When Adam Hubregtse, 43, returned home from his final deployment as an aircraft maintenance expert at Tinker Air Force Base, he was happy to see his wife and children after seven months.
“I remember my oldest was at the airport,” Hubregtse said. She was 3. She was wearing a little green dress and holding a sign that said, "Welcome home."
Hubregtse served in the Air Force for 20 years, and now, four years after his military retirement, he is thriving as a real estate agent, pest control company owner, father of three and husband of 15 years in Oklahoma City.
Originally from South Dakota, Hubregtse moved to Oklahoma in the early 2000s for his military career. He said he never intended to go into real estate after leaving the Air Force.
“Somebody that I was serving with had his license and encouraged me to do the same,” he said.
That was in 2021.
Why the military?
“When I was 19, [I] didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life, and I figured the military is a good way to start a career and do something with a higher purpose,” he said. “Twenty years flew by pretty quickly.”
During his time in the Air Force, Hubregtse held many roles.
“I think that's what always drove me was that you're doing something for a greater good that's bigger than yourself,” he said.
His military background — leading large teams, managing constant strategy and negotiation, and staying calm under pressure — has translated seamlessly into real estate, he said, where adaptability and resilience are key to navigating unpredictable situations and guiding clients with confidence.
“Real estate is much more at a personal level because you're guiding people through the entire process,” he said. “You have much more of a daily interaction with them.”
In addition to skills and opportunities, the Air Force also led him to his wife, Gina.
“We were actually in the same career field our entire career together” in the military, he said. “The last 10 years of our career, we were married.”
Real estate allows for flexibility
Hubregtse said it’s not common for people with his experience to go into real estate after retiring from the military. “We have a heavy civilian presence here in Oklahoma, and we have a lot of defense contractors,” he said. “Most people in our career field transition into those type of roles.”
His wife is one of them.
However, Hubregtse wanted more control over his schedule after having limited time with family while in the service.
“I missed out on a lot with my wife and kids on those deployments,” he said. “Being able to be a Realtor … you've got more control over your day-to-day activities.”
He said it allows him the time to make memories — including silly ones at the dentist.
“About six months ago, I took all three of my kids. My son was the last one to go, and the hygienist was like, 'We're going to need a little more time. These teeth are really dirty. Has he been brushing?”’ Hubregtse recalled.
From what Hubregtse could tell, his son, Tristan, was brushing every night, but his daughter, Tegan, revealed it wasn’t with a toothbrush.
He was putting toothpaste on a marble and swishing it around his mouth. "I'm like, 'Oh, my God, why?” Hubregtse said.
These are the stories he loves being able to tell, he said.
“Those are the things that you miss out on all the time on active duty,” he said. “Just being able to be there first thing in the morning, to wake them up, being able to be there to put them to bed every night, those are things that … a lot of people take for granted.”
It took decades to become a local
He’s been in Oklahoma for more than 20 years, but Hubregtse said he didn’t start feeling like a local until he left the Air Force.
“We realized that we weren't going to move,” he said. “We were going to stay here even after our retirement.”
In addition to real estate, Hubregtse also operates a pest control business called Mosquito Shield of Greater Oklahoma City, which he and his wife started in 2022.
“We offer a mosquito and tick control services, which is really the bulk of what we do, but we also offer general parameter pest services,” he said.
Hubregtse said the pest control world is similar to the military.
“It's an industry where people are normally happy, but you don't hear a lot of the positive things,” he said. “From my military background as an aircraft maintainer, it’s an inherently negative world, because you're always so busy. You don't get a lot of praise heaped on you for doing the job well, but you get told very quickly when the job did not go well. Pest control is very similar in that regard.”
How is real estate similar?
Hubregtse said there are some similarities between the military and real estate.
“It’s all about personal experience … People want to know that they're heard, that they're respected, that you value their opinions and their time.”
Hubregtse said he looks forward to continuing to grow in his business and life post-military.
“I'm really just looking forward to spending time with the family,” he said. “Our kids will graduate in the next six to eight years. It’s amazing how fast time goes. One day they're in diapers, and the next day they're talking back to you … I'm just really trying to live in the moment, not get too focused on what's too far down the road.”
The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
What trends are you seeing in your market?
If you are pricing homes where they should be for the current market, you're marketing them correctly. Sellers are willing to negotiate, but if you're not willing to put the marketing effort into it, then they're sitting. The overall trend, even though we've been in a down market for the last two years here, is that your median home prices have continued to rise.
What do you think is the biggest mistake first-time buyers make?
It's maxing out their budget. A lot of people get stuck in the “my lender said I can afford x amount a month, and I'm going to go all the way up to that amount.” Hypothetically, if we said your budget was $1,000 and you were right at the top of that budget, and then next year, when your home insurance and your property taxes go up and your salary did not adjust with that, well, now you're really in a pinch.
What are your hobbies?
I'm a huge Denver Broncos fan. We were on the season ticket waiting list for 15 years, and we actually got them this year. We're Thunder season ticket-holders. I'm an avid outdoor fan, too. We moved out of the city when we retired, and we're on 15 acres now — just being able to be outdoors, have our garden space, have our chickens.
What are you binge-watching?
I wish there were more episodes, but we just finished watching "Chad Powers." Of course, being a sports fan, I love that show. The premise was he was a college football quarterback, and in the national championship game, he dropped the ball because he was very egotistical. When that happened, his entire reputation got trashed. He wanted to be relevant again, so he ended up playing dress-up and going to this no-name college as a quarterback eight years after that incident. It’s just funny.
Bonus questions: What advice do you have for people coming out of the military and pursuing a new career?
The biggest advice I would give is work on all the things that are within your control while you’re on active duty. The military is a phenomenal way to build your resume, your hard and soft skills. There's so much opportunity to have a lot of your education paid for … No matter if you love or hate the military, the opportunities to continue to build yourself for success when you either separate or retire? Don't take those lightly.
What, if anything, would you change about your home?
Remodel the kitchen. I can't stand it. It just doesn't flow very well. It’s not as open as I'd like it to be.