DETROIT (WXYZ) - There's been a positive development in the story of Texana Hollis, the 101-year-old woman evicted from her home . She will now get her southwest Detroit home back after a heartbreaking ordeal.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD asked a 36th District Court Officer to go to the home and cut off the locks that were put on the house on Monday. Texana will now be able to return to her house on Carbondale.
The 101-year-old is, however, currently in the hospital. She was rushed by ambulance to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit on Monday night. She was suffering from severe anxiety after being evicted from the home she had lived in for 58 years.
Earlier on Wednesday, Call for Action reporter Bill Spencer began digging for information in this case. He talked with Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnne Watson, who promised she would do whatever she could to help Texana.
Watson visited Texana in the hospital, knelt by her bed and prayed with her. Watson then went to talk directly to the Detroit Director of HUD, the agency that took posession of the home.
Action News also found out the background on what really happened and why Texana and her son Warren Hollis were evicted from their home.
At first, it was thought that Texana's son had signed a reverse mortgage on the house or that maybe it was a back-taxes issue.
It turns out that Warren took out a second mortgage on the home in return for $32,000. He claims the money was spent on repairs for the house. He also admits to buying a car with the money and donating some of the money to his church.
He says the remaining $5,000 was used to pay a number of other expenses. Warren Hollis defaulted on the second mortgage and never told his mother what was going on or that he was receiving eviction notices and warnings. The news broke her heart and she had no time to prepare for being evicted.
The house no longer belonged to Texana Hollis or her son Warren - who had been living with her. It belonged to HUD. The agency had asked for a court order to have the occupants removed from the home.
One of the judges from the 36th District Court granted that order several weeks ago and the order was carried out on Monday.
Marilyn Atkins, Chief Judge of the 36th District Court, told Action News that the court officer who evicted Texana talked to her son repeatedly for a solid week telling them they had to find a place to go. They were reportedly told that they were going to be evicted in a matter of days.
The Chief Judge says that her court did everything legally possible to alert Texana and her son that they were coming to padlock the house and say they followed the law to the letter.
Texana Hollis was completely broken-hearted and couldn't stop crying when we talked to her on Monday night.
Neighbors say court officers carried her out of her home and left her sitting in her wheelchair on the sidewalk, alongside all of her furniture and belongings.Neighbors eventually put Texana into a vacant rental home on the same block and she sat there all day.
A close friend and neighbor couldn't believe what was happening. "We don't even treat animals like that in the city of Detroit," said Laurie Ridgell.
The saddest part of the whole situation was that Texana and her late husband Ira Sr., owned this home outright. It was bought and paid for.
Meantime, several organizations offered to help Texana and we've received calls from all over the country on this story.
Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/hud-will-give-home-back-to-evicte...
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/hud-will-give-home-back-to-evicte...
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101-year-old evictedby wxyztvdetroit1,788 views
omg !!!
lorielles6666 4 months ago
Its a great thing that she had recieved her house back but it also isnt fair theres several people that has had their homes taken away and no one cares they still make them get out and live on the street so the hud people actually needs to do something to help all people not just certain people
MsLittlebit1988 4 months ago
Praise God!!
nelletuorg 5 months ago
fucc the haters, this was the right thing to do.
moeoctx 5 months ago
Disgusting way to treat a woman of that age
scottishbadboytracks 5 months ago 2