Imagine getting your home demolished and rather than the city seeking forgiveness for the mishap, they shove a bill in your face for the demolition costs. Rage would be an understatement to describe the surge of emotions that creep up in difficult situations.
Everett Tripodis resides in Atlanta’s West End and the city demolished his house by mistake. The situation turned into a headache after he was slapped with a lawsuit to have the entire property foreclosed unless he pays the $68,000 demolition costs.
Tripodis’ property is now empty space after his residence was demolished without any kind of notice. The management mailed out letters informing the owner that “the property had been labeled unfit for habitation,” but they sent them to the incorrect address.
Tripodis and his mother had purchased the house as an investment property and were in the midst of remodelling it when the city went ahead, demolishing the property. After tearing down the place, the city of Atlanta is suing the property owner and threatening to foreclose on the empty land unless he paid for the cost of the demolition, which was a whopping $68,000.
Tripodis explained: “The demolition order itself gave the city and its contractor authority to demolish a home on a completely different street and a completely different zip code. It blows my mind how they could have mistakenly sent these to the wrong address. I come and meet the contractor one morning, and the whole house is gone. Everything is gone. Nothing but dirt.”
The homeowner filed a claim for damages but the city of Atlanta refused to compensate him stating, “the city cannot accept responsibility for his matter and therefore cannot pay this claim.” They retaliated by filing a lawsuit to cover the demolition costs.
“When I saw that came from the city, I was quite excited,” Tripodis said. “Maybe it was a letter of apology. Maybe it was a check. Maybe they’re going to justly compensate me. I opened it up and realized that they were suing me.”
“After you air the story, after everyone sees it, instead of them fixing the problem, they double down and do it again,” Tripodis added. “It’s like after the slap comes the spit in my face. I’m just frustrated.”
There was no apology or remorse; the city was more keen on extracting money after the careless mistake. The city stated: “The property should be sold at public outcry unless one or more of the interested parties tenders the full redemption amount,” which includes the original demolition costs plus interest, which adds up to $68,000.
Tripodis is in the hot seat; he’s stuck with an empty lot and a stress-inducing lawsuit. His case is in the hands of a Fulton County superior court judge.