Family home left empty as siblings couldn’t agree on its fate

A grey log house stands at the end of an overgrown sand road in Kangasniemi, untouched by renovations and now empty. Built by Anita Partti’s father in 1950, the home where she and her seven siblings grew up has sat vacant since the 1970s, reports Yle.

The siblings struggled for years to decide what to do with the beloved house their father had built. Each time one wanted to sell, another wasn’t ready to let go. Visits grew rarer, and the house fell into disrepair.

“It’s in this condition because of trivial disagreements,” Partti said. The emotional ties to their childhood home made decisions difficult.

Real estate agents report a rise in families seeking to sell long-vacant inherited homes. Many intend to turn them into summer cottages, but often the properties sit unused for years, their condition deteriorating unnoticed.

According to Statistics Finland, nearly 61,000 single-family homes in the country are classified as abandoned, with 78,000 removed from active housing stock in the past decade. Another 110,000 are unoccupied but remain in the registry.

The Ylönen family’s house, now on the market for €3,000 as a teardown, has drawn four potential buyers—a rare outcome in Eastern Finland, where older homes often struggle to sell. The local municipality has listed 18 properties and one rental for its Abandoned Houses Fair, aiming to find new owners for empty homes.