My Nephew Secretly Listed My $385k Retirement Cabin For Sale While I Was Living In It. He Called Me “selfish” For Not Giving Him My House For His “business.” So I Called The Cops In Front Of His Paying Guests.

Boundaries and Blowouts

I hired a lawyer the next day. His name was David Chen and he’d handled my real estate closing.

I explained the situation, showed him the website, the calls I’d been getting.

“This is pretty straightforward,” David said.

“He’s using your property for commercial purposes without your consent. We’ll send a cease and desist letter. If he doesn’t comply, we can pursue an injunction.” he explained.

“How long does that take?” I asked.

“Depends on his response. Could be a few days, could be a few weeks.” he replied.

The cease and desist letter went out the next morning. That evening, Brandon showed up at my cabin again.

This time, he wasn’t smiling.

“You sent me a legal threat,” he said, waving his phone.

“Are you serious right now?”

“I asked you multiple times to take down the website. You ignored me.” I said.

“I ignored you because you’re not thinking clearly. You’re making an emotional decision instead of a rational one. This is free money, Uncle Bob. Literally free money.” he said.

“It’s not free if I have to give up my home and privacy.” I replied.

“You’re not giving up anything. I’d schedule the retreats when you’re not here. You could go visit your kids, take trips, whatever. You’d come back and the place would be cleaned and ready for you. Plus, you’d have thousands of dollars in your bank account.” he said.

“When I’m not here, Brandon? I live here. This isn’t a vacation home. This is where I live full-time.” I told him.

He blinked.

“Wait, really?” he asked.

“Yes, really.” I replied.

“I thought you just came here on weekends or whatever. Mom said you were mostly still in Charlotte.” he said.

“Your mother was wrong. I sold my house in Charlotte. This is my home now.” I told him.

Brandon ran his hand through his hair.

“Okay, well, that changes things a little. But we can work around it. There’s a bedroom you’re not using, right? You could stay in your room when guests are here. I’d make sure they knew to be respectful. Quiet hours after 10 p.m., that kind of thing.” he said.

I stared at him in disbelief.

“You want me to hide in my bedroom while strangers use my house?” I asked.

“Not hide, just, you know, coexist. It would only be a few nights a month.” he replied.

“The answer is no. Take down the website.” I said.

“I’ve already accepted deposits from three groups.” he said.

“Then give them their money back.” I told him.

“I can’t. I already spent it on marketing.” he replied.

This conversation was going nowhere.

“Brandon, you have 48 hours to take down the website, cancel all bookings, and refund any deposits. If you don’t, my lawyer will file for an injunction.” I said.

“You’d really sue me? Your own nephew?” he asked.

“You’re really stealing from me? Your own uncle?” I replied.

“I’m not stealing. I’m trying to help us both. Why can’t you see that?” he asked.

He left angry.

The Turnkey Deception

The website stayed up. David filed for a temporary injunction.

The hearing was scheduled for 2 weeks out. In the meantime, I kept getting calls and emails.

People wanting to book stays, asking about amenities, wondering if I had good hiking trails nearby. I also got a call from a local real estate agent.

“Mr. Morrison, my name is Patricia Wells. I represent a client who’s interested in purchasing your property. I understand from the listing online that you might be open to selling.” she said.

“I’m not selling.” I told her.

“The listing mentioned that the current owner might be retiring soon and looking to transition the property to new ownership. My client is prepared to make a very competitive offer.” she said.

“What listing are you talking about?” I asked.

She gave me a different website. I looked it up.

Brandon had created a second site—this one marketing the property as a turnkey retreat business opportunity. The description made it sound like an established, profitable operation.

The asking price was $650,000. I called David immediately.

“This is fraud,” David said after I read him the listing.

“He’s attempting to sell property he doesn’t own. We need to document everything. Screenshots, saved pages, all of it. This strengthens our case significantly.”

The harassment escalated. Linda called me every day, sometimes multiple times.

Brandon sent long text messages explaining why I was making a mistake, why I was being unreasonable, why this was actually good for me. He even tried to turn other family members against me.

My cousin Rachel called, saying she’d heard I was refusing to help Brandon with his business and didn’t I care about supporting young entrepreneurs?