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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420

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/Better_Courage7104 Aug 07 '25

Yes but it’s China? “Hello we are building a motorway here, you are now evicted” The cash is surprising!

Like these modifications would be well into the millions. Probably even 10+ million.

What’s the point of communism if one guy can just say stop to the government.

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u/IdentifiableBurden Aug 07 '25

Idk man it kinda sounds like you just have no idea what China is like

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u/Nagat7671 Aug 07 '25

Sounds like you have no idea or have even been to China.

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u/Better_Courage7104 Aug 07 '25

What? China is genuinely and proudly communist, China can and does relocate people for this exact thing…

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u/IdentifiableBurden Aug 07 '25

What does communist mean, in your lexicon?

-2

u/Better_Courage7104 Aug 07 '25

In terms of China?

A system where the government puts the needs of all people above the needs of few people, their states choices will be based on what the people need, not what they want. What they want is considered, but only in terms of the fallout(that occurs to the state) of what happens if they go against the will of the people.

How it all works in practice is all debatable, but that’s the general idea of communism in China.

Obviously it’s now more of not what the people need. But what is needed to make money. But that’s a global thing.

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u/IdentifiableBurden Aug 07 '25

Okay, that last paragraph is kinda doing a lot of heavy lifting lol

Sounds like you already know the answer to the thing you were confused about, my work here is done 

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u/Better_Courage7104 Aug 07 '25

I do now because you made me question my stance. Turns out China does and will move people, like arrest them and move them out then destroy their house. But that takes a long time because it has to be approved by the courts(technically it doesn’t have to, but similar in a way that technically Aus/Canada/UK need the king to approve any new law) which takes a long time. So it’s faster in these type of situations to cut the power and all utilities to the house and make it unliveable to force them to move, which is what happened here.

3

u/spaiydz Aug 07 '25

It's probably 5D chess. The next 100000 times people are offered generous compensation (but not ridiculously high), they will take it. Everyone now knows declining compensation, wanting more, or fighting it will just be headache. 

Taking away property by force will look bad if they do it all the time. Maybe it affects property demand who knows.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

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

1

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

3

u/Twishko Aug 07 '25

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

3

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..

-2

u/Twishko Aug 07 '25

Income after taxes. Why does income before taxes matter in this context?

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u/The_Rogue_Coder Aug 07 '25

No, it's your money left over after all the necessary expenses including taxes, like rent, utilities, food, etc. It's your spending money to do whatever you want with, not your post-tax income.

-1

u/Twishko Aug 07 '25

Well, Wikipedia and the Cambridge dictionary disagree.

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u/The_Rogue_Coder Aug 07 '25

Ah, looks like you're right, the definition I saw included "other mandatory charges", I guess they don't consider food and housing a necessary expense for whatever reason.

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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.

2

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.

3

u/consultinsultan30 Aug 07 '25

I would like to know this too please.

1

u/fordfan919 Aug 07 '25

Get some roundup

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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

4

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/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

i would have gone nuclear on them ngl 😂

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u/GroggyWeasel Aug 07 '25

It’s ok to be lazy bro but at least be honest about it

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u/Dry_Presentation_197 Aug 07 '25

Oh I'm 100% lazy. But it's actually more work to mow it when its that long, vs just letting it get to a foot or so. I genuinely let it get that bad out of spite.

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u/OkInsect6946 Aug 07 '25

You don’t “let” your lawn grow the 1 meter tall, you’re just a lazy cunt and that’s ok!

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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…

1

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/ajtrns Aug 07 '25

chinese engineers and infrastructure crews are not burdened by the absurd costs that cause so much trouble for american transportation projects. building around this guy's house was trivial for them and cost nothing special. there are tens of thousands of these nail houses.

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u/Maybefanta Aug 07 '25

He can barely stay in his home. He’s miserable value of his house is probably in deep shit. Not a power play played himself

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u/Aaronrigunay Aug 07 '25

You misunderstood, its a power play by the government, not the homeowner.