Islamic Mortgage Solicitors Essex

Islamic finance mortgages are structured to comply with Sharia principles and do not charge interest in the traditional sense. Instead, they use alternative arrangements such as shared ownership or leasing structures. Because these differ legally from standard mortgages, specialist legal advice is important to understand how the arrangement works in practice.

Islamic mortgages use different legal structures to reflect Sharia-compliant principles. This can affect ownership arrangements, documentation and long-term obligations, which is why they require careful legal review.

Islamic mortgage lenders should be able to show they’ve received Sharia compliance guidance. Also check that they are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

These products can be more expensive than conventional mortgages because there are higher administrative costs and a smaller amount of lenders available in the marketplace.

Costs and fees are similar to a convention mortgage so will include:

• Legal costs
• Survey and valuation fees
• Stamp Duty Land Tax
• Insurance

Whilst there are fewer banks that provide alternative finance arrangements, the most common banks offering Islamic mortgages are:

• • StrideUp

• • Ahli United Bank

• • Gatehouse Bank

• • Al-Rayan Bank

• • StrideUp

There are many benefits to using Islamic finance as an alternative finance arrangement  such as:

• Islamic finance does not compound late payment fees or prepayment fees. They aim to keep the entire process ‘Islamic compliant’ and therefore will not add on late payment fees like some conventional home loan providers do. Instead, they charge a fixed fee which covers late payment and does not serve as a means of profit. Conventional lenders sometimes charge a prepayment penalty to buyers who want to pay ahead of agreed timelines whilst Islamic finance providers do not.
• Islamic banks also share the risk with the buyer in the event of foreclosure. As the bank and the borrower work on a partnership model, Islamic banks do not receive more than the sale price of the house where a conventional lender will expect to be paid in full regardless of the price the home ultimately sells for.
• Islamic banks will only request you repay the value of the property at the time of purchase. They do not increase the repayment value of the property regardless of inflation or the rise in house prices.

Costs and expenses can vary depending on the client’s circumstances. To be provided with a tailor-made estimate please complete the estimate calculator.

In the vast majority of cases, we will be able to act on behalf of your existing mortgage lender to repay your existing mortgage on the sale of a property and on behalf of your new mortgage lender in respect of the purchase of a property.

You can download our costs for conveyancing here.

The fee may vary depending on the agency/person who has referred the work to us and this fee may vary between £150 and £250.

Please be aware that although we charge a fixed fee, we do charge for abortive matters. However, we will only charge for the amount of work actually undertaken.