If you were the property owner, what would you have done?

Purchasing property comes with an untold number of hidden pitfalls just waiting to catch you out. But I'd be willing to wager a hefty sum that very few, if any, of us ever dealt with something like this.

It's a strange situation with the fire and everything, to be sure, and I think the suggestion that the landowner simply counters with a suit for storage costs to the exact dollar value is a good one. 

When you win a car, is it legally yours? 

Lottery winners, gold star earners, and people on a winning streak in Vegas would argue that no matter what you win, once your winnings are in your pocket or in your possession, it's yours. Yet, this winner in our next story, a humble man who'd entered a random car lottery, things weren't so simple. 

He won a car, decided he didn't want to keep it, and sold it for less than market value to a couple of friends. And although he literally paid taxes on his winnings, other friends in the group chimed in with negative comments, claiming he was a "bad friend" because he "profited" off of the folks he sold to. 

Sure, he ended up with an extra $10k in his pocket, but if he had sold to strangers, he would have doubled his earnings. Was this winner ultimately a loser? According to the criticism of his friends, he was, but in my eyes, this man was turning lemons into lemonade and getting scolded for selling at 50-cents a pop. 

This husband seems like the kind of neighbor most people would appreciate. Helping a neighbor with small tasks out of courtesy is a nice gesture, especially when the person is elderly and may need assistance. But he helps because he wants to, not because he is responsible for maintaining someone else's house.

That's exactly what the elderly woman failed to understand. Kindness should not become an expectation. At first, she started asking him to fix things and offered a small payment. But over time, her requests became more frequent, and her sense of gratitude seemed to disappear. She assumed she was entitled to this husband's time and skills. 

What should you do when you're asked to fill in an anonymous company survey at work? How do you respond? Do you respond at all? If it were truly anonymous, how would they know if you didn't?

If you've ever been invited to submit an anonymous survey at work, you've probably cast a long and wary gaze at the email. Whether for a conscious reason or for reasons not entirely clear, it just seems like a bad idea. Right? Everything electronic has a fingerprint of sorts.

The reality is you have to think this kind of thing through. You can't take something like the word "anonymous" at face value and simply assume that whoever wrote that in the email is telling the truth. The reality is that truly "anonymous" isn't going to stop everyone from going around guessing who submitted what anyway.

It was his project all along, and she wanted no part of it. 

Alas, it's not as if she had a choice to partake or not when 100lbs or rotting, gnarled, nail-filled wood planks piled up in her backyard. 

This woman wasn't at all a DIY-type. She is the kind of woman who is happy to hire a handyman to hang a photo and prefers to keep her manicured nails out of the mud. Honestly, I get that. Construction and all varieties of manual labor are difficult, laborious, and sure, yeah, okay, it's often cheaper to harbor a do-it-yourself mentality, but sometimes avoiding rotting splinters is worth the extra money. 

However, this woman's neighbor was 50/50. He wanted to save money the DIY way, but he also didn't feel like doing all of the work that it required. After she approved of his plan to remove and replace their shared fence, because his dog had destroyed his side of the wall, she went on vacation. When she got back from her relaxing trip, she noticed a massive pile of rotting wood piled up in her yard, smothering her grass, and giving her a DIY project of her own. This isn't what she bargained for, but the neighbor insisted that the wood pile removal was her responsibility, as she was the beneficiary of the fence he built, and therefore, she had to carry her weight in wood disposal. 

What do you think? Did she deserve this rotting wooden surprise when she came back from her vacation? Or was the neighbor totally off base with his half-baked DIY idea? Sure, she was benefiting from the new fence, but it was never her idea to replace it in the first place… Scroll onward to read all of the details of the divisive story, and you can be the judge of who's right, wrong, or splintered somewhere in between.

Is there any worse feeling than realizing you got quietly removed from the friendship group chat?

This girl genuinely thought she and her college roommate were locked in as best friends. They met freshman year, instantly clicked, traveled together, and even survived the natural horrors of sharing a living space with another human being. Honestly, surviving roommate life without police involvement already feels like a strong friendship foundation in itself these days.

Things got messy after the two of them took a birthday trip to Puerto Rico with another college friend. From her perspective, everybody had a great time together. They talked about returning someday, visiting more places, and making it a longer vacation next time around. Very normal friendship behavior. Extremely wholesome. Absolutely full of future-group-trip energy.

Then months later she casually asked her friend to hang out for Saint Patrick's Day and accidentally discovered both girls were literally in Puerto Rico together without her. Not only had nobody mentioned the trip beforehand, but they were also visiting all the places the three of them originally talked about seeing together. That "oh…" text message probably carried enough emotional damage to power a small city.

To somehow make the situation even worse, the two friends also got her ex involved during the trip by having somebody FaceTime him and insult him "in her honor." Which honestly sounds less like friendship bonding and more like the kind of idea people come up with after exactly three airport margaritas and zero critical thinking skills.

Have you ever tried using the Uno Reverse card to break up with someone?

Not literally using the card (though that would be hilarious), but we mean using their toxic habits back at them. This wife, now-ex-wife, used the manipulation tactics she learned from her manipulative husband to convince him to divorce her. And it worked! She was more than happy to sign those papers since she had discovered he had been cheating on her with several different other women for about a decade. Finally, she was moving out, and this man had the audacity to bring his newest flavor of the month. They were both horrible to her during a very difficult time, both physically and emotionally. So you know what she did? She got back at both of them in an insane way… 

What would you have done to get yourself out of this nightmare interview as soon as possible?

This job candidate thought he had found the perfect company. The position was well within his skill set. The salary was decent. The benefits were exactly what he was hoping for in his next role. Even HR seemed excited about his potential at the organization. 

There were seemingly no red flags…. until he met the business manager who would be leading his team. Pretty soon into the meeting, it became clear exactly why he had such trouble maintaining loyalty among the folks who worked for him.  

Nothing says "you were underpaid" quite like your old company collapsing without you immediately after you leave.

This employee thought he had done everything right before leaving his old company. He gave an entire month's notice, documented his work in painful detail, and made sure the people staying behind had everything they could need. Honestly, he probably prepared more carefully for leaving that job than most people prepare for moving across the country. After years of dealing with micromanagement, zero appreciation, and management acting like basic salaries were charitable donations from the heavens, he finally landed a much healthier and better-paying position somewhere else. Freedom at last. Or at least that is what he thought for approximately one peaceful week.

Almost immediately after leaving, messages from the old company started appearing in his personal inbox. At first, they seemed harmless enough: little questions here and there from his former manager asking for clarification about procedures and files. He tried being polite and helpful because, you know, basic professionalism and human decency still exist. Unfortunately, that tiny bit of kindness accidentally opened the floodgates. Before long, the requests became increasingly bold, including instructions for him to directly fix problems himself despite no longer working there. Then came the truly unbelievable part: one message arrived containing confidential customer data attached to a shared file sent directly to his personal email address.

What would you do in this situation when your boss has given you a repeated, direct order, but others are expecting you to help?

I think any of us who have worked and are currently working service jobs know what it's like when you're in the middle of a rush, and someone is not with the fast-moving pace that the rush necessitates. 

Orders are steaming through, and there's a queue of customers out the front door. There, the FNG (Fun New Guy/Gal) is just standing there totally in the way and without a clue. To be fair, they're trying to help, and they could definitely use some more training when there's time, but right now is not that time. Especially when the only thing standing between the present moment and a customer complaint is complete organization and pure efficiency. It reaches a point pretty quickly when it's just better if they're out of the way, so it's not uncommon to give them some other task that they can handle somewhere out of the way.

This diner was utterly stunned to realize that her entire anniversary dinner had been secretly recorded without her knowledge. 

We're in a whole new age of surveillance. Or is it entertainment? It depends on who you ask!

If you haven't heard of smart glasses, or seen someone wearing them already, you probably will soon. They're everywhere these days. They look pretty ordinary, just like regular glasses you'd wear to improve your vision. But they actually record everything around you… which is a surprise to everyone in your vicinity, who can't even tell they're being recorded. 

Did you know that gardening can be a very handy tool even beyond growing things for your kitchen?

That's right, it appears it can be used as a tool to get back at people in your neighborhood treating you poorly as well. This woman decided to use her gardening for evil, and I support it! She is a military wife, often finding herself on her own at home. If you know anything about military families, they travel often and are assigned housing by a board through the military. This board, however, seemed to be useless. She would have to beg them to help with the home upkeep, but when she did anything "wrong," it would be the top of their priority list. Finally, the last straw was had, after they told her she couldn't use potted plants. Oh, no potted plants? I guess she can just put her invasive herbs straight in the ground then…

Becoming embroiled in a potential lawsuit over a hidden camera uncovered in an Airbnb was likely not on this traveler's bingo card.

This man was traveling in Florida with his spouse and rented what appeared to be a charming Airbnb in a quaint neighborhood. However, one unfortunate evening, the tourist found a hidden camera in the bedroom that was pointed directly at the bed. While he did not necessarily have proof that there was foul play going on, he certainly was justified in suspecting that something sketchy was afoot.

Could you get away with coasting at your job for 4 years? Was it really the answer to keeping your boss happy all along?

Synopsis: An employee stopped caring and started simply giving the simplest, quickest responses to any task they were given. Instead of getting fired or put on any performance improvement plans, they coasted for years, eventually even getting promoted.

I think, whether stories like this are true or not, there is a lesson to be learned somewhere in here.

Often in life, what your boss, client, or whoever you answer to wants from you isn't the best answer; it's just a quick answer. If you could get 85% of the way there in 30 minutes, but getting to 90-100% would take another 3 hours, chances are they'd take the 85% every time.

Of course, this doesn't go for anyone who is building bridges, doing important medical procedures, or something important like that. Please, you lot all keep on getting to 100%. But the point is, for most of us perfectionists who want every detail and possibility explored, we'd probably make our bosses happier if we just thought about things less and just got them finished and submitted in time. 

The unprofessionalism displayed by this company drew millions of eyes after a scorned employee put them on blast. 

A lot of people travel for work, and they'll tell you: it's no walk in the park. It's all of the work that goes into a 9-5 job, but your time is bookended by long flights and a stay in a random hotel far from home. 

This guy was super excited to accept a job that would require some travel. 

It was for DreamHack, an esports convention taking place in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Since this guy is from Nevada, that was a cool job offer, but it would require some 2,300+ miles of travel. 

But literally the moment they touched down in Georgia, there was crickets from the team. 

This person started asking for details, and the rest you'll just have to read to believe. 

Should this new guy be reprimanded for making a rookie mistake on the job, or should he have known better?

It's difficult to assume that folks who are just entering the workforce for the first time have a strong understanding of what is considered acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Of course, the big workforce violations are usually expressed in a contract or in training. However, what about the smaller things, like professional speak and being respectful of other people's boundaries? 

Some people who have been working for a long time might think that these concepts need not be addressed specifically. However, one must remember that in our contemporary society, where young folks have grown up in the age of social media, what constitutes professionalism in the work space might not necessarily be as self-explanatory as one might think.

Many people find themselves working in the service industry for one thing and one thing only: The tips.

Every minimum-wage job can turn into a high-paying one with the right amount of tips, and for a young adult just starting their life, that could mean a great deal.

So people opt out of calm, desk jobs to work in a stressful environment like a busy restaurant or a popular coffee shop, in order to make a few extra bucks in the shape of some trusty tips. It might not seem like a lot for some, but these extra dollars a shift can really turn someone's life around.

That was the thought process of the new barista below. They started working in a small coffee shop that only pays $15 an hour, after they were told that tips would also be part of their monthly wage. Well, after a while working there, this employee noticed that the tips they were getting weren't actually included in their paychecks.

What would you do if you were faced with such a dramatic change to your role on the second day?

A lot changed in the last few years of employment, and, well, a lot didn't.

Employees proved they could stay productive from home after years of trying to convince their bosses that this would be the case. Finally getting the chance to put their money where their mouth is. There seemed to be an implied understanding that the success of this little civilization-wide cultural experiment would mean a permanent change in the way we work. That, when things returned to relative normal, we would all be able to retain at least some flexibility in where and when we were able to do our work.

Sure, there was never really any declaration from on high that "Ye shall never set foot in an office again," but retaining just a little bit of the freedom tasted, the quality of life sampled during those years would have been nice for everyone. Once you've sampled top-shelf quality, it's a little hard to go back to plastic bottles and bitter tastes that commuting to an office 5 days a week represents.

And for those who were hired on a purely remote basis while everyone was working from home anyway? Well, there was no reason to think that there would ever be any change, that you might one day be asked to go into an office that was nowhere close to your home, sitting for hours in traffic to experience an "office culture" that you never signed on for.

It takes a village to raise your kids, but has this person has taken that responsibility too far while watching a 12-year-old niece? 

Most parents want, and in some cases desperately desire, a village to help them raise their kids. In practice, that might mean that they watch their kid most of the time, but they also lean on their parents, in-laws, babysitters, or neighbors to watch the kids. 

The age-old question of who is supposed to pay for a home repair: the person who lives in it, or the person who owns it?

When you live in a home you don't own, disputes are bound to follow every time something happens to the place. It could be an AC malfunction, a hole in the wall, or a clogged toilet; every single change drags a whole conversation about who is supposed to be the one paying for the repair.

Naturally, neither side wants to bear the cost of a repair. The owner never wants to pay for something in a home they don't live in, and the renter doesn't want to pay for something in a home they don't own. But usually, a simple clause in their contract determines which one of them must take out their wallet, and that usually settles the debate.

When it comes to Airbnbs, things tend to get a little blurry because these standard contracts are not a common thing between a host and a guest. Anyone who has ever stayed at an Airbnb knows that some hosts tend to look for ways they can squeeze more money out of their guests, and one must be careful whenever they're staying at an Airbnb for longer than a night.

The guest below is staying at an Airbnb long-term, which could be a risky deal, as they have just discovered themselves. For a while, they didn't have any problems with their stay, until one night at 2:00 AM, they got locked out of the bedroom because the electronic lock suddenly ran out of batteries.

Since they only left their room to go to the bathroom, the guest didn't have anything but their phone on them, so they decided to text the host and explain the situation. After a bit of back and forth, the host told the guest to wait until 7:00 AM, and the guest decided to spend the rest of the night in the communal kitchen. When morning came, the host called a locksmith who came to fix the lock. When the door was fixed, the host and guest got into a dispute about who should pay the locksmith for the job. The host claimed it was the guest's fault for leaving the room in the middle of the night, while the guest refused to take the blame for a malfunction that had nothing to do with them.