other than shares held by the interested shareholder with whom (or with whose affiliate) the business combination is to be effected or held by an affiliate or associate of the interested shareholder, unless, among other conditions, the corporation’s common shareholders receive a minimum price (as described in the BCL) for their shares and the consideration is received in cash or in the same form as previously paid by the interested shareholder for its shares. A person is not an interested shareholder under the statute if the board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which the person otherwise would have become an interested shareholder. A corporation’s board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by the board.

REIT Qualification

Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, provides that our board of directors may authorize us to revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without approval of our shareholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify to be taxed as a REIT.

Limitation on Directors’ Liability and Indemnification of Directors and Officers

The BCL permits a New York corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a provision limiting the liability of its directors to the corporation and its shareholders for money damages, except if a judgment or other final adjudication establishes that (i) the director’s acts were committed in bad faith, (ii) involved intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) he personally gained a financial profit or other advantage to which he was not legally entitled or (iv) his act involves (A) the declaration of a dividend that violated section 510 of the BCL; (B) the purchase or redemption of shares of our capital shares in violation of section 513 of the BCL; (C) the distribution of assets to shareholders after dissolution without paying or adequately providing for the payment of all known liabilities; and (D) the making of loans to a director in violation of section 714 of the BCL.

The BCL permits us to indemnify any present or former director or officer, against judgments, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses including attorney’s fees actually and necessarily incurred as a result of the action or proceeding, including any appeals, if such director or officer acted, in good faith, for a purpose which he reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation and, in criminal actions or proceedings, in addition, had no reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful.

 

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In addition, the BCL permits us to advance reasonable expenses to a director or officer upon our receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such officer or director to repay such amount as, and to the extent, such officer or director is ultimately found not to be entitled to indemnification or, if entitled to indemnification, to the extent the amount advanced exceeds the indemnification to which such officer or director is entitled.

Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, and bylaws obligate us, to the fullest extent permitted by New York law in effect from time to time, to indemnify, pay or reimburse reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding to any present or former director or officer who is made or threatened to be made a party to, or witness in, a proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity and any individual who, while a member of our board of directors and at our request, serves or has served as a director, officer, trustee or manager of another corporation, real estate investment trust, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or any other enterprise and who is made or threatened to be made a party to, or witness in, the proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity authorized by:

•

the board, acting by a quorum consisting of directors who are not parties to such action or proceeding upon a finding that the director or officer has met the standard of conduct set forth in the BCL; or

​

•

the board upon the opinion in writing of independent legal counsel that indemnification is proper in the circumstances because the applicable standard of conduct set forth in such sections has been met by such director or officer; or

​

•

shareholders upon a finding that the director or officer has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in such sections.

​

The indemnification and payment or reimbursement of expenses provided by the indemnification provisions of our certificate of incorporation, as amended, and bylaws are not deemed exclusive of or limit in any way other rights to which any person seeking indemnification or payment or reimbursement of expenses may be or may become entitled under any statute, bylaw, resolution, insurance, agreement, vote of shareholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

RESTRICTIONS ON OWNERSHIP AND TRANSFER OF CAPITAL STOCK

For us to qualify to be taxed as a REIT under the Code, our capital shares must be owned by 100 or more persons during at least 335 days of a taxable year of twelve months or during a proportionate part of a shorter taxable year (other than the first year for which an election to qualify to be taxed as a REIT has been made). Also, not more than 50% of the value of the outstanding shares of our capital stock (after taking into account options to acquire shares of capital stock) may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include certain entities such as private foundations) during the last half of a taxable year (other than the first year for which an election to be a REIT has been made). To qualify to be taxed as a REIT, we must satisfy other requirements as well.

Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, provides that, subject to the exceptions described below, no person or entity may own, or be deemed to own, beneficially or by virtue of the applicable constructive ownership provisions of the Code, more than 4.99%, by value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of our outstanding capital stock. We refer to the person or entity that, but for operation of the ownership limits or another restriction on ownership and transfer of shares as described below, would beneficially own or constructively own shares of our capital stock in violation of such limits or restrictions and, if appropriate in the context, a person or entity that would have been the record owner of such shares as a “prohibited owner.”

The constructive ownership rules under the Code are complex and may cause shares owned beneficially or constructively by a group of related individuals and/or entities to be deemed owned beneficially or

 

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constructively by one individual or entity. As a result, even if a shareholder’s actual ownership does not exceed the share ownership limits described, on a constructive ownership basis such shareholder may exceed those limits.

The ownership limits described above do not apply to our founders, Jeffrey C. Villano and John L. Villano, In addition, our board of directors, in its sole discretion, may exempt, prospectively or retroactively, a particular shareholder from the ownership limits or establish a different limit on ownership (the “excepted holder limit”) if we obtain representations and undertakings from such shareholders as are reasonably necessary for the board of directors to determine that such shareholder’s beneficial or constructive ownership of our shares will not result in our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Code (without regard to whether the ownership interest is held during the last half of a taxable year) or otherwise failing to qualify to be taxed as a REIT. Any violation or attempted violation of any such representations or undertakings will result in such shareholder’s shares being automatically transferred to a charitable trust. As a condition of granting the waiver or establishing the excepted holder limit, our board of directors may require an opinion of counsel or a ruling from the IRS, in either case in form and substance satisfactory to our board of directors, in its sole discretion, to determine or ensure our status as a REIT. Our board of directors may impose such conditions or restrictions as it deems appropriate in connection with granting such a waiver or establishing an excepted holder limit.

In connection with granting a waiver of the ownership limits or creating an excepted holder limit or at any other time, our board of directors may from time to time increase or decrease the common share ownership limit, for all other persons, unless, after giving effect to such increase, five or fewer individuals could beneficially own, in the aggregate, more than 49.9% in value of our outstanding shares or we would otherwise fail to qualify to be taxed as a REIT. A reduced ownership limit will not apply to any person or entity whose percentage ownership of our common shares or our shares of all classes and series, as applicable, is, at the effective time of such reduction, in excess of such decreased ownership limit until such time as such person’s or entity’s percentage ownership of our common shares or our shares of all classes and series, as applicable, equals or falls below the decreased ownership limit, but any further acquisition of our common shares or shares of other classes or series of our capital stock, as applicable, will violate the decreased ownership limit.

Considering these limitations, our certificate of incorporation, as amended, prohibits:

•

any person from beneficially or constructively owning, applying certain attribution rules of the Code, shares of our capital stock that would result in our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Code (without regard to whether the ownership interest is held during the last half of a taxable year) or otherwise cause us to fail to qualify to be taxed as a REIT;

​

•

any person from transferring shares of our capital stock if the transfer would result in shares of our capital stock being beneficially owned by fewer than 100 persons (determined under the principles of Section 856(a)(5) of the Code); and

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•

any person from beneficially or constructively owning shares of our capital stock to the extent such ownership would result in our failing to qualify as a “domestically controlled qualified investment entity” within the meaning of Section 897(h)(4)(B) of the Code.

​

Any person who acquires or attempts or intends to acquire beneficial or constructive ownership of shares of our capital stock that will or may violate the ownership limits or any of the other restrictions on ownership and transfer of shares of our capital stock described above, or who would have owned shares of our capital stock transferred to the trust as described below, must immediately give notice to us of such event or, in the case of an attempted or proposed transaction, give us at least 15 days’ prior written notice and provide us with such other information as we may request in order to determine the effect of such transfer on our status as a REIT. The foregoing restrictions on ownership and transfer of shares of our capital stock will not apply if our board of directors determines that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify to be taxed as a REIT or that compliance with the restrictions and limits on ownership and transfer of shares of our capital stock described above is no longer required.

If any transfer of shares of our capital stock would result in such shares being beneficially owned by fewer than 100 persons, the transfer will be null and void and the intended transferee will acquire no rights

 

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in the shares. In addition, if any purported transfer of shares of our capital stock or any other event would otherwise result in any person violating the ownership limits or an excepted holder limit established by our board of directors, or in our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Code (without regard to whether the ownership interest is held during the last half of a taxable year) or otherwise failing to qualify to be taxed as a REIT or as a “domestically controlled qualified investment entity” within the meaning of Section 897(h)(4)(B) of the Code, then that number of shares (rounded up to the nearest whole share) that would cause the violation will be automatically transferred to, and held by, a trust for the exclusive benefit of one or more charitable organizations selected by us, and the intended transferee or other prohibited owner will acquire no rights in the shares. The automatic transfer will be effective as of the close of business on the business day prior to the date of the violating transfer or other event that results in a transfer to the trust. If the transfer to the trust as described above is not automatically effective, for any reason, to prevent a violation of the applicable ownership limits or our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Code (without regard to whether the ownership interest is held during the last half of a taxable year) or our otherwise failing to qualify to be taxed as a REIT or as a “domestically controlled qualified investment entity,” then the transfer of the shares will be null and void and the intended transferee will acquire no rights in such shares.

Shares of our capital stock held in the trust will be issued and outstanding shares. The prohibited owner will not benefit economically from ownership of any of our capital shares held in the trust and will have no rights to distributions and no rights to vote or other rights attributable to the shares held in the trust. The trustee of the trust will exercise all voting rights and receive all distributions with respect to shares held in the trust for the exclusive benefit of the charitable beneficiary of the trust. Any distribution made before we discover that the shares have been transferred to a trust as described above must be repaid by the recipient to the trustee upon demand by us. Subject to New York law, effective as of the date that the shares have been transferred to the trust, the trustee will have the authority to rescind as void any vote cast by a prohibited owner before our discovery that the shares have been transferred to the trust and to recast the vote in accordance with the desires of the trustee acting for the benefit of the charitable beneficiary of the trust. However, if we have already taken irreversible corporate action, then the trustee may not rescind and recast the vote.

Shares of our capital stock transferred to the trustee are deemed offered for sale to us, or our designee, at a price per share equal to the lesser of  (i) the price paid by the prohibited owner for the shares (or, in the case of a devise or gift, the market price at the time of such devise or gift) and (ii) the market price on the date we, or our designee, accepts such offer. We may reduce the amount so payable to the prohibited owner by the amount of any dividend or distribution that we made to the prohibited owner before we discovered that the shares had been automatically transferred to the trust, and we may pay the amount of any such reduction to the trustee for distribution to the charitable beneficiary. We have the right to accept such offer until the trustee has sold the shares of our capital shares held in the trust as discussed below. Upon a sale to us, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the shares sold terminates, and the trustee must distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the prohibited owner and must distribute any distributions held by the trustee with respect to such shares to the charitable beneficiary.

If we do not buy the shares, the trustee must, within 20 days of receiving notice from us of the transfer of shares to the trust, sell the shares to a person or entity designated by the trustee who could own the shares without violating the ownership limits or the other restrictions on ownership and transfer of shares of our capital shares. After the sale of the shares, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the shares transferred to the trust will terminate and the trustee must distribute to the prohibited owner an amount equal to the lesser of  (i) the price paid by the prohibited owner for the shares (or, if the prohibited owner did not give value for the shares in connection with the event causing the shares to be held in the trust (for example, in the case of a gift, devise or other such transaction), the market price of the shares on the day of the event causing the shares to be held in the trust) and (ii) the sales proceeds (net of any commissions and other expenses of sale) received by the trust for the shares. The trustee may reduce the amount payable to the prohibited owner by the amount of any distribution that we paid to the prohibited owner before we discovered that the shares had been automatically transferred to the trust and that are then owed by the prohibited owner to the trustee as described above. Any net sales proceeds in excess of the amount payable to the prohibited owner must be paid immediately to the charitable beneficiary, together with any distributions thereon. In addition, if, prior to the discovery by us that shares have been transferred to a trust, such shares

 

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are sold by a prohibited owner, then such shares will be deemed to have been sold on behalf of the trust and, to the extent that the prohibited owner received an amount for or in respect of such shares that exceeds the amount that such prohibited owner was entitled to receive, such excess amount will be paid to the trustee upon demand. The prohibited owner has no rights in the shares held by the trustee.

In addition, if our board of directors determines that a transfer or other event has occurred that would violate the restrictions on ownership and transfer of shares of our stock described above, our board of directors may take such action as it deems advisable to refuse to give effect to or to prevent such transfer, including, but not limited to, causing us to redeem the shares, refusing to give effect to the transfer on our books or instituting proceedings to enjoin the transfer.

Every owner of 5% or more (or such lower percentage as required by the Code or the regulations promulgated thereunder) of shares of our stock, within 30 days after the end of each taxable year, must give us written notice stating the shareholder’s name and address, the number of shares of each class and series of our capital stock that the shareholder beneficially owns and a description of the manner in which the shares are held. Each such owner must provide to us such additional information as we may request to determine the effect, if any, of the shareholder’s beneficial ownership on our status as a REIT and to ensure compliance with the ownership limits. In addition, any person or entity that is a beneficial owner or constructive owner of shares of our capital stock and any person or entity (including the shareholder of record) who is holding shares of our capital stock for a beneficial owner or constructive owner must, on request, provide to us such information as we may request in order to determine our status as a REIT and to comply with the requirements of any taxing authority or governmental authority or to determine such compliance and to ensure compliance with the ownership limits.

Certificates representing shares of our capital stock will bear a legend referring to the restrictions on ownership and transfer of shares of our capital stock described above.

The restrictions on ownership and transfer of shares of our capital stock described above could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control, including one that might involve a premium price for our common shares or otherwise be in the best interests of our shareholders.

Our board of directors has granted three exemptions to the ownership limitation. One waiver was granted to an investment fund allowing it to purchase up to 9.9% of our outstanding common shares. However, under the constructive ownership rules applicable to REITs, for tax purposes, those shares will be deemed to be owned by the investors in the fund rather than a single shareholder. A second waiver was granted to an investment advisor and asset manager allowing it to purchase up to 9.9% of our outstanding common shares for the accounts of its clients. The third waiver was given to Brian Prinz, one of our independent directors who, following the completion of our IPO, was the constructive owner of more than 4.99% of our outstanding common shares. However, as a result of the follow-on offering in October-November 2017, Mr. Prinz’s constructive ownership of our outstanding shares has been reduced and no longer exceeds the 4.99% limitation. We are not aware of any shareholder, other than Jeffrey C. Villano and John L. Villano, owning more than 4.99% of our outstanding common shares for tax purposes or otherwise. Accordingly, we do not believe that there are five or fewer shareholders who currently own more than 50% of our outstanding shares and we have no intention of granting any further waivers to the ownership limitation. However, if one or more shareholders were to acquire a significant number of our shares without our knowledge, we may fail the diversified ownership requirement and, as a result, fail to qualify as a REIT. The ownership limitation provided for by our charter provides a mechanism by which we may be able to force a shareholder to reduce his, her or its interest if we know about it but it may not prevent them from acquiring shares in excess of the limit in the first place.

 

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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The following is a general discussion of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to our qualification and taxation as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”), and the acquisition, holding, and disposition of our common shares, our preferred shares, warrant to purchase our common shares or preferred shares, debt securities (including convertible securities) guarantees of our debt securities as well as units consisting of two or more of any of the foregoing classes of securities (collectively, “Securities”). For purposes of the following discussion, references to “our,” we,” and “us” means Sachem Capital Corp. as well as our subsidiaries and affiliates unless stated or the context implies otherwise. This discussion is based upon the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the U.S. Treasury Regulations, rulings and other administrative interpretations and practices of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) (including administrative interpretations and practices expressed in private letter rulings which are binding on the IRS only with respect to the particular taxpayers who requested and received those rulings), and judicial decisions, all as currently in effect, and all of which are subject to differing interpretations or to change, possibly with retroactive effect. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert, or that a court would not sustain, a position contrary to any of the tax consequences described below. We have not sought and will not seek an advance ruling from the IRS regarding any matter discussed in this section. The discussion is also based upon the assumption that we will operate in accordance with our respective applicable organizational documents. This discussion is for general information only, and does not purport to discuss all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be important to an investor in light of the particular investment strategies and goals or tax circumstances of such investor, or to investors subject to special tax rules, including:

•

financial institutions;

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•

pass-through entities (such as entities treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes);

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•

persons acting as nominees or otherwise not as beneficial owners;

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•

insurance companies;

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•

broker-dealers;

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•

except to the extent described in the discussion below entitled “— Taxation of U.S. Shareholders — Taxation of Tax-Exempt Shareholders,” tax-exempt organizations;

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•

dealers in securities or currencies;

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•

traders in securities that elect to use a mark to market method of accounting;

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•

persons that hold shares as part of a straddle, hedge, constructive sale, conversion transaction, or other integrated transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

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•

regulated investment companies (“RICs”);

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•

REITs;

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•

certain U.S. expatriates;

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•

foreign (non-U.S.) governments;

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•

except to the extent described in the discussion below entitled “— Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders,” non-U.S. shareholders (as defined below);

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•

U.S. shareholders whose “functional currency” is not the U.S. dollar;

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•

persons who acquired their shares through the exercise of stock options or otherwise in connection with compensation;

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•

persons who do not hold their shares as a capital asset within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code; and

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•

for purposes of the discussion below entitled “— Taxation of U.S. Shareholders,” persons subject to the alternative minimum tax under the Code.

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For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. shareholder” ​(or “U.S. stockholder”) means a beneficial owner of shares of our capital stock that is:

•

an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

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•

an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

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•

a trust that (A) is subject to the supervision of a court within the United States and the control of one or more U.S. persons or (B) was in existence on August 20, 1996, was treated as a U.S. person prior to such date and has a valid election in place to continue to be treated as a U.S. person, as defined in the Code.

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If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Any partnership or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and the partners in such partnership (as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes), should consult their tax advisors.

This discussion of material U.S. federal income tax considerations is not binding on the IRS. We cannot assure you that the IRS will not assert, or that a court would not sustain, a position contrary to any described herein.

THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX RULES APPLICABLE TO HOLDING AND DISPOSING SHARES, AND TO REITS GENERALLY, ARE HIGHLY TECHNICAL AND COMPLEX. HOLDERS OF SHARES OF OUR CAPITAL STOCK ARE URGED TO CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE SPECIFIC TAX CONSEQUENCES TO THEM OF THE OWNERSHIP OF SUCH SHARES, AND OUR QUALIFICATION AS A REIT, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND NON-U.S. INCOME AND OTHER TAX LAWS, AND POTENTIAL CHANGES IN APPLICABLE TAX LAWS, IN LIGHT OF THEIR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES.

The U.S. federal income tax treatment of holders of our shares depends in some instances on determinations of fact and interpretations of complex provisions of U.S. federal income tax law for which no clear precedent or authority is available. In addition, the tax consequences to a shareholder of holding our shares will depend on such shareholder’s particular tax circumstances. You should consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal, state, local and foreign income and other tax consequences to you in light of your particular investment or tax circumstances of acquiring, holding, exchanging, or otherwise disposing of our shares, our election to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and potential changes in applicable law.

Taxation of the Company as a REIT

General

We elected to be taxed as a REIT commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2017. A REIT generally is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on the income that it distributes to stockholders provided that the REIT meets the applicable REIT distribution requirements and other requirements for qualification as a REIT under the Code. We believe that we have been organized and operated in a manner to satisfy the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code, and we intend to continue to be organized and operated in a manner that will allow us to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code.

Qualification and taxation as a REIT depend upon our ability to meet the various qualification tests imposed under the Code, including through our actual annual (or in some cases quarterly) operating results, requirements relating to income, asset ownership, distribution levels and diversity of share ownership, and the various other REIT qualification requirements imposed under the Code. Given the complex nature of the REIT qualification requirements, the ongoing importance of factual determinations and the possibility of future changes in our circumstances, we cannot provide any assurances that we have been or will be organized or operated in a manner so as to satisfy the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under

 

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the Code, or that we will meet in the future the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT. See “— Failure to Qualify as a REIT.”

The sections of the Code that relate to our qualification and operation as a REIT are highly technical and complex. This discussion sets forth the material aspects of the sections of the Code that govern the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a REIT and its stockholders.

Taxation

For each taxable year in which we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on our “REIT taxable income” ​(generally, taxable income subject to specified adjustments, including a deduction for dividends paid and excluding our net capital gain) that is distributed currently to our shareholders. This treatment substantially eliminates the “double taxation” at the corporate and stockholder levels that generally results from an investment in a non-REIT C corporation. A non-REIT C corporation is a corporation that generally is required to pay tax at the corporate level. Double taxation means taxation once at the corporate level when the income is earned and once again at the stockholder level when the income is distributed. In general, the income that we generate is taxed only at the shareholder level upon a distribution of dividends to our shareholders.

U.S. shareholders (as defined below) generally will be subject to taxation on dividends distributed by us (other than designated capital gain dividends and “qualified dividend income”) at rates applicable to ordinary income, instead of at lower capital gain rates. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, generally, U.S. shareholders that are individuals, trusts or estates may deduct 20% of the aggregate ordinary dividends distributed by us, subject to certain limitations. Capital gain dividends and qualified dividend income will continue to be subject to a maximum 20% rate.

Any net operating losses, foreign tax credits and other tax attributes of a REIT generally do not pass through to stockholders, subject to special rules for certain items such as recognized capital gains.

Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax in the following circumstances:

1.

We will be taxed at regular corporate rates on any undistributed “REIT taxable income.”

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2.

If we elect to treat property that we acquire in connection with certain leasehold terminations as “foreclosure property,” we may thereby avoid (a) the 100% tax on gain from a resale of that property (if the sale would otherwise constitute a prohibited transaction) as discussed below; and (b) the inclusion of any income from such property not qualifying for purposes of the gross income tests discussed below. Income from the sale or operation of the property may be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax at the highest applicable rate (currently 21%).

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3.

Our net income from “prohibited transactions” will be subject to a 100% tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business other than foreclosure property. See “— Gross Income Tests — Income from Prohibited Transactions.”

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4.

If we fail to satisfy either the 75% gross income test or the 95% gross income test, as discussed below, but our failure is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect and we nonetheless maintain our qualification as a REIT because of specified cure provisions, we will be subject to a 100% tax on an amount equal to (a) the greater of (1) the amount by which we fail the 75% gross income test or (2) the amount by which we fail the 95% gross income test, as the case may be, multiplied by (b) a fraction intended to reflect our profitability.

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5.

We will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the excess of the required distribution over the sum of amounts actually distributed, excess distributions from the preceding taxable year and amounts retained for which U.S. federal income tax was paid, if we fail to make the required distributions by the end of a calendar year. The required distributions for each calendar year is equal to the sum of: 85% of our REIT ordinary income for the year; 95% of our REIT capital gain net

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income for the year other than capital gains we elect to retain and pay tax on as described below; and any undistributed taxable income from prior taxable years.

6.

We will be subject to a 100% penalty tax on certain rental income we receive when a taxable REIT subsidiary provides services to our tenants, on certain expenses deducted by a taxable REIT subsidiary on payments made to us and on income for services rendered to us by a taxable REIT subsidiary, if the arrangements among us, our tenants, and our taxable REIT subsidiaries do not reflect arm’s-length terms.

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7.

If we acquire any assets from a non-REIT C corporation in a transaction in which the basis of the assets in our hands is determined by reference to the basis of the asset in the hands of the non-REIT C corporation, we would be liable for corporate income tax, at the highest applicable corporate rate, for the “built-in gain” with respect to those assets if we dispose of those assets in a taxable transaction during the five-year period beginning on the day the asset was transferred to us by the non-REIT C corporation. To the extent that assets are transferred to us in a carry-over basis transaction by a partnership in which a corporation owns an interest, we will be subject to this tax in proportion to the non-REIT C corporation’s interest in the partnership. Built-in gain is the amount by which an asset’s fair market value exceeds its adjusted tax basis at the time we acquire the asset. The results described in this paragraph assume that the non-REIT C corporation will not elect, in lieu of this treatment, to be subject to an immediate tax when the asset is acquired by us. Any gain from the sale of property acquired by us in an exchange under Section 1031 (a like-kind exchange) or Section 1033 (an involuntary conversion) of the Code would be excluded from the application of this built-in gain tax.

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8.

We may elect to retain and pay U.S. federal income tax on our net long-term capital gain. In that case, a U.S. shareholder would include its proportionate share of our undistributed long-term capital gain (to the extent that we make a timely designation of such gain to the shareholder) in its income, would be deemed to have paid the tax we paid on such gain, and would be allowed a credit for its proportionate share of the tax deemed to have been paid, and an adjustment would be made to increase the basis of the U.S. shareholder in our shares.

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9.

If we violate the asset tests (other than certain de minimis violations) or other requirements applicable to REITs, as described below, but our failure is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect and we nevertheless maintain our REIT qualification because of specified cure provisions, we will be subject to a tax equal to the greater of $50,000 or the amount determined by multiplying the net income generated by such non-qualifying assets by the highest rate of tax applicable to non-REIT C corporations during periods when such assets would have caused us to fail the asset test.

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10.

If we fail to satisfy a requirement under the Code which would result in the loss of our REIT qualification, other than a failure to satisfy a gross income test, or an asset test as described in paragraph 9 above, but nonetheless maintain our qualification as a REIT because the requirements of certain relief provisions are satisfied, we will be subject to a penalty of $50,000 for each such failure.

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11.

If we fail to comply with the requirements to send annual letters to our shareholders requesting information regarding the actual ownership of our shares and the failure was not due to reasonable cause or was due to willful neglect, we will be subject to a $25,000 penalty or, if the failure is intentional, a $50,000 penalty.

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12.

The earnings of any subsidiaries that are subchapter C corporations, including any taxable REIT subsidiary, are subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax.

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Notwithstanding our qualification as a REIT, we and our subsidiaries may be subject to a variety of taxes, including payroll taxes and state, local, and foreign income, property and other taxes on our assets, operations and/or net worth. We could also be subject to tax in situations and on transactions not presently contemplated.

 

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