Aisha Ahmed is a realtor and real estate investor in Dayton, Ohio. She was born in Somalia and raised in Kenya. The United States became her home as she joined her family to seek refuge when the war in Somalia continued to ravage the land. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences (SLHS) and a minor in Social Justice, Aisha moved to Ohio to further her education. “But my dreams of becoming an entrepreneur quickly took over. Currently, I am a licensed realtor and a real estate investor in Dayton, “she told the New Americans.

Inspiration

I was inspired by the financial stability and freedom. I realized I can also help people gain better housing solutions and educate the community about the importance of homeownership. I believe that is the way to bring real change and stability.

Realtor

Being a licensed realtor has been an exciting journey. I like being my own boss and meeting new people. But overall, I love helping people during their major milestones.

Homeownership

In the path to gain financial stability, it becomes a crucial step. While aiming to own a home, a person learns a lot of critical lessons in managing money. Once you learn to manage money, owning a home becomes a part of that management. Homeownership in itself is very important because it can increase a family’s financial security. Also, there are many studies that show homeownership has positive impact on educational achievement; that homeowners are more involved in their communities, and that they appear to be healthier than renters.  I believe homeownership can change the quality of life and that is why it is vital; even more vital for African American communities who are hard working and thriving in our community. Therefore, owning a home becomes an instrument in developing positive communities from the individual to the group dynamics.

“However, if you are clear in your goals and real estate is what you’re pursuing, then my advice would be to not give up and make yourself available to people who need your time and expertise. “

Right time

In each phase of life there’s a home that fits. The trick is more to buy within your means rather than the “right time.”

Faith vs. Buying a Home

What I have learned is that people fear what they do not know. There are many religious financial institutions like Guidance Residential that support owning a home.  It is when people do not know of these facts that they assume buying a home is not permissible.

Advice

I did not start out in Real Estate. I had an opportunity to minimize all my risks and rely on my support system before going into Real estate. My main focus is investing and so it is difficult to give general advice without taking the same precautions as I did. Even then, I made mistakes and it took me a few trials to pass the exam to become a realtor.

However, if you are clear in your goals and real estate is what you’re pursuing, then my advice would be to not give up and make yourself available to people who need your time and expertise. It is critical that in your pursuit to be successful, you look for opportunities to help as much as you can along the way.

Also, I’d like to add that I am available to help anyone to learn more about how they could own a home. There are a lot of steps one should take before reaching out to a realtor and that are what I am willing to do for our community. Educate and help them get to that phase. I won’t have much of the answers, since I have not gone through many scenarios personally, but I have contacts that can help. My hope is that we can enrich each other in the African American community to prosper in the United States.