Hello everyone … Regarding my question above, I emailed ROOTS and they replied back with some details, unfortunately, even though most of their income comes from rent, they utilize traditional forms of financing and debt as part of their real estate investment strategy, they use leverage and part of their income is based on interests, they even estimate the interest-based income to pass 30% of the total income, making it non-Shariah compliant … I was very pleased by their professionality and honesty, they did replied fast and were very informative and cooperative, I really wish that one day we can find a sharia-compliant investment with those guys … For now, it doesn’t look like we can …
I will post here below the series of emails between me and Roots team to keep as a reference for anyone who’s interested in exploring this company here at Zoya, until better options are available with them:
On October 20, 2025 at 6:39:56 PM UTC, :
Hello,
I’m a new investor trying to start my business with your company by owning some REITs share with you…
However, due to some religious beliefs, I can’t accept profit from businesses that are reliant on interests (usury) in their profits … So , I’m writing to you to ask you, will the expected profit from your shares contain any money coming from interests or (Interest-bearing debt) profit style?
Or would it only be profits coming from renters’ payments and real estate’s properties increase in value money? …
And if there’s any ratio of interests in your expected profits, due to modern day banking system involvement in our everyday business activities, how much would it be from the total profit? In percentage?
I’d really appreciate if you can answer my question above, knowing how much percent of your total profit share is coming from interests or if there’s any interests ratio at all, will help me make my decisions in investing in your company…
Regards,
Hisham Attia
From: Invest with Roots [email protected]
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2025 3:11 PM
Subject: [Invest with Roots] Re: Question about profits from Roots
Hi Hisham,
Thank you so much for reaching out, and we truly appreciate your thoughtful question and interest in investing with Roots.
We completely understand and respect the importance of your inquiry. While the majority of Roots’ returns come from rental income and property appreciation, our fund does utilize traditional forms of financing and debt as part of our real estate investment strategy. Because of this, we’ve been advised that Roots does not fully meet the specific religious investment requirements you’re referring to.
We’re very intentional about how we use leverage and remain conservative in our approach to debt — it’s used responsibly to help us acquire and manage high-quality properties. However, since the fund’s overall returns are influenced by this financing, we wouldn’t be able to certify that all profits are free from interest-based sources.
We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to ask before investing and completely understand your position. Please let us know if you have any other questions, and we will gladly assist you.
Warm regards,
Investor Experience Team
[email protected]
On October 21, 2025 at 12:14:55 PM UTC, :
Good morning,
First, let express my gratitude for your fast and informative reply and answer to my question yesterday … I’m impressed by your level of customer care and how you care about your investors, even the small ones like me … It makes me want to invest with you even more.
Second, yes please, I have another question … As a part of practicality of my religion, we understand that when we deal with foreign businesses like yours , they might have a percentage of interest-generated income, especially with modern days banking systems… So, the good news is, we can accept a limited percentage with the maximum of 30% of the income coming from interest-bearing debt in some situations …
And while I understand it’s hard to calculate the exact ratio, due to the continuous changing in numbers and financial details, but if you can provide me with an estimated range of how much interest-bearing debt is estimated in the income your investors usually receive, this would be a great help … Does your profit contain more than 30% interest-bearing debt ? And how much would you estimate the interest-bearing debt income in your profit share? At least for this quarter? Cause If I’m to join you, I will need to give away this interest-bearing debt percentage of my profit for charities as a way to redeem my participation in usuary.
Thank you in advance,
Hisham
From: Invest with Roots [email protected]
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2025 4:10 PM
Subject: [Invest with Roots] Re: Question about profits from Roots
Hi Hisham,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful follow-up and for the kind words. We truly appreciate your engagement and the care you’re taking to align your investments with your values.
All publicly available information about our financials, including details about our fund structure and debt utilization, can be found directly through our filings on the SEC’s website here: www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=0001866803
That’s the best place to review official disclosures if you’d like to take a deeper look into how Roots operates.
That said, our Offering Circular gives us the ability to use leverage at our discretion, and the extent to which we do so can change over time as we acquire, manage, or refinance properties.
Because of that flexibility, it’s possible that the fund’s financing levels could exceed the 30% threshold you mentioned — and we’d never want to put you in a position that might conflict with your religious investment requirements.
We genuinely appreciate your interest in Roots and the thoughtful consideration you’ve shown throughout this conversation. If this aspect is a determining factor for your decision, we completely understand and would not recommend Roots as an investment opportunity in that case.
Please don’t hesitate to reach back out if you have any other questions or if there’s anything else we can clarify.
Warm regards,
Investor Experience Team
[email protected]