Man does cousin a favor by moving into his mid-renovated apartment, agreeing to pay back his leftover renovation loan of $30k, until many hidden property defects start to resurface: 'I don't believe it is fair for me to continue paying off his debt'

Author image for Emma Saven
Emma Saven
Dec 9, 2025 10:00 AM EST

There's no such thing as a flawless, problem-free property. There will always eventually be aspects of a home that require a homeowner's or rentor's attention…But how many property problems are too many property problems? And if your name's not the one signed across the bottom line, should any of the problems truly be yours to solve? Well, this is the back-and-forth debate between these two cousins…Their shared grandmother owns a little "granny flat" in which this older cousin was living previously. During that time, he decided to spruce up the place and renovate it! But with sprucing comes high costs…meaning he was forced to take out a loan of $100 cover it! 

Although by the time the other younger cousin was set to move in, there was still $30k remaining in debt. He agreed to cover the payment for his older cousin, and all was smooth sailing…That was until this new 'resident' started to discover endless defects rising to the surface, that would take a lot more than $30k to fix…So, going back on their verbal agreement, he tells his older cousin, as the one who started the renovations, he should be the one to financially finish it!

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  • To be fair, their agreement was based on swapping out a ‘sound’ apartment, not one with countless money-draining issues…He was more than happy to help out his cousin with his remaining debt, but this is a whole other game of property tug-of-war, and he's no longer willing to play! 

  • Builder sanding the inside of a house
    via kasto

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • AITA for refusing to keep paying my cousin’s renovation debt even though I live in the property now

    I (25M) live in a granny flat owned by my grandmother for around 2 years now.
    via Old-Following7522
  • My cousin (32M) previously lived here and decided to renovate the place. He borrowed around 100k to do it, with about 30k still owing to my mum when he moved out.
    via Old-Following7522
  • The loan is not in my name and the property is also not in his name.
    via Old-Following7522
  • When I moved in, I agreed to pay 150 per week which went directly toward repaying my mum for my cousin's remaining debt.
    via Old-Following7522
  • I saw this as a family favour to help both my cousin and my mum, not as taking over his financial responsibility.
    via Old-Following7522
  • At the time, I believed the place was in good condition. Since moving in, over time I have discovered major defects including roof leaks, ceiling damage, water marks, gutter issues, and internal wall damage.
    via Old-Following7522
  • These repairs are likely to cost several thousand dollars. I have already paid about 10k toward the loan in good faith.
    via Old-Following7522
  • Adult son helping his middle-aged mother with bills
    via dragonimages

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • My cousin now believes that because I live here, the remaining debt is my responsibility. He argues that he put in a lot of time, labour, and additional money during the renovation which he never added to the loan.
    via Old-Following7522
  • I do acknowledge his effort and extra costs, but those were his choices and decisions. He lived here after renovating and benefited from it before moving out with money still owing.
    via Old-Following7522
  • My position is that the debt remains his responsibility because he chose to renovate, he chose to borrow the money, and he chose to leave before it was fully repaid.
    via Old-Following7522
  • I acted in good faith to help, not to permanently replace him as the borrower. I am willing to cover the current repairs myself, but I do not believe it is fair for me to continue paying off his debt on top of that.
    via Old-Following7522
  • I also pay my share of utilities and living costs and I am not gaining equity or ownership from living here.
    via Old-Following7522
  • He says I am being ungrateful and backing out of our agreement. I believe the agreement was based on the assumption the place was sound, which it is not.
    via Old-Following7522
  • AITA for refusing to continue paying my cousin's renovation debt and insisting that he resume responsibility for it?
    via Old-Following7522
  • Woman trying to stop two men from arguing
    via gettysignature

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Any advice on how to potentially move forward that will benefit all parties would be appreciated
    via Old-Following7522
  • MommersHeart NTA, it's not your debt. But I think your grandmother is the biggest loser in this mess. Your grandmother: 1. Has a property with hidden defects 2. Is not receiving proper rent for a renovated space 3. Has family arguing over a debt (that also should never have been passed to you)
    via MommersHeart
  • Clean_Permit_3791 NTA Not in your name - not your debt. He can argue whatever he likes. It's not your responsibility.
    via Clean_Permit_3791
  • Rufflag The debt is a contract made with him. You are not a party in that contract, period.
    via Rufflag
  • Spreepodcast_r More info needed - are these major defects things that could have been caused by the renovations, or that the reno should have somehow detected? Or are they completely removed? But based on the information as you provided it, NTA. He chose to make renovations on a place he didn't own, with money he didn't have. I do think you need to talk with your grandmother if you haven't already. If she's the one who owns the flat, any repairs should be going through her, even if you're contri
    via Spreepodcast_r
  • Available-Face5653 Who ever owns the property, it's that simple. You don't spend major money on something you don't own. Agreements mean nothing, absolutely nothing
    via Available-Face5653
  • fionawilliams2021 It's not your debt and the property is not in your name. However if you were to pay rent somewhere else what would it cost? If you plan to continue to leave there make sure you get a proper rental agreement in place. Or alternatively would you buy it from your mum/grandmother and get a loan to fix the rest of the problems? However, the bottom line is you didn't borrow that money. It's his debt to pay not yours.
    via fionawilliams2021
  • Justexhausted_61 Just move out and rent somewhere else. Cousin can rent it at market rate.
    via Justexhausted_61
  • Individual-Paint7897 NTA. Your cousin is a scammer.
    via Individual-Paint7897

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debt-repayment renovations homeownership granny-flat cousins apartment
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