INDPENDENT RENTAL OWNERS
Karen Fisher, CAM, IROP,
IRO Chair
Women IROs, the struggle to make a
difference in a male-dominated industry.
R
eal estate (RE) is considered a male-centric
arena. However, the number of females in
the industry has gained momentum through-
out the years.
precedence over a job. But, the company gave her an
ultimatum: demotion or termination.
How did you get over your fear of becoming an IRO?
What was the biggest hurdle?
According to a study conducted by Center for Wom-
en’s Business Research, women-owned businesses
generate about $3 trillion in revenue and employ 16
percent of the workforce, making them significant
players in the national economy.
I was able to get over my fear through education,
extended amount of research about the property I
purchased and networking with other IROs through
the apartment association as well as other organiza-
tions. When going through major checkpoints, I ask a
Meet one of the pioneering women breaking the colleague to look at my strategy to get a second pair
mold. Kelley Simmonds is an Independent Rental of eyes on it.
Owner (IRO) who syndicated a 54 unit distressed MF
property, transformed the complex by building a bet- One of my biggest hurdles was getting my name out
ter community, her investors obtained 100% return there. I remember when I was just starting to net-
and receive 12% on original investment!
work with potential investors and I would be over-
looked because many investors thought I was sup-
Before Kelley got involved in RE, she was an IT spe- porting my husband. I actually started bringing my
cialist. Unfortunately, the corporate world doesn’t ac- husband to networking events so when an investor
knowledge women’s contributions nor groom them would approach him, he would just say that he is the
to succeed at the highest levels – be it gender dis- W-2 guy yet his wife is the one they want to talk to.
crimination or unsupportive policies that reprimand Once they got to know that I was a syndicator, they
women who put family first to care for children.
began to gravitate towards me.
This hostile environment makes taking an entrepre-
neur role and independence become more desirable. Can you give an example/situation where you
“showed up” the guys?
Kelley has three beautiful, caring and fun children
and a loving husband too (see I included you Chip);
their youngest with special needs. Three years ago, there were several guys that ran
numbers on my current property and could not make
the deal work. There was plenty of deferred main-
tenance. The poor residents lived in squalor with no
hope for change. I purchased the property back in
Their son had numerous medical concerns that took
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