Abdullatif Al Shelash has an extensive background in financial management and real estate development. As a board member of Saudi Home Loans, he’s right at home with the popular home mortgage brand that’s helped make financing a residence a reality for so many Saudi citizens.
What keeps Saudi Home Loans at the top of the heap? Customer service, innovation, and constantly striving to deliver the best product possible.
As a father himself, Sheikh Abdullatif Al Shelash understands the importance of home ownership, especially for future generations. By the end of 2030, Al Arabiya news reports that home ownership in Saudi Arabia is slated to rise to 70%.
In addition to winning honors such as Best Real Estate Finance Company in Saudi Arabia at the Arabian Enterprise Awards, Saudi Home Loans has gotten its fair share of five-star Google reviews.
“I prefer them to the banks for the following reasons: 100% Sharia financing, [they] quickly respond and they have a guarantee on the home in the event of disability or death, and flexible installment [plans] in retirement,” Kaleed Abduliziz wrote.
A Saudi Home Loans client who refers to themself as “The Boss” also gave the company a glowing review stating they were treated with professionalism and courtesy when dealing with the company.
“My circumstance from the beginning didn’t instill much confidence on either side for securing a positive outcome to my home loan request,” they explained. “Nonetheless, the representative handling my case went above and beyond to secure my financial interests.”
Although this particular client says their circumstances would not allow SHL to qualify them, SHL’s representative offered them information on ways to increase their odds and apply again at a later date.
Other accolades from reviewers who have dealt with Saudi Home Loans included remarks on facilitating contracts with speed and accuracy and offering a high level of customer service.
In 2021, SHL indicated in its 2021 report that it continues to focus on developing its front-line employees’ familiarity with the company’s services through training programs, and working to seamlessly connect its customer services management system with client requests or concerns with a monitoring and follow-up plan.
Saudi Home Loans Keeps Eye on Progress
Customer service at Saudi Home Loans is of the utmost importance and it has its own department dedicated to helping clients, according to a 2021 annual board members report.
“It has become one of the leading companies in the field of Islamic funding for meeting the basic housing needs of clients in the Saudi market, as well as providing them with the most appropriate solution to finance their dream houses in compliance with the Islamic Sharia, as the Sharia supervisory board ensures that all products and services comply with the provisions and rules of the Islamic Sharia,” the report states.
Saudi Home Loans’ leadership says it’s been able to make a qualitative leap in terms of customer satisfaction as a supreme goal and it seeks to continue to provide its high-quality services with professionalism by relentlessly striving to serve the country for the benefit of society and the individual.
Saudi Home Loans, with Abdullatif Al Shelash as a board member, already has an 80.5% customer satisfaction rate, beating the 70% required by the Central Bank.
According to SHL’s 2021 annual report, six new products were developed last year and the product development management team worked on following the latest scientific standards through continuous research and study of the real estate market, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses between competitors, and identifying the needs of customers and target segments.
The report adds that SHL experienced a 25% increase in 2021 sales compared to the previous year. Like many companies, SHL had to figure out how to navigate uncharted waters during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, SHL says the company has worked on precautionary plans and strategies to ensure the continuity of work based within the brand. Company leadership says they also restructured several SHL departments to expand its scope of business and developed new relationships with relevant entities.
Sheikh Abdullatif Al Shelash Working With SHL Board on Key Strategies
Sheikh Abdullatif Al Shelash and the rest of the Saudi Home Loans board members aim to keep the brand’s management team hyperfocused on optimal performance.
Saudi Home Loans also maintains a social media presence on Instagram, YouTube, and other prime platforms to stay connected with its customers. The business worked on its efficiency throughout 2021 by reducing the standard time of application approvals from 24 hours to two hours, according to its annual board member report.
Founded in 2008, SHL was a game changer for the home finance field in Saudi Arabia.
“During that time, even the World Bank was very much interested in promoting home ownership and home financing in Saudi,” Abdullatif Al Shelash says. “The brand of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, took a share in the company, Saudi Home Loans, and they also financed the company to provide these loans. I was instrumental in working with bringing IFC to this company and having the IFC supporting home loans and home ownership in Saudi.”
Abdullatif Al Shelash, who studied leadership and supervision at Purdue University in Indiana, says he continues to work with SHL’s board members to ensure a strong future for the Saudi home financing enterprise.
According to Abdullatif Al Shelash, Saudi Home Loans not only improved urbanization in Saudi Arabia, but the company also helped so many people acquire their first homes.
“[Saudi Home Loans] can give you a mortgage over 15, 20, or 25 years, and you can actually go and live in your home today,” Sheikh Abdullatif Al Shelash says. “This was [among] the first companies to promote home finance. So this changed the concept and the minds of people [now thinking]: ‘I don’t need to wait.’”