id torch the house and say oops, collect insurance. I would hate to have a house and not a car to get around. Friends and family usually have a place for you to stay but rarely a car for you to drive.

It's too bad he had to torch that Escort wagon as it appears the be one of the few (around here anyway) that didn't rust to the point of having the rear struts go through the floor. They made great little work horses and it looks like the car was loyal to his so why destroy it? He should have set something else on fire to raise the money. Why not build a giant hand with middle finger extended with the bank's name on it and set that on fire?

I don't understand why he got help honestly. He was 2 years in negotiation, which means he knew about it and thus wasn't a "out of nowhere" demand from the bank. If you can't afford a certain type of house, don't buy it and buy something that works on your budget. Too many people these days are going more on image (even if they can't afford it) to look good. Image seems to be the only thing important.

Poor Escort.

Lol... I love cars, don't get me wrong, but simple math rules the day once emotions are set aside. A $150,000 place of primary residence... or an Escort with 267,000 miles on the odometer that's worth at best maybe a grand if it were parted out, or $700 if not. I think given the situation - aside from a poor choice of where he burned it - it was a brilliant move.

Fully agree with GTwildfire. Plus if you have a family you can't burn your house and live in your car.

LOL an only in America story. Burn and earn nice