I Gave Up My Life To Care For My Grandmother And Her Home—now I’m Losing Everything”

Location: Phila, PA

I moved states to help my mom take care of my grandmother and her property. My aunts told my mom that they wanted nothing to do with the house. My mom had a tenant in it, but he was a family friend and he just up and left after a couple of months. I decided to move because my mom was overwhelmed taking care of my grandmother who had dementia. I was several states away and decided to help. When I moved, I had to fix the pipes (they literally broke in my hand as I turned on the sink) as well as the heater and the water heater. I helped my mom with my grandmother who was my place of happiness. I was happy to help because my grandmother had helped me so much. I knew she was depressed before the dementia, but I will say when she was diagnosed, she did seem a little happier. I would go visit my mother every other weekend and help with my grandmother and she also would come down for weeks at a time for my help, company as well as just getting a break.

My grandmother died a few years ago and did not leave a will. I moved in about 6 ½ years ago. My aunt who has somehow inherited the property, even though my grandmother her 3 daughters all together, promised to sell me the property. She got the inheritance because they applied with the courts to have my mother taken off the estate, my mom did not receive the papers until a day or so before the hearing and by then it was too late. My other aunt legally gave up her rights to the estate AFTER my mom was off. This was a work around orchestrated through their attorney to place everything in my one aunt’s name. They do have a written agreement that is in place, I was told by the aunt that she is to pay the other aunt her half of the estate, it just would not be on record.

Fast forward a few months, and we had discussions last year agreeing that I would purchase the property from her at a specific price point. I really wanted to keep the house because it was something my grandmother was proud of plus; I considered it my home. I have not fully grieved the loss, and it is comforting having a piece of her with me. The problem was that my aunt kept changing the price point, increasing it a few thousand every other month. I would get to the part where she would have to sign the purchase agreement all for her to back out. I was very upset; my loan officer was confused. My aunt would say there were things that she did not know she had to pay for, and the attorney is asking for more things to be completed. I asked her to speak with her attorney and she refused. This was hard because each time she would contact me saying she needed it closed quickly I would get a loan and she would not sign. From the time my grandmother has past to the time the agreement was to be made the house had doubled. When I first moved in the house was not even worth 1/3 of what it is now. I reached out to lawyers and loan officers, but they said it was nothing they could do, the price was up to her.

I received a call from a reality group, right after Thanksgiving, informing me that my aunt had sold the house to them. And they are giving me a few weeks before they start the eviction process. I look and the house is still registered to my aunt. My mom received papers from the city saying that my aunt is registering the building as a commercial property, but why would she do that if she sold it.

I know I must leave but it’s just hard. No one helped me clean out or keep up my grandma’s house. My aunt has not stepped foot in the house in 10 years. She messaged me a couple of weeks before all of this stating that she felt my grandmother despised her. She said my grandmother told her that she was going to leave the house to my mom. She said she went through with everything because she was just taking what she was owed and knew my grandmother did not have a will.

I have been the one taking care this house, helping my mom with my grandma, and taking care of my uncle (my grandma’s stepson) but I guess I am going to have to trust others to do so because I guess I am going to have to move and find a new job out of state. I feel so depressed right now and losing all hope. It feels wrong to be in the city without being in the place I’m used to calling home. I had community and great neighbors that always looked out for me and have done so since I moved in.

If anyone has any legal advice that can help I would really appreciate it.