But at the heart is something else, something about why people buy a sad old house and restore it. It's something about taking a place that raised families and saw World Wars, and putting its youthful face back on. I haven't confirmed this, but I will bet that behind the plaster walls of at least one of these houses he has found old newspapers and other manifestations of past lives.
Sure, he's not completely altruistic; I think he'd love to turn a nice profit on the houses. Who wouldn't? But by renovating an individual house--or sixteen, in his case--he's doing his part to improve the fabric of his community.
If the profit happens, it happens. If not, he's done what he was driven to do.
