'First Time Flippers' to Showcase Lehigh Alum

Baltimore area house flippers Khalil Uqdah ’10 and his wife, Kyara, have an outward agenda when renovating a home for sale or rent—they not only turn a vacant, eyesore property in a good area into an excellent home for a deserving family, but they provide jobs to help the community.

Flipping homes has become a full-time occupation for the industrious duo, and one of their projects—a two-bedroom home with a rooftop deck in the Butchers Hill area of Baltimore, Md.—was filmed for DIY’s First Time Flippers show. It is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. on April 8.

While the Uqdahs usually hire contractors to do the majority of the work when renovating a home, the first time they did a fair share of the work was during filming.

“We did demolition, hung Sheetrock, laid tile flooring, power washed…,” said Khalil Uqdah of the three-month experience last summer. The film crew visited seven times, and he said he learned a lot about scheduling, timing and working under deadlines.

“It is one thing to have a paper due for a class, but it is another thing to coordinate multiple people to get a project done. I learned a lot about my ability to jump in and get things done … my wife working under pressure ... people’s selflessness to help.”

In February, Uqdah left his full-time job as director of programs and alumni relations at the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust to start a real estate investing firm, Charm City Buyers, with his wife. Their commitment to his hometown is apparent as they take pride in being landlords who care about the needs of their tenants and future homeowners in quality residences that they create.

Uqdah said he learned of the importance of a person’s base needs being met in a Lehigh psychology class when Professor Diane Hyland taught Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” pyramid.

“As someone’s base needs are met, such as having a safe and secure home and food, they can develop other needs on their own, such as friendship and family,” he explained.

The couple’s goal is to provide free monthly resources to families and tenants that could help enhance personal skills, such as raising children, navigating relationships and financial literacy.

“We are trying to find the right people who are also passionate about this and who could teach,” he said. “Those types of things would help our tenants continue progressing in their lives.”

Uqdah, who majored in business management and economics and minored in Africana Studies at Lehigh, met his wife on the Lafayette  College campus after both competed at their track and field meet.

“We were bound to meet each other. It was a Romeo and Juliet story,” he said of the union between a Mountain Hawk and a Leopard.

Since their college days, the two have been a team in not only raising daughter Mikayla (pictured above) but in their passion to give back to Baltimore.

“I decided to return to make that impact. I see a very promising city. I see hope. I see people who are looking for something great to happen to attach themselves to … a city full of charm … full of kids who are looking for a mentor or leader,” he said. “We hope to truly impact the lives of people the way we hope we can.”

Story by Dawn Thren