Debra "Debbie" O'Connell

Experienced Managing Broker with a demonstrated history of working in the real estate industry. Skilled in Negotiation, Sales, Real Property, Waterfront Property, and Rentals.

Debbie is a calm, grace-under-pressure real estate professional who believes in facing challenges head on. Debbie has seen the market's highs and lows and learned there is a way through all of it since being licensed in 2008 and becoming a managing broker in 2014. The real estate market crashed just before Debbie became licensed. Even in a down market, she earned Rookie of the Year her first year. Debbie received a Communications degree with a minor in marketing from ODU and after spending 10 years in advertising sales for the Virginian Pilot, and taking a break to raise children, Debbie knew she found a career that would use her education and experience in sales and marketing as well as her desire to serve and help people. As an agent she used that motivation to help her clients achieve their real estate goals. Some of Debbie's problem-solving resilience was developed in her growing years as a military child. Debbie was born in Germany and moved 12 times by the time she reached her senior year of high school. She attended 3 different high schools. But with a supportive family and a mom who taught her that home is where you make it, Debbie came out with an inner strength that has stood the tests of life. Throughout those years the Army made Virginia Debbie's home three times. It is no wonder that Debbie came to settle here. Despite the wanderlust that hits every now and then after years of moving, she has settled in Virginia. Debbie shares 5 children with her husband Ralph. They have a sweet black hound dog Dixie and a crazy black cat Cairo, both rescues who play and fight like siblings. When Debbie isn't helping an agent through a problem, she loves to volunteer in her community. She's very involved in her church. She loves to take meals to people in need. Debbie pours herself into other people in every way she finds a need. To unwind, Debbie loves to spend time with family, read and sew. There's something about piecing together a quilt in the quiet of her home that helps her recharge and clear her mind. Baby quilts have been her latest project. The smaller more manageable project is just what she needs in her otherwise busy life.