Shariah-Compliant Investment in Real Estate in the United States

This CLE course will provide an overview of Shari'ah-compliant investment, an asset-based investment system that is frequently, though imprecisely, known as Islamic finance.

Real estate presents an attractive target asset class for investors seeking to invest in accordance with Shari'ah, the code by which Islamic investors are guided in their investment decisions.

The presenters, experienced in advising Islamic investors and other parties to compliant transactions, will review the tenets which underlie Shari'ah and serve as the basis for the applicable investment structures. They will review several of the forms of contract which are used to implement these investments.

The panelists will discuss the role of Islamic jurists in structuring investments and the diligence typically undertaken to assure compliance with the tenets of Shari'ah, which include the absence of interest-based leverage and non-permitted activities at the investment property.

They will also review in depth the use of an ijara, a form of master lease, in a bifurcated structure by which some compliant investors participate in transactions involving conventional leverage. The presentation will review the matters of concern to the various parties to such investment structures, including the compliant investor, joint venture partners, and third-party lenders.

Listen as our authoritative panel discusses the principles and structuring features of Shari'ah-compliant real estate investment.