Why do I care so much about houses?

Simply put, houses are like people.  Every one of them has a story, and every one of them deserves the chance to be its best self.  After these years of going into house after house after house after house with a variety of different clients and also as an investor-buyer myself, I learned a few things about myself that led me to where I'm at now. First, I learned that I really despise a LOT about the vocation of 'real estate agent' - so much about it involves posturing and salesmanship and truth-stretching.  People said in the beginning that I'll just have to get used to that part, and at times I have even felt myself leaning toward the siren song of a closing, despite my reservations about the deal, but so far I feel I've been able to resist.  I'm confident now that I just don't have to be that way in order to succeed.  Second, I realized what I probably knew all along, but hadn't been consciously aware of - that I just love houses.  They are the places in which our lives happen, and despite my sentimental and emotional attachment to whatever is called 'home' at the present, I love the thought of how a new home can be the backdrop of our lives into the future.  For a while that surprised me about myself, because I really attach myself strongly to the smells, sounds, feels, and visuals of 'place' and I feel my memories very strongly at all times, but over time I've learned that my curiosity about trying new things pulls harder on my heartstrings.  When I walk into a house, any house, with a client or on my own, I start to 'see' how it can fit a new family, a new style, a new energy that might come with a new owner.  It really is quite fun - the possibilities are never-ending, and each buyer has their own set of issues and requirements that present a challenge.  What can be done to those sad, forgotten, aging, badly decorated, dirty, unlandscaped - or just a little unloved - homes that can make them the backdrop for the future of a new owner?  THAT is the question that I love to answer, it's the thing that I think about at night after seeing a property that has caught my eye and my imagination.  I've been fortunate to have been able to get my hands dirty on a few of these lovelies myself, and also to have worked with buyers that needed guidance in transforming one for themselves.  This site includes the stories behind some of them - and I'm always looking for new challenges from buyers looking for that diamond in the rough, houses that are begging to be flipped, and from those that need the perfect home for a specific set of needs.