'Why Did They Demolish My House?'
A Pittsburgh man returned to his home after the holidays to find workers demolishing it.

Andre Hall, 40, purchased the foreclosed home in November with the plans to fix it up. He planned to move in with his family in three weeks.

"I don't come for a week over the holiday, and as soon as I come back, I see a backhoe on top of the house," Hall told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Why did they demolish the house? They could see I had put in new windows and had slabs of drywall."

Hall was given six months after purchasing the condemned and foreclosed home in November to make repairs. The house, which had stood vacant for five years, was assessed at $31,000 and had extensive water damage.

John Jennings, acting chief of Pittsburgh’s Bureau of Building Inspection, said Hall had not obtained a building permit to do work on the house yet. However, Jennings said he told crews on Nov. 3 that the home no longer should be demolished.

"A couple things went awry," Jennings told the local newspaper. "The house next door was to be demolished, and the contractor, in error, took this house down as well."

Source: “West End Demolition Leaves Property, Owner Empty,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Jan. 5, 2011)