Halal Housing – what’s all about?
I roughly remember, almost a decade ago when i was still working with General Electric as a Senior Systems Analyst, a group of people including myself came together to have an alternate housing model that will help a person to own a house without going for a conventional home loan. The group comprised of industry experts like Sherif Kottapurath and PC Mustafa. We have successfully launched a scheme called Model Muslim Community and the main objective was to provide affordable non-interest based housing. To our astonishment we got around 200 members joined the scheme by giving their allegiance and also a nominal booking fee. We had a big event organized at Hotel Taj Vivanta and invited all those people who subscribed for this scheme.
The next big thing was to identify a good land within Bangalore city limits to have 200 families accommodated with their housing and all other amenities. But unfortunately we were unable to find a good place / land big enough to get such a big project implemented. Eventually we had to put the scheme on hibernate mode properly explaining our 200 members about the practical difficulties of launching the project at such a big scale. We have returned the demand drafts collected from all those 200 members. Though the scheme did not kick off at that time, the concept and the spirit ever remained in our hearts that one day or the other we should make this happen.
Halal Housing
Rebirth of Halal Housing
When there are right intentions in our hearts, one day it will become a reality. This is how things are programmed by the One who has created us. There is a saying of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him), Innamal A’maalu Bin Niyyaath. The actions / happenings are based on our intentions. Though we could not get the Model Muslim Community implemented in Bangalore a decade ago for various reasons, the spark still remained inside. Almighty gave us an opportunity to buy a small piece of land about 2100 sq.ft way back in January 2013. Myself and my better half thought why not we do a similar project, but at a much smaller scale. Immediately we plunged into action and that’s how the concept of Halal Housing evolved all over again. The idea is to provide affordable housing at a non-interest based financial model.
Humble beginning to Corporate outlook
When we were just completing our first project Aamina Abode, we got an offer from a good friend of mine, a leading ENT Surgeon of Bangalore Dr.Wajahath Parvez to start our second project. Seeing our good intentions he offered his land to do the project without an advance or a good will. God’s Grace, we started our second project after all the formalities about an year and half back and we have already given possession to the flat owners to start their interior work. The plan is to occupy the new flats before the start of the Holy month of Ramadhan 2018.
Seeing the success of the first two projects and the demand for such a noble scheme, i thought why not we start more projects catering to the needs of many people. For the third project I got few like minded brothers who invested on a big piece of land measuring about 15000 sq. ft in South Bangalore. As it is a much bigger project to get implemented than the earlier ones i have also taken these brothers who have invested as the co-promoters for this third project Cocoville. With God’s Grace we were able to complete 80% booking for this project in about a month’s time after the launch when the real estate market is still struggling to come back after the two demons hit the country very badly – demonetization and GST.
Secrets of Halal Housing Success
3 projects in less than 3 years and more projects in the pipeline is something that needs special mention here. We are aware of the prevailing market conditions. But God’s Grace the apartments in Halal housing projects sell like a hot cake just within few few weeks of the launch. This is a clear indication that people are sick and tired of the conventional home loans from the banks and are desperately looking for alternate housing models.
The single most important thing for us is the AFFORDABILITY for our members in owning a house in cities on interest-free basis. Without compromising on the quality of construction and material, we ensure that our pricing is most affordable by any middle class salaried person. We cut cost on all corners and keep things as lean as possible. Our marketing cost is almost zero. The price of a flat in our project is at least 30% lesser than that in other projects. The other day i was doing some analysis of how our Halal Housing model is unique and different from that of the other conventional models. How the cost and other benefits are passed on to our members.
Halal Housing – Financial Model
The Halal Housing framework / model is based on the Islamic Finance called Istisna or the participatory financing model where in the funding party agrees to deliver a commodity or an asset at a per-determined future time at an agreed price. Though the Halal Housing model is Islamic finance, it does not mean that the communities other than Muslims shouldn’t get benefit out of it. It’s a universal model and it can benefit everyone irrespective of religion, caste or creed.
Currently i am being invited by a revered Father of a big church with 12,000 members in Bangalore to come and explain about the model. Many of my friends from other communities are very keen to invest in this model and own a decent living space. Apart from our projects in Bangalore, we are getting offer to implement similar projects in cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, etc. to execute similar projects. Slowly we are expanding to other cities and countries.
Halal Housing Investment options
Right now we have two project specific membership plans to own an apartment in a decent locality of Bangalore and other cities in the near future.
Premium Member – Invest 5 lakhs per month for 3-4 consecutive months and get a flat in the project at 50% of base price. For example the base price of the flat is 2800 per sq.ft, the premium member gets the flat at 1400 per sq. ft only. They come under the premium category as they invest the money upfront even before the project launch that helps us in doing the initial investments required for the project. In a way they do our seed funding. Hence they get 50% discount on the pricing as a token of gratitude for the trust they have vested on us. To put simply, the premium members get the flat at half its normal price.
Regular Member – Start investing 1.50 lakhs for first 5-6 months and then the normal EMI of 35-40K over a period of 4-5 years (48-60 EMI). For example the grand price of an apartment in the project is 28 lakhs. The member pays 1.50 lakhs for first 6 months and the balance as easy EMI of 39K in 48 months. In any project the ratio of these memberships are maintained at 30:70. The regular members also have a flexible payment options where in they can pay a higher initial amount and lesser EMI.
In both the options the member takes possession of the apartment as soon as the work is complete in less than 3 years. Apart from the base price there will be some other costs that the members has to pay to the government like Water, Electricity, Amenities, Maintenance, Registration, Premium Charges, Taxes, Parking, Legal, Kaata Charges, etc., independent of his / her membership type.
Next Steps for a Better Future
By God’s Grace we are already in the verge of launching our subsequent projects. The work for our third project Cocoville is going on in full swing. The projects in cities other than Bangalore, we are already in talks with the land lords. If you are someone in your family circles is keen to be a member in any of our upcoming projects, please free to get in touch thru WhatsApp with brothers Arif (+91 9886 284605) or Ashraf (+91 9980 914348). You can also drop an email to halalhousing@gmail.com.
We are also looking for land lords who can offer their land for this noble cause of Halal Housing. The minimum land required is half an acre in tier 1 or tier 2 cities. We want to see Halal Housing become the default housing model in coming years. This is a generic framework that anyone can implement any part of the globe. I think slowly some big builders have started offering a small percentage of their inventory on non-interest based model.
By being part of this initiative you are not only going to own a decent living space but also going to be part of this Halal Housing mission. You will be part of the mission to create an interest free economy. May Almighty God Help us in our endeavors and help us to own a living space through lawful and accepted means. Not through the ways that will gain the divinely curse, Aameen. May we get immense blessing in our ongoing projects and the new ones that we will be launching very soon.
Your Friend and Brother,
Ahamed Hasan (Convener, Halal Housing. WhatsApp +91 9880 800 488)
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