A judge has ordered a developer to demolish a $500,000 Hawaii home that was built on the wrong lot and occupied by squatters.
Annalyn “Ann” Reynolds has won a legal victory in her case after a two-bedroom, three-bathroom home that was meant to be built next door was mistakenly built on her one-acre lot in Hawaiian Paradise Park in Puna.
“This is not an example of a minor trespass, as the home was built at No. 114, not No. 115,” the court order states. SFGate reported:.
Reynolds bought the property in 2018 for $22,500 and had planned to move from California and host women’s meditation and healing retreats with ocean views.
But last summer, she learned that a house had been built on her land and then sold by a developer.
As SFGate reports, the debacle began when a stunning mistake by developer Keaau Development Partnership and contractor PJ’s Construction went unnoticed when Hawaii County issued permits.
“Mr. Lawrence testified that he built his home at No. 114 and not No. 115 because he used utility poles to count the lots,” the order states.
“But he built his house on the wrong side of the pole.”
The judge also reportedly argued that the companies “cut corners” to cut costs.
A judge ordered the construction company to pay for the removal of the house, but it does not have to return the land to its original state. According to Hawaii News Now. The case will now proceed to court.
“We don’t get everything we wanted, but it’s a big step in the right direction. The house is going to be demolished. It gives her some peace of mind,” Reynolds’ attorney, James DiPasquale, told the station.
Amid the court battle, squatters stormed into the house, which Reynolds found littered with excrement when he visited in February.
“There was poop on the floor. In the bathroom down the hall. And on the toilet seat,” she said earlier this year.
SFGate reported that “developers briefly sued Reynolds, alleging that he had ‘unfairly profited’ from building on the land. The suit was later dismissed.”
