also offers Islamic financing (e.g. no riba).
Islam prohibits riba.
"The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) cursed the one who consumes riba, the one who gives it, the one
who writes it down and the ones who witness it. He said: 'They are
all the same.'" (Reported by Muslim in his Saheeh, 2995)
Other (not necessarily Muslim owned) websites of possible interest
Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 41, Number 5218:
Narrated Anas ibn Malik:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) came out, and on seeing a high-domed building, he said: What is it?
His companions replied to him: It belongs to so and so, one of the Ansar.
He said: he said nothing but kept the matter in mind. When its owner came and gave him a greeting among the people, he turned away from him. When he had done this several times, the man realised that he was the cause of the anger and the rebuff.
So he complained about it to his companions, saying: I swear by Allah that I cannot understand the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him).
They said: He went out and saw your domed building. So the man returned to it and demolished it, levelling it to the ground. One day the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) came out and did not see it.
He asked: What has happened to the domed building?
They replied: Its owner complained to us about your rebuff, and when we informed him about it, he demolished it.
He said: Every building is a misfortune for its owner, except what cannot, except what cannot, meaning except what cannot be done without.
Islamicwell Note: This shows it is fine to build to meet one's needs but it is discouraged to spend extravagantly on a house, beyond one's needs. Also be careful on earmarking a disportionate % of your current/future expected income least your lifestyle becomes a slave to your expenses.
Tips on saving $$ with a smaller living space at http://www.stretcher.com/stories/970929b.cfm
Five, Quick Cheap Ways to put a roof over your head (e.g. temporary ideas for sudden events like divorce, injury, between jobs, etc.) http://www.stretcher.com/stories/02/02jun03c.cfm
Home
Home Prices Help Zillow.com (cool)
Moving Help Calculators
Home Prices Lookup -- useful tool for the buyer (e.g. negotiations) and seller (setting prices)
Crime Statistics
for where you want to move to
Salary Calculator for
equivalent buying power in different areas
General home-buying resources website. You can find crime rates (do search on "crime"), educational info, etc. for the neighborhood
Mosque and Islamic schools listing
Muslim neighborhoods
You can also ,for example, search on specific county information for New York (http://www.nysar.com/), New Jersey (http://www.njar.com/) and
connecticut (http://www.cerc.com/detpages/resources373.html or http://www.youbelonginct.com/ or http://www.cpec.org/).
If you earn less than 80% of the median income in your county, check with the
county government about affordable housing agencies. If you live in a
wealthy county, the cutoff levels may be quite generous.
Statistical Abstract of the US by census dept. (http://www.census.gov/statab/www/)
Interest free (e.g. Islamic) loans at Lariba & MSIFinancial
insurance Insurance
and Islam: one perspective
classified
takaful
hometime videos shows on TLC (Start with...)
Car
Buying a used car
Prices of used cars: Edmunds
, Kelly Blue Book
New car prices consumer reports
Car Buying Guides
MSN's auto section
Check out "repair insurance" also available at www.aaa.com if you get a used car. e.g. https://www.aaamidatlantic.com/automotive/mmbp_new/index.asp?code= for online quote example.
For car insurance don't forget to check with your state's insurance department since they carry useful price and size/complaint comparison information. For exmaple, see New Jersey's Department of Banking and insurance at http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/ if you live in NJ. Of course, check with friends, too.
Car – list of items, AAA (www.aaa.com)
,cell phone, Available from Member’s Marketplace Catalog (see www.aaa.com)
To receive a catalog, call 800/ 631-4222 or 800/ 350-2228. large rearview
mirror, beeping backup, blind spot mirror streetatlas & gps (I have a
Garmin GPS 12 I’m very happy with), mapquest,
islamic-finance.net has a list of what it believes are Islamically compliant financial companies click here for list
Other companies you may wish to independently investigate yourself include the following: Islamic Cooperative Housing Corp. Canada , Ansar Housing Cooperation Manchester, England, Qurtuba Housing Coop Montereal, ICHC St Louis, MO (314) 432-6807, Amin Housing Coop San Francisco. HSBC slated to introduce some products in November for New York (check for U.K.). Also check out guidancefinancialgroup.com starting with some products in Virginia and Maryland and hoping to roll out across the nation. Also investigate www.shapefinancial.com (SAMAD) and www.almusharika.com.
If you insist on buying your car from a dealer at least wait till the dealer offers 0% financing. They offer it now and then during the year. If you cannot fully afford a new car consider a second hand car. Companies like carmax.com have offered pre-inspected cars have backed them up by offering extended warranties on them in the past.