Alexandra and Trevor Crouse admit they were skeptical at first.
Did partnering with Landed on a down payment make sense? Was it too good to be true?
“We were hesitant about sharing the home’s appreciation,” said Alexandra, noting how when Landed adds to your down payment -- essentially co-investing -- it shares in any gains or losses. “Then we did the math.”
The Portland couple quickly found they’d save thousands by having a stable mortgage payment as opposed to paying costly, annual rent increases. And because Landed would help them reach a 20% down payment, they wouldn’t need mortgage insurance -- an additional savings of thousands each year.
Plus, if their home dropped in value, Landed would share in the loss.
Alexandra, a first-grade teacher at Wilkes Elementary in Portland’s Reynolds School District, said after seeing the monthly savings and increased financial security, it was an easy decision to work with Landed on finding a home in Portland’s hot housing market.
The couple hoped to live in the community where Alexandra teaches while also staying close to Trevor’s office at UPS.
In June 2020, they closed on a tri-level house that checked both boxes.
“It’s been really nice because I live just five minutes from my school,” said Alexandra. “It’s a short commute and I can come home for lunch if I want. It’s also made it so I live in the same neighborhood as my students...so I really feel like I’m part of the community.”
“A big part of it for us is being able to root here,” she added. “We’re from California and we moved here five years ago -- we came up here for school -- and it was kind of always in the back of our head, “Are we going to move back? Are we going to go back home?” And now it’s just really solidified, this is our home, this is where we’re going to root.”
The Crouses say they encourage people to check out Landed to see if they qualify. And not just for the down payment program, but also because Landed builds a team that guides you and removes obstacles and stress. The Crouses, for example, got hooked up with a great realtor by Landed.
“It felt like we could kind of take a backseat in a way,” Alexandra said. “As first-time homebuyers, it’s like you don’t really know the steps or the process...but none of it was stressful.”
Since closing on their new home, they have been working hard to personalize and update it. They’ve pulled up carpet, spent days refinishing floors, and covered all the walls with fresh paint. Add in outdoor landscaping, and their sweat equity is already adding up. Alexandra says they already feel at home.
“This is my happy place.”
