THE POIGNANT FINAL NOTE HE LEFT FOR HIS SISTER

Dear Paula,

I’m so very sorry I had to end it this way, it must have come as quite a shock to you. I have been conned by my builder in the simplest of scams. Starting with a simple job, in this case a new chimney for a reasonable price then escalating in stages until virtually the whole house needs rebuilding. Once you have no roof and the rain starts pouring in, you don’t have many options. When the job got to £172,000 requiring rebuilding of the flank wall, I would have been able to afford it. I had successfully arranged a re-mortgage for £45,000. I could live with this and write it off as a very expensive mistake. When I got the telephone call saying that the wall needed underpinning and it would cost an extra £125,000 I finally snapped. They are very clever of course: We can’t rebuild the wall without underpinning it; we can’t replace the rafters until the wall is built; we can’t put the roof on until we’ve replaced the rafters; we can’t rebuild the chimney until the roof is tiled. My estate is just about bankrupt. The building costs have risen to £297,000. The house in good condition is probably worth £450,000 leaving very little left after all the selling costs. As it stands the house is in a complete mess, the only way out as I see it is to get someone to buy it for peanuts and let them sort it out. Please under no circumstances put any of your money into the house, let the lawyers sort it out. It was my house, so it is my estate that should pay for it all. Sadly this means that there is very little left. I really could not see the job getting finished in my lifetime and therefore I have taken the selfish way out. I am sorry it has ended this way. I will love you always.

Your loving brother