EXCLUSIVE

The plot thickens in the story of ex-New England Patriots player Brian Holloway ... who went ballistic after his New York home was trashed by a horde of rowdy, drunken teen vandals. Turns out the house was already in disrepair and in FORECLOSURE, and his neighbors smell a rat.

TMZ has learned ... Holloway owes a whopping $1,006,348.80 on the house ... it appears he was delinquent on paying his mortgage and the bank then demanded payment of the entire balance.

Brian hasn't lived in the home for a long time -- he's in Florida -- and neighbors tell us they thought the house was abandoned. In fact, before the blow-out bash, neighbors say kids staged a number of parties in the house -- which has no furniture.

Neighbors think the kids who Brian is now attacking are getting a bad rap. They say there was already plenty of damage to the home before the party in question -- broken doors and damaged floors. And ... there was plenty of preexisting graffiti covering the walls.

Some neighbors are suspicious of Brian's motive in requesting financial help to pay for repairs on his PayPal account. They think he's trying to create sympathy so money floods in and he can save his house.

As for Brian ... he tells TMZ there was some preexisting damage, but the 300 hooligans really trashed his crib. He also says he's been trying to renegotiate with the bank for 2 years.