Siblings can drive you crazy.

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Family relationships can be very dramatic. I learned a valuable lesson this week about just that. One thing I learned is never mix family and business. I guess I should back out here and explain some. Last year I acquired a property that I decided to sell on contract to a low income family. Rent to own no payment down. The family had been renting from me while I was a property manager and every month always has had there money on the 1st. So I knew it was a smart move for me. The main problem with this property was the roof. I planned on doing it last summer, but because of my other rental property I have and the damage another tenant did I had to wait till now to do it. So last summer when all this happened, my oldest brother who knows the guy buying the place, said when I did the roof to let him know he would do it for just a couple of hundred dollars and his friend would help for the same amount. I said cool I can bring my work crew (who work with me on fixing up the inside of properties) to help get the work done quickly. So fast forward to now. I get my crew working tearing down the old facial boards and painting the new ones. My brother if he shows up, shows up after 4 p.m. each day. He talks for a least a hour before he starts talking to the neighborhood people. (This neighborhood everyone is always outside in everyone business) He threatened to quit because I had my guys painting the facial boards on the ground. It saves a lot of time and time is money on jobs like this. I am starting to get mad when his wife comes down and the first thing she says to me, is your worker with the dreadlocks is a pothead. I looked at her without blinking and said I would rather have 100 potheads working with me than one drunk. (For the record, the guy isn't a pothead at all. He don't use.) I am already about $400 into this project when my brother's wife said did your brother tell you he is charging you $1500 for labor. I said what. That's a big difference. So I asked him. And he said yes that was what he was charging. So I told him I don't have $1500 that was my entire labor budget and I am already into this with labor $400 so I fired him from the job. I paid him more than I should have for what he did do on the job. He said that was enough. But now the drama starts. They are spreading lies and rumors about me. They are trying to alienate the rest of my family from me. He worked not even 8 hours for me in 5 days I paid him $160 which is way more than he deserved for the work he did. Considering most of the work was done by me and my crew. They are posting on facebook that I don't love my brother because I wouldn't pay him $1500 for his labor. Said I was dirty to fire him. I am like wait a minute, I let him go cause I couldn't afford him, he was always late, and the job was taking longer than it should have. My family dynamics with my siblings has always been some what strange. My two brothers don't ever talk to each other unless they run into each other they are friendly but don't like each other. My one sister decides to get in the middle of this situation and tell half truths about a question I asked her about a document my grandfather send me. Trying to make my mother mad at me. She also talked to my other brother. I don't know what was said but my ex husband ran into my brother Yesterday and he told him when he saw me again he was going to punch me for screwing our brother out of over a $1000 they are spreading rumors that he did the work and I didn't pay him and that is not true. I have never really been close to any of my siblings. I have always wanted to be close to all of them. I have never asked any of them for anything except for their love. I never even asked for them to watch my kids except for one sister when I worked and I paid her $30 a day for a 6 hour shift, for just one child. For years I have felt like my siblings don't love me that I am used only when they want something. I have a degree in IT my one brother only calls me when his computer crashes and he don't want to pay to have it fixed. He don't even offer me gas money and I live over an hour away from him. My sister that wants to get involved in this, owes me over $200 and has for over 7 years now. Plus last year lied to me to trick me into getting her stuff from Texas that she left. The brother that screwed me over on this job, never has called me but twice, and it was to ask for legal advice. One of my other sisters only calls when she wants to nib or needs computer help to bust her husband cheating. (she is still with the cheating sob) I have one sibling who calls me to see how I am doing every now and again. She don't just call when she needs computer help. So even though I have known this for years, I still give and give my love to my family am there for them when they need it. Have taken from my own kids mouths to help them. After yesterday I am so done. No one should have gotten in the middle of this, and the sad part of this is, no one asked me for my side of things. I am dirty because I let him go cause of the money, according to them. I think it would have been dirty to have let him do the work then not have had the money to pay him. That would have been dirty. Paying him more than the work he did was generous. Not dirty. What do you all think? I posted this on Facebook in response to them: There are always two sides to a story. For those who want to take sides without hearing both sides, that is ignorant. There are always two sides. Their version on how they see it and the other person's view of the situation. To try to cause problems and pick sides without having all the information is just DUMB and I don't have time for stupid $hit. If someone says I have said something or done something and you don't ask me before spreading it. I don't want you in my life. I don't want stupid DRAMA in my life. If I want drama I will put in a movie. So if this pi$$es you off do us both a favor and remove me from your friends list, lose my number and forget you even know me. Cause I really don't have time for your drama. I didn't put the business out on Facebook but I knew the ones it applied to would be the first to respond and don't you know it they did. I removed their comments because they put personal family business out there. I can do that here cause its more anonymous here. I love my family I do, but to be honest I don't like the things they do, the behaviors they have. When I am around them, they bring me down. Life is hard enough without having drama that is unnecessary. So what do you all think? Am I wrong and are they right? Or do you think I did the right thing and he is wrong? (I already know in my heart the answer to this. but this has to be a discussion) Have you ever had a family member say stuff that wasn't true?