Hoke County man forced to move house, business

RAEFORD, NC (WTVD) -- A Hoke County business owner has been ordered to move his house and business and he only has 10 days to do it.

The Stentz family is now begging a judge for more time after they were evicted from the property on Sanders Road in Raeford.

ABC11 learned about the fallout through David Stentz's Facebook post. In it, he expressed panic about the sudden move.

The Stentz family said it believes they were evicted because their landlord wanted to sell the property. While that is true, the landlord told ABC11 that there's more the story.

The Stentzes had a three year deal with their landlord, Roy Goodspeed, who agreed to allow them to move their home and business on the property. But on February 1, a judge ordered their eviction based on criminal activity stemming from numerous loud music complaints.

The Stentzes claimed they don't even own a stereo and that the likelihood of them disturbing their neighbors is slim as most of them live at least a half a mile away.

But Goodspeed said noise isn't the only reason for eviction. A notice from the Hoke County Sheriff's Office claimed waste in the yard left from the Stentzes' business violated a county ordinance and went against zoning rules as the property was only zoned for residential use.

Additionally, Goodspeed told ABC11 he had a verbal agreement with Stentz family that requires them to pay the land taxes. However the Stenz family denies such agreement.

While the Stentzes said they don't have a problem with why they're being forced out, they are asking a judge for more time to vacate.

"We are just appealing the 10 days that they gave us to move our whole house and family," Stentz said.

Meanwhile, the Stentz family is liquidating many of their woodworking products from their New Life Restoration Woodworking business as they fight for an appeal for additional time to vacate.