At the heart of the Declining Balance, Co-ownership Program is a distinctive partnership that allows customers to purchase a home in a Sharia-compliant manner. The first step that the customer takes on this path to homeownership is to bring in Guidance as a co-owner in a home. This partnership is established by the use of a Co-ownership Agreement rather than conventional loan documentation. The rights and responsibilities of both parties while they own the home together are spelled out in the Co-ownership Agreement. The customer and Guidance are co-owners who own specific shares in the home. Guidance acquires its co-ownership stake through a Limited Liability Company (or ‘LLC’) specifically created for this purpose. In the case of a home purchase, a customer finds a home that is priced to sell, for example, at $100,000. The customer can place 5% (or $5,000) into the transaction, while Guidance provides the remaining 95% (or $95,000). The customer is 5% owner; Guidance is 95% owner. If replacing an existing mortgage, an appraisal will be done to determine the value of the home. For example, a home is appraised at $100,000 and has an existing mortgage with a balance of $70,000. Guidance would pay off the mortgage balance. Since the home was appraised at $100,000, Guidance would now be 70% owner of the home. If the customer requests the cash-out option in this example, Guidance could provide an additional $20,000 of financing by increasing its ownership in the property to 90%. Guidance may introduce other investors to take a co-ownership stake in the property. In doing so, Guidance’s objective is to continue to service its customers’ needs to their satisfaction and to ensure that investors will always be bound by their rights and obligations as co-owners in the property.