Ameen Housing outside California and Texas

Ameen Housing Co-operative has helped Muslim families in California buy homes without a conventional mortgage since 1996, and it's one of the models that inspired Neeyah. According to its own FAQ, it buys homes only in California and Texas, for a family's first home used as their primary residence.

If you live in another state and you're looking for the same kind of approach, Neeyah co-owns homes with families in 24 states, including California and Texas.

What the two have in common

Both are built on shared ownership rather than a loan: you and the provider own the home together, and you buy more of it over time. Neither works like a conventional mortgage with an interest rate.

How co-owning with Neeyah works

1. You choose the home, and we buy it together. You put in at least 20%, and our investors fund the rest. Both names go on the title.
2. You pay rent only on our share, based on the market.
3. You buy more over time, at the home's market value, and your rent goes down as your share goes up.
4. Once you own 100%, there's no more rent.

We share property tax, insurance and major repairs by ownership. If the home loses value, our share does too. There are no late fees, no foreclosure, and the home is never sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America ruled our model permissible, not just "permissible in need" (about the fatwa).

Where we co-own homes

Texas, New Jersey, Washington, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Maryland, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona, Ohio, Georgia, Oklahoma, Virginia, Iowa, South Dakota, South Carolina, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

We focus on a set of priority markets, and we're expanding into as many others as we can. If your state isn't on the list yet, join the waitlist anyway.