Community. . . 1-29 Real Estate

Camelot’s remodel division surges in pandemic

BY DAVID M. BROWN

Contributor

About fi ve years ago, third-generation Scottsdale homebuilder Cammie Hancock Beckert led an extensive renovation of a McCormick Ranch home built in the 1970s by her family’s Camelot Homes.

Founded by her grandparents, JW and Maggie Hancock, more than a half-century ago, the company has built thousands of Valley homes, including $3–$5 million customs in luxury golf communities such as Grayhawk, Desert Mountain and Silverleaf, all in north Scottsdale.

“The home had never had been updated; everything was original,” said Beckert, who lives in Silverleaf with her family. “A friend of a friend asked if we would be interested in remodeling the home. She liked the idea that we were the original builder and was familiar with our current work.

“We took the house down to the studs, rearranged spaces, took down a wall to open up the kitchen, added on in a few places and completely updated the interior fi nishes,” she added. “The before/after photos were dramatic and something I was proud to be a part of.”

Owners Valerie and David Blanco were enthusiastic. “You helped us get our home to where it is. It feels brand new, and we love the design and interior fi nishes,” Valerie told Beckert.

Their redo was perfectly timed.

During a management retreat, Camelot Homes had discussed the possibility of adding a division that would o er $350,000-plus remodels of its homes and those built by others. In 2019, company completed another renovation in Grayhawk.

“So our team said, ‘Let’s get serious about this,’ and we began marketing our Custom & Remodel Division to previous Camelot owners in Grayhawk.”

Then in 2020, the pandemic changed homebuilding. Beckert and others thought the Arizona real estate industry, including new-builds and re-builds, would collapse. “Well, I said, ‘There goes that,’” she recalled with a smile. “But it ended up just the opposite. “The pandemic intensifi ed the need for this service.”

People felt imprisoned in four walls and couldn’t escape, even by traveling.

“I think just having to sit in our homes during the pandemic caused a lot of people to focus on aspects of their homes that had been bothering them, but they hadn’t made a priority to fi x,” she said. ”We can do that tomorrow.”

Since then, clients of the remodeling division have been requesting open fl oorplans, removing walls and interior-fi nish makeovers. Other common requests are adding casitas, or separate living quarters, for visiting family and friends; updated workout rooms and o ces; dedicated homework spaces; teen rooms; and wine walls or other type of wine storage, she explained.

“A lot of these existing homes might have an open kitchen, but that could be accompanied by a more formal dining room that goes mostly unused, so this space could be repurposed,” she said. “Or, they want to update their bathroom’s once-popular ornate fi xtures and curving ‘snail’ style showers with a sleeker, symmetrical modern look that brings an open, airy feel to even the most intimate of spaces.”

“With 60 percent of homeowners now saying that having outdoor space is more valuable than indoor square footage, many want seamless connections between indoor and outdoor spaces. Our clients love that they can open up the living room to the outside with the fl ip of switch thanks to roll away pocket walls or quickly change an open space into a private home o ce that keeps the kids, and their noise, out,” said Beckert, who expects the division to triple its business in the next few years.

New technology has helped her team. This includes 3D cameras that accurately measure a client’s living spaces and HGTV-style renderings provide them with a virtual walk-through of their planned space or allow them to explore di erent layouts, fi nishes and fi xtures.

Her clients vary from younger professionals wanting to expand their homes to empty nesters, whose space needs have changed.

Many requests come from existing Camelot homeowners who love the location and quality of their aging homes and want to update them to fi t their changing lifestyles. About half request space additions, depending on their lot sizes.

Often, people who have visited the company’s models ask if the company can build one of the designs on their property, which the company can do through its Custom division. Or they ask if the company can replicate one of the model home kitchens in their existing homes or provide indoor-outdoor living space.

John and Sandra Moses liked their Camelot Home in the Firenze neighborhood at Grayhawk but needed more space for entertaining; they were considering moving.

Then, they visited Camelot’s luxury White Horse models in Scottsdale.

“We loved the open fl oorplan and engaged Camelot’s remodel division to help in reconfi guring our space and updating our interior fi nishes,” Sandra said. “We recently hosted a large dinner party, and everyone loved our new and improved home. We are thrilled with the fi nished product.”

Beckert is very much at home with her professional role. From youth, her grandmother Maggi and mother, Julie, taught her the value of the woman’s viewpoint in home building, she explained.

After graduating from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in communications, she worked at NBC a liate KPNX, The Meyers Group and Nathan and Associates. About 15 years ago, she returned to the family business, fi rst as a sales associate, then marketing manager and today managing director of the Custom & Remodel Division.

For years, people have been regularly calling the company regarding renovations. “But the answer was always, ‘Sorry, we don’t do custom or remodels,’” she said. “We always knew the demand was there, but we just had to fi gure out how to o er the same design quality, craftsmanship and attention to detail before we were willing to put the Camelot name on it.”

Information: camelothomes.com/ custom-remodeling.

Above: Scottsdale homeowners Valerie and David Blanco were delighted with the work that Camelot Homes’ remodeling division did with their McCormick Ranch hosue. “You helped us get our home to where it is. It feels brand new, and we love the design and interior fi nishes,” Valerie said. Right: Third-generation Scottsdale homebuilder Cammie Hancock Beckert led an extensive renovation of a McCormick Ranch home built in the 1970s by her family’s Camelot Homes.

(Courtesy Camelot Homes)