Mary Camp: A “Concierge Agent” Who Leads with Empathy 

For Mary Camp, empathy is her superpower. As a seasoned real estate agent with RE/MAX in the Bucks County area, Mary Camp has worked with a lot of sellers, but her work with Alice is one that stands out.

An elderly woman whose family was across the country, Alice lost her husband and found herself alone in a big empty house. Her health wasn’t what it used to be, and she could not keep up with the maintenance her home required. It was time for her to move on.  

Alice left Pennsylvania to be closer to her family, but there was still one thing left to take care of — selling her home. With the house in need of some updates and Alice now a thousand miles away, selling the house seemed like no easy feat. Fortunately, she was able to find an agent who cared. Mary was able to step in to help save the day.  

Developing A Plan 

It all started with a referral from a friend of the family. Mary was connected to Alice and knew she needed to do whatever she could to help her and her loved ones.  

With the hassle of selling from afar and an outdated home interior looming over the family’s head, they originally considered selling the home as-is. When Mary sat down with them, she thought that this approach might not be the best choice for the family, but it was important to hear them out first. She explains, “One thing that you have to do in real estate, one thing I pride myself on is I lead with empathy, and I listen.” 

When the family explained their situation, Mary had some important follow-up questions to get them thinking. She asked, “What is your goal? What do you need out of this sale?” After hearing the family’s answers, Mary quickly understood that it wasn’t just about selling the home and getting it off their hands; There were other considerations at play. With Alice now entering long-term care, the family also needed to get a good price to help cover this cost. 

With this new information, Mary determined that pre-sale updates were the way to go. She explained to them, “I think you’re looking at about 500 to 510 if we sold it as-is — if I can sell it because of the condition. If we were to update some things, and I looked in your market, I think we would be maybe around 600.” 

Being so far away can sometimes cause problems with pre-listing general contractor work, but Mary explained that with Curbio, “You don’t have to be at the house. I will literally take care of everything for you.” That and the likelihood of the home selling kept the family’s attention.  

Team Alice

With the new plan in place, Team Alice was created. “We were on Team Alice working for that seller because we knew she needed to maximize her profit from that sale and minimize, I would say actually eliminate, any stress and effort because they (Alice and her family) weren’t even here. They’re not even in the state. The house is vacant. And my Curbio team and I handled everything.” 

Even though there were a few hiccups along the way, Mary had the Curbio Philly area team by her side to help her go above and beyond for the family. “We did have some issues with the paint color that we chose, and John (the Curbio Project Manager) had a Sherwin-Williams account rep go to the house to check it out. I never heard of such a thing. I’ve hired painters a lot of times through the years, and no one ever does that.” 

Some kitchen updates, bathroom fixes, and new flooring later (all ahead of schedule), the house sold for the highest amount on record ever in the 55+ community. Alice and her family walked away with over $100,000 in profit from the Curbio updates that they were able to put toward Alice’s long-term care. All in all, it was a job well done. Learn more about the project.  

Leading with Empathy 

Over the last several years, Mary has worked with all different types of clients and always tries to go above and beyond for them like she did with Alice. “I will give people the time that they need. So, if people need extra help with selling their house or they don’t know where to start with buying, that kind of thing, I consider myself more of a ‘concierge agent’ in that I offer what my clients need, and I only work with a limited amount of clients at any given time.” 

Her dedication and commitment to her clients has also won her various awards including Rookie of the Year, the Bronze Medallion Award, and a HomeSnap Customer Service Award. She has also made the Executive Club and 100% Club for the past three years with RE/MAX. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic, Mary also noted a shift in the market, “I called it an emotional market because people have different needs and wants.” With the start of this “emotional market,” leading with empathy and being able to meet her clients’ needs became even more important for Mary to find success in the real estate industry. Especially with the housing shortage, high interest rates, and the demand for move-in ready homes, many people could use all the help they can get.  

With Curbio now another tool at her disposal, Mary is confident she can help her clients even more. “We have a system that will work for everyone and maximize their profits regardless of interest rates… Just like Curbio says — No hassle, no coordination. Everything was handled from beginning to end. And the end result? They just couldn’t even believe it.”