Standing near a burned mattress and charred pieces of wood, Ray Abboud vowed to continue with his longtime plans to renovate a nearly century-old home in the east end of York.

Abboud, the president of a home restoration company, directed construction and cleanup crews into 1014 E. Princess St. to address an estimated $50,000 in fire damages.

Fire crews were called to the vacant home just before 3:15 a.m. Thursday and arrived to find flames coming out of the two-story red brick building.

Investigators determined someone set the fires at multiple places inside, said Deputy Chief Steve Buffington, of York City Fire Services. The property had no working utilities and was boarded up until someone broke in, he said.

"It is definitely arson," Buffington said.

Most of the damage was contained to two rear rooms on the first floor, he said.

Abboud is the president of RMA Enterprises and Cash Now, in Mount Wolf, which specializes in buying and fixing up properties. He estimates he has rehabilitated 75 properties over the years.

Abboud purchased the East Princess Street property at a judicial sale. There were nearly $80,000 in back taxes due. He got it for less than $5,000 in 2007.

For the past two years, he said he has been in a legal battle to evict a man who had been squatting at the property. The man was finally evicted recently. The squatter was staying in a home that the city condemned in 2005, he said.

Construction crews were ready to begin

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rehabilitation Thursday when the arsonist hit, he said.

Abboud said he won't be deterred because the home is well constructed, has a gated lot and nice property in a good neighborhood.

"It is a worthy investment," he said.