History Main / LandPoor

** It is implied (and suggested by Fanon) that the Masaki Clan were aristocrats in ancient Japan, and Yosho inherited the Shrine and surrounding property from his late wife/cousin, Kasumi Masaki, who held it before
* The Tendos in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' also held a relatively large home in Tokyo, despite having very little means of support (shown that they rent out the dojo and are called to deal with things like supernatural creatures). Depending on fanon, the money comes from (eternally off-screen) students of the dojo, or Nabiki funds it with her money-making schemes. Or in [[{{Lemon}} other cases]], some... other ways of income.
** Their dojo is in Nerima, which is a border district and was mainly farmland in the past. Up to this day it still has the largest proportion of farmland among all of Tokyo's special wards, and thus the property value isn't on the general Tokyo level. So the large estates aren't all that unusual for the neighborhood, even if it's decidedly middle-class.

* Kagome's family in ''Manga/InuYasha'' is obviously not unusually wealthy, but they own a house with sheds, a shrine, a well, a huge tree in the backyard as well as the grove surrounding all of the above - in downtown Tokyo. Played straight in that her family has been the shrine's caretakers for ''centuries'' - the house is just so that they don't have to live in the shrine itself (which might be disrespectful); the sheds appear to be mostly devoted to things used for the shrine's upkeep and specific ceremonies. As for it being located in downtown Tokyo, it's generally implied (and possibly explicitly stated at some points) that the city grew up around the shrine - it wasn't just built there overnight or anything. The well and the tree were included in the land set aside for the shrine because of superstition and people recalling them as being associated. It's also implied that a lot of the money the family brings in comes from the gift shop, plus whatever Kagome's mom might do for a living. Fanon holds that the family lives fairly comfortably because of the shrine's popularity as a tourist destination as well as a site for wedding ceremonies.

* In ''SpacedInvaders'', the trope is [[PlayedForLaughs played]] [[SoBadItsGood so straight it's funny]].

* The Tendos in ''RanmaOneHalf'' also held a relatively large home in Tokyo, despite having very little means of support (shown that they rent out the dojo and are called to deal with things like supernatural creatures). Depending on fanon, the money comes from (eternally off-screen) students of the dojo, or Nabiki funds it with her money-making schemes. Or in [[{{Lemon}} other cases]], some... other ways of income.

* Kagome's family in ''Manga/InuYasha'' is obviously not unusually wealthy, but they own a house with sheds, a shrine, a well, and a huge tree in the backyard - in downtown Tokyo. Played straight in that her family has been the shrine's caretakers for ''centuries'' - the house is just so that they don't have to live in the shrine itself (which might be disrespectful); the sheds appear to be mostly devoted to things used for the shrine's upkeep and specific ceremonies. As for it being located in downtown Tokyo, it's generally implied (and possibly explicitly stated at some points) that the city grew up around the shrine - it wasn't just built there overnight or anything. The well and the tree were included in the land set aside for the shrine because of superstition and people recalling them as being associated. It's also implied that a lot of the money the family brings in comes from the gift shop, plus whatever Kagome's mom might do for a living. Fanon holds that the family lives fairly comfortably because of the shrine's popularity as a tourist destination as well as a site for wedding ceremonies.

* Lady Saint Edmund from ''{{Candleshoe}}''.

* ''ToTheManorBorn'' is a BritCom about the relationship between a downwardly mobile noblewoman and the nouveau-riche businessman who bought her family estate.
* In ''KingOfTheHill'' its revealed that Bill's family is a land poor family with a European touch to it, they used to be wealthy plantation owners, but modern times have reduced their income to near nothing causing the family to live alone in a large manor with no servants and likely a rising debt.
* In Creator/MichaelConnelly's book ''TheLincolnLawyer'', it's revealed that Mickey Haller bought his home ignoring maintenance costs. He believes bail bondsman Fernando Valenzuela wouldn't accept it as collateral for a five-thousand-dollar debt.

* In MichaelConnelly's book ''TheLincolnLawyer'', it's revealed that Mickey Haller bought his home ignoring maintenance costs. He believes bail bondsman Fernando Valenzuela wouldn't accept it as collateral for a five-thousand-dollar debt.

* Kagome's family in ''InuYasha'' is obviously not unusually wealthy, but they own a house with sheds, a shrine, a well, and a huge tree in the backyard - in downtown Tokyo. Played straight in that her family has been the shrine's caretakers for ''centuries'' - the house is just so that they don't have to live in the shrine itself (which might be disrespectful); the sheds appear to be mostly devoted to things used for the shrine's upkeep and specific ceremonies. As for it being located in downtown Tokyo, it's generally implied (and possibly explicitly stated at some points) that the city grew up around the shrine - it wasn't just built there overnight or anything. The well and the tree were included in the land set aside for the shrine because of superstition and people recalling them as being associated. It's also implied that a lot of the money the family brings in comes from the gift shop, plus whatever Kagome's mom might do for a living. Fanon holds that the family lives fairly comfortably because of the shrine's popularity as a tourist destination as well as a site for wedding ceremonies.

** "''The costs of running a stately home are legendarily high. Many owners rent out their homes for use as film and television sets as a means of extra income, thus many of them are familiar sights to people who have never visited them in person. The grounds often contain other tourist attractions, such as safari parks, funfairs or museums.''"

* Part of the plot of the movie ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053877/ The Grass Is Greener]]'' (1960) with Robert Mitchum and Cary Grant. Part of the synopsis: "''Victor and Hillary are down on their luck to the point that they allow tourists to take guided tours of their castle.''"

* Creatore/MarvelComics' [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Black Knigh]]t runs into this issue; he inherits his British family's ancestral castle, but since he was a former run-of-the-mill American physicist before doing so (i.e. not Tony Stark or Reed Richards caliber), he doesn't really make enough money to keep up with the property costs. This then gets worse [[ItMakesSenseInContext when he's turned into a statue for a lengthy period of time]], to the point where his friend Victoria Bentley who actually ''is'' wealthy and lives nearby, has to use some of her wealth to help him out. When she ends up being killed down the line, the Black Knight finally turns the castle into a museum, which presumably finally solves the whole finances matter.

* The Everglots in ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride'' describe themselves as "land rich broke aristocrats." They fit the European version of this trope to a T.

* In [[MichaelConnelly Michael Connelly's]] book ''TheLincolnLawyer'', it's revealed that Mickey Haller bought his home ignoring maintenance costs. He believes bail bondsman Fernando Valenzuela wouldn't accept it as collateral for a five-thousand-dollar debt.

* Kagome's family in ''InuYasha'' is obviously not unusually wealthy, but they own a house with sheds, a shrine, a well, and a huge tree in the backyard - in downtown Tokyo.
** Played straight in that her family has been the shrine's caretakers for ''centuries'' - the house is just so that they don't have to live in the shrine itself (which might be disrespectful); the sheds appear to be mostly devoted to things used for the shrine's upkeep and specific ceremonies. As for it being located in downtown Tokyo, it's generally implied (and possibly explicitly stated at some points) that the city grew up around the shrine - it wasn't just built there overnight or anything. The well and the tree were included in the land set aside for the shrine because of superstition and people recalling them as being associated. It's also implied that a lot of the money the family brings in comes from the gift shop, plus whatever Kagome's mom might do for a living. Fanon holds that the family lives fairly comfortably because of the shrine's popularity as a tourist destination as well as a site for wedding ceremonies.

** It is implied (and suggested by Fanon)that the Masaki Clan were aristocrats in ancient Japan, and Yosho inherited the Shrine and surrounding property from his late wife/cousin, Kasumi Masaki, who held it before

* Russian: has to do with {{dacha}}s. In the Soviet Union, there was little differentiation between the rich and the poor, real estate prices were tightly regulated by the state, and many families could have a dacha. After the fall of the Union, many people got impoverished, real estate prices near major cities skyrocketed, but some clinged to their old property, and you can often see a poor family that maintains an inherited run-down dacha in a prestigious location with very expensive land, like the near Moscow Oblast.

* European (ImpoverishedPatrician): the character feels that they have an obligation to all of their ancestors and descendants to keep the family estates in order, but no longer has the actual money-generating capacity to keep it going. Their efforts to earn enough to keep the property pristine while paying the property taxes make excellent plot fodder, whether PlayedForDrama or PlayedForLaughs. In some cases, the estate may have been [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fee_tail#England entailed]] making it impossible to sell even if the character ''wants'' to.

Compare DownOnTheFarm. Contrast ImpossiblyCoolWealth.

* TruthInTelevision: There used to be a rumor that one of the colleges of the University of Cambridge owned a large amount of land but was perpetually bankrupt, because it had been unwise enough to enter into a great number of 99 year leases in 1910, when real estate was a quite a bit cheaper and money was worth a great deal more. As a result, the college would regularly get checks for five pounds, ten pounds or other ridiculously low amounts from the lucky leaseholders of properties that should have been paying "ground rents" of thousands of times higher than that. [[hottip:*: Presumably, all these 99 year leases would eventually expire, if indeed they ever existed, and the college would re-negotiate the leases at market rates. But until that time? Sucks to be them.]]

* Scarlett O'Hara in ''Literature/GoneWithTheWind'' is an American example of a European-style ImpoverishedPatrician.

* Part of the plot of the movie ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053877/ The Grass Is Greener]]'' (1960) with Robert Mitchum and Cary Grant. Part of the synopsis:
** "''Victor and Hillary are down on their luck to the point that they allow tourists to take guided tours of their castle.''"

* Scarlett O'Hara in ''GoneWithTheWind'' is an American example of a European-style ImpoverishedPatrician.
* The titular Darnaway family in the FatherBrown short story ''The Doom of the Darnaways'' are living in the few inhabitable rooms still left in their crumbling mansion.

* ''SherlockHolmes'' deals with impoverished aristocrats all the time, some of whom are prompted to resort to crime in order to remain wealthy enough to maintain their ancestral homes. (See the stories, ''The Copper Beeches, The Speckled Band'', and the Grenada television version of ''The Eligible Bachelor''.)
* ''DowntonAbbey''; The Crawleys were short of money before Robert married a wealthy American, despite owning a large stately home and most of the nearby village. [[spoiler: When Robert loses Cora's fortune in series 3, they are faced with the prospect of selling the house (and moving into a ''smaller stately home they also own''); ''Matthew'' rescues them with an [[UnexpectedInheritance unexpected windfall]]--one so improbable that they [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] the hell out of it--driving much of the upstairs tension of the latter half of that series.]]

* In TheAldousLexicon, the Underwood family, which most of the characters are in, is like this in some of the parallel universes (in others they have managed to get rich again). At one stage the house was sold, then bought by the grandson of the woman who sold it years later. The poorer Underwoods really aren't managing to maintain the house.

* In TheAlduousLexicon, the Underwood family, which most of the characters are in, is like this in some of the parallel universes (in others they have managed to get rich again). At one stage the house was sold, then bought by the grandson of the woman who sold it years later. The poorer Underwoods really aren't managing to maintain the house.

* In the war movie / comedy ''FatherGoose'', Cary Grant is a drifter/former teacher sailing around Southeast Asia who has pretty much nothing but his boat and a two hundred dollar debt. He gets coerced into joining the British as a coastwatcher when old friend and Royal Navy officer Trevor Howard threatens to confiscate the boat.

* In Mildred D. Taylor's YA novel ''RollOfThunderHearMyCry'' and its sequels, which are set in Mississippi during the Depression, the fact that the black Logan family owns its own land gives them relative freedom and dignity compared to the other black families in the area, who are all sharecroppers and thus totally beholden to the people whose land they live on and farm. (TruthInTelevision for the era, obviously -- after Reconstruction, the sharecropping/tenant farming system that set it was in some ways practically indistinguishable from slavery.)
* ''To the Manor Born'' is a BritCom about the relationship between a downwardly mobile noblewoman and the nouveau-riche businessman who bought her family estate.

* * TruthInTelevision: cross between European and Russian examples in modern {{Romania}}. During the last 10 years of [[TheEighties the Communist era]], a large percent of the population migrated from countryside to industrial (now ghost-) towns and left behind country houses, while the property bubble [[TurnOfTheMillennium of the 2000s]] drove the prices of major city real estate to the sky, while few if any natives had anything to do with farmland. So at this moment land in the countryside is quite literally [[IncrediblyLamePun dirt]]-cheap and a lot of otherwise poor people own significant acres of land. As a side effect, when natives worked well-paid jobs in Western Europe, they could raise huge, kitschy and mansion-like houses at home with only a few thousands of dollars to boot.[[note]]The hardest thing was fitting them with modern comforts if there was no public network of gas, water or even ''electricity'' around.[[/note]]

* [[TruthInTelevision There used to be a rumor that one of the colleges of the University of Cambridge owned a large amount of land but was perpetually bankrupt, because it had been unwise enough to enter into a great number of 99 year leases in 1910, when real estate was a quite a bit cheaper and money was worth a great deal more. As a result, the college would regularly get checks for five pounds, ten pounds or other ridiculously low amounts from the lucky leaseholders of properties that should have been paying "ground rents" of thousands of times higher than that.]] [[hottip:*: Presumably, all these 99 year leases would eventually expire, if indeed they ever existed, and the college would re-negotiate the leases at market rates. But until that time? Sucks to be them.]]