The Home Front

Man Guts Home, Gets Jail Sentence

By Luke Mullins

Posted: June 26, 2008

Gutting one's home just before it's lost to foreclosure has become an increasingly common part of the mortgage crisis. But before you rip out that copper wiring, take a look at this cautionary tale from Pennsylvania.

From the Associated Press:

A former Mercer County mortgage broker who gutted his $1.2 million home before a sheriff's sale has been sentenced to three to 15 months in jail and must pay more than $174,000 to an insurance company.

Authorities say Scott McCuskey, 40, of Sharpsville, stripped cabinets, toilets, a Jacuzzi, locks, garage doors and other items. He was convicted of defrauding creditors and fraud in insolvency in April.

McCuskey unsuccessfully argued to Mercer County Court Judge Thomas Dobson on Tuesday that he didn't know he couldn't take the items. His home was collateral on a loan he defaulted on in 2004. Dobson, noting McCuskey worked as a mortgage broker, didn't accept the argument.

Hey, I love my toilet, too—but not enough to go to jail for it.

Banks Ripoff Victims with Foreclosure & Tax Payers with Bailout

You can’t take things that are affixed to the property. However you do have the right to remodel your home as long as you still own it. If the home is gutted for a remodel and the bank refuses to give you the time you need to get the job done, that would be the banks problem. You may want to put them on notice that your home is being remodeled right now. You will be finished in a few years won’t you?

Robert Young of IL @ Nov 15, 2009 13:59:34 PM

PREDATORY LENDERS MAKE BILLIONS ON FORECLOSURES

You sure don’t want to go to jail for keeping your own things. Leave it all, dead fish, rotten eggs, doggy dodo. Toss it all up in the attic where it belongs. The thieving rates want everything you’ve got, let them have it.

Rachel Coats of CA @ Nov 15, 2009 11:20:03 AM

ROCK ON!

You know, I don't know all of the details of this guy's collateral loan or what he put into the house but I ADMIRE THIS GUY FOR WHAT HE DID. These banks make you sign your life away to get even the smallest loan. Let's just say he paid for everything he took to increase the value of the house and because of hard times, the economy or whatever, the bank would be happy to sell it for 1.2 million when maybe he bought it for $200,000 and make the profit. It's common for a mortgage broker to buy a house, spend a lot of money to fix it up and turn it for a profit. So between the time he took hold of the house and before the sale, he put in and took back what he paid for. If I bought $500,000 worth of marble, tile and granite and had it imported, why would I give that "as a gift" to the bank. NO WAY! They wouldn't do it, so neither should we.

Not only that, what if his collateral loan was only for $50,000? They would sell your house to pay that off. Did you read about that woman in Utah that had her house sold for $6,000 for a $63 unpaid dental bill? She paid $51,000 in mortgage payments and they still won't give her the house back or the money she put in! It's TOTAL B.S.!!!

I think it's really sad that a court would put him in jail for preventing the bank from making money off of his efforts. It's ridiculous. No wonder he was so shocked.

And that other comment is right - if it was a German or Spanish immigrant here on a visa, they would have never pursued them like they did this guy. The justice system is just not fair.

Jaime of FL @ Jul 03, 2008 11:13:29 AM

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The Home Front

The Home Front

Associate Editor Luke Mullins tracks the treacherous housing market and explains how to unload a five-bedroom McMansion or even find that dream home.

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