My frustrating experience with Manzil.ca: missed closing, two extensions, family in a hotel, and now scrambling for a TD mortgage

Assalamu alaikum everyone. I’m sharing this publicly because today is August 31, the final day of our second closing extension, and Manzil still hasn’t funded our mortgage. Nothing’s been sorted. I’m now leaving Manzil and trying to get an emergency conventional mortgage through TD to save the purchase. Everything below is backed by emails, invoices, trust ledgers, and other records I’ve kept. I’m naming the relevant Manzil employees because this is just my real experience. The Manzil people involved: * Faraz Islam * Fahad Saadat, Mortgage Agent * Mustafa Elkalza, CFO u/MustafaElkalza * Ahmed Sajath, Underwriter We bought a home in Oakville for $1,485,000. Manzil’s financing was about $1.185 million, with an agreed closing date of August 18, 2026. **Before closing** We started the financing process well ahead. The appraisal was requested in early July and paid right away. On July 22 and 23, Faraz Islam gave us the financing options and clearly mentioned the closing date as August 18. On August 7, Faraz sent the commitment letter and payment schedule. I checked it and found some errors and inconsistencies, like: * An acceptance deadline that had already passed before the letter was sent * Confusing wording and formulas for early-termination calculations * An unresolved “\[one month\]” placeholder * Ambiguity about cure periods and prepayment rights Faraz said the expired date was a typo, the brackets could be ignored, and all conditions-appraisal, inspection, credit, title-were satisfied. We signed everything and did every step. When Manzil’s Plaid identity-verification system kept failing, we kept trying until another method worked. We also provided the insurance. On August 14, we were told to send $259,537.80 for closing. This covered the rest of our down payment, adjustments, admin charges, and legal costs. We deposited the full amount that day and gave proof right away. Same day, I warned everyone in writing: >“We have moving scheduled on the 18th afternoon, and a tenant will take over our current home on the 19th, so we can’t have any delays otherwise we won’t have a place to go.” Manzil knew four days before closing that a missed closing would leave my wife, young daughter, and me without a home. **August 18: closing failed** Our movers were set for 2 p.m. on August 18. Everything we owned was packed. We weren’t told until 6:34 p.m.-after the normal closing day was basically over-that the closing wouldn’t happen and an extension was being negotiated. We had already handed over our previous home for a new tenant. Our stuff went into storage. My wife and young daughter had to go to a hotel. I had to travel to the United States for work while they stayed displaced. Since our clothes, medicine, and basics were packed, my family had to buy clothes, food, and other essentials. We also had to get emergency prescriptions because our meds were inaccessible. This wasn’t just a small scheduling issue. Manzil’s failure to fund left my family practically homeless after we’d deposited over $259,000 and done everything asked. **The communication after was awful** After the failed closing, calls often went to voicemail, emails weren’t answered, and no one at Manzil seemed to take responsibility or give a clear explanation and a solid funding date. I want to be fair to Faraz Islam. During some of this time, Faraz was dealing with a family emergency, so I don’t blame him for being unavailable then. When he did respond, he said Manzil would cover our expenses and later okayed extra reimbursement. But that doesn’t excuse Manzil as a company. A business handling a $1.185 million, time-sensitive mortgage can’t rely on just one person. Mustafa Elkalza and others copied on these messages knew my wife and young daughter were stuck in a hotel, our belongings in storage, and our costs piling up. Their lack of ownership, urgency, and decent communication was shameful. On August 20, I emailed for an update on reimbursements and attached our hotel and storage receipts. After no reply most of the day, I sent another email showing my frustration at being ignored. Faraz finally replied on August 21: >“As we talked on the phone, we’ll cover this cost and reimburse you the full amount, Insha’Allah.” We were then told that $7,541.14 for hotel and storage costs had been wired. By August 25, the money hadn’t reached my account. On August 26, I contacted CIBC myself. They said they had no record of the transfer and nothing was being held. Meanwhile, our expenses kept growing. By August 29, I had documented more than $13,600 in hotel, moving, storage, meals, clothes, groceries, and medication costs. Another $6,095.66 was still unpaid after the initial reimbursement. On August 31, Faraz agreed to deduct the extra $6,095.66 from Manzil’s admin fee. That okay doesn’t change that these costs only came up because Manzil didn’t close. **“Logistical difficulties” and moving deadlines** On August 25-one week after the original closing-Fahad Saadat finally sent a formal “Funding Update.” He explained: >“Unfortunately, we are having some logistical difficulties that are stopping us from completing the funding now.” He said funding would need to be pushed to Friday, “or Monday at the latest.” Fahad copied Manzil’s finance team, including CFO Mustafa Elkalza, supposedly for “full transparency and visibility.” That email didn’t explain: * What the “logistical difficulties” really were * Why Manzil promised an August 18 closing if the money wasn’t ready * Why we weren’t warned before depositing $259,537.80 and packing up * Why we were only told after business hours on closing day * Why Friday and then “Monday at the latest” passed without funding I emailed Mustafa directly on August 26 and laid out everything: the missed closing, my wife and daughter in a hotel, our stuff in storage, emergency prescriptions, growing expenses, and the missed reimbursement. I got no real response from Mustafa addressing any of it. We’ve now gone through two extensions. Manzil put down an extra $20,000 deposit on August 19 as part of the extension, according to the trust ledger and written confirmation. But adding another deposit didn’t lead to the promised mortgage funding. Today is August 31, the last day of the second extension. The mortgage still isn’t funded. **We’re trying to rescue the purchase ourselves** Today, I started working with a TD Mobile Mortgage Specialist to get emergency financing. TD asked for my employment history, address history, assets, tax slips, pay statements, and closing documents. I sent everything in about an hour. I’m now trying to get a conventional mortgage on an emergency basis because Manzil failed to give the financing they promised. **Why I think this is borderline fraudulent** I’m not saying a court has found Manzil guilty of fraud. That hasn’t happened, and legal action might follow. But from my view, this feels really close: * Manzil promised to fund an August 18 purchase. * Faraz said in writing that appraisal, inspection, credit, and title conditions were done. * We signed everything asked. * We deposited $259,537.80 four days before closing. * We clearly warned them a delay would leave our family without housing. * We weren’t told the closing failed until after 6:30 p.m. on closing day. * Then we got vague “logistical difficulties” and deadlines that kept moving. * Friday passed. * “Monday at the latest” came without funding. * Today, on the last day of the second extension, we’re arranging emergency financing on our own. Manzil markets to Muslims looking for an alternative to regular interest-based mortgages. We trusted the company would act with amanah, honesty, and openness. Instead, after paying big Manzil admin and financing fees, my family was left in a hotel while our belongings sat in storage, and I spent almost two weeks chasing people for simple answers. I’m posting this so other families know the risk before trusting Manzil with a time-sensitive home closing. I’ve kept all email history, trust ledgers, signed agreements, wire records, hotel invoices, storage invoices, receipts, and extension documents. If Manzil disputes any factual point above, I can show the records. At the time of posting: * The original August 18 closing still hasn’t happened. * The second extension ends today, August 31. * Manzil hasn’t funded the mortgage. * Our family is still displaced. * I’m seeking emergency financing from TD. * I expect the financial losses and behavior to become part of a legal dispute. Please make dua for us, and may Allah protect everyone from such trials.