About John Schneider
Welcome,
I’ve been a Realtor for more than 12 years and I specialize in just one thing, single family homes in the Catalina Foothills of Tucson, AZ. Helping my clients navigate the Foothills market is what I know best and enjoy the most.
My goal is to help my clients learn about and understand the foothills market, about what’s good and why, and what they may want to avoid. I help them make informed and confident choices while working closely with them to achieve their goals.
I’ve been writing the Tucson Foothills real estate blog since 2007, tracking, analyzing and reporting the ups and downs of the market, and the noteworthy goings-on, hoping to give my readers a better understanding of the Foothills real estate market.
I hope you find it helpful and interesting.
If you have a question or would like my help, I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours truly,
John Schneider
520 271-4164
johnschneiders@gmail.com
What they’re saying about me
To; Rosey Koberlein
CEO Long Realty
John Schneider was easily the most helpful, engaging, and honest realtor we have ever known. His assistance during our house search and after the sale were equally outstanding.
John is a feather in the cap of your business and we were delighted that he was our realtor. He went the extra mile for us and we deeply appreciated it.
Dr. and Mrs. Rodney Solgonick
We had mediocre experiences with agents in the past. They were essentially order takers and didn’t add much value to the process. Not John – he is the guy you want by your side. With a ton of knowledge about the Foothills market and Tucson in general, he took the time to understand what we wanted and then helped us find it. John is in it for the right reasons – getting clients what they need, not the quick sale – and steered us away from homes that initially peaked our interest but didn’t make sense or were overvalued. When we finally found a great place he helped negotiate the price and we actually settled below appraisal value. And he kept everyone on point during the closing process. We love the new home and if we ever decide to move again, John will be our first call.
When we decided to permanently relocate to the Catalina Foothills, in our subsequent search for a realtor, we discovered John Schneider’s Tuscon Foothills blog. In addition to being well-written, we could see that it contained quite a bit of insight into the Tucson residential housing market. After calling John and having a series of lengthy conversations with him (from Vancouver, BC), we exchanged several email messages. In them, we highlighted that our priorities were views and privacy (along with access to high-speed internet). We flew down, met with John, and he proceeded to show us the initial list of homes he thought best met our criteria. John impressed us with his candor, pleasant personality, intelligence, and keen knowledge of not just the Catalina Foothills but of Tucson and the surrounding areas. He was extremely flexible and easygoing – taking us out to see homes in Oro Valley when we requested it. Within a week of arriving in Tucson, he found us a home that met all the priorities on our home search list. He also proved to be a great negotiator on our behalf and saved us thousands of dollars. In more than 35 years of buying and selling residential properties both in the U.S. and abroad, John Schneider is clearly the best realtor we’ve worked with. We highly recommend him to anyone who is seeking their “dream home” in the Tucson Foothills.
My wife and I, longtime Virginia residents, bought a house in Sin Vacas in the Catalina Foothills in July 2015 to use as a “snowbird” residence. John Schneider was our broker in the transaction.
I must describe a few of the circumstances in order to explain the critically important contribution John made to our purchase. I began to research the Tucson market on Zillow during the 2014-15 winter, and eventually realized that finding a good local real estate agent who knew the Catalina Foothills market was going to be the most important part of the process. I searched the Zillow listings of real estate agents and was frustrated at my inability to find someone who convincingly demonstrated that expertise.
Eventually, and fortuitously, I stumbled on John’s website and blog. I knew immediately that I had found the right broker, and if you are looking for a broker in that area (primarily the 85718 and 85750 zip codes), you should Google them and see for yourself. John has many years of experience, is a student of that market and its neighborhoods, and has the self-confidence to include on his website a direct link to the local multiple listing service (MLS) so that you can search to your heart’s desire. He even has added links to facilitate your ability to search submarkets by a number of useful criteria (new listings, open houses, recent price reductions, gated and undated communities, golf-club communities, to name just a few).
After using his resources for a while and developing my own “top 10” and “top 25” lists using both the MLS and Zillow, I contacted John. He taught me a lot about the local market, both by phone and by email, and — importantly — he was not shy about correcting my misperceptions, albeit in a nice way.
My wife and I went to Tucson in June. John took us to see the houses we were primarily interested in, and then to revisit the resulting shortened list. We picked out a house, but had to leave Tucson and complete the process of bidding, countering and closing by email and phone. Before we left, John found a way for me to meet and work with the inspector who would later inspect the house for us. After we left, he arranged for us to do the documentation using a secure internet service, and he helped me find the various local services, utilities and organizations I needed to use.
I returned to Tucson in order to visit the house as soon as the sale closed (in Arizona an escrow agent handles the closing and the buyer and seller do not attend the actual closing), and John helped me through the process of getting in and arranging the initial utilities and security arrangements. He has stayed in touch during the ensuing months to help me locate the workmen I need to maintain and improve the house. And he has made himself available if I need someone local to address any issues that may arise.
I seriously doubt that I would now own a home in Tucson had I not had the good fortune to find John. I think that he is head-and-shoulders more knowledgeable, more capable, and more attentive to a buyer’s needs, than any other agent or broker I found who is familiar with the Catalina Foothills. And if you doubt what I am saying, go spend a little time on his website, The Foothills Today, and his linked blog, The Tucson Foothills. You cannot fail to be impressed.
I have known John for over 5 years and during this time, he has helped me or my family buy 4 homes . His knowledge of the foothills market is deep as evidenced by his blog that I still read every day. He is always ‘on’ and responds to inquiries quickly. With his mastery of the real estate process, he keeps the closing process on track. During the negotiation process, you know that he is on your side. He is direct and to the point, so doesn’t waste your time. You can tell he enjoys finding a home that is a perfect fit for you. Some realtors view your purchase as a single transaction – not John. He builds a relationship and I know I can count on him. I highly endorse him!
We first met John through a referral when making the transition from the midwest to Tucson AZ. Although we had not committed to the move, we wanted a realtor that would be able to show us the area and homes in the foothills. Because we had family in the area, we were somewhat familiar with the landscape.
John was amazing and honest to work with. We were initially disappointed to find no “perfect” matches on our first trip out, and he went out of his way to show us a variety of houses and in different neighborhoods as well. He was never pushy and he let us develop our first impressions of the homes viewed. When we prompted his opinions, he would give us knowledge that only a person with local insight would know (ie house direction / orientation, association status and financial stability, home builders and their reputation etc.)
When he realized that we had not found “the one,” he encouraged us to either wait, provide an inquiry on his website, or look at homes that may not be publicly available. John looked at homes that had recently been off of market and not active. He contacted the owners who showed us their home and it was a great fit. He was a true professional during the negotiation process and although there were several times when we thought the deal would fall through, he made sure we got what we needed and also made sure that our “emotions” didn’t make us fall into poor decisions, even if it meant a loss of a sale!
We are know 3 mths into our home and everytime I drive back home it is with happiness, wouldn’t have been possible without John.
To; Kip Longan,
President, Long Realty
Kip,
I wanted to let you know about the great experience my wife and I had with John Schneider. Not only did he go beyond his role as our agent, he became a trusted voice during a difficult time.
He deserves recognition for going beyond the call of duty.
Please thank him for us.
Ralph & Vanessa
Dear John
Craig and I have bought and sold many homes over the years and it was so refreshing to have someone that was so knowledgeable in the real estate business and more importantly about the Tucson area.
Whenever we have moved to a new area, there were usually nuances/concerns that were particular to that area and you were very informative in giving us the details about Tucson. Not only did you understand and analyze our needs as a family, but you also gave us your honest assessment of the potential properties in relation to these needs.
Your ability to have a pulse on real estate market was impressive.
Many times you would be looking at property that was not even listed in the MLS yet and by that afternoon sending us digital pictures through the internet! Obviously, you were well connected in the Tucson real estate business and you were constantly talking to other agents about potential homes.
We have never had anyone so on top of finding us a home.
Thank you again for your diligence and willingness to work so hard at finding us a home. We wish you all the best in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Craig and Nadine Lund
Jentry said:
Your blog is an inspiring and insightful look into the world of Tucson Real Estate in the Foothills. I appreciate your objective analysis and candid portrayal of the movements of this niche market. I enjoy your posts and reflections specifically because the perspectives you present, and the thoughts you ponder, feel genuine. It is a bit shocking to me that in 2010 there are still those who would misunderstand the importance or nature of this community dialogue in digital format that you share so openly through your blog. Please continue to post with the same vim and vigor.
My wife and I used John when we purchased our home in the Tucson Foothills. His knowledge of the surrounding area was both helpful and insightful. He did an exceptional job understanding both of our needs and quickly narrowed down our choices. Once we found our dream home, his expertise helped us overcome being outbid by another buyer. John stuck with us throughout the process and even recommended several good people to help us with some of the changes we wanted to make after we moved in.
Nancy said:
As you know we recently purchased a home in Skyline Country Club after an exhausting five year search. If it wasn’t for John Schneider and his blog which is not only informative but extremely interesting we wouldn’t have purchased anything in the Tucson area. The blog kept our interest alive and John’s extraordinary skill as a buyers agent helped us land our dream vacation home. I wish all real estate agents would posses the integrity and brutal honesty that John provided. We will always thank our lucky stars that we found John before giving up on Tucson and it’s many weak real estate agents.
After buying 4 properties in the past 6 years, we feel like we can adequately judge a real estate buying agent. If you are like us and want someone that has in-depth knowledge of the home construction, area, local market, does not push you into decisions and legitimately acts on your behalf, then John is the agent for you. He is very patient, very thorough and his opinion was trusted by us in our search for a home in Tucson. After having 5 agents in those 6 years across the country, John is easily our favorite and we continue to refer our friends and co-workers to him.
Alex and Michelle Chiu
Alfred & Leah Keuroghlian
3600 E Windy Point Dr
Tucson, AZ
It is so rare in this day and age to find someone who is as professional and willing to go the extra mile as John Schneider. He is to be highly commended for his exceptional and extraordinary work ethic, service and ability.
Mr. Schneider’s successful marketing strategy and hard work resulted in the sale of our home after 23 days. This is quite an accomplishment considering our first real estate company/agent was unable to sell during the six previous months on the market at a lower price. John also performed services far -above and beyond the call of duty in consummating the sale of the house and close of escrow.
I would definitely recommend John Schneider, without reservation,
to anyone I know who is interested in buying or selling real estate in the Tucson area.
Sincerely,
Alfred Keuroghlian
Dear John:
Please accept our belated thanks for all your help in finding us our new home in Pima Canyon and selling our old home in Foothills II. I still find it hard to believe that we were able to accomplish everything in less than a month’s time, especially considering the million-plus price levels with which we were dealing.
We appreciated the fact that you tuned into our needs and did not waste our time with properties that did not fit. In addition we especially appreciated your follow through during both transactions and after. Especially the handling of escrow dollars that had to be released after certain work was completed. It was nice to know that when we were in Chicago, we could count on you to let the workmen in and to inspect the work before funds were released.
John, over the years we’ve dealt with many realty people in various parts of the country. We rank you as one of the best.
You can use us as a reference anytime.
Sincerely,
Paul M. Pellegrino
John was a professional and knowledgeable realtor. He is extremely well-versed in the Foothills market, which is evident in his blog about the Foothills. He knows the inventory inside and out, which shows when you view homes with him. I would not hesitate to recommend him to a friend and would use him again if I ever wanted to look for a home. Luckily our new home is perfect so we won’t be needing him anytime soon!
John Schneider is the consummate real estate professional.
Bidding to be our agent in a recent sale, John easily outclassed his competition by putting together a compelling sales strategy on the foundation of a sound marketing plan. And deliver he did.
Within a month, John brought us attractive offers, offered valuable counsel in their negotiations and assured a win-win outcome.
Among his many strengths, Johns disciplined approach, attention to detail and peerless integrity contribute to make him uncommonly good at what he does.
MJB
Hi John
Gary wanted me to respond because of my background as a former
Director of Education for the Illinois Realtors Association and my 25 years of experience
as a corporate trainer specializing in non-verbal communication.
So here is the way I see the Professional and Personal John Schneider.
We were EXTREMELY PLEASED with our experience of working with you.
Our former real estate agent of four transactions in Scottsdale was a very hard act to follow but I recommend you without a single reservation and here are the reasons why:
INSTANT RAPPORT A+
PROFESSIONAL DEMEANOR A+
INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT A+
PARTNERSHIP ATTITUDE A+
CLIENT MAINTENANCE A+
We still feel connected to you.
If we have a real estate question or need advice, we think of you and know
you will give us good information. We constantly tell people if they need a real estate professional we know the man for them.
We appreciate that we can still call and you give us the attention available to”paying”clients.
Donna & Gary
