We all love an underdog, don’t we? Someone who won’t be bullied, who will stand up for themselves and their rights in the face of all-powerful corporations and governments, they give us all hope that we little guys do have the power after all.
Often referred to as ‘nail houses’ or ‘holdouts,’ such as these have become high profile media sensations, particularly in China where the brave homeowners receive widespread support against the perceived bullying of the powers that be. Anyone who has seen the movie ‘Up,’ or Australian classic ‘The Castle‘ will identify with this! These holdout cases most often happen when the government needs land for highway building or decides to do resident relocation of the whole village if the land that it sits on serves a purpose for mining or other heavy industries. Since selling property isn’t something that can be forced, some people stand their ground, refusing to take the ridiculously small buy out cash.
Scroll down to see the astonishing examples below, and don’t forget to vote for your favorite!
#1 Edith Macefield Refused To Sell Her Home Even After Being Offered More Than 1 Million Dollars For It. She Later Became The Inspiration For The Movie “Up”
#2 Mary Cook Had Refused To Sell Her Narrow, Handsome Home While All The Neighboring Homes Were Demolished. Today The House Sits Tightly Squeezed Between Its Giant Neighbors, Looking Much Like An Illustration From A Children’s Story Book
Image source: wirednewyork.com
#3 My Elderly Mother Doesn’t Want To Move, She Is Now Surrounded By New Townhouses In All Directions
Image source: KPexEA
#4 Vera Coking First Refused To Sell Her House To Bob Guccione, Who Wanted To Build His Casino Around It. Later She Refused To Sell To Donald Trump
Image source: Library of Congress, Press of Atlantic City
#5 An Owner That Refused To Sell His House In Melbourne, Australia
Image source: EddieAteDynamite
#6 One Resident Of A Toronto Duplex Refused To Sell, So They Cut It In Half
Image source: The Huffington Post
#7 This Slender Gothic-Inspired Townhouse, Flanked By Massive Prewar Apartment Buildings Up And Down The Block
Image source: Ephemeral New York
#8 China’s Government Paved A Highway Around These Stubborn Homeowners. The Residents Eventually Moved Out But The House Had Become A Symbol Of Resistance Against Developers
Image source: news.nationalpost.com
#9 Randal Acker Refused To Sell His Small Queen Anne Victorian Home In Downtown Portland, So They Built A Huge Portland State University Residence Hall Around It
Image source: ackerlaw.com, commons.wikimedia.org
#10 In Guangzhou, The Authorities Have Had To Build A Ring Road Around This Block Of Flats Because Three Families Would Not Budge
Image source: chinadaily
#11 The House Of Austin Spriggs, Washington D.c. The Owner Was Offered $3 Million, Said No, And Later Sold It For $4 Million
Image source: thecityfix, zusin
#12 Although His Is The Only Standing Building In What Used To Be An Old Neighborhood Of Roubaix, In Northern France, Salah Oudjani Refuses To Sell The Coffee House He Has Worked In For The Last 46 Years
#13 Now A Church, This Queen Anne House Prevented Yet Another Apartment Building From Being Constructed
Image source: ephemeralnewyork
#14 A Lone Resident Holds Out Against Luxury Villas In Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, In July 2013
Image source: HAP / Quirky China News / REX
#15 Developers Were Forced Into Building Around These Holdouts In Washington DC
Image source: Forgotten New York
#16 Living Under A Bridge
Image source: Dom Dada
#17 The Founders Of This Hotel Couldn’t Buy These Houses Due To The High Asking Price. So The Hotel Was Built Around The Two Buildings Instead, And They Are Now Souvenir Shops
Image source: Roeland Koning
#18 One Chinese Family Refused To Move Their Relatives Ancient Graves. The Small, Bizarre Column Stood 10 Meters Above The Foundation Floor For Months, Until They Finally Accepted Compensation
Image source: AFP
#19 Farmers Live Stuck In Between Three Highways. Hundreds Of Households Were Relocated But The Government Wasn’t Able To Reach A Consensus With This Family
Image source: news.sina.com
#20 Mrs Wu Ping Was The Only Person From 241 Properties Who Refused To Leave. She Battled With Contractors And Bids For Almost 3 Years Before Caving In April Of 2007 For Quite A Pretty Penny
Image source: venture160
#21 This Saloon Refused To Sell Their Property To An Apartment Company And Now The Apartment Has To Build Around Them
Image source: AllCarsEatGas
#22 This “Nail House” Is Blocking Traffic In Shanghai
#23 The Spiegelhalter Family Refused To Sell Their Shop To The Expanding Wickhams Department Store
Image source: Reading Tom
#24 The Entire Rockefeller Plaza Complex Was Moved, Due To These Two Buildings Whose Owners Refused To Sell
Image source: ScoutingNY
#25 The Tenant Of This Apartment Building In Kunming, China, Has To Cross A Moat After The Contractors Dug A Ditch To Force The Last Family Out.
#26 A Nail House Sits In The Middle Of A Road Under Construction In Nanning, China, In April 2015. The Owner Of The House Didn’t Reach An Agreement With The Local Authority About Compensation For The Demolition
Image source: China Stringer Network / Reuters
#27 Residents Of The Guangfuli Area Of Shanghai Have Collectively Decided Not To Leave Their Homes, Creating An Entire “Nail Neighborhood.” Tao Weiren Sits In Front Of His Two-Story House, Which Is Now Surrounded By High-End Condominium Buildings
Image source: Aly Song / Reuters
#28 Zheng Meiju Outside Her Nail House In Rui’an, Zhejiang Province, In July 2013. She Has Been Living In The Partially Demolished Home For Nearly A Year, Even Though The Water And Electricity Supply Were Cut
Image source: China Stringer Network / Reuters
#29 The Farm In The Middle Of Narita Airport. Farmers Are Refusing To Give Up Their Land In The Middle Of This Airport In Japan. The Runway Is Only Half Usable Because Of Their Refusal To Relocate. They Are Currently A Literal Stones Throw Away From The Flight Path And Must Be Living An Earth Shaking Experience.
Image source: Google Maps
#30 Hard-Line Developers In China Diverted A River To Encircle Householders Who Refused To Move From Their 900-Year-Old Village
Image source: Imaginechina/ Rex Features
#31 The ‘Million Dollar Corner’ That Macy’s Had To Build Around, And Then Hide Behind A Billboard
Image source: wiki
#32 The Last House In This Area Stands In Front Of A Shopping Mall In Central China’s Hunan Province
Image source: Stringer Shanghai / Reuters
#33 The Last House Of An Old Neighborhood Stands Alone In A Future Shanghai World Expo 2010 Parking Lot, Under Nanpu Bridge On April 6, 2010, In Shanghai, China. The Holdout Owner Of The House Was Shi Yuji. The House Was Destroyed Days Later, And The Owner Moved Into A Workers’ Dormitory
Image source: Lucas Schifres / Getty
#34 This “Nail House” House Sits On A Mound Above Ground Level Because The Developer Dug Out The Land Around It
Image source: China Stringer Network / Reuters
#35 Nail Houses Whose Owners Refused To Relocate, At The Construction Field In Taiyuan, Shanxi Province Of China
Image source: VCG
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