Team Values
With a collaborative approach and a reputation for authenticity and trust, Riskin Partners Estate Group has defined local luxury real estate for over 20 years
Partners Sarah Hanacek, Jasmine Tennis, Dina Landi, and Robert Riskin
Written by Jenn Thornton
Montecito’s top real estate team, Riskin Partners Estate Group is not just a name, it’s a promise—one of trust and authenticity, collaboration and community, values and vision.
The late Rebecca Riskin
The elite agency represents “properties of distinction,” almost exclusively in Montecito, the community in which managing partner, Dina Landi, together with partners Sarah Hanacek, Jasmine Tennis, and Robert Riskin, are deeply embedded as agents and residents alike. Their track record, including being ranked number one locally in dollar volume for 15 of the last 16 years, and nationally in the top 10 for the past five years, speaks to an enviable level of achievement, but statistics are secondary to the broader success story of the agency, which was established over 20 years ago by its much-loved founding partner and namesake, the late Rebecca Riskin.
“Each of us is involved in every aspect of every listing, and the entire business. Our clients get four agents in one.”
“We are not Riskin Partners without Rebecca,” the team says. “She is our guiding light, and we honor that legacy.” One with modest beginnings but entirely in keeping with Rebecca’s industrious nature and relentless positivity—the latter quality leading Rebecca to see possibilities, whether in the houses she began specing in the 1980s, a new life in Santa Barbara where she settled with her son and now partner Robert in the 1990s, or building a uniquely structured real estate team that eschews typical industry hierarchy for a more cooperative and effective model.
1196 E Mountain Drive, Montecito
“Rebecca wanted to bring us on as partners,” the team explains of their collaborative approach. “That is how we evolved.” To this day, “Each of us is involved in every aspect, of every listing, and the entire business. Our clients get four agents in one.”
Four times the local knowledge, four times the skill set, four times the expertise, but one shared value system. “Our foundation is the Golden Rule, it is our most basic value. It’s how we live our lives, lead our business, and what makes us successful as a team.” For these agents, who operate from a strong moral compass, the transaction is somewhat secondary to the interaction—the relationship formed and trust built with clients, colleagues and across the broader community, from real estate attorneys to home inspectors.
670 Hot Springs Road, Montecito
“Of course, we want to sell houses, we’re good at it. It’s what we do. But if buying or selling a house isn’t in our clients’ best interest, we’ll tell them because we absolutely want what’s best for them.” This is inarguable—Riskin Partners has a robust referral business, offering their clients reliable and familiar representation. “While insiders and experts in real estate, people also know us as honest. We always tell clients the truth, because we treat them as friends.”
3443 Padaro Lane, Carpinteria
Riskin Partners itself is a family. Different members whose individual strengths and characteristics complement the unit as a whole, binding it even more tightly together. The team has virtually no turnover, providing their clients with a rare consistency in the world of high-stakes real estate, let alone in one of the most competitive and desired markets in the entire world. But while the team’s track record speaks to clear mastery of this market, to hear them tell it, “Being the number one most trusted team is most meaningful to us.”
“We are lucky,” they say with genuinely felt humility. “It’s really never been about growth for us. “We care most about doing what we love and servicing our clients really well. We work with some truly amazing clients. Helping them find a piece of paradise is our favorite thing.” montecito-realestate.com