Original Blog Entry: Man bulldozes home to avoid foreclosure

truesee — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:57:30 GMT

Mon Feb 22, 6:06 PM ET

Foreclosure Victim Bulldozes Home

Man Says He Wanted To Send Message To Banks

POSTED: 8:18 am CST February 19, 2010

UPDATED: 9:23 am CST February 19, 2010

MOSCOW, Ohio --

Like many people, Terry Hoskins has had troubles with his bank. But his solution to foreclosure might be unique, Cincinnati TV station WLWT reported. Hoskins said he's been struggling with a bank over his Clermont County home for nearly a decade, a struggle that was coming to an end as the bank recently began foreclosure proceedings on his $350,000 home.

When I see I owe $160,000 on a home valued at $350,000, and someone decides they want to take it no, I wasn't going to stand for that, so I took it down, Hoskins said.

The Moscow man used a bulldozer two weeks ago to level the home he built. The sprawling country estate 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 said the Internal Revenue Service placed liens on his carpet store and commercial property on state Route 125 after his brother, a one-time business partner, sued him.

The bank claimed his home as collateral, Hoskins said, and went after both his residential and commercial properties.

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.

It was then that Hoskins said he issued the bank an ultimatum.

I'll tear it down before I let you take it, he told them.

So that's exactly what Hoskins did.

Hoskins' business is scheduled to be auctioned off March 2, and he said 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, he said.

LINK TO VIDEO AND SLIDESHOW:

http://www.wlwt.com/news/22600154/detail.html

... [ More ]