It was a dream of San Francisco native Laura Garcia Castro and her husband to buy a home together for their family. But after he passed away unexpectedly in 2017, Laura set the dream aside.
Then, in November 2019, the second-grade teacher at San Francisco Unified School District heard about Landed from a former principal. After realizing that Landed’s down payment program could be just what she needed to afford a home in the South San Francisco neighborhood where her three teen-aged children attend school, she reached out.
She found a supportive group who answered her questions and respected her time.
“Edward (a Landed Partner agent) was great about meeting and texting and even came to my classroom,” said Laura, who has been teaching for 25 years. “Everyone obviously knew I was a teacher, so I was limited to when I could respond to things. I appreciated that. It worked because they worked around my schedule.”
She also was thrilled that Landed connected her with other home buying experts.
“I really valued that Landed put me in touch with a great support team, a great mortgage broker -- all an extension of Landed,” Laura added. “I didn’t have anyone to bounce stuff off of because I didn’t have my husband. And they didn’t make me feel stupid, they made it really easy for me.”
Today, Laura and her children are settled into their three-bedroom, two-bath condo in a neighborhood they know and love. And she’s grateful that Landed was there to partner with her as she made the most important financial decision of her life.
“Landed has faith in teachers -- they believe we are worthy of supporting and helping.”
