Mixing family and finances can often be a disaster, and in this tale of New York real estate, “disaster” is an understatement.

As one daughter navigates the rocky terrain of renting to her parents, a mere $3 rent increase becomes the tipping point that unravels their already fragile relationship.

Read on for all the details.

My mom thinks a court will give her my house.

I bought a small, starter home during the housing market crash (completely by myself).

I lived there for the better part of a decade before buying a larger home with my now husband.

My parents really wanted to live there because it was small and easy to maintain.

They have foreclosure’d in the past, so no way would they be capable of someone giving them a mortgage.

Also, my dad is retired and my mom doesn’t work.

She’s giving her parents a pretty good deal, all things considered.

They wanted to rent from me. For a “discounted” rent, they paid off the mortgage (let’s say 50k) with an over 6 figure inheritance my parents got.

A lease was written explaining that it was a pre-payment of rent and their rent would be only the taxes and insurance and they would pay $350/month.

Basically only going up when taxes/insurance going up.

She’s pretty much doing this out of the kindness of her heart.

We signed the lease (with all the other typical stuff in it) and had it notarized and that’s how it’s been for awhile now.

So to be clear, I’m not making a dime on this house.

I recently told them the rent would go up, by $3 (yes, THREE dollars) because of a slight increase in the insurance.

But kindness isn’t exactly what she got back.

My mother Lost. Her. Mind.

She claimed I’m a money hungry *****, she was going to rip out everything she did (garden and other cosmetic changes), that I owe her and I can’t evict her because it’s her house.

She’s not responsible for the insurance (lease says otherwise), insurance hasn’t been raised in a decade (look at lumber prices), I’m trying to make her pay my personal home owners insurance.

She thinks a court will show me that and GIVE her my house.

Of course, her parents’ claims don’t have much legal standing.

We have a notarized lease. They are listed as tenants. I am the only one on the deed.

My father demanded the bills (zero guts this man has) to see if I’m ripping them off.

They have no idea the true value of what they’re getting.

P.S. This house is a commutable distance from Manhattan, so a studio appt around here is like $1500. This is a house with a large yard for their dog.

I can easily get $2k for this house, even before they moved in.

The daughter sends them the proof, but the mother still refuses to listen

I sent them copies of the taxes and insurance, showing only their address.

P.S. I’m charging them discounted taxes (you get a discount for paying in full 90 days early).

I told them to add and divide by 12 and told my mother to talk to a lawyer so they can slap them straight.

I guess my father agreed with me because now she’s divorcing my father.

Who knew $3 could cause such turmoil.

What did Reddit think?

This daughter needs to protect herself from her clearly unstable parents.

The mother does realize that divorce lawyers are expensive, right?

Their child deserves a thank you, not a middle finger.

The parents’ logic is quite puzzling.

This family’s antics turned into a drama worthy of a soap opera.

It’s clear that this family’s dysfunction goes much deeper than just a few bucks.

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.