A woman who bought a vacant lot in Hawaii was surprised to find that a $500,000 house had been accidentally built on the land.
She is currently embroiled in a legal battle over the mix-up.
Analayne “Ann” Reynolds bought a 1-acre (0.40 hectare) property in Hawaiian Paradise Park, a subdivision in Puna, Hawaii, at a county tax auction in 2018 for about $22,500.
She was in California during the pandemic last year when she received a call from a real estate broker informing her that the home on her property had been sold, Hawaii News Now reported. I was waiting for the right time.
Local developer Keaau Development Partnership hired PJ's Construction to build approximately 12 homes on the subdivision purchased by the developer. However, the company built a building on Reynolds' property.
Reynolds, along with the construction company and architect, are currently being sued by the developer.
“There's a lot of finger pointing between the developers and the contractors and some of the submariners,” said James DiPasquale, Reynolds' attorney.
According to court documents, Mr. Reynolds rejected the developer's offer for an adjacent lot of similar size and value.
“If you can go on someone else's land and build whatever you want and then sue that individual over its value, that would set a dangerous precedent,” DiPasquale said.
Peter Olson, an attorney representing the developer, pointed out that much of the jungle-like Hawaiian Paradise Park site is identical.
“I believe my client is attempting to exploit PJ Construction's mistakes in order to obtain money from my client and other parties,” Olson said Wednesday, rejecting an offer for the same site. told the news agency.
She filed a countersuit against the developer, claiming that she did not know about the “unauthorized construction.”
An attorney for PJ Construction told Hawaii News Now the developer did not want to hire a surveyor.
Neighbors told the Honolulu News Service that the vacant building is attracting squatters.
