A Moscow, Ohio man, Terry Hoskins, was losing his $350,000 home to foreclosure over a $160,000 debt. After a long fight with the bank, including the bank rejecting a $170,000 sale, he had enough.
So he bulldozed the home. Crushed it. Destroyed it.
Hoskins said he’d gotten a $170,000 offer from someone to pay off the house, but the bank refused, saying they could get more from selling it in foreclosure. Hoskins told News 5′s Courtis Fuller that he issued the bank an ultimatum.
“I’ll tear it down before I let you take it,” Hoskins told them. And that’s exactly what Hoskins did.
The Moscow man used a bulldozer two weeks ago to level the home he’d built, and the sprawling country home is now rubble, buried under a coating of snow.
“As far as what the bank is going to get, I plan on giving them back what was on this hill exactly (as) it was,” Hoskins said. “I brought it out of the ground and I plan on putting it back in the ground.”
Hoskins’ business in Amelia is scheduled to go up for auction on March 2, and he told Fuller he’s considering leveling that building, too.
RiverHills Bank declined to comment on the situation, but Hoskins said his actions were intended to send a message.
“Well, to probably make banks think twice before they try to take someone’s home, and if they are going to take it wrongly, the end result will be them tearing their house down like I did mine,” Hoskins said. via WLWT.com
What is interesting to me is of course the radical action taken by the homeowner. I am not sure of the legality of it, but the emotion sure does hit a cord with a frustrated population.
The banks have been negligent in managing the foreclosure and short sale processes in the past few years. Too many homeowners are living at the whim of an anonymous banker not sure when they will move out and lose their home or if the bank will allow them to sell at a discounted price in a reasonable time frame.
The one thing that does bug me is the bank not letting a sale for more than the mortgage go through thinking they could make a bigger profit off of Hoskin’s misfortune. There are no winners in this situation, but it is an object lesson for everyone to learn from.
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The one thing that does not make sense here, is if the home is sold for more than the mortgage balance and fees, etc., what say does the bank get in the sale?
My understanding is that banks can't profit from a foreclosure sale and whatever money is brought in over and above what is due to the bank goes to the owner. Maybe the loan amount was $160,000, but the late fees and legal fees for the foreclosure process exceeded the $170,000? Or, maybe some facts are missing.
WOW! That's all I can say. I too wondered why the bank wouldn't except the 170k buyout offer, then I realized that he owed them 1.1 million, and they were trying to get there money back. I don't know how much the "gentleman" is worth totally, but I suspect the bank thinks they'll come up short.
I hate to see anyone in this situation, but his actions IMO are criminal. He knew the rules when they handed him the money, and he didn't play the game.
His Chapter 7 filing will not protect him from the IRS or his collateralized loans (ie the house and business).
Personally, I'm a little surprised that the guy didn't give his story from the slammer!
No, I'm pretty sure that's not legal in any state. Is that true that he owes $1.1 million? If it were me, I'd be glad to give the collateral back to the bank so that I could make a clean break. Now that the bank has no $1.1 million and no collateral, someone is going to jail.
Wow. Most stories you hear people torch it but then you could be arrested for arson.
In this case he could be held for 'demolition without a permit'?
Wow…
Boo freaking hoo! Another homeowner in over his head. I am so sick of hearing about these "homeowners" who don't pay their mortgage but want the rights that go along with owning the home. What is the bank suppose to do…just wipe away the debt. He was making no attempt to fulfill his obligation. I could see if he lost his job or had medical problems but that wasn't the case. He is exploiting hard working americans by pretending he fell on hard times when in fact he made poor business decisions and didn't pay his taxes so the IRS put liens against his house. I don't care if he only owed the bank $160k on a house that "he thinks" is worth $350k. The fact is that if there were no other liens against the property, the bank would have allowed the sale. The don't want the property, they want the money back so they can lend it to other people and make more money. The facts are that the government gets paid first so if he owed the IRS even only $200k, they would have to get paid the entire $200k before the bank gets anything. And this person that he "found" to buy the house for $170k, I bet that he has some kind of relationship with them and that they were planning to buy the $350k house and rent it back to him or split the profit. This guy is shady in every sense of the word.
Wow, Truly a powerful message to all the banks out there who wont help our already distressed population to either keep there home, or at least give them the opportunity to follow a reasonable "exit strategy". As for your post Jamie, I don't agree with the over the top reaction to his problems either, however I dont feel its right to "boo-hoo" a nation that is still deep in crisis. everyone is having pounds of stress piled on top of their lives right now, and a few people are bound to crack and do something brash.
I personally think the bank deserves it. I do not understand why these banks do not work with homeowners to make things better for both sides. I am getting where I hate the banks who do not respond to short sales or in this case saying no to someone who would pay the remaining balance off.
Gary Schultz,
For someone who doesn’t know the difference between EXCEPT and ACCEPT, why do you even bother commenting on this issue? He did play by their game, and they tried to screw him over. His actions are a message to banks. You know, the establishments that used your tax money for a bailout and gave employees bonuses and vacations?
I don't blame him. The banks won't work with people at all. I was not the person who was irreponsible. I bought a home that was well within my budget. I have equity in my house but due to the government and losing my job I missed 2 payments I can now continue to make the payment and extra to make up the 2 I missed but they won't work with me to accomplish this. I am one of the few who could save their home but they won't let me. They are frauds liars and cheats. That is the banks and our government. They are lying when they say they want to help.
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