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Melané Ali grew up in Encino, California in a sprawling home located on what local real estate agents called the “right side” of the boulevard.
In spite of her zip code and frequent visits to the mall, she was a bit more worldly than her Valley Girl classmates. While her friends visited their “nanas” in places like Florida, Mel and her family traveled to Baghdad for joyful reunions with her father’s extended family.
HOW HE MET HER MOTHER Melané’s mother, Diane, was a tall blond coed when she met Khalil Ali, a Fulbright Scholar finishing his master’s degree in economics at USC.
They married and moved cross-country so he could earn his Ph.D. at Louisiana State, but his dissertation was derailed by the arrival of Melané, and then two more daughters.
While Mr. Ali did not regret his lack of sons, he did hope his first-born would attend USC. Only occasionally the dutiful daughter, Melané earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California Los Angeles.
THE REAL ESTATE BUG Her interest in real estate coincided with a work-related move to the Bay Area in 1984. Her sales career started at ICN Biomedical, and included successful stints at American Software, SAP America, PeopleSoft and Entera, where she was Vice President of Sales. (See her LinkedIn profile for more details.)
Her first property was a condominium in Sausalito with an unfinished attic. With more guts than skills, she turned the small space into a cozy home office.
Once her home was perfect, Melané (of course) wanted to move. In 1989, she did.
BERNAL HEIGHTS BOUND Her next property was a workingman’s Victorian house on Hampshire Street in Bernal Heights. The 1,100 square foot home had undergone a series of peculiar “improvements” over the years, and Melané was eager to undo the damage.
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but a heavy-duty, 15 amp reciprocating saw is a much better buddy. Melané spent two days removing the horrific excuse for a ceiling with her trusty Sawzall.
That was just the beginning of a renovation that ultimately took two years. Instead of dinner parties, she hosted demolition nights at which her friends were issued sledgehammers and told what to destroy, preferably before the pizzas arrived.
Luckily, the property’s detached guesthouse needed little work and was able to start producing rental income almost immediately.
RUNAWAY CRANE Shortly after the renovation of the home’s interior was complete, work began on the exterior—way, way ahead of schedule—when a construction crane with faulty brakes barreled down Hampshire Street and crashed into the front of her house.
“It was like a private earthquake that only hit my house,” she recalls.
When the Bernal Heights house was in tip-top condition, Melané was ready for one last move—to a house just big enough for a happily single woman—and her home office. And maybe a cat.
“I had dated every straight man in San Francisco,” she says. “Marriage was not in the cards.”
In 1995 she bought a 1,100 square foot home in Noe Valley. Its two bedrooms and one bathroom were perfect for one, as was its location. (She rented out her Bernal Heights home for the next four years.)
But by the time she made her sixth mortgage payment she was dating software executive Rick O’Rourke, and they married in 1998.
REELING IN THE BIG SAILS One way to put off dealing with a too-small house is to move into an even smaller space. The couple relocated onto a 49-foot, ketch-rigged sailboat and took a two-year honeymoon sailing the Pacific.
Melané did not pack her Sawzall.
THE NOE VALLEY VENTURE Being long-distance landlords was surprisingly easy, but by 2000 Melané and Rick were ready to live on land.
Two home offices were a tight squeeze, but the arrival of a baby girl in 2002 turned the house into “a clown car,” says Mel. “If we had friends over, everyone was packed in like sardines.”
Architects were engaged, permits were painstakingly secured, and work began in 2005. Living in the dust and noise was not an option.
The family rented a house in Miraloma Park for 16 months while Melané oversaw remodeling that nearly tripled the square footage by building up and back. The resulting 3,000 square foot home has plenty of space for family activities, home offices, entertaining and relaxing.
There’s even room for Bibi, the dog.
MIXING BUSINESS AND PLEASURE Given her sales and marketing background, and her passion for real estate, it was no surprise when Mel acquired her family’s first investment property, a condo in Hawaii.
During her first visit to the property, she spent more time at the Home Depot than the beach. Even so, the family now has two Hawaiian condos that are rented by the month to travelers from all over the world.
At McGuire Real Estate, Melané combines her many skills and strengths with her decades-long love of buying and selling properties.
When she’s not walking, talking, and thinking real estate, Melané enjoys sailing and travel with Rick and their daughter, Leila. She stays in touch with her two sisters in Southern California. Lorraine Ali is a senior writer for Newsweek and Suzanne Ali is a documentary filmmaker.
