57Tbird Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 This is an interesting article in this week's Sports Illustrated about Hakeem. It's more real estate than sports related, so I thought it better to place in this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 can anyone provide some examples of architectural/real estate type things Hakeem has been a part of in Houston? (less the West mansion purchase/sell...).Infused with a passion for architecture and guided by his Islamic faith, the Hall of Fame center has scored big as Houston's most distinctive real estate magnateOlajuwon only buys and sells; he doesn't develop. That may seem odd given his love of architecture, but to be a developer he'd need a line of credit, which again would go against the Koran. Still, his design sense gives him an advantage. When it's time to resell a property, he'll invest thousands of dollars to commission renderings of possible uses, to help a buyer see the potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Wow, that is a pretty neat article. I am still trying to understand how he puts down only cash? Wouldn't the rest still be 'financed' by someone? Or do the sellers accept the down and then self-finance the payments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 As much as I love Hakeem, I don't love his buy/sell method of operation. It's good for Hakeem, but not good for Hoston.But this is America, (and Houston), so go for it! Try doing the same in Lagos or Amman.Hakeem in Houston:http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/realesta...nyt&emc=rss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 But isn't that the whole culture right now ... buy/sell...? I mean, that is what everyone was doing. Buying, waiting for it to appreciate a little and then selling it for more than they paid.Seems to have slowed down a little lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 It's one thing to flip after making a few improvments, and another to just sit and wait. It is a bit odd that Allah is cool with buying low and selling high, but has a problem with credit. Especially when you think about the infidels who contribute to the appreciation surrounding property. Appreciation all the result of evil, evil credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 can anyone provide some examples of architectural/real estate type things Hakeem has been a part of in Houston? (less the West mansion purchase/sell...).i know he did the dawah center in the old bank at main and franklin (same block as icon) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57Tbird Posted July 2, 2007 Author Share Posted July 2, 2007 It is a bit odd that Allah is cool with buying low and selling high, but has a problem with credit.Ah-men! er..uh.. Amen!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 He owned the land and old moving company on Kirby near US 59 that is now home to a Walgreens/CVS/Chick-fil-A/random crap.He also owns the old West Mansion, he might still own (not sure if he flipped it already) the old Federal Reserve, but I'd have to google to see what else he's been involved with...I used to see him crusing around Houston in a big, white Mercedes with personalized plates that simply stated "Allah" in the mid 90s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 It's one thing to flip after making a few improvments, and another to just sit and wait. It is a bit odd that Allah is cool with buying low and selling high, but has a problem with credit. Especially when you think about the infidels who contribute to the appreciation surrounding property. Appreciation all the result of evil, evil credit.Personally I think it is brilliant to sell high after doing nothing. People do it all the time.I do agree with you on the credit stuff. Could someone please explain it in layman terms? I mean, why Allah does not allow (or frowns upon) credit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipper Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Personally I think it is brilliant to sell high after doing nothing. People do it all the time.I do agree with you on the credit stuff. Could someone please explain it in layman terms? I mean, why Allah does not allow (or frowns upon) credit? Christianity also frowns upon on borrowing. In Proverbs 22 it says that the "borrower is slave to the lender". (yes I know most church's borrow money) So it's not just the Muslim faith. Obviously I don't have an objective opinion on flipping real estate, so I'll refrain from commenting to all the haters flipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Christianity also frowns upon on borrowing. In Proverbs 22 it says that the "borrower is slave to the lender". (yes I know most church's borrow money) So it's not just the Muslim faith.How is buying low and selling high the same as borrowing? One does not have to borrow money to buy and resell real estate, especially when you have a lot of cash to start with, as Olajuwon did from his NBA millions. There is no teaching in Christianity, Judaism, or Islam that forbids making a profit on investments. Even Jesus taught that doing it wisely is a virtue. In the parable of the servants given the gold talents, Jesus had heaped high praise on the servant who was given five talents and used it to double the investment. Jesus then heaped scorn on the servant who hid his one talent out of fear it would be stolen. "Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents."All religions frown on greed and the pursuit of wealth for its own sake at the expense of others. "The love of money is the root of all evil." But the wise and benevolent use of wealth is praise-worthy. I think Hakeem has done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 It would be cool to see Hakemm give something back to Houston. Liike the old guys who built this city back in the day. Maybe he does but I have missed it. Granted he did give Houston two NBA Championships and two NCAA near misses. We had a Muslim coworker in London who use a scheme that does allow them to finance a house. But technically it's not financing. And who's hating on flippers? But there does seem to be two kind of flippers: the sitter/flippers and the fixer/flippers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Christianity also frowns upon on borrowing. In Proverbs 22 it says that the "borrower is slave to the lender". (yes I know most church's borrow money) So it's not just the Muslim faith.Buying low and selling high is one thing. Borrowing to do it is another thing. One does not have to borrow money to buy and resell real estate, especially when you have a lot of cash to start with, as Olajuwon did from his NBA millions. There is no teaching in Christianity, Judaism, or Islam that forbids making a profit on investments. Even Jesus taught that doing it wisely is a virtue. In the parable of the servants given the gold talents, Jesus heaped high praise on the servant who was given five talents and used it to double the investment. Jesus then heaped scorn on the servant who hid his one talent out of fear it would be stolen. "Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents."All religions frown on greed and the pursuit of wealth for its own sake at the expense of others. "The love of money is the root of all evil." But the wise and benevolent use of wealth is praise-worthy. I think Hakeem has done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 You can't argue that Hakeem still benefits from other's line of credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 You can't argue that Hakeem still benefits from other's line of credit.Are you saying it's wrong or morally questionable to accept payment from someone who borrowed the money to make the payment? Seems to me you're just looking for a reason to criticize Olajuwon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 the other tenet of Islamic finance is socially responsible investing (which is subjective, even when religion is applied).are all of Hakeem's investments "socially responsible?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 In a modern society, even if you don't use credit, you still benefit from it.On a related note, in Big D, you can charge your offering to the church. That's just oh-so Dallas.http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...ing.7903c9.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasta Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 It's unfortunate that Hakeem hasn't taken advantage of his opportunities to 'give back to Houston -the city or the University'. He's butted heads with the city many times over his land holding philosophies when he really could have helped make the city better. After all didn't this city provide him the opportunity to transform from a ocscure tall soccer player from Lagos to what he is today. I'm not saying he has to spend to build something for the city but some of his past maneuvers were really not helping the city. Its a free market and if that is what he really wants to do in his heart than we can't argue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 It's unfortunate that Hakeem hasn't taken advantage of his opportunities to 'give back to Houston -the city or the University'.Buying a large bank building in downtown Houston and turning it from a temple of Mammon into a place of worship and meditation for a fast growing segment of our population doesn't count? Besides, show me where it is written that people who succeed at something are required to "give back" to the city. Let us define "give back". Buying and selling important commercial real estate almost always results in improvements of the properties involved, higher property values, ergo increased local tax revenue. Is that not "giving back"?I think you can also make the case that Hakeem has already "given back" to the city by leading the Rockets to two straight NBA championships while he was still young enough and healthy enough to play. Whatever he "owed" the city for his success he more than repaid with those NBA title flags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasdiver Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 I do agree with you on the credit stuff. Could someone please explain it in layman terms? I mean, why Allah does not allow (or frowns upon) credit?---------------There is no teaching in Christianity, Judaism, or Islam that forbids making a profit on investments. Even Jesus taught that doing it wisely is a virtue. It's not just Islam. Christianity and most other religions have deep historic prohibitions against usury, which was defined as charging money for loans. Before the modern era and the advent of inflation it was seen as immoral. Basically it boils down to the idea that one shouldn't profit on the misfortunes of others. In biblical days one didn't take out mortgages or car loans. The only real purpose for loans in pastoral societies was to get people through really rough spots so they wouldn't starve. Things like that.For a great deal of good information on historical preachings against usury from the Bronze Age to the present, check out the wikipedia entry on the subject.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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