Community Corner

Acworth Man: 'Give Some Small Thought to Human Suffering' in Foreclosures

After grooming the lawn of a foreclosed home for nearly a year, Eric Birdsell returned from work to find his former neighbor's belongings outside in the pouring rain.

Updated 3 p.m.

The belongings of an Acworth family affected by foreclosure were still outside the home off Cedarcrest Road on Monday, neighbor Eric Birdsell said. They were placed on the lawn Thursday.

Paulding County authorities require the furniture and personal belongings be removed with 48 hours, according to Birdsell, who said he plans to file a complaint with the Paulding County Marshal's Office.   

"Strangers and, sadly, neighbors have picked through (their) belongings and taken anything decent so what's left is the moldy, rain-soaked furniture and boxes of personal stuff," Birdsell tells Acworth Patch, adding he wished the county would "come out and check on this themselves."    

"It's just a sad sign of our times and the lack of respect that's given to families that have pretty much lost everything that they've worked so hard for," Birdsell added. "Tough to witness." 

Original Report

The foreclosure of a neighbor's house hit home for an Acworth man.

Eric Birdsell's neighbors lost their home and for about a year, he and another neighbor, have groomed the lawn "weekly simply not to give the visual to any  passerby that that this house was abandoned," Birdsell said in an email to Acworth Patch. "We never spoke of what or why we were doing this, but it was pretty much a given."

Thursday, Birdsell said he returned home from work to discover belongings the family left behind had been placed in the driveway and on the lawn.    

"It was pouring rain and anything that might have been able to be salvaged for any kind of charity or especially (the family) was ruined instantly, family photos included," Birdsell said. 

The scene brought thoughts of his family's move to Georgia.

"We moved into an awesome little house off of Cedarcrest Road in Acworth a couple of years ago (and) fell in love with our neighbors and the whole Georgia 'country-caring' attitudes," he said.     

Birdsell said he didn't see any love or caring with furniture, electronics and personal possessions strewn about his former neighbor's yard.

"My point is that I don't really know how the whole (foreclosure) process works but I would think that a mortgage company, bank, whomever it may be that sent people over to gut this house and their family history, would have the decency to bring in a Dumpster for the trash, call Goodwill for a pickup, or give some small thought to the human suffering that goes along with this process," he said.

Birdsell said he doesn't know "who took the house over" but thinks "they are seriously poorly managed."


Tell us what you think in the comments, share your photos and videos, and don’t miss any of the local news you care about—subscribe to Acworth Patch's newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Acworth