48°
It's where her family laid their roots after immigrating to the United States from Turkey. It's where she attended grade school, where she spent summers while studying finance and international business at New York University.
Malki only left Paramus in 2004 when she married her husband, and the two moved into a home in Ramsey.
Well, actually, that's not entirely true. Malki says there's a part of her that never really left the borough: "Paramus is where my heart is," she said.
And now, so are all nine of the homes she's built since 2016, when she left her career in finance to pursue homebuilding and open RGM Builders.
"Paramus always felt like home," she said. "Going back to where I grew up to now enhance the neighborhoods, and build newer homes, and provide opportunities for potential home buyers to create those memories and create opportunities for their children is very gratifying."
It's almost like a full circle moment.
Beyond her own experience growing up in the borough, Paramus' close proximity to Routes 4 and 17, and its many malls — which help keep property tax rates low — make the borough a desirable market for almost any home builder, Malki said.
"The town is very diverse with multiple houses of worship, ethnic demographics," she said. "It is very conducive to making everyone very comfortable and feel welcome."
Building new, modern homes in Paramus is Malki's way of giving back to a borough that gave her so much, she said.
Malki's parents decided to immigrate to the United States from Turkey the day she was born. It took them six months to make the move, and when they did, they moved in with relatives in Lodi.
"They didn't want to raise their future family in a country that they grew up in," Malki said. "They wanted better opportunities for their children."
One of the first things they did after moving was join St. Marks Syriac Orthodox Cathedral on W. Midland Avenue, where Malki attended liturgy every Sunday, and participated in Sunday school programs — which she now runs.
Parishioners of St. Marks looked after Malki while her parents attended English language classes.
"My parents did struggle learning the language and finding childcare for me," she said. "They both had to do what they needed to do to work — assimilate and find their way. There are struggles that they talk about often, and say we have to rely on our community and our friends within the church."
Back in Turkey, Malki's father was a dentist, and her mother, a chemical engineer.
Malki's father couldn't transfer his dentistry license, so he went into the jewelry business, starting out as an apprentice in New York City until he saved up enough to open his own business.
"It was the same skillset as dentistry," Malki said. "The same attention to detail needed to create and to drill."
Malki's mother was eventually hired as a forensic chemist for the New Jersey State Police Department.
"Pivoting and changing careers is something that’s not uncommon, but determination and work ethic is," Malki said. "And I owe that to my parents."
Once Malki's parents had stability, they began looking for a home of their own. At the urging of a family friend, a realtor, they moved to Paramus in 1983, and bought a multi-family property on Farview Avenue.
When they outgrew that home, they moved into a larger one on the other side of town. It's where they live today.
Once graduating from Paramus' public school system, Malki went on to earn a degree in finance and international business from NYU. She worked in the industry through the early years of her marriage while she and her husband decided to start a family in Ramsey.
Once her children were old enough to start school, Malki wanted a job that would afford her more flexibility. She could either return to her career in finance, or do something else.
That was around the time she and her husband were looking to move out of their current home, and build their dream home in Ramsey.
Malki and her husband interviewed builders, architects, and designers. Malki began to understand what went into each project, and had a hunch she might just be able to build the home herself.
She had an idea.
Instead of hiring the builder to build the home, she asked him if he'd be interested in coming on simply as the construction manager.
He agreed, and Malki took the reins on the project.
"It was a very eye-opening and educational 12-month process for me," Malki said. "All the sub contractors came in and I learned the order and how the process worked. I enjoyed every step of the way."
Once the dream home was complete and Malki's family moved in, her new path in home building had become clear.
"It was so rewarding to see what we designed and created on paper," she said. "To see it come to fruition and come to life, I said, 'I think this is my something else.'"
In 2016, Malki bought her first knockdown on Concord Drive in Paramus.
"There were a lot of mistakes," Malki said. "In any kind of a new career you learn from the mistakes you make. There were times where costly mistakes were discouraging, but I never said I'd stop. I never never felt the urge to quit only looking at each obstacle as a challenge that I could overcome.
"Everything was a learning experience for me... every house had its own struggles with different designs and layouts."
Malki said it took the better part of a decade to truly understand home building. When describing what exactly it is she does, Malki said she's a general contractor for home building.
"I'm not physically touching anything. I'm not lifting any beams or any hammers," she said. "I'm not using any tools other than my laptop."
All of the work is contracted out to subcontractors, and Malki makes sure everyone is doing what they need to be doing, and in the right order: "I'm supervising the build," she said.
Malki's latest masterpiece listed for $2.35 million at 452 Oregon St., is a culmination of all that she's learned over the years. It's a layout she and her team have used a few times before, one she's received consistent, positive feedback on from buyers, she said.
"It's a lot more modern, less ornate with more mixed metals, with brass or bronze finishes," Malki said. "A trend in the market right now."
The 6,000-square-foot home has six bedrooms, six bathrooms, and tons of closet space — something Malki said she adds for the women. In the basement, she added a theater and a wine cellar, luxury but increasingly more common elements of new homes that Malki says will attract men.
The home at 452 Oregon St. is an open floor plan, something Malki says sets modern homes apart from the ones built when her family moved to town.
"Paramus has definitely developed and grown over the last 40 years," she said.
"We’ve seen a big uptick in new constructions in Paramus in the last 15 years. A lot of these smaller homes are on a quarter acre, are ranch-style, and the potential for renovating them and redeveloping them to house more bedrooms and be more desirable to larger families is what is driving the market."
While new construction has been a tough price point for many budding families, there are just as many potential buyers who pay between $8,000 and $10,000 in rent in the city, but are happy to pay the same on a mortgage for a newer home with a yard and more space.
And the trend in Paramus is, well, obvious.
"There's a running joke that everyone wants a white house with black windows," Malki said.
There's truth to it, though. Stroll through any neighborhood in the borough and you'll see the black and white McMansions studded between homes built in the 1950s or 1960s.
"Down certain areas you can say, 'I know when these homes were built,'" Malki said. "And homes being turned over with new construction are starting to look similar."
Two stories. Five bedrooms. Open floor plans.
It's only a matter of time before those older homes will need serious overhauls and renovations. Malki anticipates those they will soon be sold, though, and the structures that replace them will look more like the ones that surround them.
"The days of a specific dining room, an enclosed living room separate from the kitchen with load-bearing walls are gone," Malki saidf. "People are looking for an open floor plan with large, open windows that bring in natural light. They want it to be conducive to entertaining — that’s been a big part of the redesign in laying out the materials we look for with the architect."
The lack of weight-bearing walls require sturdy beams that can support the structure without creating obstructions, like a random column in the middle of the room, Malki explained.
All of the finishes throughout the house at 452 Oregon St. are consistent, another trend in newer homes. Modern construction means clean, smooth lines and white oak flooring — a major selling point for buyers, Malki said.
"Color aesthetics have changed from earthy tones," she said. "They are going toward the neutral whites and creams."
Malki takes pride in that she doesn't bring in any interior decorators to help with layout and finishes. She does that herself.
"I design the house with the architect, and built it with all my subcontractors," she said. "I do all of the selections — paint colors, tiles, and fixtures."
Feedback is critical, she said. So is having a strong relationship with her realtor. Malki's realtor is Tony Nabhan of Keller Williams City Views Realty, and she says he has his thumb on the pulse of the market.
"Ramona and RGM Builders bring a unique blend of innovation and beauty to the Paramus landscape. "Their versatile floor plans cater to the modern-day needs of families, offering both elegance and functionality in every design."
Malki calls home building a "delicate dance," always trusting her gut and building homes the way she'd want to live in them, to her tastes.
So far, what Malki's doing has been working, as buyers have raved about the luxurious and large primary bathroom, "where they can see themselves finding peace, tranquility and relaxation," Malki said. "Open floor plans, large master closets, and laundry rooms have also been great selling features."
Malki's nine homes are located on Concord Drive, Stuart Street, Buttonwood Drive, Lawrence Drive, Crain Road, Arbor Road, and Oregon Street. All but one have sold in under three months, she said.
Anyway, Malki's the first to admit, there's truth to the old adage : Location, location, location.
"I feel grateful I got the opportunity to grow up in a town like Paramus, and now I can build here," she said. "Homes where future generations of families can have those same opportunities to raise families in a great town, with great recreational programs, a great school system and all the wonderful things the town has to offer."
Malki loves waking up for work, where she's joined by her dad, who — after 40 years in the jewelry business — has become her righthand man at RGM Builders.
"I love what I do," Malki said. "Building homes doesn’t feel like work. I’m excited to take on the day and check things off my lists. The entire process is very exciting for me."
Click here for the full listing of 452 Oregon St.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bridgewater-Raritan and receive free news updates.
