An Atlanta woman is now seeking explanations after her home was demolished while she was away on vacation.
Sarah Hodgson explained the situation in an interview with The Associated Press.
“I am furious,” she said. “I keep waking up thinking, ‘Is this all a joke or something? I’m just in shock.”
Hodgson said she received a call from a concerned neighbor who had noticed the unauthorized demolition of her vacant house in southwest Atlanta. The neighbor asked Hodgson if she hired construction workers to destroy the home, but when Hodgson said “no,” the neighbor responded, “‘Well, there’s someone over here who just demolished the whole house and tore it all down.’”
Upon the neighbor’s decision to approach the workers, Hodgson said they told the neighbor to “shut up and mind her own business.”
Hodgson then proceeded to contact a family member and requested that they visit the property to assess the situation. Once they arrived, the family member questioned the workers’ permit. Following an examination of the permit by a site supervisor, Hodgson revealed that he conceded to the error, acknowledging that they had mistakenly arrived at the wrong address. As a result, the work crew swiftly disassembled their equipment and vacated the premises, leaving the house ruined.
Even though the house had remained boarded up for approximately 15 years, Hodgson emphasized that the lawn was regularly tended to, and all property taxes were up to date. Hodgson further mentioned that the company accountable for the unfortunate incident, You Call It We Haul It, has not contacted her thus far.
“How do people just go up and tear somebody’s property down and then just drive off? Hodgson asked. “How can they think that’s OK? I just wish he could come fix the problem that he caused.”
She also noted that she has filed a police report and spoken with legal professionals regarding the matter.
“It’s just hard to believe someone thinks they have the right to just come and tear something up and walk away from it and didn’t come back and say ‘I’m sorry. What do I need to do to fix this? It was an accident.’ They didn’t give me nothing,” she said.
