Persona Homes for the Peninsula John Saar is one of the most successful Realtors in an area that has some of the world’s most famous real estate. He has enthusiasm for business, but his passions also led him to reach out to help others and to create landscaping marvels. November 2007

Don Huntington

John was born into a family of medical doctors. Physicians in his family include two uncles, his father, and his grandfather, who really did go calling on patients in their homes riding a horse and buggy and sometimes accepting chickens and vegetables as payment.

His hometown of Keokuk, Iowa is a long way from Monterey, but John didn’t remain very long. In 1965 he attended Santa Anna College hoping to do something in the medical field, but became diverted when a scuba diving hobby led him into the exciting field of Marine Biology. He studied at UC Santa Barbara and ultimately got a degree in Oceano_graphy from Cal State University, at Humboldt.

Guardian of Our Coasts
Following John’s Junior year he tested for a position with the Coast Guard. He had interviews at the Presidio in San Francisco with two Admirals and a Captain for a position at Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Yorktown, Virginia.

John said that he was one of only 26 to be chosen out of a field of 7,000 applicants, and found himself in a select company of officer candidates that consis_ted mostly of sons of important people — scions of families with summer homes and yachts leading a lifestyle quite different from John’s middleclass upbringing.

John said that, because he didn’t have a clue about military society, he showed up for his first day of OCS with his hair hanging down his back.

“As punishment for my effrontery they forced me to leave my hair long for a week, and then made me do pushups because my hair was too long,” he said with a laugh.

Following graduation, John was posted to what was perhaps the most coveted assignment in the entire United States Coast Guard; he became the Executive Officer in Oahu with the impressive title of Deputy Port Captain of the Hawaiian Islands.

His duty station was in the Aloha Tower, on the top floor with a stunning view of the harbor.

Hawaiian military installations are famous for including the most beautiful clubs on the Islands. Cannon Club, situated on the side of Diamond Head overlooking the city, affords one of the most classy dinner spots imaginable.

One of the perks of John’s military job was that, when on leave he could take advantage of complimentary trips around the world on military air transports. He once had a layover in Sidney on his way to New Zealand for a vacation and hung out with a bunch of military personnel who were on leave from Viet Nam.

John said that it was heart-warming to see how the locals received those guys with open arms — not simply because they could be counted upon to spend a lot of money in the local economy, but the Aussies respected the soldiers for the sacrifice they were making.

“After the soldiers told me some of their stories,” John said, “I was even more grateful for my cushy Hawaiian billet.”

Monterey Peninsula Real Estate Broker
Following a decade spent in higher education and in the Coast Guard, John longed to get away from institutions and to be free to follow wherever destiny might lead.

Because of his love for tennis, he joined the staff of Walnut Creek’s Boundary Oaks Racquet Club while trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life.

He discovered that club members were very interested in buying and selling property, so on a whim he got a real estate license in 1971 and began selling property.

John says that real estate is a creative passion that drives him. “I have no sense of competition, except with myself. I do my Personal Best and then let happen whatever is going to happen.” John also has a passion for landscape architecture. He studied landscaping at the University of Irvine and gained sufficient knowledge to differentiate himself in some of his subsequent real estate projects.

He helps clients to plan gardens and to plan outdoor spaces. He engages in property improvement for real estate. “Some of our properties were in need of the landscaping expertise that I could provide,” John said. “The work brings me both pleasure and business.”

He started his Peninsula Real Estate business in 1990, at a period when the housing market was in steep decline. John eventually had about 50 listings, but nobody was buying. “We’re facing the same problems now,” John said.

The current market struggles are actually improving John’s business. When the market is good people might list properties with their daughter’s best friend’s mother, but in a market as tough as this one, any mistake can be fatal, so people become careful about which Realtor to use. As a result, people have been flocking to John’s agency.

“My reputation and track record are attracting people,” John said. “Hard times become good times for agents with appropriate experience and skills.”

Servant to Seniors
A number of years ago John made a professional detour becoming proprietor of three senior residential care homes. He’s always had a fondness for elderly people. When his maternal grandmother began failing he brought her to live with him.

“I’m in heaven on earth,” she used to say.

“The presence of that wonderful human being was the greatest thing in my world,” John said.

“That woman was special; other people imagined that there was a light about her. I never knew anybody happier with life than she was with hers until the end.” She lived into her 94th year.

John’s other grandmother lived in a home with minimal supervision. It was a large complex. She couldn’t see or hear well, but her mind was sharp. She would sit alone in her room not eating. John said that he was moved by her plight. He discovered three residential homes that were for sale, with six apartments per home. The smaller size of the facilities afforded opportunity for better supervision and more freedom of the elderly residents.

John said that his grandmother was a naturally active social person and developed relationships with a succession of wonderful elderly men, who would then die. She also lived into her 94th year.

Providing quality care for senior citizens became John’s passion and calling. He considered it to be a labor of love to do an excellent job caring for elderly people and providing them the quality of life they deserved.

He became a Certified Nurse’s Assistant (CNA) so that he could have a hands-on relationship with the people in his residences. “They were thrilled when I came to lunch,” John recalled. Following two decades running Carmel’s Saar-Jarvis Gallery, John’s mom developed ailments. His step-father also developed cancer. So he sold his businesses and moved to the Monterey area to care for his folks.

Property Owner
“Enjoying the outdoors is my other passion,” John said, “So I had to figure out a way to get back to landscaping and nature.”

In 2000 John purchased a 20-acre parcel in Big Sur with a view of the ocean and a lovely stream flowing down the center of a small valley, lined with Coastal Redwoods. Over the past eight years he has planted 7,000 trees and shrubs, plus he cleared seven acres of meadows on the property.

John said that his 20 acres hold an amazing number of environments. The proliferation of chaparral, manzanita, and coyote bush in some of the inland regions drop away as you hike closer to the ocean to be replaced by oak groves and acres of meadows.

“I’ve got a lot of poison oak on my property,” he says without shame, “which turns out to be one of the best forms of vegetation for erosion control.”

Hawks and bluebirds are flocking to the meadows that John has grown. His property is home to foxes, bobcats, mountain lions, badgers, skunks, rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks. He’s seen with his own eyes the mountain lion who has a den on his property and has felt his presence on more than one occasion.

“Eight years of concentrated attention and study have created within me a body of wisdom about the property,” he said. “I understand about the springs and how the boundary be_tween two distinct microclimates can flow each into the other. I’m learning about areas in which particular plants can be happy.”

John said that surveys he takes across his property sometimes become like Easter egg hunts, since drought-resistant vegetation that he planted years ago often seem suddenly to be springing up in a profusion of growth.

John has developed springs and wells, and uses solar powered pumps to irrigate their surroundings. He has had as many as five miles of irrigation lines, which are no longer necessary for his now-mature drought resistant plants.

“I’m patient about my landscaping and am planting for the future,” John said. “I’m planting with a vision for what an area will look like 40 years from now.”

“Nature is amazing in its variety. Our role is not to dominate an environment but to work in partnership with Nature — becoming sensitive enough to permit a region to come up with ideas of its own.”

Working together with Nature in this way creates a synergy — a masterpiece that Nature couldn’t have accomplished without John and that he (of course) couldn’t have done without her.

John has come a long way from the corn fields and silos of Keokuk, Iowa to his Monterey Real Estate business and the valley and seascapes of his Big Sur retreat. With his wife, Michelle, and their son Jack, John has found harmony and joy.

“It’s been a good trip,” John says. “I’ve enjoyed every turn on the road that has brought me to this good life.”

For more information about John Saar’s story and/or about Monterey Peninsula Real Estate, contact John at 831-622-7227, see www.johnsaar.com, or visit 212 Crossroads Blvd. Carmel, California.