Sometimes in life, someone screws you over so monumentally that there’s little that can be done to make it better.

Instead, you sit there plotting your revenge.

Only a certain kind of person actually goes through with these revenge plots, but simply imagining them can provide some satisfaction and relief, at least.

But the homeowner in this story really did follow through on their plot to get back at their conniving realtor.

Read on to find out what happened.

Oh, I played the long game

Seven years ago I was lucky enough to be able to buy my own place, I had saved for 10 years, worked my butt off, and I was so happy to be able to have a place to call my own.

Now, being a single person with a mortgage meant I had to make compromises – one such compromise was buying a property on a shared block (a lot cheaper). Where I’m from this usually means it’s on a “strata” title.

For some that’s a bonus as it means there’s a communal fund for repairs, typically insurance is cheaper as it’s collective, and other things like maintenance being taken care of.

Strata titles also come with a lot of by-laws and restrictions on what you can and can’t do. I’m a pretty private and introverted person, so having to deal with people and have limits on how I live was a no-no.

Let’s see how this arrangement affected the new homeowner.

I took my time, and eventually found the perfect property. It was on a shared block but had a freehold title. The only thing that was I needed to pay public liability insurance for the shared walkway on the property (split equally between owners).

The real estate agent was local to my area, there was also about three degrees of separation between us – he has friends who are friends with my friends type of thing – so I didn’t know him, but knew of him, so that sort of felt good too.

About five months after I moved in, I got a knock on the door from the owner (landlord) of the property next to me to discuss insurance. Not a problem, I asked for a copy of the policy so I had a record.

It got sent through, and lo and behold it was for strata insurance. I was incredibly confused and after much back and forth it turns out the property isn’t a freehold title but a strata title.

Uh-oh. Read on to find out what they did next.

I called my lawyer who conveyed the title etc. He was dumbfounded, but did the right thing and made things as right as they could.

I arranged for a meeting with the real estate agent. I brought emails and printouts of the adds they had all saying it was freehold, emails between the real estate agent and my lawyer discussing its freehold status.

Despite it being in absolute black and white he refused to accept any fault or offer anything to make things right. I don’t begrudge that, he’s looking out for himself, I get that.

However I wouldn’t forget it.

Read on to find out how this situation ended up escalating.

I did enter into mediation with the real estate agent and all I asked for was that, when the time came for me to sell, they’d do it or cover the costs.

I thought this was reasonable, but they flat out refused offered me $1,000 to go away, which I refused. I had the option to pursue them legally (and was advised by the mediator to do so) but ultimately I decided against it for a few reasons, the main one being my health at the time.

So I planned and plotted, and I schemed and connived as to how to get back at him.

And I settled on this.

Let’s see how the homeowner got their revenge.

I found his personal Facebook page, which wasn’t set to private, I saw some photos of a “Boys on Tour” trip he went on a few weeks prior (so about 5-6 months after I bought the property). I also found his address through a business registration search.

On the anniversary of the sale, for six years straight, I sent them flowers with a note:  “Dear Real Estate Agent. Remembering you, on this, our special day. She has your eyes. Love Elle.”

They varied ever so slightly over the years but always had “on this our special day” and some weird inference to a love child and a desire to reconnect.

I also from time to time arranged for postcards and letters to be sent from another country, the one he was “On Tour” in, always signed “Love Elle”.

And this cunning plan had serious repercussions for the estate agent.

I learned about three weeks ago that this guy had recently divorced, lost his home and is not longer working as a real estate agent.

His wife had found out he cheated on her.

The story I was told (through said friends of friends) went along the lines of “He would get weird gifts and flowers every year, same day, every year. She (his wife) finally put two and two together and realised what the date was and he admitted to cheating on her.”

He’s apparently lost his house, half his retirement savings and also his business. I do feel a little bit guilty about all of it sometimes, but then I’m reminded that he’s a scumbag and that Karma, like me, a patient, spiteful and vengeful.

If he’d been innocent, this would have been awful. But the fact that he had cheated on his wife, led to him getting his just desserts and this plan wasn’t actually so bad.

Let’s see what the Reddit community made of this.

This person agreed that, in the circumstances, there was little to feel guilty about.

While others were impressed at the dedication.

And others pointed out that what goes around comes around.

While this real estate agent is contemplating his mistakes, this homeowner is still saddled with a home on terms they didn’t agree to. It sucks that they were let down so much on what should have been an exciting purchase.

But the revenge they got should give them at least a little satisfaction.

And the realtor got what was coming to him.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.