US Black History Month: Q&A with Ali Semir CCIM, MRICS

What has been the highlight of your professional career so far?

It may help to start with my background and who I am.  My “story,” if you will.  After two degrees in real estate, I spent over a decade in the multifamily underwriting and tax assessment worlds before starting an acquisitions company five years ago.  In my prior life, I underwrote over $2 billion dollars of multifamily mortgages after reviewing over double that in the commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) space.  While these offered me many professional wins, it was a recent acquisition that was the clear highlight.   

Since 2015, I served as a mentor to Georgetown University graduate students.  A couple of years ago one of my mentees with a strong entrepreneurial spirit brought a potential acquisition to me along with a request for underwriting and equity placement assistance. As the deal progressed, my mentee kept nudging me about my openness of taking a more active role in the deal.  Although having a few deals happening at the same time made it challenging, I decided that impact investment was priority enough for me to focus on.  My mentee and I agreed to explore what a partnership could look like. I used my skillset and background to help navigate the debt placement, equity raise, and due diligence to help our partnership successfully close on a building in Washington, DC.  

We held a celebratory closing dinner to say thank you to our equity partners at a great restaurant in DC.  It was very rewarding to look around the dinner table and see folks that looked like me.  The minority sponsorship, minority equity partners, and affordable housing focus made this an accomplishment for us all.

What attracted you to the built environment as an industry to work in?

As a young kid from Ethiopia learning English and growing up in Jamaica, Queens, I saw first-hand how unaffordable rents can be and how it impacts the community.  Witnessing my mom working two jobs and struggling to pay rent sometimes meant us prioritizing immediate expenses over important ones.  While these are distant memories for me at this point in my life, I can relate to many of the tough decisions families face. The affordability gap is a serious and underappreciated reality for a growing number of families.  Record inflation affects us all; however, it only exacerbates an already difficult situation for families in the lower income brackets, who are primarily black and brown.  In addition to inflation, population shifts resulted in rapid gentrification which has contributed to a significant increase in housing expenses.  There is an active and precipitous displacement of black and brown residents occurring in many parts of the country right now.  I am attracted to the built environment by first recognizing an opportunity to provide impact investing from my unique perspective, with a goal to prioritize the resident experience in affordable housing.  Simply put, I treat my residents how I want to be treated because I am them.

How do you make an impact in your daily work?

The short answer is in any way I can.  I recently read that the commemoration of black history and contributions should be a movement and not a moment.  I love this because it enforces the fact that it should be a consistent involvement for us.  For me, it starts with questions of what impact means to each demographic I connect with.  How can I provide real value to my residents, mentors, mentees, fund managers, and equity partners in an impactful and equitable way?  Starting with early education, I am honoured to serve on the Board of Trustees of a local Public Charter School System in DC.  As young adults develop interests in the built environment, I guest lecture and serve as a mentor to undergraduate and graduate students at both my alma maters, Georgetown University and Virginia Commonwealth University.  In my position as an owner of multifamily properties, I need to make sure all client-facing roles including property managers and contractors add to the resident experience and treat all residents with dignity, respect, and appreciation.

What challenges have you encountered as a black professional in the real estate industry in the U.S?

First, I applaud my colleagues who recognize the necessity of two-way dialogue and who ask to hear individual experiences.  It all starts with an open conversation.  I often speak to financiers in attempts to source debt and equity for deals.  While most of these conversations are productive, at times some conversations can feel more like questions of “how did you get here?” instead of actual due diligence questions relative to the deal.  I say this as a former underwriter who knows what questions are supposed to be asked.  Access to capital has been and remains a big obstacle in scaling my business right now.  I have the deal flow, expertise, and track record to have purchased over 300 units representing $60 million in AUM but need access to capital in order to achieve my future goals.  Despite notable accomplishments, I am still fighting for a seat at the table.

How can the real estate sector become more inclusive and attract more black professionals?

From an impact investment perspective, it is important to have a thorough approach to diversifying funding allocations.  Funds, fund of funds, endowments, pension funds, and wealth managers should look at a transaction holistically.  Especially if they are falling short of minority allocation goals.  Questions such as minimum equity size in relation to debt net worth and liquidity covenants should be thought through, especially if the preference is a non-Co GP structure.  I have explored many of the funding availability types and am happy to connect with folks to provide recommendations on structuring diversity allocation goals.  Readers can connect with me through LinkedIn.

From a corporate viewpoint, inclusivity can range anywhere from a marketing slogan to actual well-planned implementation of diversity initiatives.  If your company is consistently falling short of DEI goals, improve the process.  DEI officers need to first be empowered, then seek perspectives of black and brown employees before implementing initiatives.  Giving up too easily by saying there aren’t enough qualified diverse applicants is just lazy.  Right now, it’s the easiest it has ever been to attract, retain, and promote diverse employees.  Look at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) and initiatives including Project Destined.

What is your advice to the next generation of real estate professionals?

To the next generation of minority real estate professionals - stick with it.  There will be challenges along the way.  You may face coded and even overt racism and will have to work harder to get promoted or progress on a deal.  Raise any inappropriateness and don’t let them slow you down.  Keep grinding.

To everyone else, please listen to these and other experiences and become an ally or change agent within your organization.