Obligation to Buy

It is acceptable to arrange to purchase a partner’s entire share at a predetermined price and on a predetermined payment schedule, in which case it becomes an obligation upon you, however that price must be the price on record and must not change with time. This is a type of installment plan and carries conditions similar to other Murabaha plans. Of course, the partner must observe all requirements, and at the time of sale is no longer entitled to receive any rental returns and is absolved from any rights or responsibilities to the property. since the relationship is no longer a partnership but is that of a buyer and seller.

If each partial share purchase is intended as an individual sale, then you cannot be obligated to continue to purchase, and your partner cannot be obligated to sell or to base each sale on a predetermined price. The price can fluctuate according to what is agreed to be fair and equitable at that time, and neither partner can be forced to buy or sell. When the sale occurs, ownership percentages (and their corresponding rights and responsibilities) change accordingly.

So, as a co-owner, you should never be obligated to buy from your partner while still maintaining a partnership relationship, and your partner should never be obligated to sell at a pre-determined price. If however, you mutually come to an agreement where the partner’s share is sold for a predetermined price and the payment is made in installments, the partnership is dissolved and both parties are obligated to the terms of sale.

Promise to Buy

So what about programs that make the home buyer “promise” to buy their share, and use it as basis to make the sale an obligation, but still want to retain their right to collect "rental" without carrying any responsible for the property? If the promise were indeed a true obligation upon the home buyer, in which case it would be a sale with a set price, then the financier would have no claim to any rental return or benefit from the property. If the property still partially belongs to the financier, then they are obligated to the rights and responsibilities of an owner and cannot force a sale upon the home buyer.