No Place Like Home - A Horror Story

I’m not sure why it surprises me when NMIL does something worse than she’s ever done before. Surely she can get worse, she always has. This time, however, her claws aren’t into my family. She’s actually been relatively quiet so-to-speak, and now I know why.

When NMIL built her house across the street, she built it so that her basement was a complete apartment with two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, dining area and small living room. There is even a laundry area. I won’t go into the reasons she does this for this story, but I needed to include this apartment in an explanation.

About three years ago a family who had filed for bankruptcy needed a place to stay while they saved money and improved their credit in order to build a house on property they owned. NMIL’s previous renter moved out and suggested to NMIL that this family may want to rent the apartment. Sure enough, they did. The problem as I see it, was that in this family was a mother, a father and four children under the age of 5 living in this small space with two bedrooms. But, they did it. They lived there for almost three years. While they lived there, all seemed fine with NMIL. She seemed to really like them and you know … was there best friend, charming, giving, blah blah blah. She bought gifts for the little girls, and cooed over them and in general was the wonderful landlady.

I never had much to do with them. I thought they were odd. They NEVER let their oldest two play in the yard, even when they kids were older, never let them come over to our house, never let their kids play with mine on the swing set in the backyard. It’s almost like they acted like they were too good for us. After a while, I suspected that NMIL had bitched about me to them and they believed her stories and that’s why they didn’t have anything to do with me or my kids. They LOVED DH though. Always said hi, waved when they drove by. No big to me. I just ignored them.

Fast forward to February of this year.

A house on the other cul-de-sac in my neighborhood had gone up for sale. It was severely damaged by the previous owners who moved out in the middle of the night because they were about to be foreclosed on. The bank who took over did not winterize it. Over the winter, the pipes blew and flooded the home. In the summer, mold crept up the walls and it began to stink until someone realized the home was not winterized. It was a huge mess and the entire basement had to be ripped out, and much of the upstairs drywall as well. It was a shame because the house wasn’t even 10 years old and stupidity basically ruined it.

Since the home was for sale dirt cheap, NMIL purchased the home and then sold it on Land Contract to the basement family who had since decided not to build on their land. They couldn’t get any decent loans anyway. The deal was that NMIL would provide the supplies and the Family Father would fix the home and make it livable. He did this FOR FREE. He worked for weeks, including help from DH FOR FREE, ripping out the walls, the disgusting soaking wet, moldy carpet, etc. Within two months, the home was inhabitable, and the family moved in the end of March. They were so excited to have home, and bedrooms for everyone. The basement was going to be a family and playroom for the girls, but it was yet unfinished, but in progress. I did not know this, but apparently in the Land Contract there was a stipulation in there by NMIL that Family Father had to finish the basement by June 1. Why that was in there I don’t know. There is no reason for it to be finished. None at all. He was doing all the work, and they were living there. He and his wife have full time jobs and four children to raise. It gave him two months to finish the basement.

This is where controlling NMIL comes into the picture.

Apparently NMIL changed her mind all the time. She told him the things she wanted done, and how to do it. What colors to use, and where to put up walls, etc. etc. Constantly she was changing her mind, and this caused the work to slow and the Family Father to start getting pissed. She rode his ass to get it finished. She did this because she loves power, loves wielding it and feeling like someone important. She loves people to jump when she says so, and if you don't ... watch out. She came over whenever she wanted, and even went so far as to purchase art and knick knacks for the house and DECORATE it. Literally -- she was decorating their home with shit they didn’t want. She continued to ride their ass, and say nasty things to the Family Mother to the point it would make her cry. Apparently one night they called my husband over to help Family Father do something and when NMIL found out, she went over to their house in a drunken rage getting up into Family Mother’s face and pointing her finger in her face screaming “DON’T YOU EVER CALL MY SON (there’s that MY SON shit again) FOR ANYTHING WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!” I’m telling you, she thinks she owns him.

Come June 1 when the basement wasn’t done, she filed papers to boot them out of the house. This family has done NOTHING to her. In fact, they did all the labor for free. They made their payments on time, were taking care of the house. The only thing was that NMIL was pissed because they were arguing with her about her horrific, unreasonable demands. NMIL isn’t going to lose, ever. She doesn’t give a fig about the family, or their little girls finally being settled or anything. All she gives a shit about is winning. She’ll simply toss them out because they haven’t done exactly what the contract says. Never mind I’m not entirely sure she can do that.

Long story short the family is giving up the house. They have an attorney, but they don’t even care if they win in court, because wining only means she stays the person who owns their house and they don’t want to have anything to do with her. The Family Mother is beside herself. Lamenting that they were “so happy” finally and now NMIL is doing this to them.

Just goes to show you to NEVER, NOT EVER let take anything from a narcissist, even a loan, because they will screw you over and hold it over your head until your dying day. This is why NMIL hasn’t bothered with us or annoyed DH too much. She’s getting her supply from here and it’s THE ONLY PLACE she can get it. Once this is done, she’ll turn back to us, but DH is already stepping away from her. There isn’t much left.

I’ve tried to talk to this family about NMIL’s NPD, because they don’t understand. Strangely, whenever I go over there to talk to them, there is nobody home. The blinds are down and you can’t see anything but a chair and an end table through the front door. For all I know they’ve moved out and left that so that’s the only thing you can see and they aren’t telling anyone. I suspect something is up, but I’m keeping my mouth shut. I wouldn’t feel bad to watch the house get destroyed all over again.

It would serve that bitch right.