David and Regina Drury: Loving Life in North Brunswick County
By Linda Thomas
Bubbly, effervescent, outgoing, talkative, funny …not words that come immediately to mind when you think “accountant”. But that’s just what Regina Drury did for a living before finding her true calling in real estate in the very active Cape Fear market.
The journey from New York to Wilmington was the first part of a major life change for Regina and her husband David. Changing her career came later and today the couple are amazed at how much their life has changed in just four years.
Regina and David married twelve years ago and lived a pretty typical life for a young couple in the northeast. They owned a house in NY, but even with both working at good jobs, they lived paycheck-to-paycheck, especially through the winter months when the heating oil bills were huge. David had an hour commute each way to work, making for very long workdays and leaving little time for a social life. They talked about moving to Florida “someday”.
One snowy New York night, David went off to work his night shift as a pressman at Poughkeepsie Journal. At home Regina browsed the Internet for jobs from VA to FL. One caught her eye… an ad for an experienced pressman at a NY Times paper in Wilmington, NC, with that alluring, magical word for the snowbound… BEACH! She faxed David’s resume on the spot and the very next morning there was a message on the phone asking David to give them a call!
They drove down to NC the next weekend and loved Wilmington at first sight. The interview went well and the Drurys were swept up with excitement. But on the long trip home David’s conservative nature kicked in and he began to have second thoughts in comparing the technology of the two newspapers. At this turn of events, Regina was so disappointed that she didn’t talk all the way home—a ten hour drive. This was completely out of character for Regina.
But all was not lost. Their pile of mail included a notice of a property tax increase of $800. For David, that was the last straw… it was time for a change. After a false start looking for a home with a full basement and an acre of land in New Hanover County, they “discovered” the more relaxed Leland and the Brunswick County lifestyle.
Regina had no trouble finding accounting work through temporary services. She learned her way around Wilmington by working in three distinctly different fields— medical, insurance and finally in real estate development for Bald Head Island. Then the couple started buying and fixing up houses to rent or re-sell using David’s handyman skills and Regina’s financial expertise. Regina joined the Wilmington Real Estate Investment Group and went on to take real estate classes although she wasn’t planning on using the license. But the passion for real estate was growing as she learned more about it.
Despite all this activity, the couple found the first year tough. They missed their close-knit family and David missed his fast-pitch softball league. “I missed being able to just call up Mom or my sister to come over and see my new curtains or share other little things with them,” said Regina. But as the oldest child, she was used to toughing it out and being strong. After a lot of thought, Regina announced that she wanted to quit her job and become a realtor. A supportive partner, David’s only comment was, “OK, as long as I can still play ice hockey, let’s do it on a trial basis.” The announcement came as no surprise to friends, family and co-workers, because they had seen her growing interest and how successful the couple had been with their own ventures. So as always Regina and David came up with a plan, giving themselves a financial cushion by selling one of their rental properties.
All of that turned out to be moot. Regina started with Century 21 Sweyer & Associates in May 2005 and closed her first house in 9 days! She followed up with a closing every month since, even during the 2006 slowdown in the market. In 2006, her first full year, she sold 44 homes, putting her in the top 2% of Century 21 agents internationally, and designating her at the Centurion level. This year she’s aiming for double Centurion.
This dynamic young couple works very much as a team. David provides balance and quiet support. He’s even been known to mow a client’s lawn or clean a pool to help Regina make the best possible showing of a property. Regina always finds ways to do things faster or better and is very available to her clients. The big empty space in the Drury’s dining room is evidence of her determination to go the extra mile. Regina gave her dining table to a client moving into a new home over the holidays and has been too busy to replace it since.
Like many new residents, the Drurys say they’d never move back north. Regina’s Mom has since moved here, her Dad visits frequently, and Regina’s clients have become like family. The couple has found it easier to find friends here, saying “up North everyone tends to work a couple of jobs and there are few stay-at-home Moms. Here, people seem to be more relaxed and have more time to be social. It’s a great lifestyle and we love the weather. We may have been born in New York, but we were born to live here.”
The Drurys find their new life both exciting and rewarding. Regina sums it up like this, “Life has changed so much in our four years in the Wilmington area. We both come from pretty poor backgrounds and now have much more than we ever dreamed. I grew up in a 900 square foot house with three siblings. With our new life for us and the “kids”—Darla and Bronson, our two lovable dogs, we feel like we’re truly living the American Dream.”
What’s next for this dynamic couple who are truly best friends? Well, they’ll soon be moving into a new custom home they’re building in Waterford. After that the couple hopes to get a better balance of work and play in their lives, so they can enjoy all that the Wilmington area has to offer and of course, get to the beach more!
Opinions in the magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent management views.