About Unlocked

Unlocked: A Better Home Buying Experience

Unlocked is a better way to buy your Bay Area home. We are a fully-licensed California real estate brokerage, and in addition to helping out clients buy their dream home at the best possible price, we give our buyers up to a 1% cash back rebate. We have built a more customer-oriented, simpler and transparent home buying experience, to help our clients navigate the competitive Bay Area real estate market.

We really focus on putting our clients first, and have gotten excellent feedback from our clients. See our Yelp Reviews to read what our clients said about their Unlocked home buying process. We are enthusiastic about every one of our clients having a great experience with Unlocked.


The Team Behind Unlocked

Unlocked was founded by two Bay Area homeowners committed to the simple idea that there should be a better way to buy a home.


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Matthew Armstrong: Matthew wishes that Unlocked existed when he and his wife bought their San Francisco home. Alas, it didn’t, but he’s excited Unlocked is now able to help other Bay Area home buyers. Matthew previously worked at Bain & Company, Bain Capital and Lending Club, and holds an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, and a BScience/BCommerce from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

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Jesse Payne-Johnson: Jesse likes making things work. When he’s not hard at work at Unlocked, look for Jesse desperately trying to find a flat running route in San Francisco, or enjoying a hike in Marin. Jesse previously worked at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and the Boston Consulting Group, and is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.

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Edris Kamal: Edris has lived in the Bay Area his entire life, aside from his time at UC Davis, where he graduated with a degree in Economics. Edris is passionate about applying his data-driven and entrepreneurial mindset to help Bay Area families purchase their dream home. In his free time, Edris loves to play basketball, travel, and spend time with loved ones.

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Miranda Heater: Miranda joined Unlocked motivated to bring superior customer service to the real estate industry. She previously worked in compliance and legal recruiting at a large international law firm in their San Francisco office. She has lived in San Francisco for 5 years and graduated with a BA in Political Economy from Tulane. When she's not crushing spreadsheets, Miranda enjoys trying new restaurants, petting dogs and yoga.

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Rebakah Ahn: The first course Rebekah enrolled in was Real Estate Finance at UC Berkeley. Looking at listings available on the market was her favorite past-time, and now, it's her job! Rebekah grew up in Marin County, and graduated with a degree in Business from UC Berkeley. She enjoys the impact she can have on small businesses, and aiding their long-term growth. In her free time, Rebekah likes to hang out with her dogs, kayak, and cook.

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Omar Latif: Omar was born and raised in the East Bay and has lived there his whole life. He is a first-generation Afghan-American and the son of refugee parents. Omar loves to help give back to his community and you can catch Omar watching sports (go Niners!) or spending time with his loved ones when he is not at Unlocked. Omar is studying Finance at SF State University.

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Fei Chen: Fei is passionate about real estate and finance. She graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Economics and a minor in Contemporary Leadership. Fei has a strong finance and data analysis background. During her free time, she enjoys practicing yoga and exploring local trails with her dog Jordan. Fei is excited to help buyers find their dream home.

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Katrina Tom: Born and raised in the Bay Area, Katrina's relentless passion for real estate led her to Unlocked where she aims to deliver a tailored customer-centric approach. Her intimate knowledge of this region and experiences of having lived in the Bay Area all her life gives her enthusiasm and desire to help clients attain their perfect home. Katrina graduated from ASU and has worked in the real estate industry with Redfin, and Sereno Group.

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Eli Townsend: Eli is a Bay Area native, born and raised in Berkeley, CA. In fact, he loved it so much that he decided to stay there for college where he graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Political Economy. Eli has experience working in the legal sector and with fintech startups and hopes to leverage his professional experiences to help clients find their dream home in the Bay Area. Outside of work, Eli enjoys playing soccer, tennis, and guitar with friends and family (usually not all at the same time).

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Justin Lemucchi: Justin is a proud California native who joined Unlocked after buying his own home with Unlocked! A former educator, he understands the importance of making strong connections with each of his clients to deliver the best possible experience. He holds a B.A. in History from U.C.L.A. and a master's degree from Harvard. In his free time, Justin enjoys experimenting in the kitchen with new cuisines, reading fantasy and sci-fi books, and exploring new neighborhoods with his dog, Lucy.

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Kylie Harms: Kylie is an East Coast native who moved to the Bay Area 6 years ago. She instantly fell in love with California and really enjoys getting to help people search for their dream homes here! Real estate is a new passion for Kylie but when she’s not doing that she loves exploring and hiking in beautiful Marin County.

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Elmer Jimenez: A proud San Francisco native, before diving into real estate, Elmer pursued an education in administration of justice, where he became an expert in public safety and recreational land management. Along the way, he developed his communication and public speaking skills in both English and Spanish. He strives to use his expertise and real estate knowledge to serve his clients while upholding his core values of integrity, resilience, and exceptional service. When he’s not working you can find him on the open road, in a coffee shop, or exploring the outdoors.

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Vanessa Leedy: Vanessa moved to the Bay Area after graduating from UC Davis with a BS in Civil Engineering. She previously worked in bridge construction before joining Unlocked to pursue her interests in real estate and startups. Vanessa is excited to empower home buyers to leverage data and ultimately buy their dream homes. In her spare time, she enjoys live music, comedy, and travel.

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Katie Shipkey: Katie is a California native who is currently based out of Denver. Having previously worked for Zillow, she has a passion for utilizing and interpreting data to help buyers make educated choices when searching for their dream home. Her favorite things include her cats, books, and baked goods.

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Brent Doering: Brent is a Missouri native, who has recently landed in Denver, CO. Brent graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelors in Hospitality Management, and has spent his entire career working in customer service and experience focused roles. With a luxury hotel management background, Brent aims to bring next level service and product offerings to the real estate industry to create better user experiences when buying a new home. When he’s not online, Brent is usually exploring the great outdoors, catching a concert or hanging out with his dogs.

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Enrique Calvo: Enrique is a proud Bay Area native who is travel-obsessed and a self-proclaimed #avgeek. He graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in Business Administration and has experience working in the airline, tech, and real estate industries. He is passionate about delivering exceptional customer service and is excited to help elevate the homebuying experience for all. In his down time, he enjoys hiking, trying new restaurants, and planning his next travel adventure.

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Alyssa Lockhart: Alyssa was born and raised in the Bay Area, and now resides in Portland, OR. She has a deep love for the beauty and culture of San Francisco in addition to the unique architecture and classic homes. Alyssa began her career in business management working with social service agencies focusing on housing support. She transitioned into traditional real estate focusing on operations and brokerage management in 2016. She has extensive transaction management experience and holds several real estate licenses and certifications in her field. Alyssa has a passion for building and maintaining strong teams, relationships and operations processes to ensure client satisfaction. In her free time she enjoys traveling, spending time with her Beagle pup and appreciating the outdoors in the Pacific Northwest.

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Wally (The Wonder Dog): Wally wears many hats at Unlocked. His interests include being handsome, running around the dog park with his friends, and protecting the rest of the Unlocked team from danger (real and imagined, mostly imagined). He likes going to open homes to see (and smell) more of the Bay Area. Wally joined Unlocked from the great people at the SF SPCA.

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Rico: Rico came to Unlocked with the dream of helping everyone find their perfect home (just like he found his)! Born in Stockton, he made his way across the Bay with the help of Give Me Shelter Cat Rescue. A gifted intellectual, Rico graduated top of his class with degrees in advanced keyboarding, screen obstruction and mouse deactivation. In his spare time, Rico can be found napping, napping while sunbathing, and singing at 4am.

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Peanut: Peanut, Unlocked's youngest team member, is a Tennessee native and Bay Area transplant. Her interests include chewing on (and eating) everything, playing chase, being fluffy, and starting all kinds of trouble. Once she gets all her shots, she looks forward to exploring homes all over the Bay Area for more things to chew on and places to sleep.

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Jordan: Jordan joined Unlocked with the hopes of helping everyone find a perfect home like his. Jordan bears many essential responsibilities, such as bringing cuteness and handsomeness to the team. While he's not busy getting scratches and cuddles, Jordan goes for casual hikes, rolling on the grass, and running around dog parks.

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Clarice: Stunningly beautiful, silky-haired, adorable, funny, pushy, and cuddly are just a few adjectives to describe Clarice (Clarissy). She is a 4 yr old Brazilian native, strawberry blond long-haired Daschund mix. When she is not offering cuddle therapy and cuteness, she is playing ball or vocally protecting the house. Sagittarian, she loves going out and venturing the world. "Let's party" is her life philosophy. Everywhere she goes, people roll out the red carpet - her dads are just the chaperones in the background.

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Buddy and Wesley: Buddy (front) and Wesley (back) found their new home and dream backyard through Unlocked, and hope to help many other people find their dream home! Buddy joins Unlocked from the Marin Humane Society, and loves squeezing himself into small beds with Wesley, who joins us from Wonder Dog Rescue. Wesley's job includes scaring off delivery people, finding a soft blanket to hide under, and pawing his humans when he needs attention. Buddy's job is to ensure he's no more than a few feet away from Wesley at any time! In their free time, Wesley and Buddy like to lay in sunny spots in the backyard, forage for food in the kitchen pantry, and play fetch with their frog toy.

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Eazy: Eazy is a small yet spunky Beagle mix that started his journey to Unlocked when he met his parents at a rescue operation in Portland, Oregon. Eazy's days typically include sleeping in until noon, napping in his special sun spots and generally pretending he is a cat. Occasionally, he tries his luck play-fighting with his giant siblings (who are 10x his size!) before remembering his place in the world. Eazy's most important job is to provide moral support to Unlocked's Pacific Northwest team by lap-sitting and providing all of the cute photos his human friends could ever ask for.

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Sherwood: Sherwood is a 4 year old distinguished gentleman corgi mix from Texas who is now living on the front range in Denver, Colorado. When Sherwood isn't hiking trails, swimming in creeks or climbing mountains he is probably annoying his older chihuahua sister or taking big naps. Sherwood's favorite foods are peanut butter, socks and chicken...especially socks.


Why We Created Unlocked

Buying a home is a big financial and emotional decision. When we bought our Bay Area homes, we were very frustrated with the home buying process. We found the process to be opaque, stressful and required a lot of manual work. We also calculated what our agents made off our transactions and thought it wasn’t justified. So we decided to create a better home buying experience, with better economics for the buyer by offering a 1% cash back rebate (the largest rebate in the Bay Area).

We’ve created a buying experience that’s more customer-oriented, more transparent and more data-driven. We’ve built tools to make your job as a buyer much easier, clearer and straight-forward. We believe that buying agents shouldn’t earn $50,000+ for closing your deal, and so at Unlocked we give 1% of the purchase price back to you, the buyer. That 1% results in tens of thousands of dollars that can go towards renovating your new home, buying new furniture, or paying down your mortgage.

We’re licensed real estate agents, and we’re also a Yale JD and a Stanford MBA who’ve worked at top-tier consulting, law and private equity firms, so you’ll be working with agents that can add a lot more than “this market is crazy!” We approach the home buying process as we do any business problem - driven by data and insight, not ‘gut intuition’. We are responsive to our customers' need, and always put their interests first. We’ve created the home buying experience we wanted when we bought our homes, and we’re sure you’ll love it, just like our past clients have (check out what our clients are saying on our Yelp Reviews).


Our Vision

Buying and selling your home should be:

  • Better Value: Traditional real estate agents make a killing on every deal. ~5% of every transaction is split between the real estate agents. With escalating Bay Area real estate values, that can be hundreds of thousands of dollars! Buyers and sellers should keep more of that money. We think there should be a better financial deal for buyers and sellers.

  • Technology-Forward: The traditional home buying and selling process is very manual, labor intensive and can leave you drowning in paperwork and legalese. As a result, you are reliant on real estate agents to complete your transaction. We think technology and data can make real estate transactions easier, faster and more transparent.

  • A Better Experience: If you spent $10,000 at any retail store, you’d be pampered like royalty. In real estate, you could spend 100 times that and still feel frustrated, pressured, confused and unimportant. We want to bring white-glove service and trusted expertise to such a big financial decision. We think that buying or selling your home should be a high-end retail experience.

To learn more about Unlocked's awesome buying process, please visit our Buying With Unlocked page, or contact us below.

Contact Us

Send us a message anytime and we'll get back to you ASAP!

...or send us an email or give us a call!

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Email

Email us 24/7 at support@unlocked.com

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Phone

Call us 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday 650-770-0266