I flip houses, like one of those people you may have seen on "reality" TV. But as any real-life investor will tell you, there's a lot more to it. I've always been intrigued by abandoned or neglected homes. I would come across them at times while working as a newspaper reporter: How did they get that way? What happened to the people who lived there? And what story can be pieced together by the items left behind?Eventually I began dabbling in real estate on the side. My first investment property, called the "fishy" house for the backyard fish pond, did so well that I bought another. And another. And another. After a few years, and with the newspaper industry facing layoffs, cutbacks and an uncertain future, I felt the timing was right to leave and grow my side business into a full-time endeavor.Since then, I have bought, fixed and sold or rented nearly 100 unwanted houses. Along the way I've helped revive neighborhoods and cultivated close relationships with key players including contractors, real estate agents, private lenders and other investors.It's risky and challenging, but also lots of fun. You never know what you will find in an older house, and not just from opening up walls or floors. In one house, hidden behind the clutter, was a vintage stand-up jukebox that I ended up selling to a collector. Another home came with a crude backyard outhouse, and the ex-owner was the retired head plumbing inspector for a local municipality! Yet another house contained a bedroom floor safe hidden beneath carpeting. After the initial excitement, we discovered it was empty. There's also satisfaction from seeing your vision – whether it's remodeling a kitchen, adding a bathroom or opening up a wall – reach fruition. Or from hearing neighbors tell you they are thankful that something is finally being done. Or from watching the controlled chaos of multiple tradespeople working at once to get a house finished on schedule.So I still have deadlines. Just not every day.

Staff writer responsible for researching and writing breaking, investigative or enterprise and feature articles about a broad range of topics for daily Tampa-based newspaper and its real-time interactive web site, TBO.com. Emphasis on covering local governments including the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County. Also covered presidential visits, numerous hurricanes and Tampa Bay's water wars.

Covered Fairfax County government -- Board of Supervisors, District and Circuit courts, school board, politics and law enforcement -- for nine-newspaper chain in Northern Virginia including The Reston Times and Herndon Times. Also supervised reporters and photographers, drafted news budgets, laid out pages, selected photos, edited stories and wrote editorials as well as news and feature stories.

Covered some 20 cities and towns in Montgomery County, Md. and the University of Maryland College Park campus for the Maryland Weekly section. Also wrote regularly for Metro and Real Estate sections.