For kwELITE bilingual Realtor Perla Campuzano, every transaction is a personal one.
When deciding what career Campuzano would pursue after high school, she recalled her mother telling her to do something that would help others and impact her community in a positive way.
Campuzano, who speaks English and Spanish fluently, has never forgotten her upbringing, and in a lot of ways, it still inspires her. She graduated from Schuyler Central High and then Central Community College-Columbus, and now she’s determined to help others achieve their American Dream of homeownership.
“If you give somebody the tools to be successful, they will be. It’s very important you know how to handle your money – the small details make a huge difference,” Campuzano said.
Campuzano’s path to real estate began several years ago while she was working as a universal banker at a local Columbus bank.
“That’s where I really noticed the importance of having somebody you trust who speaks the same language because I was dealing with clients who were from other countries, where the banking system is very different,” she recalled, noting how she often educated clients on the difference between checking and savings accounts, as well as the importance of establishing credit.
She eventually became the director of finances and operations for a local nonprofit organization Centro Hispano, which was established in 2009 and provides services in immigration, education, and business, primarily in Platte, Colfax, and Madison counties.
But she had known going back to her days at the bank that she felt she could make the most impact by becoming a real estate agent. She earned her license by mid-2020 but wasn’t sure what was next. A Google search prompted her to reach out to a lender to get advice on picking a brokerage to work with – that took her to kwELITE.
“I reached out to a lender I had a good relationship with, and they said, ‘hands down, kwELITE. You won’t regret it. They’re innovative, they have the training and the tools necessary to be successful. You’ll fit right in and you’ll love it,’” Campuzano recalled the lender saying.
“I met with (kwELITE Broker/Owner) Renee Mueller, and I am just so grateful I joined the right team in my opinion. The training is there, the environment that is here it just drives you to want more, to be successful, to step it up. I’m surrounded by all these successful agents here and they truly motivate me to want to step it up and be better every time.”
Campuzano, who also volunteers her time with the Columbus Area Children’s Museum project, as well as the Columbus and Schuyler development committees, takes pride in being one of three kwELITE agents who is bilingual. She said she feels it’s important people who speak any language have the ability to improve their lives by buying a home – having a person who they can talk to and trust is critical to making it happen. Language can’t be a barrier, she stressed.
A recent closing was yet another reminder for Campuzano as to why she loves what she does as a kwELITE realtor: Helping more and more people find their home.
“One of the clients started crying when I was able to give them their keys, saying, ‘we’ve never had a place of our own.’ Her kids were smiling from ear to ear, and that really resonated with me because I saw how happy the family was,” Campuzano said. “It reminded me how grateful I am for everything. At the end of the day, it’s just a very rewarding job – it really is.”