Posted on 06/29/2024 12:25:44 PM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
A house mistakenly built on the wrong plot of land in Hawaii is set to be knocked down after a developer got it confused with the neighboring lot. A judge ordered the construction company that made the mistake to foot the bill for the demolition.
Annaleine "Anne" Reynolds bought the one-acre plot of land in Hawaiian Paradise Park on Hawaii's Big Island for $22,500 at a tax auction in 2018.
Reynolds, who lives in California, previously told Business Insider she had planned to use the land for a home for her children as well as to host women's retreats, but said in legal filings that she discovered in June 2023 that a house worth roughly $500,000 had been built on the plot.
PJ's Construction, which was contracted by Keaau Development to build twelve properties in Hawaiian Paradise Park, mistakenly built the property on the wrong plot after using telephone poles to try to identify Lot 115 — but accidentally built it on Lot 114, the other side of the telephone pole, per legal filings.
Patrick John Lawrence, Jr., the owner of PJ's Construction, said that he was first made aware that the property had been built on the wrong lot when he was informed by the real-estate agent after the house was sold.
Keaau Development then sued Reynolds, claiming she was "unjustly enriched" by the property.
PJ's Construction has to pay for the demolition of the house on Reynolds's property, Judge Robert D. S. Kim wrote in an order on Monday, viewed by BI. The company may seek contribution or indemnity from Keaau Development at a subsequent trial or hearing, Kim wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.in ...
That's like saying, well, another woman took her husband, so why shouldn't she just accept a similar guy who works a similar job?
Her purchase circumstances also weren't casual -- she had to travel from California to Hawaii to make her purchase. Her parcel, her choice. This isn't a townhouse lot. A particular ocean view and topography of a nature site is unique.
Isn’t this a case where title insurance would come into play?
From time to time they get burned.
Exactly. The plot plan would have shown the footings layout based upon the setbacks
The subdivision plat map would have shown the location of the lots they were to build on.
The local building inspector should have caught this as well.
My step grandfather had a house moving/house destruction business and also a salavage yard. The salvage yard was all the materials from the houses he demolished. Most summers by brothers and I were pulling nails from boards and chipping grout from concrete blocks and bricks so gramps could stack em and resell them easier.
Exactly.
When he moved to a different state my dad would come to Houston to wreck some houses and ship the lumber to his new state, when he needed money he would have his laborers build a house on one of his lots and then get a bank loan on it, and of course sell it if or when he needed to.
Oh I 100% agree, she shouldn’t have to pay a dime.
BUT in my opinion it would have been better for her to have paid 10 cents on the dollar for the home they mistakenly built, than having them now just destroy it and she gets nothing but her original land back minus the trees they cleared for the house.
Cool you had that experience with your dad. The materials definitely have the potential for reuse.
I began in my early teens figuring out electrical, plumbing, framing, etc... I remember well the unintended indoor sprinkler system where every joint was spraying water... lol. And I have still have the live wiring scars some 50 years later. Good times.
WHACK A DOODLE
TOP OF THE LINE SQUATTERS
Since the builder is at fault, they should forfeit all rights to the structure. The property owner should have the right to take the structure free and clear, or have the property returned to its original state at the builder’s cost.
Can’t imagine that it was, but I don’t know HI BC.
That’s the part that kills me.
It’s so easy, with GPS, to know exactly your latitude & longitude.
Seems like a mistake like this would be very hard to make.
actually having a surveyor come out and verify already in place lot markers [burried survey points] is not, on the scale of these things, very expensive. When $millions and your possession of your future home are at stake, a couple of thou is really cheap.
Gives a clearer picture of what happened.
Should we do a survey? No, expensive, I know a guy who can count poles and tell me where to build. Too funny.
When I was practicing law, I had a minor specialty in border disputes, rights of way, adverse possession, etc.
People who were too cheap to pay a surveyor generally found that a lawyer was far, far more expensive!
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