Deciding what to do with a relative’s home when they die can be complicated, but it makes it even worse when a potential buyer isn’t willing to pay what the house is worth.

In today’s story, one family finds a way to get revenge on a buyer who kept trying to buy their grandparents’ house for much less than it was worth.

They ended up losing out on a great deal.

Let’s see what happens…

Be a jerk? Then you don’t get the house…

This is my father’s story, told with his permission. I wanted to brag about my dad’s decision to stick it to a jerk.

My grandparents built then lived in the same home since the early 70s. It has 5 acres, and was a small scale farm for their family growing up.

They both passed away within a month of each other several months ago.

The family decided to sell the grandparents’ home.

Their kids (my parents, aunt’s and uncles) didn’t need the home, and none of their kids (my siblings, cousins nor I) could afford it.

It was in a trust, so all siblings needed to agree to make price, etc.

Most just wanted it to be sold quickly so they could move on with their lives.

They got the house ready and listed it for sale.

They spent a couple months cleaning the property and house up, repairing anything minor, then put it on the market.

Comparables estimated the property over $850K, but it did need more work (roof replaced, and some cosmetic work on the foundation; wiring was updated back in the early 2000s).

There were a couple people showing interest, but no serious offers for a couple months.

So we dropped the price down to around $830K since there was a little work to be done.

A couple wanted to buy the house.

Enter the most skuzzy realtor/buyer.

He wanted it, but his wife REALLY wanted it.

They had put their house (in a more urban setting with a small fraction of an acre) on the market, and were under contract and basically guaranteed the same of their house for an obscene amount of money (according to my father; I forgot to ask how much their realtor found out it sold for).

They agreed on a sale price.

They negotiated down to $740K, and all of the siblings, since the property was in a trust account) accepted.

Sad to see it go to someone outside the family, but what do you do? Nobody could afford it or needed that much property…

The realtor/buyer kept trying to get the price lower and lower…

He represented himself as his realtor (which would mean he gets a percentage of the final price back at the end of it all… I understand it’s not technically illegal in our state, but it’s kind of BS IMO…).

Then he started asking for reduced price for many things – things like the cost of taking the outbuildings down (a horse coral, horse tack shed, greenhouse, and disconnected garage that was set up as a workshop)…

He said they were all a hazard, and he shouldn’t have to pay for them coming down (they passed building codes; just didn’t look perfect cosmetically on the outside).

Just one example, of many.

We just wanted to move on with our lives, but after we would accept an offer, he would then ask for more…

Drive the cost lower. Eventually got it down nearly below $600K.

The realtor/buyer wanted the price to go even lower.

He had about $3K tied up in escrow to purchase it, and his deadline for closing on the house or losing that money was approaching.

But he kept asking for more.

Because he kept negotiating, he passed his deadline to get his money back. Asked for $580K.

His father found a new buyer.

Then my father snapped.

And I’ve never seen him snap. I’ve never seen him get petty. But I’m glad he did.

He called a nephew who has horses but wanted more property for adequate training and riding space.

Couldn’t afford what it was actually worth, so he had passed on it before.

My father asked if they would qualify for the last accepted price (just over $600K).

And they did!

The realtor/buyer was about to become homeless.

All the sublime agreed, so they declined Realtor dude’s offer and said “never mind. We won’t sell to you” (through their realtor, of course).

So the jerk loses his $3K, doesn’t get the house, and doesn’t have a home at all.

He apparently really thought he would get my grandpa’s house, so his house was closed on, and he would have to move out very soon.

Now the grandparents house gets to stay in the family.

To say he was angry is an understatement.

Our poor realtor had to be the gatekeeper, but she at least took satisfaction in pointing out to him that it was his own fault he didn’t get the house.

We have to wait until the realtor guy signs the termination paperwork (which he’s delaying, since that was all he has left to try and stick “it” to our family), but Grandpa’s house is staying in the family once that final date passes (less than a week left).

My parents may not have sold the house for what it was worth, but it was worth sticking it to that guy.

It’s a great ending that the grandparents’ home stayed in the family. Hopefully the realtor/buyer learned to stop over-negotiating. I bet his wife was furious!

Let’s see how Reddit reacted…

This reader thinks the sellers should’ve gotten more money.

Another reader thinks the realtor/buyer was going to flip the house.

This person really enjoyed the story.

Another person praised his dad.

This reader thinks the realtor/buyer might have been part of a bigger plan.

You can always go too far.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.