Man Spends His Last $1K on Abandoned Farm – Discovers a Fortune Hidden in the Attic
The man didn’t know the seller was trying to con him when he paid merely $1,000 for a farm. He soon found a letter that would change his life forever in the attic along with a bag of dollar bills.
For 71-year-old Sebastian, harvesting the maize he had sown months earlier, it was just another ordinary day on his farm. He carried a broken straw basket under the sun and proceeded to throw the mature corn into it one by one, with the hope of selling them for a small amount of money at the market.
Sebastian had spent his childhood living in a small house beside his family’s farm. He later married a woman he cared deeply for, and together they raised three sons—James, Fred, and Kyle. Life seemed stable until tragedy struck when his wife passed away unexpectedly in her sleep. Her sudden death left Sebastian heartbroken, but it also deepened his connection with his boys, bringing them even closer as a family.
Sebastian handed the brothers the money he had saved after they were grown. After purchasing homes and separating, they finally left their ailing father alone. Sebastian’s job kept him busy all day, so he didn’t mind being alone without his sons.
He used to get up early, work out, and eat breakfast before heading off to work. After that, he would come home exhausted, eat dinner, and go to bed right away. The old guy never wavered from his schedule and kept himself occupied on the farm, which prevented him from thinking about anything else.
One day while working on the farm, Sebastian was overcome by a sudden wave of dizziness. His vision went dark, and he lost his balance, collapsing to the ground. Thankfully, a nearby neighbor noticed what had happened and quickly rushed over to help him.
“Hello, Sebastian! Are you alright?” Sebastian remained silent as the neighbor questioned in a trembling voice.
Sebastian opened his eyes a few minutes later to see that he was inside his neighbor’s home. He glanced around, remembering nothing of the events on the farm.
“Why am I here?” Sebastian inquired with his neighbor.
Sebastian, you passed out. “Do you not remember?” inquired the neighbor.
“I fainted?” Sebastian scowled. “I can’t recall anything.”
The old man had been feeling lightheaded for a few days and made the decision to see a doctor that day. After doing a few tests, the doctor revealed something unexpected to him, contrary to his initial suspicion that he had fainted from exhaustion.
“Mr. Sebastian, I apologize, but you don’t have much time left,” the doctor stated. “According to your reports, the cancer has advanced to an untreatable state. I advise you to spend these final few weeks with your loved ones.”
Sebastian died the next day without any of his sons being present.
Sebastian had been denying his cancer signs for months, and now there was nothing the physicians could do to undo the harm. Sebastian was not concerned about his health, though. All he could think about was his farm.
“If I passed away, who would look after it? Sebastian thought, “I need to let the boys know about my condition,” and reached for his phone. He informed each of his boys over the phone that he was running out of time.
As expected, none of his sons stepped in to stop him from working on the farm. They didn’t visit or offer any assistance, though they expressed their condolences. Over time, Sebastian continued to work the land until his body could no longer keep up, forcing him to stay at home.
James stated, “Dad, we have hired a nurse for you,” upon discovering that his father was confined to bed. “We can’t visit you, but she will help you with everything.”
With a feeble “You don’t have to spend money on me, son,” Sebastian answered. “I will leave this world sooner or later.”
“No, Dad,” James replied. “Please don’t say that.”
Sebastian answered, “Save some money for your future, James.” “Why don’t you and your brothers visit me one by one instead of hiring a nurse?”
James said to his father, “You know we’re all busy with our wives and kids.” “We can’t visit you.”
When his boys declined to see him, Sebastian was disappointed. Before he passed away, he wished to see them one final time, but it didn’t seem possible. His three sons showed no interest in getting to know him.
A few weeks later, Sebastian informed his boys about his will over the phone. That day, he was so sick that all he could think of was his farm and his sons.
He begged his sons to take care of his farm.
“My father put in endless effort on it, and my grandfather constructed it with his own hands. Sons, if you take care of this rich land and put in a lot of effort, it will bring you a lot of money.”
Sebastian died the next day without any of his sons being present. In the final hours of his life, he experienced loneliness, but his sons showed no concern about it. Their father was interred at the farmyard cemetery after James, Fred, and Kyle planned a modest burial.
Sebastian thought his sons would look after his farm, but none of the three men ever went back to their dad’s house. They were too busy living their lives with their families to be concerned about the farm or work on it.
A few months later, James received a phone call from a lawyer informing him that Sebastian had taken out a loan to cover the costs of animal feed and fertilizers. Now, the responsibility of repaying the debt had fallen to the brothers.
“But we don’t have any money!” James objected. “Dad never told us about this debt.”
James told his brothers about the phone conversation later that day, and they quickly devised a solution. “I think we should sell the farm and use the money to pay the debt,” Kyle proposed.
When the brothers visited the farm the following day, they were dissatisfied with its state. “Who will purchase this? This house is so run-down, and the farm is totally wrecked!” said Fred. “Do you guys think we can sell this?”
“Do we have a choice?” Is James asking? “We don’t!”
The brothers listed the land of their late father for sale, but nobody made an offer. Everyone believed the price the brothers were requesting was excessive because they could see it was abandoned.
“Should we edit the photos and make the house look better?” Kyle enquired of his brothers. “We can advertise in the newspaper and lower the price.”
“You’re right, Kyle,” Fred affirmed. “That’s the only way we can get rid of this farm.”
The brothers got a call from a stranger who was interested in purchasing the farm a few days after they placed an advertisement with altered pictures of it in the newspaper.
“But why is it so cheap?” Harry, the prospective customer, questioned.
“I am selling this farm because I have to move to another town for work,” James claimed. “I need to sell the farm as soon as possible, so I thought lowering the price would help.”
Harry responded, “Oh, I get it. “When can I look at your farm before I buy it?”
James responded, “I don’t think that’s possible.” “I already have two contacts who are eager to purchase it without coming in person. I can’t offer you a better bargain than this, Harry, but I don’t have enough time. The farm is yours for $1,000. I promise you, that’s a crazy deal!”
Harry paid the remaining thousand dollars and purchased the farm, not realizing James’ malicious intentions. After his sister deceived him by stealing his parents’ home and land, he intended to move in with his wife and two children. She misled him to get him to sign paperwork, and she never gave him his share of the fortune.
“Now I understand why they sold the farm for a thousand dollars!” Harry pondered.
Not realizing that James and his brothers were making fun of him, Harry was relieved to have bought the house and thought that he had made the proper investment. They exclaimed, “We’ve fooled him!” and made fun of Harry for purchasing their late father’s run-down farm.
Harry was overjoyed to see the farm he had purchased with his children’s college fund when he and his family arrived two days later. He had invested the money in the hopes of earning a sizable return that he could use to fund his children’s college education.
Harry and his wife discovered they had to fix the entire house once they went inside the abandoned one. His wife enquired, “How will we pay for the renovation?”
“Don’t worry, we will work on the farm and revamp this house ourselves,” Harry stated. “I know it would take a lot of time and hard work, but I’m sure we can make things work.”
Harry and his spouse got to work on the farm soon after and made it into something truly remarkable. With little money, they purchased new livestock, sowed fresh seeds, and created a stunning landscape on their farm. A few months later, Harry received his first monthly income from his new farm. When his neighbors saw how he and his spouse had transformed Sebastian’s former farm into a stunning setting, they were astounded.
While working in the field one day, Harry noticed two men standing outside his home. “How may I help you?” Harry enquired.
They questioned him, “Are you the owner of the farm?”
“Yes,” Harry gave a nod.
Then the two men said to him that they wanted the debt that Sebastian’s sons had never paid to be paid by the owner. “The farm’s former owner took out loans that he never returned. One of the men remarked, “I’m sure you knew this before buying the farm.”
“Now I understand why they sold the farm for a thousand dollars!” Harry pondered. He then assured the men that he would use the money he earned from working on the farm to pay off the debt as quickly as possible. To earn their trust, he even made a deposit with them.
Harry tidied up the farm and emptied the house of its garbage the following day. He was in the attic when he ascended the ladder to get to a storage cabinet’s top drawer. He opened it, and a black plastic bag fell out. He questioned, “What’s inside?”
Then the bag tore apart, letting many wads of dollar bills fall on his head. “Oh my!” Harry cried out. “What’s all this?”
Harry was surprised to discover that the other bag, which had likewise been filled with a large amount of cash, had been removed. In addition to the cash, he discovered an envelope containing a handwritten letter. Harry spoke it out loud:
“If you are reading this letter and don’t know who I am, that means my sons ignored my will.”
“My name is Sebastian, and upon my passing, I asked my three sons to take care of my land. I wanted them to take care of the land that I had inherited from William, my grandfather. He put a lot of effort into setting up the farm so I could get paid. I wanted my sons to learn the same skills that he had taught me about working on the farm. My sons don’t appear to want to put in a lot of effort, though.
The buyer of the farm from my sons must be the one who is reading this letter. I hope you look after my dear land, even though I’m not sure what they told you. I made the decision to take care of the money because it will need a lot of hard effort. This money is mine to leave to you. Please use it to improve my farm and make it the greatest in the community. No matter where I end up, I want to see my land prosper. I’d like for folks to go there. I want city dwellers to come see my farm.
Since my boys are probably not going to honor my final request, I pray you make my dream come true.”
Harry was taken aback after reading the letter and calculating how much money Sebastian had left. He could have put that money toward his kids’ college fund, but he was being truthful. He invested the remaining funds in farm renovations after using a portion of it to settle Sebastian’s debt.
Harry dubbed the farm “William and Sebastian’s Farm” when Sebastian requested that it have a certain appearance. The neighbors soon became drawn to it and began routinely purchasing vegetables, milk, and eggs from Harry. Harry was able to make money from the farm since visitors from nearby towns also came by.
After a year, Harry had amassed savings equal to ten times his children’s college fund. He felt that purchasing the farm was the best choice he had ever made because it had benefited him greatly. He expressed his gratitude to Sebastian for leaving the cash as well.
James, Fred, and Kyle also found out about the property because it had become a popular tourist destination. They were shocked to discover that Harry had transformed the farm into a stunning setting and felt an immediate guilt for not working as hard as their father had instructed.
“Hi, Harry!” Said James. “I adore the way the farm currently appears! You must be making a great deal of money, I’m sure.”
“Yes,” Harry grinned.
“Buying the farm has changed my life!”
“Well, since we offered you such a low price for it, why don’t you share your profit with us?” James attempted to con Harry. “You can give part of your income to us, and we will divide it evenly.”
“What?” Harry laughed. “Why would I give you a portion of my earnings? I purchased the farm from you at a steep cost. My spouse and I toiled day and night to make things whole again. You people were of no assistance to us.”
James turned his attention to the floor and started to consider a different ruse to trick Harry. The brothers had taken out bank loans and had no way of paying them back, therefore they were in need of money.
Following a little awkward quiet, Harry extended an offer that the brothers were unable to decline. He asked them if they would like to work on the farm full-time because he knew they needed the money.
Harry promised to pay each of them a salary each month. “I know you guys need money.”
The brothers soon realized they ought to have followed their father’s counsel when they started working at the farm. They learned how tough it was to make money by working nonstop.
While doing some attic cleaning one day, James noticed a $500 dollar on the ground. “Oh my!” he said as he picked it up. “Who left this here?”
His eyes gleamed as he studied the bill, and his mind raced with all the ways he might blow this cash, but a voice inside him told him not to. “I ought to give it back to Harry,” he considered.
Harry laughed, perhaps unexpectedly, when James told him about the bill. “James, here’s your bonus for being honest! You’re free to keep it.” stated Harry. It transpired that he had purposely left the bill in the attic to put the brothers to the test.
Harry taught his kids how to raise cattle and cultivate crops since he was appreciative of his farm and liked it. As they got older, they moved to the city to attend college, but they still made frequent trips back to the farm to assist their parents.
Harry was glad his farm was in capable hands after seeing his kids toil diligently on the property in their spare time. On his deathbed, he was less concerned about the farm than Sebastian was since he knew his kids would take care of it.
What lessons may we draw from this tale?
Prolonged effort yields rewards eventually. Harry discovered he would need to put in a lot of work before he could begin to make money when he purchased the farm. Had he hesitated to put forth a lot of effort, he would never have benefited from his unwavering efforts.
Instill in your children the value of money at a young age. Sebastian always gave his kids whatever they wanted, so they never learned the value of money. They had no idea how much labor their father had put in to make ends meet.
Tell your loved ones and friends about this story. It could uplift them and make their day.
