After the pandemic made their plans for a dream wedding reception too unsafe, Kirsten and Justin Arce set out on saving for a new dream – buying a home.
“We originally weren’t super set on buying a home this year,” said Kirsten, a registered nurse at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center. “But the Landed down payment program was mentioned in a newsletter I got at work and we started talking about it. We just kind of stumbled into it.”
Kirsten and Justin outside their new home in San Jose, CA.
As first-time buyers, the newlyweds and San Jose natives weren’t sure of the homebuying process. Or, for that matter, Landed.
“We were definitely like, ‘That’s a lot of money for someone to just invest in us,’” Kirsten said of Landed’s down payment program, which helps essential professionals reach a 20% down payment. “So we were kind of hesitant, wondering, is this too good to be true?”
“But when we contacted Landed, everyone was really informative and great about explaining how the program works, and the expectations,” added Justin, who works as an operations coordinator for an event-planning company. “And our local agent told us about his experience with Landed; it all really comforted us and reassured us about Landed.”
Ready to buy, the couple then had to shop in a very hot San Francisco Bay Area real estate market.
Kirsten and Justin enjoying the outdoor space of their new home.
They made offers on nearly 20 homes before being successful. In some cases, they were simply outbid. In others, Landed’s property experts helped them steer clear of homes with problems that could be costly (such as structural damage).
“It was a rollercoaster,” Kirsten said. “But the feedback Landed gave on all the properties, how they carefully reviewed all the disclosures on the properties, we knew we had a whole review team looking out for us.”
Now they are enjoying their new home. It’s close to family, stores, and the freeway to Kirsten’s work.
And their favorite part of homeownership? That it’s all theirs.
“We always had roommates or lived with family. Now it’s just the two of us in our own space.” said Justin. “We love it.”
“I just really like that our house is a blank slate and we can totally make it our own,” Kirsten added. “ And I like that we are able to put down roots in the city we both grew up in. Knowing that we are going to grow here as adults, including financially, it’s all pretty amazing to us.”
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