Workers Underestimate Homeowner Because She’s A Woman, Learn Their Lesson A Year Later
Social Issues, SocietyPublished Jun 29, 2026 Workers Underestimate Homeowner Because She’s A Woman, Learn Their Lesson A Year Later
Rokas Laurinavičius and Ilona Baliūnaitė
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Owning a house costs more than the mortgage and insurance. Maintenance and repairs are also inevitable. And even if you have the money, there can be another big hurdle you’ll need to clear: bureaucracy.
Reddit user Angrycat11111 wanted to install a water shut-off valve on her property, but the city workers who were supposed to do it came over, acting incredibly rude and making it the homeowner’s problem—not theirs.
However, the woman wasn’t going to let it slide and found the perfect way to get back at them!
RELATED:This woman contacted the city to help her take care of an issue she’s been having with her water system
Image credits: photovs/Envato (not the actual photo)
But the workers who were sent to her property were so dismissive
So the homeowner used her background in real estate to get back at the city
Image credits: ckstockphoto/Envato (not the actual photo)
And it worked
Image credits: photovs/Envato (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Angrycat11111
Owning a house is expensive, especially an old one
Buying a home is the biggest expense most people will ever have. But as this story shows, once you have the keys in hand, the costs just keep on coming.
The numbers will, of course, be different depending on where you look, but in the United States, where our Redditor is from, the median single-family home costs $436,523. The average annual costs of owning and maintaining it amount to $21,400, or 4.9% of the home’s total value.
Breaking down that figure, maintenance sits at $8,808, utilities and energy at $4,494, property taxes at $4,316, insurance at $2,267, and internet and cable at $1,515.
As you can see, maintenance is by far the single most expensive aspect of homeownership. The impact of general inflation on these services has been significant, and there are reasons why these costs are likely to continue to rise—namely, the country’s aging housing stock.
The median age of an American home is over 40 years old. It is small wonder that the average maintenance spending per homeowner for houses built before 1980 recently climbed by 76%.
With homes that old, “upkeeping” often becomes “upgrading,” as major features and systems require replacement. Given the current high home prices, many people are opting to stay put and fix up, instead of moving; many older Americans want to age in place in their homes, too.
Image credits: diegograndi/Envato (not the actual photo)
Unfinished maintenance and repairs can take a heavy toll on mental and physical health
In fact, the work that needs to be done on a house and the costs involved are major sources of pain for property owners. A survey from April found that a stunning 69% of homeowners have unfinished maintenance or repair tasks they’re actively delaying, and 25% say that ongoing maintenance needs significantly contribute to their daily stress.
For many homeowners, anxiety about their property heavily spills into their overall well-being. It leaves 32% feeling restless or tense, impacts sleep for 28%, remains constantly on the mind for 27%, and worsens the mental health of 22%. Worst of all, perhaps, is the 15% of respondents who report that their physical health has been directly harmed by the stresses of homeownership.
According to the survey, the top postponed tasks include landscaping and outdoor maintenance (47%), which can create pest invasions, drainage issues, and flooding problems if ignored. Cosmetic updates (44%) are also frequently delayed, even though they can hide much larger issues—like a mystery wall stain pointing to a hidden leak.
Finally, homeowners routinely put off direct utility issues that could easily be maintained at a fraction of the cost of a major breakdown later. These include plumbing (25%), appliances (24%), roofing or exterior structures (22%), and electrical work (21%). As the study noted, waiting until a full breakdown happens means major home repairs can skyrocket to $30,000 or more for a roof, $6,000 for electrical, and $5,000 for plumbing.
So, kudos to the Redditor for handling her municipal issues without losing her mind or her money!
As people reacted to the woman’s story, she revealed more info on the whole ordeal
Some people, however, weren’t impressed by the way the woman handled the problem
While others shared similar stories from their own experience
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Share on Facebook Rokas Laurinavičius
Writer, Senior Writer
Read more »Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.
Read less » Rokas Laurinavičius
Writer, Senior Writer
Read more »Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.
Read less » Ilona Baliūnaitė
Author, BoredPanda staff
Read more »I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place
Read less » Ilona Baliūnaitė
Author, BoredPanda staff
Read more »I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place
Read less » What do you think ?
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Debby Keir Debby Keir Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 hours ago I have a good one - moved into a house mid 80's. No heating, so opted for a gas central heating to be installed. Called British Gas, who surveyed the property - yes we have gas (there was an old fashioned gas poker to light the coal fire) They installed the full central heating, tried to turn it on - no gas to the premises! UK changed from 'coal gas' to natural gas by 1975, and the house had never been converted - easy when they were putting the new pipes in, but not easy years later as a new pipeline had to be run from the road to the house. Much discussion, they wanted another few hundred to do it - more discussion - showed them the contract we had that THEY would fit a heating system (presumably one that was fit for purpose) and they agreed to do it at no cost. Their mistake, their cost.
1 1point reply
LakotaWolf (she/her) LakotaWolf (she/her) Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow Premium 
Premium user. Get details. 9 hours ago I've gotten similar treatment from mechanics who assume that most women don't know jack shít about cars. My dad taught me a lot when I was a kid - terminology, basic repairs, changing brakes, changing oil, what you can leave unfixed and what you can't - and then I took auto classes in college (my local community college has a pretty good automotive tech department.) I've done most of the maintenance work and repairs on my van for the last 25 years and generally only take it in when there's something I can't figure out. But I don't drive an esoteric, rare 25-year-old van just for shíts and giggles - I love that van and I know a lot about it, so don't tell me that I need to have the brake pads replaced when I can see they're not worn XD
Lee Gilliland Lee Gilliland Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow Premium Premium user. Get details. 1 hour ago I feel your pain. I once got into an enormous argument with a stupid mechanic who insisted all Mustangs had the same timing. Half-an-hour wasted because he couldn't believe "someone so pretty had once worked pit crew". Idiot.
0 0points reply Load More Replies...
Ace Ace Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow Premium Premium user. Get details. 9 hours ago Only problem with this story is the bit about freezing the water pipe. Yes, that's something they can do. No, it's not expensive. I've had it done for radiator replacement, not because it's difficult to turn off but because it's a waste of water and time to drain the whole system in a large house. Takes just a couple of minutes using liquid carbon dioxide, readily and cheaply available. Industrial systems may use Nitrogen and have sleeves to keep if frozen for longer, but fitting a new valve only take a few minutes so is not required for this sort of thing.
1 1point reply
Robert Benson Robert Benson Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 7 hours ago It might not be expensive to do, but the plumbers in the area might charge a lot to do it. The most important thing is that it is an expense that shouldn't be necessary.
2 2points reply Load More Replies...
JB JB Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 4 hours ago (edited) I think you’re confusing entirely different situations. Water-based radiator heating installations are closed systems, meaning the same water is cycled to provide heat. Even if yours lacked individual isolation valves for each radiator (rare, but it does happen) it should still have a tank with an isolation valve separating it from running water in the house to maintain water pressure in the closed system. The freezing is applied to the, typically, 0.6” diameter copper pipes feeding the radiators. What OP is talking about is freezing the mains water pipe that services the whole house, that’s a whole different story, especially when there’s no pressure/shut-off valve through/to the water metre inside the house. She needed the city to shut off water to her entire house in order to be able to install a shutoff valve.
1 1point reply Load More Comments POST Debby Keir Debby Keir Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 hours ago I have a good one - moved into a house mid 80's. No heating, so opted for a gas central heating to be installed. Called British Gas, who surveyed the property - yes we have gas (there was an old fashioned gas poker to light the coal fire) They installed the full central heating, tried to turn it on - no gas to the premises! UK changed from 'coal gas' to natural gas by 1975, and the house had never been converted - easy when they were putting the new pipes in, but not easy years later as a new pipeline had to be run from the road to the house. Much discussion, they wanted another few hundred to do it - more discussion - showed them the contract we had that THEY would fit a heating system (presumably one that was fit for purpose) and they agreed to do it at no cost. Their mistake, their cost.
1 1point reply LakotaWolf (she/her) LakotaWolf (she/her) Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow Premium Premium user. Get details. 9 hours ago I've gotten similar treatment from mechanics who assume that most women don't know jack shít about cars. My dad taught me a lot when I was a kid - terminology, basic repairs, changing brakes, changing oil, what you can leave unfixed and what you can't - and then I took auto classes in college (my local community college has a pretty good automotive tech department.) I've done most of the maintenance work and repairs on my van for the last 25 years and generally only take it in when there's something I can't figure out. But I don't drive an esoteric, rare 25-year-old van just for shíts and giggles - I love that van and I know a lot about it, so don't tell me that I need to have the brake pads replaced when I can see they're not worn XD
1 1point reply Lee Gilliland Lee Gilliland Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow Premium Premium user. Get details. 1 hour ago I feel your pain. I once got into an enormous argument with a stupid mechanic who insisted all Mustangs had the same timing. Half-an-hour wasted because he couldn't believe "someone so pretty had once worked pit crew". Idiot.
0 0points reply Load More Replies... Ace Ace Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow Premium Premium user. Get details. 9 hours ago Only problem with this story is the bit about freezing the water pipe. Yes, that's something they can do. No, it's not expensive. I've had it done for radiator replacement, not because it's difficult to turn off but because it's a waste of water and time to drain the whole system in a large house. Takes just a couple of minutes using liquid carbon dioxide, readily and cheaply available. Industrial systems may use Nitrogen and have sleeves to keep if frozen for longer, but fitting a new valve only take a few minutes so is not required for this sort of thing.
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Robert Benson Robert Benson Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 7 hours ago It might not be expensive to do, but the plumbers in the area might charge a lot to do it. The most important thing is that it is an expense that shouldn't be necessary.
2 2points reply Load More Replies... JB JB Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 4 hours ago (edited) I think you’re confusing entirely different situations. Water-based radiator heating installations are closed systems, meaning the same water is cycled to provide heat. Even if yours lacked individual isolation valves for each radiator (rare, but it does happen) it should still have a tank with an isolation valve separating it from running water in the house to maintain water pressure in the closed system. The freezing is applied to the, typically, 0.6” diameter copper pipes feeding the radiators. What OP is talking about is freezing the mains water pipe that services the whole house, that’s a whole different story, especially when there’s no pressure/shut-off valve through/to the water metre inside the house. She needed the city to shut off water to her entire house in order to be able to install a shutoff valve.
1 1point reply Load More Comments
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