“I loved working with her! She never made me feel like I was asking stupid questions and she really helped me understand a complicated process.”
I wish that this quote had been directed toward me by one of my former students. Unfortunately, most middle school students aren’t known for giving lots of positive affirmation. Instead, this quote comes from a happy Landed customer reflecting on her experience with a Landed partner agent.
The Landed team works closely with partner real estate agents to provide wrap-around services to our homebuyers. To date, Landed customers have graded their partner agents with 96% satisfaction (an A grade!) based on a post-closing survey.
Are you a potential homebuyer who is curious about Landed partner agents? Or are you a real estate agent interested in joining the Landed agent network? Read on to learn more!
Why does Landed work with real estate agents?
Landed works with real estate agents for two main reasons:
It’s good for Landed.
Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post about Ten Things that Landed is Not. Point #3 was that the appreciation (or depreciation) of a home’s value is shared with Landed’s investment fund, which is distinct from Landed as a company. Landed itself does not make money from these real estate investments. So if Landed's down payment program is not designed to make a return from the homes, then how does Landed make money? So glad you asked. Landed makes money by sharing in a portion of real estate agents’ commissions at the time of sale.
Commission sharing is common in the real estate market, and Landed’s rates are comparable with other real estate referral services. Agents agree to share profits in exchange for leads, creating another win-win: both Landed and our partner agents stand to gain from helping a customer find a great home.
It’s good for Landed’s customers.
Profit sharing with real estate agents means customers will not pay an origination fee to access Landed’s funds, so long as their agent agrees to the Landed commission sharing agreement.
On top of enabling Landed’s support to be free, partnerships with real estate agents create additional value for Landed customers during their home search. By working together, the Landed team and real estate agents can provide a coordinated, seamless experience for homebuyers.
Why do real estate agents work with Landed?
There are many reasons why real estate agents want to work with Landed, and they’re mostly all about accessing Landed’s customers! Here are a few reasons:
1. Access to customers through referrals → A large part of being a real estate agent is finding customers. Landed makes this process easy by sending pre-approved Landed customers to our partner agents. As of July 2018, over 45,000 educators across California and Colorado are eligible to receive Landed down payment support – that’s a huge network of eligible customers that we’re happy to pass on to strong agents!
2. Access to customers who make their city a better place → Landed partner agents see the value of keeping our educators local, and are aligned with Landed’s mission. They want to be a part of keeping public servants local.
3. Access to customers with increased financial backing → In competitive markets, educators often struggle to access homes because they don’t have enough funds to win bids independently. However, with Landed, educators can double their down payment. To a real estate agent, Landed’s down payment support creates new buyers in the market who otherwise might not be able to purchase at all.
4. Access to customers with competitive offers → When submitting an offer on behalf of a client, real estate agents work hard to make sure that their customers stand out from the crowd. Landed customers naturally stand out: Landed provides a buyer support letter prior to every offer that agents can include in the offer package. This letter helps to set customers apart as educators who will carry on a legacy of public service in the local community by living in the seller’s home. Landed also follows up each offer by contacting the listing agent. Combined, these touches help set Landed customers apart in a competitive bidding situation.
How do real estate agents get into the Landed referral network?
There are two main pathways to becoming a Landed partner agent:
1. By invitation → What’s the profile we’re looking for?
- At least five years of experience as a real estate agent in the Landed region you’re hoping to serve.
- We believe that more experience in the real estate industry translates to stronger agents.
- Orientation toward exceptional homebuyer experience and commitment to homebuyer education and advocacy.
- We want to ensure our homebuyers are only matched with agents who are proven to deliver a high-quality homebuyer experience. To that end, we are looking for agents with proven results: exceptional customer recommendations and reviews.
- Technological fluency.
- We work to be as responsive to our homebuyers as possible. In order to do that, we rely on email, texting, and internal technology tools, and we need agents who are comfortable using those tools.
- Dedication and alignment with Landed’s values: Act with humility. Find what’s fair. Prioritize the human. Own your growth.
- Track record of working with a diverse customer base.
- We serve homebuyers from all different backgrounds. The families and individuals we work with have a wide spectrum of price points and degrees of homebuying experience. We are looking for agents who are just as excited and effective at working with first-time homebuyers as they are with third-time homebuyers.
2. By bringing Landed an eligible customer → If a real estate agent brings Landed an eligible customer, we’re happy to work with that agent and that first transaction as a trial to determine if the agent is a good fit. After closing a transaction with a new agent, the Landed team will invite strong agents to work with future Landed homebuyers in their region.
Are you a real estate agent interested in joining the Landed network? Introduce us to an eligible customer and we’ll kick off the process of bringing you into our network for referrals! Fill out our agent form here to contact us.
What makes a good Landed partner agent?
Landed partner agents are…
- Great communicators → There are a lot of moving pieces in a home purchase, and we like to stay in the loop. Good partner agents work as a team with Landed by sharing information and collaboratively supporting the customer.
- Strategic motivators → Finding a home in a competitive market is difficult! Landed partner agents are able to support and encourage homebuyers to persevere through multiple bid situations, intense negotiations, and the occasional disappointment when an offer is rejected.
- Market experts → Landed partner agents know their cities extremely well. They know the neighborhoods where their customers should to be looking, they know how to work within a customer’s budget, and they know how to beat the competition.
What do people think about their Landed Partner Agent?
Landed customers rave about their Landed Partner Agents. Here are a few quotes from happy Landed homebuyers:
“He was AMAZING. I'd hands down recommend him to anyone. It is 100% because of him that we got a home… If not for him, I'm sure someone else would have gotten the home.”
“[Our Landed partner agent] went above and beyond our expectations.”
“We had so many questions, and [our Landed partner agent] was patient and enthusiastic about answering all of them.”
“This whole process has been seamless and supportive from start to finish. We were connected with [our Landed partner agent] on Sunday and were in contract with the support of Landed on our new home by Monday evening!! What an incredible team of people working to make our home dreams come true.”
“I couldn't have asked for a better agent. I know without a doubt that his diligence and attention got us our house in this crazy market. I'd recommend him to anyone!”
“[Our Landed partner agent] is more than the agent who helped us buy our first home; she and her husband are now forever friends. Since closing, she has checked in monthly to see how our move-in and home renovations are coming along, and invited us to social events sponsored by her real estate office.”
“She was my advocate on a variety of fronts and since I am not a naturally aggressive person, I appreciated her willingness to fight or advocate for me whenever necessary.”
“[My Landed partner agent] would be an excellent choice to help any future Landed clients.”
“[My Landed partner agent] was so open to our thoughts/needs, willing and available whenever we needed to discuss something, took action immediately, made quick and reliable connections with funding, contractors, etc., and walked us through every part of the process with so much information. He truly is the best realtor we've worked with!”
If you a real estate agent interested in joining the Landed network, please fill out our agent form here to contact us. Introduce us to an eligible customer, and we will kick off the process of bringing you into our network for referrals. We currently serve public school educators in dozens of school districts throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Portland, and Seattle.
