A WOMAN was thrust into a legal nightmare after a builder mistakenly built a $500,000 home on her empty lot.
Annaleine Reynolds bought a small plot of land to host spiritual nature trips and was horrified when she got taxed and sued over the property.
California native Annaleine Reynolds bought a small plot of land in Hawaii to host nature tripsCredit: Hawaii News Now
However, she was horrified when a developer randomly built a $500,000 on the lotCredit: Hawaii News Now
Reynolds, who lives in California, bought the one-acre lot in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2018, with the intent to start hosting women’s retreats.
She said the natural beauty of the land had a “sacredness” that was perfect for meditation, so she signed the papers and shelled out a reasonable $22,500.
Years passed, and a global pandemic put her dreams on hold, she told Hawaii News Now in March.
While she waited at home for the world to open up, she had no clue that her lot was being completely dozed for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house.
She didn’t even know what had happened until a real estate broker called her to say the home had been sold.
While brokering the sale, he realized there was a massive issue with the property’s ownership and said they needed to find a solution.
“And I’m like, what? Are you kidding me?” the horrified property owner said.
Reynolds learned that PJ’s Construction built the house under contract with Keaau Development Partnership, LLC.
The development company bought about a dozen lots in idyllic Puna’s Hawaiian Paradise Park to build homes.
The small lots were divided by telephone poles, and PJ’s Construction didn’t hire surveyors to determine the boundaries of the land.
Reynolds was initially charged a few hundred dollars in property taxes for the empty lot, but that exploded to thousands once the house was erroneously built.
What’s more, Keaau Development sued Reynolds, the building company, and everyone else involved with the property.
A distraught Reynolds hired attorney James DisPasquale for help, but he said everyone just started playing the blame game.
“There’s a lot of fingers being pointed between the developer and the contractor and some subs,” he said in March.
While the builders and developers fought over what happened, squatters descended on the vacant home and left it in shambles.
Reynolds said one day, she was disgusted to find human feces on the floors of the two bathrooms.
Once the case was brought to court, the accidental homeowner got a massive win as the judge ordered the developers to demolish the house.
He decided that the entire home was built on Lot 114 when it was supposed to be built on Lot 115, the court order said.
The judge also accused both the developers and the builders of cutting corners to save on operation costs.
However, the natural beauty that first attracted Reynolds to the lot has been completely destroyed, and the builders don’t have to restore it.
The judge said that Reynolds could file a suit of her own against the companies and ask for a reasonable amount of money back in damages.
“While we didn’t get everything we wanted, this is a significant step in the right direction; the house is going to be taken down,” Dispasquale said after the decision.
“She has a little bit of closure to that.”
Telephone poles divided the properties, but the builders still chose the wrong oneCredit: Hawaii News Now
