Homeowner Sued After Builders Put $500,000 House on Wrong Property

A woman who purchased a vacant lot of land has been left reeling after discovering a half-million-dollar property was built on her land and subsequently facing legal action over the mix-up.

In 2018, Annaleine "Anne" Reynolds purchased a $22,500, one-acre lot in Hawaii's Paradise Park in the Big Island's Puna district during a county tax auction. But, while living in California during the coronavirus pandemic, Reynolds says she received a shocking phone call from a real estate broker who told her that he had sold a house that had been built on her property.

"He told me, 'I just sold the house, and it happens to be on your property. So, we need to resolve this,' " Reynolds told Hawaii News Now. "And I was like, what? Are you kidding me?"

According to a report by The Associated Press, local development company Keaau Development Partnership hired PJ's Construction to build about a dozen homes on properties the developer bought in the same subdivision. In a staggering mix up, they built on of those homes on the land bought and owned by Reynolds.

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Newsweek has been unable to find contact details for both companies to reach out for comment.

Reynolds says she purchased the land with the intention of hosting meditative healing retreats for women, saying that there was a "sacredness to it and the one that I chose to buy had all the right qualities."

But thanks to the mix up, a legal fight has ensued.

Keaau Development Partnership sued PJ's Construction, the architect, the prior property owner's family and the county, which approved the permits, along with Reynolds, who described the situation as "awful."

James DiPasquale, an attorney who represents Reynolds, said "a lot of fingers [are] being pointed between the developer and the contractor and some subs." He told Hawaii News Now that Reynolds is currently paying property taxes, which have risen due to the construction of the property.

DiPasquale also said that the developers offered to swap her land for a lot next door or to sell her the property at a discounted rate, but she refused both offers. "It would set a dangerous precedent, if you could go on to someone else's land, build anything you want, and then sue that individual for the value of it," DiPasquale said.

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Newsweek has reached out to DiPasquale for comment via email outside of normal working hours.

The legal wrangling with the developer is not the only issue Reynolds is facing.

She discovered that squatters had entered the $500,000 home. While visiting the house, she found that someone had defecated in the hallway and in the bathrooms.

"Both had poop. The hallway one had poop on the floor. It was so disgusting," she told Hawaii News Now.