When people are struggling financially, living with family or extended family can make things a lot easier.

What would you do if you lived in a house with your relatives, but after your grandma died, your aunt continued to not work or contribute to the home in any way even though it was in her name.

That is the situation the young family in this story was in, so when they said they would pay for and maintain the home (while letting her live there) if the aunt added them to the deed, she said no and said they were just renters.

So, they stopped doing any extra around the house and are looking to move out.

Read on to get the full story.

I’m a renter? Understood

So let’s start with some context.

My mom and I moved in to my grandma’s house when I was 5.

My godmother already lived with my grandma, so she was also part of the household.

Firstly, my aunt has never done anything with her life.

She liked to say she had to take care of my grandma but my grandma was a feisty old Mexican lady who happily handled everything herself all the way until she got cancer in her very last year of life.

She used my grandma as a crutch to never get a job or really any source of income ever.

My mom and grandma paid for this house every year and kept it up and running. Fast forward to me being 22.

My mom died of cancer.

That is very generous of them.

We knew my grandma wouldn’t be able to afford the house herself so my wife and I stood to help because we felt bad leaving right after my mom died.

So, for 2-3 years we handled the house taxes, the electricity bill, when the air conditioner broke we paid to fix that, and I also gave my grandma my old car when I got a new one so my aunt could take her to her doctor appointments and whatnot.

I did all of this because I was taught to be there for my family by my mom.

After those 2-3 years, my grandma died.

So, now it was only our income and my aunt needing to be supported by us.

Again, this is how I was taught family takes care of each other.

We felt bad leaving my aunt after my grandma died so we stayed again.

Bought food for her, cooked for her, I even handled all the dishes and house cleaning.

I mowed the lawn, I handled any insect issues the house was having, even gave her our recyclables so she could have at least a little money for stuff.

So, it finally gets to a point where I confront her and say “look, my mom helped pay for this house, now I am too.

My wife and I want to HELP you (notice I said help and not take the house away from you) make the house nice again.

We want to get new carpet, fix the broken windows, etc.

For this though, we’d need you to co-own the house with us.

We aren’t gonna put our money into it just for you to sell it and we end up screwed over.

Or also, if you just happened to die young, the house would just go to the bank (that’s a whole other long story but it’s what will happen).”

I understand why she wants to keep it in her name, but there are ways to handle this.

She of course said no but only because she wants the house to herself and only in her ownership.

She’s very very greedy and selfish like that about everything.

So, we end up arguing and I say how we stayed because we cared and wanted to help.

We want to continue helping, however we can’t just blindly funnel money into YOUR home when we need to make sure our living situation is secure.

During said argument, I say how we’ve been nothing but caring and don’t want to take the house.

We just want to work with her.

Again no.

So, I start to get frustrated and I say how can you be like this to me especially when both my mother and I have paid for this house.

We put more into than she ever has.

I don’t feel owed, but I feel that us working together and owning the house together would be fair since she doesn’t even pay for any of it.

I said how we stayed after grandma died to help her.

Wow, this aunt is really heartless.

Her exact words were “well you should have just left.”

That hurt a lot because all that was just for nothing.

Not even appreciation.

Fast forward to another argument and I bring up how I feel it was wrong of her to take advantage of my mom the way she did (there’s way more context to that than above but again, whole other long story).

When I say I think it was wrong, her words were “well take it up with your mother.”

That broke me because I was super close to my mom and she had only been dead for like 2 years so it was still very painful.

That was my breaking point.

I could not help somebody this selfish and hurtful.

I told her that was awful of her to say that. That this house is ours just as much as it is hers.

She says “Christian, you guys are just renters.”

Cue malicious compliance:

Renters don’t normally pay house taxes.

I say “oh, we’re RENTERS?” Ok.

So I started going by doing exactly what me and my grandmother agreed upon when we moved in.

I paid the electric bill and the house taxes.

That’s it.

Mowing the lawn?

Sorry wasn’t part of my “lease.”

Handling the insect infestation?

Nope, landlords issue.

Cleaning your dishes and the 800 pictures you have on the walls filled with dust?

Yeah, not my problem.

They should just move out and stop trying to make a point.

My wife and I care for ourselves now.

Her house is going more and more to ruin.

Windows have broken more, the air conditioning broke again, the shower broke, water heater broke and damaged the living room and walls, termites in ALL the wood.

All, not my problems.

My wife and I are currently in the process of finding a place and moving out.

We might not even tell her when we do move and just up and leave, letting her sit in her own filth.

I mean, it’s not in my lease that I need to give a notice?

Some people will never learn to be appreciative until it is too late.

But honestly, I wouldn’t want to live in filth like that even to make a point.

Read on to see what the people in the comments say about it.

Yup, this is spot on.

It is always a good idea to check with an attorney.

This commenter says they have done more than their fair share.

Yup, let the house get repossessed.

This person’s mother experienced something similar.

They are not obligated to take care of their aunt.

She is so entitled, it is hard to justify doing anything for her.

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