The only thing worse than heading home after a long relaxing vacation? Heading home from a long relaxing vacation … only to discover that your home had been wrongfully demolished in your absence.


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This nightmare-inducing scenario recently became a reality for Sarah Hodgson, who returned from a trip only to find that a property owned by her family in Southwest Atlanta had apparently been torn down in error by a local demolition company, You Call It We Haul It.



The home had been vacant for “about 15 years” — “We keep it boarded, covered, grass cut, and the yard is clean,” Hodgson explained, adding that “the taxes are paid and everything is up on it” —  yet she was less-than-thrilled to discover that a local demolition company had their way with it, reducing it to a pile of wood and personal items.


This demolition, however, was not without lack of intervention. After noticing the crews, one neighbor reached out to Hodgson, asking her if she had hired anyone to tear down the vacant home. When she said no, her neighbor decided to confront the team, receiving a less-than-kind reply from one worker.


“He told her to shut up and mind her own business,” Hodgson told AP.

Hodgson then sent a family member to the property, who asked to see the construction crew’s permits. Upon checking the permit, they realized that they were in fact correct, admitting they had gone to the wrong address, but it was too late. The home was already gone.



“How do people just go up and tear somebody’s property down and then just drive off?” Hodgson asked, noting that she had filed a police report and had begun speaking with local attorneys. “I keep waking up thinking, ‘Is this all a joke or something?’ I’m just in shock.”


We can only hope she lands a massive settlement from this structural SNAFU — one that can afford her as many vacations as she pleases.