There’s been a lot of talk about “data centers” in the news as of late. For the most part, it hasn’t been good.
As artificial intelligence becomes omnipresent, the processing power required to make it happen has grown. Consequently, companies are doing everything they can to build as much processing capacity as possible—which typically involves constructing a data center.
There are a few ways they can do this. Some property can be seized via eminent domain, though the laws around this are a bit tricky. More often, however, companies will just make homeowners an offer on their property to try to get them to leave.
One man says a data center company has done just that—and it’s gotten a bit weird.
What’s Going On With This Man’s Property?
In a video with over 2.7 million views, TikTok user Homer (@homer4400) says he’s encountering a peculiar problem. Simply put, people want to turn his property into a data center—and they’re leaving him all sorts of gifts to convince him to sell.
“It’s 6 in the morning. I got a text at, like, 5 in the morning from the realtor—or the guy that wants to buy the property,” Homer starts. “He said, ‘I left you, you and your daughters a gift at the front of your property.’”
Homer describes this interaction as “super weird.” In a follow-up video, he shows the alleged gifts he received: a $250 Outback Steakhouse gift card, a $250 Nike gift card, and $400 in cash. Homer later speculated that these gifts may be in relation to a conversation he previously had with the alleged realtor.
From here, the gifts did not stop. Subsequent videos on the page claim that Homer received texts from numerous numbers that would continue even after blocking individual numbers. Homer further alleges that he received more gift cards, cards made of 24K gold, and that someone paid off one of his credit cards without his consent.
Is This Real?
BroBible could neither confirm nor deny Homer’s story. That said, there are reasons to be skeptical of his claims.
For example, while it is technically possible to pay off someone else’s credit card bill, it requires accessing personal information that Homer likely would not have provided to a realtor, such as an account number. This makes his claim that the people leaving the gift cards also paid off his credit card bill suspect.
Additionally, other videos on his page strain credulity. To provide an example, he has a series in which he claims that a branch began floating in midair on his property.
Still, Homer isn’t the only person claiming that people trying to turn properties into data centers have gone to extreme lengths to convince homeowners to sell.
Data Centers Make Big Offers
As the growth of artificial intelligence means more data centers popping up around the country, numerous homeowners say that tech companies have come knocking in an attempt to get them to sell their home.
Usually, this does not involve gift cards. Instead, deals are made for cash—often tens of thousands to millions of dollars.
For example, in Greenleaf, Wisconsin, property owners received purchase offers from a company looking to build a data center in the area. This company offered between $50,000 and $120,000 per acre of land.
For large properties, this can be a major payday for the owners. In Maysville, Kentucky, one woman claimed that a company offered her $60,000 per acre for her 71-acre property, resulting in a potential payday of over $4.2 million. She rejected the offer.
Other property owners claim they’ve received offers as high as $15 million for their properties.
Commenters Don’t Like Data Centers
Whether the events in this video were real or staged, users still used the comments section to share their thoughts about the growth of data centers and the tactics used to build them.
“No amount of money is worth loosing our water or our land,” a user shared.
“DO NOT SELL!! And please, look at your deed make sure you own everything when it comes to your property THE SOIL underneath as well! Super important,” another advised.
“Give me a new house and 5 million over market and id accept,” countered a third. “I’m against data centers but life is hard.”
BroBible reached out to Homer via TikTok direct message and comment.