Neighborhoods thrive on a sense of harmony, until one property dispute threatens to pop the bubble.

When one woman’s friendly offer to buy a vacant lot was rejected by the spiteful daughter of the original owner, the other neighbors plotted a satisfying payback that made sure they got the last laugh.

Read on for the full story.

Land Deal Gone Awry – A Tale of Vengeance

My parents live in a nice, quiet neighborhood.

For the most part, everyone gets along well and the neighborhood exists in its own little bubble; the only time you see people from outside the neighborhood bubble is on Halloween.

Our backyard neighbor, a single, middle-aged woman who we’ll call Sally, was kind of adopted by our family and came to all holiday parties and family get-togethers.

We all love her and that made our revenge all the more satisfying.

Then came a shake-up in the neighborhood.

Sally had a next-door neighbor who owned a lot between Sally’s house and her own.

When the neighbor expressed an interest in selling the lot, Sally offered to purchase it and a deal was made.

Unfortunately, Sally’s neighbor died prior to the land deal being finalized and the lot went into her assets to be distributed to her only daughter — who we will call RBF.

RBF had a very different attitude than her late parent.

RBF disliked Sally and refused to sell the empty lot to her because she believed Sally had been attempting to screw her mother over.

RBF claimed she was going to sell it to an interested developer who would build a house there.

When my parents heard this, they were upset; our house was on a hill and the empty lot also ran up to our backyard.

My parents did not want to look down into another house/backyard.

Likewise, Sally did not want a house next to her, so she tried one last time to purchase the lot.

RBF got in the way of the sale, but Sally and her neighbors weren’t going to give up that easily.

She offered more than she had originally planned on paying, but RBF said she would never sell the lot to her.

My parents and Sally hatched a plan, though.

My parents, whom RBF did not know, had an attorney draft a purchase offer for the empty lot.

They went back and forth with RBF, and eventually a deal was agreed upon.

They offered several thousand less than Sally’s original offer had been. RBF hemmed and hawed, but came back with a counteroffer equivalent to Sally’s original offer.

My parents offered her five thousand less and she accepted.

RBF was furious and tried to get back at them.

After the sale was finalized, my parents sold the lot to Sally for the same price they purchased it; Sally ended up receiving the lot for five thousand less than she had originally agreed to pay (and over ten thousand less than what she offered to RBF).

RBF did find out what happened and tried to negate the contract with my parents on account of “fraud,” but that’s obviously not a legitimate claim.

RBF never spoke to Sally, or to my parents, after she learned what happened.

Looks like everything worked out well in the end!

What did Reddit think?

Looks like RBF pretty much got what she deserved!

Never speak to us again? Score!

This commenter is still wrapping their head around the logistics.

RBF’s actions weren’t only annoying, but also potentially illegal.

RBF may have thought she was in control, but these homeowners were determined to play the long game.

What started as a business transaction turned into a lesson in humility.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.