John Ultsch

12/21/22David Roberts

Google Review

Two years after the CZU fire, we finally made the decision to sell our burned out lot in Bonny Doon. This was a heart-rending decision since we had bought the undeveloped lot more than 30 years prior; and designed and built the house of our dreams. But we did not feel up to rebuilding (we are both now 70 years old) and relocated to Marina in Monterey County.

I called John, we met at the site and I immediately felt comfortable with him. We arrived at a selling price; and in a timely matter, found enthusiastic buyers and with a couple of offers and counter-offers, the deal was done, at a fair price for both seller and buyer.

John was great all through the process, kept in regular contact and worked with us, leaving us to make the decisions along with his helpful input.

We highly recommend John!

David & Julie R

12/19/22Briana Cash

Google Review

You can’t go wrong with choosing John Ultsch as your realtor. He really does his research to know the market and stay on top of the latest and greatest information. This combined with his honesty and straightforwardness is exactly what we needed to sell our house quickly in a tough market. John was ready to jump in and help with whatever needed done, and is generally a kind and wonderful person. Also, he chose great contractors to work with for photography, drone footage, window cleaning, etc. We had a top notch experience and are so grateful for John’s expertise.

8/8/22Ravi Lescher

Google Review

I just finished buying a property with Gina and John and can honestly say that it was an absolutely wonderful experience!

I have bought and sold a few properties through the years, and recently had to navigate my first 1031 exchange, which was a bit daunting. Having worked with some good, and some not so good, realtors in the past, I was so pleased at how Gina and John took a challenging situation and made it so much easier - I had to buy this property while traveling in Europe with my family due to timing outside of my control. Every step of the way, they turned challenges into successes. I really felt that I had kind and knowledgeable professionals going to bat for me to get me the property I really wanted.

So believe me when I say: do not hesitate for a minute in hiring this group for your real estate transactions. Thanks again Gina and John! Your hard work is truly appreciated.

12/1/21Janie Ultsch Frizell

Google Review

"Wow...where do I start? There's so much to say about John and what he did for me and my family. Let me start with the word EXPERTISE! John knows the housing market like no other! When we first met for our initial consultation, John clearly explained his marketing and pricing strategy and was spot on. Another bonus was John's contacts for any every service you can think of. From painters, handymen and carpet cleaners...all true professionals. My husband and I were updated frequently and received great little timeline spreadsheets that helped us see the entire process from start to finish. Pease do yourself a huge favor and reach out to John for your next real estate sale...you will not be disappointed!"

Janie F.

4/25/21Diana Langston

Google Review

John is an amazing realtor, and helped us purchase (2018) and sell (2021) our Santa Cruz property. As an agent, John goes above and beyond to help his clients. He provided us with excellent advice and went beyond expectations in helping us prepare our property for sale. He really cares for his clients and puts a lot of passion into helping them achieve their real estate goals. We highly recommend using John when buying or selling a home.

12/19/20Sarah Hanesworth-Castellanos

Google Review

Choosing to sell during the pandemic was super worrisome. There were so many unknowns, and we were very nervous. John was AWESOME. I kid you not, just his presence reduced my anxiety. All those small little things he just jumped in and was like "I'll take care of it." And he did. His go-getter attitude makes him the PERFECT realtor for an easy, positive experience.

DO IT. CALL HIM.

12/7/20Natasha P

Google Review

John did a fantastic job in helping us find and purchase our dream beach house in Aptos. He understood exactly what we were looking for quickly and guided our search very effectively. John was super responsive, always on time, and worked around our hectic work schedules. His knowledge of the Santa Cruz and surrounding area and connections in the local real estate market were key to our success as buyers in a very hot and dynamic market (summer/fall of 2020). John was super effective in helping us prepare the right offer and navigate the negotiation process. Once in contract, he stayed on top of things like a real pro, working with our loan team to bring us to the closing table on time. Through escrow and even after closing, John helped us move our future plans for the property forward, providing excellent recommendations for local contractors, coordinating with the seller's agent to meet them at the house, etc. If any of our friends or family are in the market for a property in this area, we'll definitely recommend John!

12/1/20Mike Maroney

Google Review

John knows the local market well and has many useful contacts to help us through the home buying process. I would happily recommend John to anybody looking to purchase a home in Santa Cruz. He was responsive, helpful as well as serving as a local tour guide for us. We bought are home in July 2020 and couldn't be happier in our location and with the deal John helped us to secure.

2/11/20J.P. Sabarots

Google Review

What a super star! I was trustee for a trust and needed to sell a very unique property a couple hours from my home. I had received a letter from John offering his services and I’m so pleased he did. Talk about turn key and seamless! John took the time to understand the property and its potential appeal and developed a sound strategy to attract the right type of buyers. He helped me navigate the intricacies of selling a property as part of a trust, making sure we took all appropriate steps to protect ourselves and prepare the long-neglected property for sale. Realizing I was sensitive to budget, John suggested minor, yet very smart, investments to better present the property. Understanding I also needed to clear the property of its contents, which included selling a classic, but dilapidated car that was stored in the garage, John, without hesitation, offered to take on those tasks, which was a huge relief for me. He was also excellent at problem-solving and helping me carefully evaluate each of the nine(!) offers, eventually accepting one that was 28% over asking. John is extremely motivated, proactive and client focused. I highly recommend him and would very happily work with him again.

5/15/19Alan Smith

Google Review

John truly is "More than a Realtor". He made our listing and sale work well. I loved the "value added" where he used his truck to make dump runs for us and moves to the donation sites. I highly recommend John to be your listing agent. He will work hard and effectively for you. John is truly more than just another real estate agent. List with him.

1/11/19Jennifer Smith

Google Review

John Ultsch is truly a five-star realtor! He recently sold our family home in Scotts Vallley—and we have nothing but praise for him. He had a wide range of useful knowledge of the area and did extensive research for us on the current market. He works well with anyone—and often impressed us with his ability to get along with finicky people and to negotiate with reason and patience. In fact—he negotiated so well for us that he got a very good price for our property in spite of it's 30+ years and spiral staircase. One thing you can depend on: John doesn't lose enthusiasm. He is a dedicated member of your team—and will go above and beyond the call of duty. Example: He does dump runs with his truck! Open houses every weekend and fantastic professional photos of your property appearing in appropriate sites and publications are his hallmark. And the best part is—he does it all with a smile!

10/10/18Eric Dill

Google Review

John recently helped me relocate to Santa Cruz. We spent some time on the phone so he could get a sense of what I was looking for, asked me how I liked to communicate (phone/text/email) and got to work. A few days later on my tight schedule, we visited listings, he followed up with other agents to feel out the sellers, and two days later I had an offer in. John negotiated for me and got me a great house at a great price.

After the offer, he moved things forward very quickly and kept me informed every step of the way so I knew what to expect next. Thanks to John staying on top of all the paperwork, I was able to close escrow early. Because the sale happened so quickly, some seller repairs still needed to be done and John offered to meet the contractors while I was at work and see things through to the end.

This level of service and commitment to clients is hard to find these days--I'm very appreciative that I found it in John.

10/8/18Chris Wagner

Google Review

I just worked on a real estate transaction with John and it was super smooth. John is a true professional and I will highly recommend him to anyone I know that needs help buying or selling real estate. Thanks John!!

6/23/18FD TrainingSolutions

Google Review

John was awesome. I can’t say enough about all he did for us. Our house sold in 4 days for 50k over asking. Solid realtor and a great guy.

6/20/18Linda Pelk

Google Review

John Ultsch sold our home in Boulder Creek , CA. He answered all our questions and took care of many of the details to prepare the house. He worked hard to make the sale smooth and quick. We could not be happier with our choice of realtor.

6/18/18Mary-Kevin Daugherty Stockwell

Google Review

John Ultsch with the Sereno Group did a fabulous job with the sale of 122 Mountain View Avenue in Santa Cruz. He was responsive, proactive, open minded, actively engaged, took direction and ready to get the job done. There was a great deal of research done on the comps in the area and market pre-sale. We didn't have much to go by, except for advice from other realtors and neighbors.If you ever need an agent, I highly recommend John.

6/7/18Shelby Bjermeland

Google Review

John was an amazing realtor for us! His energy and enthusiasm was so contagious throughout the entire process of selling our home. I’d strongly recommend him to sellers and buyers. He’s honest, and he knows how to communicate with his clients with respect and clarity. John got us over the asking price by 300k! John will go above and beyond for you

4/14/18Paul Oneill

Google Review

Wanted to give John a five star rating. Throughout our real estate journey, John was very helpful, professional, and responsive. From our search to our final signing John was always looking out for our interests, weather it was financially, the technical purchase process, or the actual home my wife and I would be living in. John is very good at what he does and I would highly recommend him if you are looking for a real estate agent
Thx John, Paul and Jennifer