When Sureshi Jayawardene and Robbie Miller relocated from Chicago to San Diego in 2018, they started aggressively saving for a home for their family.
“When we moved to San Diego, we moved straight to the campus into a free apartment,” says Sureshi, an Africana social scientist and professor at San Diego State University. “We just put aside money as if we were paying rent, and kept watching the real estate market from a distance.”
Problem was, home prices kept rising and they could only save so much.
“After a year we looked at our budget and our savings,” Sureshi said. “We realized we needed to save more.”
Sureshi, Robbie, their son Tesla, and daughter Zola outside their new home in San Diego, CA.
It was the same story the next year, and the next – they saved more and housing prices grew more. Earlier this year they were faced with a decision: buy a home they didn’t love with a smaller down payment or partner with Landed to reach a 20% down payment.
“There was a moment in time when we weren’t going to work with Landed because we thought we had saved enough,” Sureshi said. “But the house that we now proudly own and love was more, and at that price point we used Landed’s down payment program.”
While they came to Landed fairly late in their home buying journey, they immediately found the partnership gave them a whole team of experts.
“One of the best parts of working with Landed were the partners – our real estate agent, lender,” Sureshi said. “Landed changed the way we approached the housing market. The advice we received was a really valuable part of the experience.”
The family appreciates having plenty of play space for their toddler, Zola.
Robbie, who works as a senior manager of talent acquisition at a biotech company, said the couple also liked how their Landed team provided other help.
“The resources, like the property report, were very helpful,” he said. “The way the process was laid out was great because it creates this linear timeline for you to better understand what your buying process is going to be, and the right resources were introduced at the right time.”
“It’s a very unique experience in that you have Landed offering all these resources. And all of the checks at the end of the process help make sure that all the ducks are in a row.”
And their new home? It’s perfect, they say. It’s close to Sureshi’s work (Robbie works from home) and to a great high school for their 14-year-old son, Tesla. And the five-bedroom, three-bath home has plenty of play space for their toddler daughter, Zola.
“We love it, it’s comfortable and safe with plenty of space for our family,” Sureshi said. “We are very happy.”
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