Landis, a proptech startup which helps educate and coach renters to help them become homeowners, today announced raising a $40 million Series B led by GV (formerly Google Ventures), according to a press release shared with FinLedger.
The round follows the company’s $165 million Series A led by Sequoia Capital in July 2021, brings the company’s total funding raised to $222 million, and will be used to continue growth and expand Landis’ coaching program.
New York-based Landis operates a model which is intended to help renters become homeowners, having clients work with real estate agents to find a home within their predetermined budget.
Once they find a home, Landis buys the home with an all-cash offer for the client, who then rents the home from Landis for up to two years, according to RealTrends.
While the client is renting their “to-be” home, Landis also works to coach the consumer to qualify for mortgage so they can “repurchase” the home. Landis says that this coaching includes personalized and consistent one-on-one support as clients work towards improving credit history and saving for a down payment, and noted it has earmarked $2 million of this new funding to “expand the breadth of its coaching program.”
The company also sets pre-set buyback prices, in order to give clients certainty for down payment targets and give them a straightforward path towards homeownership.
“We have proven there is a meaningful place for Landis in the American housing market,” stated Cyril Berdugo, Landis co-Founder and CEO, in the release. “I’m thrilled that GV, along with many of our existing investors, sees the exciting opportunity ahead of us. This enables us to open the door to homeownership for more people, while expanding our first-of-its-kind coaching program to provide our clients with the support they need to reach homeownership.”
The Series B also included participation from Sequoia Capital and other existing investors including Jay-Z’s Arrive, the National Association of REALTORS’ (NAR) Second Century Ventures, Operator Partners, Signia Ventures and Team Builder Ventures.
Landis also claims that it has almost doubled its footprint to more than 50 markets and that applications for its model have increased over 7x since its Series A last year, and says it now has a strong foundation for accelerated growth moving forward.
While the company declined to disclose revenue metrics, Berdugo did tell TechCrunch that the company’s valuation increased with the new round, and that Landis’ team size has tripled in since its Series A.
“Landis makes the daunting path of homeownership easy with financial education and personalized coaching,” said Roelof Botha, Managing Partner at Sequoia Capital.
“Since we first partnered with Cyril and team over a year ago, Landis has guided and supported its many clients in becoming successful homeowners. We’re proud to double down on our partnership as Landis helps Americans build wealth during these uncertain times,” Botha said.
In other recent proptech news, U.S. Census data suggests that close to 5% of all single-family houses developers have started to build in 2022 are planned build-to-rent. Steady also joined the Buildium marketplace, and stated an emphasis on expanding its integrations.