A woman is trying to get her lottery-winning dad’s house back after a tenant refused to leave.
According to TikToker @theartofwahr, her father won over $13 million from the Michigan Lottery in 2013. He decided to take the lump sum payment, which was about $8.4 million before taxes.
From there, he proceeded to spend almost all of the money. He bought construction equipment with the intention of starting a company (he never did) and, according to the TikToker, gambled and spent heavily on luxuries and vacations.
By the time he died in 2023, her father was nearly broke. Now, the TikToker states that she’s left to pick up the pieces—including a house in Las Vegas that she says her father owned. However, the current tenant claims it’s his. What’s going on?
What Happened To This Woman’s House?
Across numerous videos, the TikToker explains what is happening with the Las Vegas property her father purchased.
By @theartofwahr’s explanation, her father bought several properties in Las Vegas. One of the people in one of these properties stopped paying their bills. Consequently, her father decided to sell the adjoining properties. This led to the person in the house suing the TikToker’s father. The TikToker took over this lawsuit after her father passed away.
For a while, it seemed as though progress was being made to either remove the tenant from the property or to otherwise resolve the issue.
While the TikToker says she is not certain of the market price of the home, she claims that her family previously reached a settlement with the tenant. This, she says, would resolve everything.
“We had a settlement. He was gonna pay me $250,000 for the house, which is way below what we could have gotten for market value,” she explains.
However, after months of waiting, the tenant has still not paid. Now, as the TikToker is recording her videos, the tenant is still living in the property and still not paying rent.
“He’s been living there for six years, not paying anything. I’m paying his land taxes,” she summarizes. “It’s just a bunch of bulls—.”
Why Can’t She Just Kick Him Out?
While the TikToker claims that the family tried to evict the man presently in the house, she says the eviction was unsuccessful due to an incorrect filing.
“We tried to evict him, and that didn’t work, because we didn’t go through the proper channels,” she says.
Overall, she places much of the blame on her lawyer. She also speculates that the judge may be biased in favor of locals.
Still, some of the stated issues could come about because the agreement her father made was not a typical rental contract. Instead, the deal with the tenant was something called a “land contract.”
In the state of Nevada, a “land sale installment contract” is an agreement where a buyer agrees to pay for a property over time. As this is happening, the seller keeps the original title until the full price is paid. The buyer can possess the property, but does not have legal ownership rights until the terms of the agreement are satisfied.
The TikToker says her father sold adjoining properties after the present tenant stopped making payments. She could argue that the tenant violated their agreement. However, the tenant may argue that, by selling the properties, the TikToker’s father also violated their agreement.
One can believe that one side has a stronger case than the other. However, resolving it takes more than a simple eviction notice. Instead, it likely requires a court to untangle contract rights, title, payment defaults, and counterclaims before a resolution can be reached.
Viewers Are Annoyed
In the comments section, many users expressed frustration with the TikToker’s lawyer, whom she claims is responsible for missed deadlines and other issues.
“Girl, if he missed a deadline and caused you to lose something that malpractice and you can get big money from your lawyer to hire a new lawyer. Go get a free consult from a malpractice lawyer,” shared a user.
“Call the lawyer you’re gonna file a complaint against his license with the board. That’ll get some results. And if not, it’ll just get him investigated by the board,” stated another.
Others noted the importance of showing up to court in person, not just via video call.
“Don’t depend on others to fight your battles in your absence. Be there! Protect yourself and show it matters. Let your voice be heard!” exclaimed a commenter.
@theartofwahr We shall see. Follow for the update tomorrow. #lottery
BroBible reached out to the TikToker via email and TikTok direct message.