In a statement yesterday, the group head,
corporate communications of FMBN, Lawal Isa Sauri, stated that the product was
approved by its board of directors to enable Nigerians own their homes using a
mortgage plan without an interest-bearing transaction.
The statement reads in part: “The product’s
financing structure is based on the non-interest financing contract of Ijarah
Muntahia Bitamleek (lease-to-own). Under this arrangement, FMBN retains
ownership of the property until the financing term ends or at any time during
the lease period that the beneficiary wishes to purchase the property.
“The product uses a rent-to-own model that
allows beneficiaries to move into FMBN and non-FMBN funded homes and
conveniently pay towards full ownership using monthly/quarterly or annual rentals.”
It added that the product was to eliminate
the challenges that eligible Nigerians who wanted to own their homes through
the National Housing Fund (NHF) faced because of the interest-based nature of
the bank’s existing housing products.
It, however, noted that the product would
only be available to Nigerians who were contributors to NHF, stressing that it
covered both FMBN and non-FMBN funded properties with a maximum price of N15m.