A few weeks ago I showed "before and after" pics of our current home to my eight year old grandson. He didn't recognize the "before" pics as the very spot in our dining room where we sat together. He didn't recognize the "before" pics of the yard where we had just played soccer. He wondered why I did all this work and my best response was that I just enjoy fixing things that need repair.
And that's why we've lived in five fixer upper houses and flipped two other homes that needed complete rehab. And loved almost every minute of it. There always seems to be a list of about fifteen people who call me when things are wrong with their house: they need a deck or deck repair; the kitchen or bathroom needs refreshing; shelves or handrails are needed. The list can get pretty long. Its win-win: they get a home improvement and I get the satisfaction of knowing someone's home is improved.