Frustrated Owner Bulldozes Home Ahead Of Foreclosure

MOSCOW, Ohio -- Like many people, Terry Hoskins has had troubles with his bank. But his solution to foreclosure might be unique.

Hoskins said he's been in a struggle with RiverHills Bank over his Clermont County home for nearly a decade, a struggle that was coming to an end as the bank 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.

Bulldozed Home Photos

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.

SURVEY

What do you think about what Terry Hoskins did?

Good for him

Not a good idea

He should be prosecuted

Results | Disclaimer | E-Mail

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.

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.

Man Says Actions Intended To Send Message To Banks

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.

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.

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.

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.

“Paying off the loan with the proceeds of the sale will clear the title.”

Not sure how that would have solved his business debts.

If someone/institution offered to pay off his mortgage for $170k, then he no longer can be the title holder, and would have still been forced to either vacate the property, or rent it out from the new owner.

And, with his home listed as collateral, there is no way for any other buyer to assume ownership of his property, even if they purchased it by paying off the mortgage balance - can’t transact the sale of the property if their is a lien placed on it. In this case, it was the bank that had it listed as collateral against his business loans.

Times are tough, and small businesses are in a fragile state, but if this person overextended himself and made some bad decisions in retrospect, it is not the bank’s fault. He did offer to put up the house as collateral.

One avenue for providing relief to small businesses that are on the brink of default would be TAX RELIEF, assuming that they were not running their business in an incompetent manner.

I say good for Terry Hoskins!

Yes, what a guy. A bank gives him a business loan and takes his land/home as collateral, so that if his business fails they are protected. When his business does indeed fail, he stiffs the bank and then destroys the collateral. What a hero!

Community banks (which this one appears to be) can't afford to take many losses. If they do, guess what happens? They fail. When they fail all their investors lose their money and all their employees lose their jobs. But hey, Hoskins needn't worry about that! He was pissed that the bank was going to adhere to its contractual rights under the agreement he knowingly entered to, so he was perfectly justified in his actions.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.