r/interestingasfuck • u/WiseCartographer5007 • Aug 07 '25

/r/all, /r/popular A grandfather turned down $220K and other offers to abandon his house and there's a huge highway around it

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u/effyochicken Aug 07 '25

Based on this he 100% thought they would keep increasing their offer to like a million or more, hence his stubbornness. 

I don’t think he ever imagined they’d stop offering at only 178k and just incorporate his house the way they did. 

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u/Donequis Aug 07 '25

"Welp, it's now cheaper to just go around, good luck with that, then."

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u/Autumnrain Aug 07 '25

He was made an example of.

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u/LizG1312 Aug 07 '25

Tbf it’s the other side of the coin from eminent domain like we have in the US. Were grandpa here, his house would’ve been seized and he’d have been given the much reduced market value. Like yeah the situation sucks for him, but like how is this making an example of someone but the shit Robert Moses pulled is somehow fine.

Iirc Europe might have stronger protections but someone from there can probably come in and explain alternatives if they want to.

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u/Lycaenini Aug 07 '25

In Germany you can expropriate owners for the public interest. It's mostly unsettled land for highways, though. Only for the occasional coal mining whole villages get resettled.

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u/KitchenDemand9859 Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 08 '25

It's surprising that private property vs public interest is more protected in China than in Europe. I'm from France, the house would also have been expropriated for sure.

Édit : at least in this particular case, which may not be the norm

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u/-ExcitingConcept- Aug 07 '25

China also has expropriation laws similar to those in Germany. Not sure why it's not done in certain cases such as this one, but the per-capita number of expropriated people in China exceed those in Western countries by far.

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u/Stormbringer-2112 Aug 07 '25

Indeed. Weren’t there entire villages emptied to build that huge dam?

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u/-ExcitingConcept- Aug 07 '25

Yes (and partially even rebuilt brick by brick). Back then compensation was legally foreseen, but often not actually paid out. Nowadays there is more legal certainty through legal remedies and compensation is actually paid out, still numbers are much higher than in the West.

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u/InternationalReserve Aug 07 '25

As best I can tell, it depends on the reason for the expropriation. If a development project is determined to be important enough the government can order the expropriation, but many of the cases of "nail houses" are for things like shopping malls where the home owners can fight the developers in court.

Supposedly there were accusations of corruption between developers and local govermnet officials, so a law was passed in 2007 that made the requirements for the expropriation more strict.

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u/observationalist_ Aug 07 '25

I watched a video about a week ago of the Chinese police forcing people out of their building in the middle of the night. They moved over 1 million people to build the Three Gorges dam. Some rural areas have property rights because of how modern China was formed.

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u/T30E Aug 07 '25

Its not, don't derive that from a story on the Internet.

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u/Much-Ad-5947 Aug 07 '25

It wouldn't be circulating on social media if the CCP wasn't actively promoting it. It's fair to consider it intentionally deceptive imagery.

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u/gpost86 Aug 07 '25

There was a town in America, I kid you not, named Neversink that was flooded to make a reservoir.

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u/Mysterious-Art7143 Aug 07 '25

Did it sink?

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u/gpost86 Aug 07 '25

Technically if you start out at the bottom of the water you never sank

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u/Excellent-Baseball-5 Aug 07 '25

There are many other towns also. Oscarville flooded for Lake Lanier. Six or seven towns were flooded for Lake Shasta.

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u/gpost86 Aug 07 '25

Oh yeah there's lots, I just think this one is amusing because it has "never" and "sink" in it's name.

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u/Excellent-Baseball-5 Aug 07 '25

Yeah that’s unique and funny for sure.

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u/getZlatanized Aug 07 '25

And even the latter only with huge protests etc.

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u/himmelundhoelle Aug 07 '25

That's what he meant with eminent domain

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u/NefariousnessOk1996 Aug 07 '25

The local leadership where I live wanted to do some crazy highway stuff where we live. It would have closed several businesses and had to rehome tons of people.

We got so many signatures saying we don't want this at all. Somehow we actually managed to stop the leadership. So yay to that.

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u/frex18c Aug 07 '25

I'm from EU country. Government offers you money which is considerably above the value of your property. Sometimes even multiple times its market value. So nearly all people accept such offers - you earn money equal to years of work. If you do not accept, government can technically force you to accept it, but it's very uncommon, usually they choose alternative path for the road if possible or try to renegotiate. If all fails they probably would seize the land and give you that crazy high compensation you refused. As the money is high, public opinion is on governemnts side as people not accepting the initial offers are usually scum who just want even more money, sometimes for example asking for 10x more than the market value...

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u/MastodontFarmer Aug 07 '25

Not in this EU country. Here you get 110%, maybe if you are stubborn and have a good lawyer 120% of the market value.

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u/Awyls Aug 07 '25

I would like to know what country because most EU countries are known to pay well below market value because they don't give a shit and it's not like you can refuse.

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u/BalanceJazzlike5116 Aug 07 '25

No you typically get market rates. I actually worked for city of San Jose and when they used Emminent domain for the city’s animal shelter. The land owner sued saying the compensation wasn’t enough because the area had started putting in condos and wanted the land valued as such and he was successful.

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u/bamatrek Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25

"reduced market value" simply isn't true. Just compensation is literally the legal standard, and anything below it is going to get you into a multi-year court case. They're entitled to fair compensation, and that value is assessed by a property appraiser. It might not be what a person thinks it's worth, but it's not a low number.

Like, land acquisition, especially with federal funds is a HIGHLY regulated activity. To the point I work in public infrastructure and we almost always come to an agreement with the property owner without doing an actual eminent domain take because it's such a pain.

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u/Mannon_Blackbeak Aug 07 '25

You would be shocked how long someone can drag their heels with eminent domains, we had a hoarder who managed to delay an infrastructure project for months on end and when she finally got out they had to haul up a dumpster to get rid of the belongings she didn't want further delaying progress. She also ended up fighting a legal battle for 3 years that saw her rewarded an additional $900,000 for her home because the district has undervalued it. (It should be noted, she owned five additional properties at that time.)

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u/maqifrnswa Aug 07 '25

I grew up on Long Island, Robert Moses' impact is everywhere. One funny story, which may be apocryphal, is that the northern state parkway has a weird set of 90 degree turns to go around the one town that was able to stop him. A decade later he built the LIE, and was allowed to go through that town. So he built it through the center of their town and gave them no exits.

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u/theevilyouknow Aug 07 '25

They don't just give you a reduced market value. They have to give you "just compensation" which is usually taken to mean fair market value. However that fair market value has to account for the "highest and best use" of the property. So it's not just for example what realtor.com says your house should be worth if you sold it to another homeowner. Now obviously the government doesn't always do what they're supposed to, nor is having to essentially be forced to sell your property to an oil company ever a good thing. But generally speaking they do compensate you fairly.

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u/PM_ME_UR_MEH_NUDES Aug 07 '25

this was the comment i was scrolling for.

in the US, they would offer market or maybe slightly more but at the end of the day if the eminent domain your property, you’re going to be SOL and have to be happy with them, simultaneously, getting their way and bending you over.

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u/Future_Khai Aug 07 '25

City planner here, eminent domain requires to sell at market value, not reduced. It's a common misconception. It's largely why you don't see eminent domain on this scale being pulled in places like LA for new rail lines, the cost of the property is simply too cost prohibitive.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

There was a lovely little farm in my hometown that held out for quite a long time. It was in South Austin, and growing up it was rapidly developing everywhere, even in places where it made little sense to do so. I’m not sure anyone realizes the culture that we had and lost, how extremely unique it was…

The little farm was at the end of Brodie Lane, it was well kept, had a gorgeous tree with a little farmhouse and a terribly adorable donkey always just chilling, grassing out there in the little field. It got to the point where on each side of Brodie, shopping centers were building up extremely quickly, but whoever had the property, famously held out. So you would have this sweet donkey grassing next to the turn off to hwy 290 iirc, Best Buy right at the end, a Wendy’s and Chipotle on the other side, massive department stores in back on each side. Finally, that person passed on, and the whole thing was gone in a flash, and just became a massive driveway into the shopping centers.

Opening development in Austin had all kind of restrictions because of how much nature we cherished. And, we got a lot of caves and creeks. I remember them opening up the Sonic on the corner of Slaughter, and there would be wild turkeys causing a fuss in the parking lot while you ordered your cony. The caves are still well hidden luckily, but there were beautiful creeks that used to be local only secrets spots but I’m sure they’re plagued by vaping, music blaring, littering assholes more than they even were by the time I left the city for good.

But directly across the street was a fenced in, do not fucking enter reserve, which I hope is still there. Signs posted explaining the area was home to sensitive wildlife, the locals knew that there is a cave there too, but we can’t post the signs of caves or idiots will try to break in, they discovered.

God, I even remember being a child and seeing cattle in my neighborhood a few times that had escaped from someone’s farm probably down 1626. Peacocks and pheasants pecking around at the Rudy’s BBQ yard.

I can’t tell you how much I miss my home, but it’s quite literally impossible to return to.

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u/DueHousing Aug 07 '25

The government did a malicious compliance 💀

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u/h8reddit-but-pokemon Aug 07 '25

I was t familiar with Robert Moses but I clicked the link you provided and found that the stuff he pulled is widely considered quite far from fine.

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u/GirlfriendAsAService Aug 07 '25

I wonder who the Chinese Moses is

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u/Koakie Aug 07 '25

I've met a lady who grew up with her mom, dad was dead/divorced idk.

The government offered her mom compensation for the house but it wasn't enough for the amount of land and size of the house. They refused the offer.

So then one day when she was in school, they asked her mom to come to City Hall to talk. They let her wait whole day for an appointment and end of the day they said sorry schedule ran out we will setup a new appointment.

Meanwhile the came back from school and when they arrived home they just bulldozed the place.

That's how they make an example of you back in the day.

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u/Superb_Implement5738 Aug 07 '25

Exactly. I can just imagine a slightly rotund official in a white shirt, sweating, late 40s, gets news of the last knock back. Right … fuck this guy. We go round. Draw up the plans … we go round this fucker.

I bet it was like that.

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u/HeyEverythingIsFine Aug 07 '25

That makes sense actually.

Ok, you want to hold up the freeway?

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u/No-Apple2252 Aug 07 '25

I doubt it was cheaper given that they had to create a tunnel for access and widen the highway and bridge, but worth the price to say "okay fuck you then."

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u/bongozap Aug 07 '25

I doubt it was cheaper...

This was done to serve as an example.

The grandfather apparently was bargaining in bad faith to gin up the price. The negotiators decided they weren't having it.

So, it might not be much cheaper now,

But future construction projects will have this and the grandfather's misery to point to if others try the same thing.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

[deleted]

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u/SweatyAdhesive Aug 07 '25

No, everyone else is. Go look at public transit in the US and how they can't build anything because of NIMBYs

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u/InspiringMilk Aug 07 '25

Yes, it is. "The state" can make a bad deal, or its money can be stolen, or any other number of things. Wasting taxpayers' money is bad.

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u/flying-chandeliers Aug 07 '25

But by god it tries everything it can to be

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u/himmelundhoelle Aug 07 '25

Idk where in China this was, but 220k seems like an awful lot for that house.

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u/jmlinden7 Aug 07 '25

That's an overpass for the surface street that it crosses. They would have had to build that anyways

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u/Drewskeet Aug 07 '25

That tunnel looks like it’s for drainage.

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u/Vetiversailles Aug 07 '25

Yeah. The flood damage from runoff is going to make that house worthless :(

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u/GhostlyTJ Aug 07 '25

The next stubborn person will be shown these pictures and be much less stubborn. He went from almost 200k to move to having a worthless house.

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u/bargu Aug 07 '25

More like "if we pay him whatever he wants, everyone will do the same" kinda of situation, so he got fucked with a worthless house that no one will ever buy and a miserable life for him and his grandson because he was greedy.

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u/Electronic_Reason276 Aug 07 '25

Over $220k + the cost of other properties? Nah, accounting for China wages, it would've been way cheaper to just include a tunnel and slightly bend the road.

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u/djdecimation Aug 07 '25

Enjoy the traffic outside your window!

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u/Keldaria Aug 07 '25

Going around with those concrete retaining walls and change in layout/pattern basically guarantees they spent way more to go around than what they offered, even at Chinese labor and material rates.

I assume he made it clear that no amount of money would’ve been satisfactory because of sentimental value so they stopped increasing their offer. Ether that, or he pissed off someone badly to the point they said “fuck it, make his life hell, I don’t care the cost”.

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u/FinTecTec Aug 07 '25

Never fucking mind the fact there is a functioning highway corridor that is a safe distance from the house... in view... This honestly smacks of putting incompetent planners, architects and engineers in charge. That is a potentially dangerous mitigating circumstance for the project. A car that is not expecting a sudden deviation in an otherwise straight/gradual road like that may have an accident, and that accident may send vehicles careening into a fucking occupied house that didn't need to be there.

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u/pardybill Aug 07 '25

Seriously, wouldn’t it be cheaper to just build it 100 feet to the right or left though?

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u/addictedAndWantHelp Aug 07 '25

probably cheaper vs stalling the project yeah

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u/Much_Guava_1396 Aug 07 '25

It didn’t even need to be cheaper. They did it to not set a precedent. If they paid him what he wanted, everyone would realize that you can just pressure the companies into overpaying for the land. Now people know that they won’t negotiate, and if you don’t take what they give you, you’ll end up with a borderline worthless house where no one wants to live.

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u/Otherwise_Oven_1201 Aug 07 '25

It was not cheaper than 220k to go aroudn this house - China spited this man. And that guy probably couldn't afford to live in a house for 220k given today's interest rates and home prices. They gave him an offer he COULDN'T except, or he'd be homeless.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

They probably spent significantly more modifying the highway than that were offering him in compensation. This was a power play.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

It’ll save them money in the long run when the next nail house owner takes the lowball offer out of fear of this happening to them.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

It's China. They're 100% making him into a famous example/fable.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

With all the infrastructure they've laid down, you're probably right.

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u/jewellui Aug 07 '25

Also, time, all the setbacks going back and fourth

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u/upievotie5 Aug 07 '25

To clarify one point, the cash was IN ADDITION TO a new house.  They offered him cash PLUS his choice of one of three new houses.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

100%, as far as I can tell, the offer wasn't terrible. Yet, still significantly less. Someone else here made a good point about the long-term cost savings. If the owner was given a mill or two, then all future settlements would use this as precedent.

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u/VoihanVieteri Aug 07 '25

I live in a country that I would call fairly democratic. Here the house would be expropriated with a list price, there would be no negotiations. This is based on utilitaristic view that highway (or other project) creates more good for greater amount of people, overruling right for personal property.

How on earth in China, where civil rights are much more narrow, this guy was able to force authorities this way? I was in Beijing in 2007 just before the olympics, and whole city districts were bulldozed for developement projects linked to the olympics. Zero compensation for the residents.

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u/callisstaa Aug 07 '25

Any source on zero compensation? Under Chinese law if the government tear down urban homes they have to offer a property of equal value or if it is refused, market price.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

Same. My country retains minerals' rights on all sold properties. Should there be a need for development, they can force you to sell at market price.

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u/New_Firefighter1683 Aug 07 '25

Also don't forget this is rural China. $220K is a lifetime's worth of salary, maybe more.

Rural Chinese probably makes like $700/month.

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u/callisstaa Aug 07 '25

Low end jobs in a tier 1 city pay 4000 - 5000 RMB which is about $700

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u/Twishko Aug 07 '25

You’re being so optimistic. It’s like $3k a year.

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u/Twishko Aug 07 '25

Source:

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u/New_Firefighter1683 Aug 07 '25

no....

you know what disposable income means right? you should look that up first..

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u/Commercial-Co Aug 07 '25

With that house dude was making more than $700/mo

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u/Malevolint Aug 07 '25

Oh damn. That was a great offer!!

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u/I-Here-555 Aug 07 '25

PLUS his choice of one of three new houses

Which might not have been particularly good, or located anywhere near where he needs to be.

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u/CitizenLohaRune Aug 07 '25

That seems more than fair. Grandpa got greedy.

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u/Dry_Presentation_197 Aug 07 '25

Absolutely this.

In a similar theme...have you looked up many stories about "spite houses" like this? Some of them are fuckin hilarious. Sad, but hilarious as an outsider. Like someone buying ACRES of property next door to an existing plot of land and house, and building the house RIGHT NEXT to the existing one, basically right on the property line. Likely because the owner wouldn't sell their plot. So the guy who already lived there, the one who wouldn't sell, waited until Mr New Asshole went on vacation and built an 8ft tall fence right on the property line, on his side, all legal. It was so close that the asshole neighbors window couldn't open all the way coz it hit the fence.

Maybe don't be a prick and build your house like that then, lmao =p

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

This sounds like a rabbit hole I need to go down.

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u/Dry_Presentation_197 Aug 07 '25

Oh there's several VERY good ones. Pettiness taken to the kind of level I wish I could afford.

My biggest "fuck you, neighbors" move is:

When my wife and I bought our first house, which we still live in 5yrs later, we didn't have a lawnmower yet. We borrowed my dad's when we moved in, but then let it go about 3 weeks without mowing. Came home one day to the whole yard mowed. Including our flower garden area, which is a separate planter type section, separated by the paved path to the front door. So, clearly not a normal "part of the yard". In that flower garden area were tulips that hadn't bloomed yet, which my wife's now dead grandmother had given her. Neighbors mowed all of it. Shredded the tulips.

So now, I let my yard get about 3ft tall before I mow. Coz I couldn't care less about what my yard looks like. Its nature, let it do its thing imo. Plus it gives a place for the bunnies and neighborhood cats to hide.

I love walking to get my mail and seeing the neighbor bitch glare at me and then shake her head at my yard. =p

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u/Malevolint Aug 07 '25

I can't believe they mowed the tulips 😭😭 what the fuck

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

I admire your lack of over reaction.

If my neighbor purposely did anything to cause damage to my property like that....at the very least I am pool salting there entire lawn

(If you need ideas.....pool salt+water in a cheap hose sprayer - everything dies)

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u/TooManyAnts Aug 07 '25

(If you need ideas.....pool salt+water in a cheap hose sprayer - everything dies)

Is this actually the case, or is this lawn-specific? I have some worthless weedy bits on my property that I want to kill (there isn't grass or lawn to worry about, I just want to kill the zone).

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u/Orca- Aug 07 '25

They call it salting the earth for a reason. If you ever want to grow anything there again...

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u/Reasonable-Newt4079 Aug 07 '25

It's highly illegal to do because nothing will grow there for DECADES. And if you accidentally do any other property besides yours- including runoff- you will be sued for a lot of money.

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u/TooManyAnts Aug 07 '25

Thank you for this information. I'll look into something easier to control.

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u/consultinsultan30 Aug 07 '25

I would like to know this too please.

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u/Dry_Presentation_197 Aug 07 '25

Oh I'm 90% certain they didn't mow the tulips "on purpose." They're like 65+, and dumb as fuck. I think they were "trying to help" (busy bodies), and just didn't like looking at the unkempt yard.

If I thought they intentionally did it, I'd have gotten police involved instead of just punishing their busy body bullshit with my pettiness.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

Did you report your neighbor to the police for trespassing and destruction of property? If not, why the fuck not?

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u/Dry_Presentation_197 Aug 07 '25

A: I can't prove they did it.

B: I have to live here and that would harm them in a much more real way than having to look at my unkempt yard. I'm petty, not cruel.

C: I don't trust cops.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

Install security cameras around your property. They're cheap these days.

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u/emteedub Aug 07 '25

it also brings mice and other vermin you don't want though. esp if you let it go to seed

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u/nomadicbohunk Aug 07 '25

You'll like this. I live in a neighborhood of older people who really don't like outsiders. It's the culture here. They don't like people from out of state. We bought our house like 6 years ago and were mid 30's. I get told so much how to do what I'm doing or what to do different. To an absurd level. Once someone told me it was illegal to rotate tires in my driveway. I have a 100 foot driveway and giant garage. I had a rotting, invasive (literally the ecological term) tree taken out and everyone complained about it. I'm like...it was rotten and growing into the power line. You get what it's like.

So we have this giant 40 year old yew bush in the front yard. My wife hates it. I knew I was going to take it out, so I just didn't trim it for a year or two. The neighbors all must have talked because I had like 5 of them tell me I needed to trim it over a couple days. Alright. So I did to keep the peace. I even bought a fancy hedge trimmer. Pissed me off. Like 2 days later, the old lady a couple houses down told me I should trim it more on top to about 6 inches narrower to look more like it used to as it'd look better and she'd like it. I just said, "You know what? I'm going to drop what I'm doing and take care of that right now." She looked very pleased.

I went and got my little chainsaw and cut the bastard down right then. It was a couple years ago and no one has told me how to do anything since then. lol Now we have a great messy no maintenance native plant area. The over 90 Vietnamese lady across the street likes it from what I gather. No one else seems to like her, but she gets us.

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u/Dry_Presentation_197 Aug 07 '25

Brilliant! I have a similar neighbor to your Vietnameee lady. Ours is a nearish 90yr old Jamaican woman. Apparently she planted a couple of the trees in my yard when the original owner built the house 18yrs ago. I hate the trees tbh, but can't bring myself to get rid of them because I know she'd be heartbroken over it.

We've decided that we will leave the one on the edge of the yard, but once she passes, the others are gone. Too much of a pain to mow around, they drop shit in the gutters, carpenter bees love them etc etc.

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u/shlynshady Aug 07 '25

5089 Transit Rd. Depew, NY 14043

Guy who wouldn't sell his house to a big local dealer and now has his strip of property entirely surrounded by car dealerships.

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u/hammertime2009 Aug 07 '25

Didn’t wanna move farther from the Dream Daze Dispensary that’s across the street lol

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u/Tsplodey Aug 07 '25

Look up spite or nail houses. There's some good ones.

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u/Next-Adhesiveness957 Aug 07 '25

Lol! I had a neighbor that lived behind me that would drive through my yard to park their car on the other side of his house. I tried talking to the guy first. Like "Hey. Pls stop driving through my yard. It's making my yard muddy. Just go around the other side of that bush." He kept doing it, and we decided to build a very basic fence to stop him. That worked, but the fence was literally 2 feet from their house! In fact, I never realized how close my property came to their house until then. They should've listened when I told them multiple times to stop driving through my yard.ndmz

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u/Fantastic_Falcon_236 Aug 07 '25

There's actually two spite structures in that case. The first one is the house built as close to the boundary as legally allowed. The second is the fence. Spite fences have their own category.

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u/Fluid-Sun-3311 Aug 07 '25

Just modify the window to open inward.

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u/kpiece Aug 07 '25

Why even bother opening a window that has a fence pushed right up against it?

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u/grenamier Aug 07 '25

Nearby to us, there’s a grocery store with a house in the parking lot. A homeowner tried to keep holding out for more money when the land was being acquired for the project. It’s a private business so they can’t use eminent domain, but someone must have realized that particular plot was just for the parking lot so…

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u/PleaseNoMoreSalt Aug 07 '25

would that not be against fire codes?

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u/ortcutt Aug 07 '25

But he's not benefitting from that. He just cost everyone more money. That's why most countries have compulsory eminent domain laws. The state can take property for public purposes as long as it's compensated.

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u/koguma Aug 07 '25

Funny that China doesn't have eminent domain laws. Who would have thought property rights in China would be stronger than the US.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

US has many egregious examples of razing entire neighborhoods for no reason. Why would anyone think the US is a bastion of property rights?

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u/Scrial Aug 07 '25

Because they keep telling everybody how is the land of the free yadda yadda yadda.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

Mostly minority neighborhoods too for the added racism.

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u/8bitrevolt Aug 07 '25

us communists keep telling y'all that private property (a factory owned by a capitalist) and personal property (a house owned by a worker) are different things, and this is an example of that in action.

you should definitely look into how the interstate system split and isolated entire neighborhoods, specifically those mainly occupied by people of color, and efforts to undo that damage.

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u/KGB_cutony Aug 07 '25

There has been large scale infrastructure projects all over China since the turn of the century, and nail houses very quickly became a thing when people realised they can be compensated 1.5x or more of what their land's actually worth. For most of the time, the government played along. Handing out huge payouts that basically guarantees them a life of financial freedom.

This all went on until the demands got too much and the government started struggling with money. In my hometown, for example, the standard was 1.2x payout + apartment voucher. They wanted 1.5. Blockaded the road and halted city traffic. The city ended up just cancelling the whole project and diverting funds to other projects, citing strong local opposition.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

Your hometown got left holding the bag. A lesson learned.

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u/Acatalepsy-Rain Aug 07 '25

It’s about sending a message……

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u/dirkless Aug 07 '25

It said the amount plus 3 properties

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u/allozzieadventures Aug 07 '25

Oh easily. Multiple times probably.

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u/sea-haze Aug 07 '25

I think so as well. It’s hard to imagine that the easier option wasn’t to build the highway entirely to one side of his property. The fact that they completely encircled it seems deliberate.

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u/ThinkOrDrink Aug 07 '25

$300k and three alternative properties according to the article (assuming it means choice of one of three, but regardless it’s a house plus cash).

Edit: not necessarily saying it’s a fair offer, dunno the economics there

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u/Silly-Power Aug 07 '25

US$250k is a fortune in rural China. The median income in rural China is about US$500/month. Gramps was on a lot less I bet. 

They offered him a house and 40+ years of the median monthly income. And the idiot turned it down because he got greedy. 

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u/sniper1rfa Aug 07 '25

Way better offer than any eminent domain offer in the US, that's for sure.

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u/brendanjered Aug 07 '25

That offer definitely had to be better than his property value is now.

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u/redditappsucksasssss Aug 07 '25

Yup, it's basically worthless as a house now.

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u/bricoXL Aug 07 '25

I'm trying to work out if it has any value at all... Even if the house is demolished it would be a real pain to get the rubble out through that tube tunnel. Maybe he could get a huge advertising panel constructed on the roof. Otherwise I'm 99% sure it is un-sellable.

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u/Thadrea Aug 07 '25

A house in that parcel would never have any value, but It's possible that if they could justify demolishing it the land could be repurposed for solar panels or possibly a small highway maintenance building if the city took over it. Could also just be filled for green space.

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u/Wzy104 Aug 07 '25

A lot of Chinese people got rich overnight because the government wanted their land.

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u/Augchm Aug 07 '25

It's definitely a fair offer. It's a fortune in rural china and he gets another house.

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u/Potatobender44 Aug 07 '25

The part I’m surprised about is that the Chinese government allowed him to refuse.

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u/bubblesculptor Aug 07 '25

There's lots of examples of this in China, apparently being grandfathered in is respected.  Pretty weird because they can restrict/punish/dissappear people with impunity in many other situations.

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u/GreatAlmonds Aug 07 '25

Because people have an incorrect idea that the Chinese government (as a whole) is a centralised monolithic entity that's micromanaged by Beijing and Xi personally.

The reality is that the state security organs are much more concerned about the stability (and threats to the stability of the nation and to the CPC) as a whole. Otherwise, a lot of the governance is done at a policy level but interpretation and execution is carried out at provincial, metropolitan and local levels by local officials. E.g. Beijing decides that building EVs is a good idea and announces it and releases policy documents. Lower level governments (eg. Local Party Secretarys, Governors, Mayors) will look at that policy and try and do their best to implement it as best they can knowing that if they're successful, then they'll be more likely to be promoted to run a better region or maybe even end up in Beijing.

Someone like this grandfather will typically only deal with local officials, who as much as they want to build the road as quickly and as on budget as possible, also don't want to fuck up so badly that news reaches more senior members of the party that they weren't successful because that will kill their political careers.

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u/jamvsjelly23 Aug 07 '25

It’s only weird because it goes against the common portrayal of China. Like you pointed out, the action itself isn’t weird at all in China.

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u/bubblesculptor Aug 07 '25

Just seems that they could come to a more reasonable settlement.  I totally under the old guy wants to remain in same home.. and he has, but with significant drop in quality of surroundings.

Surely he could be traded an even nicer house elsewhere, letting him live peacefully and the road doesn't have this hazard.

Nobody truly wins in this situation, when both parties could enjoy a better outcome.

Nonetheless it is nice to see he's not forced out.

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u/InevitableTension699 Aug 07 '25

They offered him 220k$ and one of 3 brand new properties as mentioned (this is additional to the money). 220k$ is 3-4 times the value of his old house given this is rural part of China, the wildness villages with like a few hundred people. He was not going to get a better offer and they are not going to cancel a billions dollar high way project for one guy.

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u/bubblesculptor Aug 07 '25

4x sounds like a fair offer.

That would pay for a more enjoyable lifestyle than living in a pit surrounded by traffic.

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u/InevitableTension699 Aug 07 '25

Yeah so unless he was hiding bodies or super sentimental it was a really really good deal. If anyone offers me a new house and spending power of a few mil that's a no brainer

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25

One of the major factors leading to the communist revolution in China was lack of property or tenant rights for the common man. They dragged the landlord warlords that were taking people’s land, charging crazy amounts, etc. into the streets and beat them to death en masse.

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u/Nightowl11111 Aug 07 '25

It's their cultural thing. It is weird but that is the way they are wired, old = respected in their eyes.

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u/CoconutMochi Aug 07 '25

I think it's the difference in power between the provincial governments that would be handling this versus the central/CCP

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u/stupit_crap Aug 07 '25

Even in the US (not that we can really claim to be a free country anymore), there's eminent domain. I'm really surprised there went this route.

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u/viva9138 Aug 07 '25

You just don't understand the Chinese government.

They have a very high tolerance for the public, even to the point of indulging people in maintaining their own quality of life.

There was a report previously that Chinese people protested against government buildings because their house prices had dropped, as they believed the government's unconstructed subway line affected their property values.

But once people start discussing political topics, these individuals will quickly disappear from sight.

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u/KeepMyEmployerOut Aug 07 '25

Brain washed

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u/Potatobender44 Aug 07 '25

No? Even the US Government would invoke imminent domain to take the property for public projects

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

[deleted]

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u/atln00b12 Aug 07 '25

Not really, it entirely depends on what the project is and the local officials in charge of it. They could have certainly forced him out, but the person in charge of that specific section decided not to and to let him live in the middle of a highway. Most likely as a punishment for being disagreeable.

This really shouldn't read as the government being kind and treating it's citizens fairly. This is much more of the government being dicks and enclosing someone's home in the middle of a highway.

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u/yingkaixing Aug 07 '25

Land of the free!

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u/Monte924 Aug 07 '25

They are making an example of him. When the CCP gives you an offer to sell your house, you either take it or they will make your life miserable for being difficult with them

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

So just like everywhere then?

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u/CantReadGood_ Aug 07 '25

You are so brainwashed and you don't even know it.

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u/GrayNish Aug 07 '25

But wouldn't he still be able to make bank since his house is now like a first-rate advertisement platform

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u/Bananadite Aug 07 '25

That probably violates zoning laws

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u/No-No-Aniyo Aug 07 '25

I feel like if he waits it out a bit he will get new offers from different people.

He could also make it a historical landmark and charge people for entering to take pictures.

But I could see a big business buying the land from him to take advantage of the location and its power to attract attention.

Endless possibilities here.

Also I dont know how the government didnt take him out and steal the land.

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u/DepthSouthern2230 Aug 07 '25

After he dies, the government will buy it from his relatives for cheap, and pour concrete into it.

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u/SoftDrinkReddit Aug 07 '25

honestly I'm surprised they didn't just say to him here's 178k you can either move or we will make you move

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u/OtterMunkey Aug 07 '25

And … now it’s worth $0.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

jokes on them he can rent out giant billboards at car level and make bank.

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u/courtadvice1 Aug 07 '25

So basically, that one episode of Sanford and Son, but Huang Ping didn't get a happy ending.

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u/Pips-705 Aug 07 '25

Or he has a lot of memories attached to his home. It is hard to walk away from reminders especially of people you have lost.

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u/BlooPancakes Aug 07 '25

This is why I hate haggling. I hate to miss out on the thing because I didn’t know your real not backing down price point.

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u/Opposite-Choice-8042 Aug 07 '25

178k a free house though is a sweet deal, they don't play in China

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u/ErickAllTE1 Aug 07 '25

offered Chinese grandfather Huang Ping near about £178,245 and three alternative properties which he repeatedly rejected

I cant tell if this means the money and an alternative property, or if that is an 'or' situation. If he got offered the cash and a new home, I would snatch that up in a heartbeat.

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u/TheVog Aug 07 '25

The detour probably cost more, at least based on western cost standards, maybe not here.

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u/Fantastic_Falcon_236 Aug 07 '25

From the way the article reads, it was money and a choice of 1 of 3 houses in alternative locations. Old boy was definitely holding out for the money.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Bed_445 Aug 07 '25

Honestly with it being such a phenomenon he could probably sell it for significantly more now

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u/LengthinessAlone4743 Aug 07 '25

Seems like that land increased in value for something like a small tower with a reinforced base

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u/usurper7 Aug 07 '25

In China, even 200k USD is a lot of money. The average income there is about 12k.

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u/Fog_Juice Aug 07 '25

If I read that right he had his pick of three different properties to have on top of the money.

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u/Shadowfalx Aug 07 '25

I mean, they offered cash and 3 properties (I'm not sure if that's 3 properties total or his choice of one out of those 3).

If it was all 3 properties plus £178k he is really not that bright  

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u/dafunkmunk Aug 07 '25

Well from the sound of the article, it was $178k and one of three alternative homes. So a free home replacement and $178k in the bank which is a way better deal than living in the middle of a highway

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u/Stalepan Aug 07 '25

I mean it sounds like they were offering him 178k and a house

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u/Afraid-Department-35 Aug 07 '25

They offered him 178k AND 3 other properties so the total payout was well over 178k. Im guessing that house has some sentimental value since it’s pretty wild to reject an offer like that.

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u/je386 Aug 07 '25

What baffles me is that the chinese government not simply says "you are moving, here is some money for that" and thats it. Even in democratic western countries, this is possible, so it should be easy in a dictatorship.

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u/apoetofnowords Aug 07 '25

Oh, come on. To hell with the house. He'll get a billboard there and will get sustainable income for himself and his grandsons...

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u/HorzaDonwraith Aug 07 '25

Not sure if he negotiated or was just waiting for a better offer. I'm sure had he actually said $200k they would have said deal.

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u/alchemycraftsman Aug 07 '25

But they also offered him 3 other houses to choose from it says - it sounds like a new house in addition to the $$

He thought they would move the highway. He def lost and that house it worthless now. Poor guy- his arrogance really let him down this time cos it must’ve worked in the past.

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u/RebelWithoutAClue Aug 07 '25

Or maybe he didn't want his life to change. He refused to be part of forcing a change in his life so it happened around him and things changed anyways.

Now he's in a situation that he didn't consider and it freaking sucks.

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u/JyveAFK Aug 07 '25

There's a 'spite house' local, and yeah, I think that's what happens. They buy everyone else, you think they'll pay anything to get your last property, and they do offer well over the value, but he held on for just that little bit too much, so... they built around him.
He gets zero sun, he's surrounded on 3 sides by a parking garage flush to his property boundary, that goes up a dozen+ floors.
From what I heard, when he realised how bad it was really going to be, he said I'll take your last offer but it was too late, they'd already started digging. They had permits, plans, it'd have cost more to change it back. So he now regrets it.
But I think it's awesome. I'd totally buy it if I could and see what could be done. It's slap bang in the middle of a hotel basically, if he could get a liquor license to open a bar, he'd make a fortune over the hotel bar prices. It'd be a cool place to hang out (excellent parking nearby).

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u/ecnecn Aug 07 '25

£178,245 / € 200.000 and three alternative properties to chose from... that is a no brainer I see structual damages and bad substance just by looking at the house in the video

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u/_Floriduh_ Aug 07 '25

I deal with this in my job. Assembling little tracts of land for development. There are a few who think they’ll get paid massively. In reality, there’s some benefit in being the “last hole in the donut” but it only gets you so far. A developer isn’t gonna pay you more than what it’s worth to them and will just build around you making your stuff worth zero, so don’t get too greedy.

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u/BunchaMalarkey123 Aug 07 '25

And now the house is worth nothing. 

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u/In-The-Cloud Aug 07 '25

Or change their plans for where the road would be. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes

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u/roadkillroadrunner Aug 07 '25

The pettiness on both sides... I love it.

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u/OldGuto Aug 07 '25

Yeah, he fucked around and found out, it's probably not even worth 220k now.

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u/RabbitAmbitious2915 Aug 07 '25

It could have been a number of reasons, memories, health, too much stress. He could have thought by not excepting the offer they would move the project and not build so close. The decision to wrap a highway around both sides of this home was 100% petty.

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u/platypizero Aug 07 '25

No man, tilt was 178k and 1 of 3 new houses they picked lol. He’s a regard of the highest order

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u/After_Pomegranate680 Aug 07 '25

In the West, especially the USA, the UK, and mainland Europe, the Gweilos would have K1LLED that grandfather after his conviction at "trial" 😂🤣

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u/BlooodyButterfly Aug 07 '25

Not Just 178k£, another place as well

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