Step by Step, We Brought Water and Then Gas to My Aunt’s Home—Upgraded Every Convenience, Rebuilt Her Garden, and Then Found Her House Listed for Sale Online

Little by little, we managed to get water piped into her house, and eventually even had gas installed. After that, we took care of all the modern comforts inside. Later, I stumbled across my aunts house listed on a property website.

My seventy-eight-year-old aunt has two sisters one of whom is my mum. Aunt Margaret has been married at least ten times. Her last husband passed away about ten years ago. She never had any children of her own. She and her husband lived in an old cottage that never had any amenities; there were only two rooms, and she had an outside loo in the garden.

My aunts husband was what youd call a real character. Wed often go to visit them. Her younger sister lived in Sweden, and the sisters kept in touch by making phone calls.

After her husband died, we had to visit her more frequently. We bought coal and firewood out of our own pocket to keep her warm. We also helped her with planting and tidying up the garden. We never took anything from her. Many times, we offered for her to come and live with us, but she always insisted she wasnt cut out for city life.

Bit by bit, we arranged to have running water put in, then gas. After that, we upgraded everything inside the house and even built her a washroom outside. We replaced the roof, making sure Aunt Margaret could live as comfortably as possible in her village. As thanks, she promised shed leave the house to our children.

Wed always go over whenever she called for help, but then, out of the blue, she moved to Sweden to live with her younger sister. Funny how they hadnt got along so well before, and then suddenly discovered this sisterly love. And the house? She told us just to leave it be for now.

I thought to myself, whatever happens with the sisters, maybe Aunt Margaret would come back one day. Her sister in Sweden has her own family a husband and an adult daughter. They all live together under one roof.

We still had the keys to Aunt Margarets house, so my wife and I decided wed head over the following weekend to make sure everything was alright. Of course, our key wouldnt fit the lock; it had been changed, and on the garden fence, someone had painted, in big white letters: For Sale.

When we got back, I looked up her house online and found it listed on a property site. I rang the estate agents number. Turned out the house had already been sold for nearly two hundred thousand pounds. I didnt call Aunt Margaret; to be honest, I was pretty upset with her.

If it wasnt for our investment in the place, it wouldve been worth next to nothing. A month later, Aunt Margaret called me and said shed sold the house and given the money to her niece her sisters daughter in Sweden. Now, I dont know how to face my wife, because the money spent on that house was hers too.