Main Line Homes Blog

I recently took the e-PRO course and in the process came across a very interesting issue that I had no idea existed in regards to financing.

The Muslim faith does not allow its followers to pay interest. So how do they purchase a home? Either they have to break the religious doctrine and take a normal mortgage, rent or look for an alternative. There are apparently alternatives which have been accepted by leading Imams and which can be obtained throughout America, not everywhere but maybe in your market.

This link will lead you to an article on the Freddie Mac site about a bank in Illinois, Devon Bank that has set up a variety of different finaincing options that allow Muslim consumers to purchase a home and not break the tenents of their faith.

http://www.freddiemac.com/news/archives/afford_housing/2005/20050110_devonbank.html

The gist of one of these is that the bank purchases the property and sells it to the consumer at a higher price that is then split into equal payments over the term of the loan with zero percent interest. But please read the article and use this link to read more about the options available on the banks site:http://www.devonbank.com/islamic/. There are some additional charges but everything has been approved by Islamic Religious leaders and will be a help for your client.

I found this very useful, not realizing this was an issue, hope it helps you be more prepared if your client or a consumer expresses a need for help in this direction.