Grandchild Praised for Refusing to Sell Grandmother's House to Step Brother

Commenters have sided with one grandchild who explained why they refused to sell their late grandmother's house to their step-brother in a popular internet forum.

In a viral post published on Reddit's r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/Broad_Mulberry6823 asked the forum's 3.5 million members if they were wrong to keep the home their grandmother left them, despite their step-brother's extensive renovation efforts. Titled, "AITA for 'making' my grandmother give me her house after my stepbrother thought he'd get it and had already renovated it?," the post has received more 10,000 votes and 2,600 comments in just nine hours.

Beginning with the explanation that they have been estranged from their father since they were 15 years old, u/Broad_Mulberry6823 said they maintained a relationship with their paternal grandmother. However, at 23 years old, the Redditor said they found out their father had promised their grandmother's house to his stepson, who promptly began renovating the property.

"My stepbrother was older, married and had a child and apparently needed a home," they wrote. But I was feeling bitter about it and basically griped to my grandmother how my father had sidelined me again."

Explaining that their grandmother passed away earlier this year, the Redditor described the "very awkward situation" that arose after it was revealed their grandmother left her house to them, and not their step-brother (who had already moved into the home).

"I found out that my stepbrother and his wife had completely gut renovated most of the house by putting in nearly $90K of their own money...my father called me and begged me to let him buy the house for around $150K so my stepbrother wouldn't have to pay for his mistake," they wrote.

"Honestly, I don't think I'll ever be able to own a house otherwise," they added. "So I told my father I will be keeping the house and I gave notice to my stepbrother to move out."

Last December, CNBC reported that the COVID-19 pandemic transformed the real estate landscape, and that historically-low mortgage rates created a "red hot market" for homebuyers. With houses selling for market price or above within hours of being listed, high demand and a shortage of listings caused house prices to skyrocket towards the end of 2021.

According to data collected by Statista, the average sale price of a new home in the United States in August, 2020 was $386,300. A year later, in August, 2021, the average sale price jumped to $443,200.

Citing end-of-year price spikes in home value appreciation, Zillow predicted an 11 percent growth in home value in 2022. The online real estate marketplace also predicted 6.35 million existing home sales this year — the highest number of home sales since 2006.

Despite lofty sales expectations and a 65.4 percent homeownership rate in the third quarter of 2021, per the U.S. Census Bureau, potential homebuyers have become wary of the housing market, and according to a report published by Coldwell Banker, many have reported feeling less optimistic about ever owning a home.

Responding to the viral Reddit post, commenters assured u/Broad_Mulberry6823 that they were justified to keep their late grandmother's house, and that their father should not have promised the house to his stepson so prematurely.

In the post's top comment, which has received more than 17,000 votes, Redditor u/MiskiMoon told the original poster that they were respecting their grandmother's wishes, and offered a potential solution for their stepbrother.

"Grandma made the choice," they commented. "They were foolish to funnel money into something they never owned."

"Your dad can give him $90K to make up for it," they added.

Addressing the original poster's concern that they "made" their grandmother give them her house, Redditor u/Kimchitwo said that venting to a grandparent does not equate to forcing a real estate transaction.

"It sounds like you had ONE conversation with your grandmother, and shared your honest feelings. That is not bullying or guilt-tripping," they wrote. "It looks like she agreed with you because she changed her will and left everything to a blood relative, which all over the world is viewed as the normal, default position."

In a simple comment, Redditor u/mario797 echoed those sentiments, and wondered why the original poster's step-brother sank $90,000 into a house he wasn't absolutely certain he was going to own.

"I don't understand why they didn't ask your grandma before starting the renovation, she was the owner of the house," they commented. "[Not the a**hole]."