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Developer sues lady after they accidentally built on her lot, someone pooped on floor
#1
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2024/03/27...wrong-lot/

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Anger, accusations and legal action are firing up on the Big Island after a construction company built a half-million-dollar house on the wrong property.

The lot owner doesn’t want the house and has endured problems like higher taxes and squatters. Now, to add insult to injury, she’s being sued over someone else’s mistake.
The still vacant three-bedroom, two-bath house on a one-acre lot in Puna’s Hawaiian Paradise Park is worth about $500,000.
But it could cost a lot of people more than that as they head to court to sort it out.
It all started in 2018, when Annaleine “Anne” Reynolds thought she’d found the perfect, serene parcel in Paradise Park to host her meditative healing women’s retreats.
“There’s a sacredness to it and the one that I chose to buy had all the right qualities,” she said.
The price was also right — available in a county tax auction for about $22,500.
But while she waited in California through the pandemic for the right time to use it, the lot was bulldozed and a house rose on the property. She was unaware of the construction until she got a call last year from a real estate broker who had learned the mistake.
“And then he informed me, ‘oh well, I just sold the house, and it happens to be on your property,’” Reynolds recalled.
“So we need to resolve this. And I’m like, what? Are you kidding me?”
What’s undisputed is that PJ’s Construction was hired by developer Keaau Development Partnership, LLC to build about a dozen homes on properties that the developers bought in the subdivision — where the lots are identified by telephone poles.
An attorney for PJ’s Construction said the developers didn’t want to hire surveyors.
Honolulu attorney James DiPasquale was hired by Reynolds when she was sued along with everyone else associated with the property or construction.
“There’s a lot of fingers being pointed between the developer and the contractor and some subs,” DiPasquale said.
Because it can’t be sold, the house has become a nightmare for Reynolds. A neighbor told Hawaii News Now that squatters were immediately attracted to the brand new vacant house.
“Before they put the fence on this property there was people coming already to this property. I know kind of looking inside,” he said.
When she inspected and saw the bathrooms, Reynolds discovered they’d done more than just look. “Both had poop. The hallway one had poop on the floor. It was so disgusting,” she said.
Along with the cost of fencing, she’s paying property taxes that went from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. The developers tried to settle the issue. Reynold’s attorney said they offered to swap her their lot right next door or sell her the house at a discount.
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.
After trying to resolve the problem, Keaau Development Partnership sued PJ’s Construction, the architect, the prior property owner’s family and the county, which approved the permits.
They also sued Reynolds. “It’s awful. It’s awful,” she said.
Representatives of the developers and construction company and Reynolds all said they are being reasonable and the others aren’t. That’s why the developer says he pulled everyone into the lawsuit — in hopes a judge can help unravel this half-million-dollar mistake.
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#2
Well, this is unfortunate to say the least, however, somehow, for it being in Puna, is not really surprising.

I can't imagine Hawaii County not being somewhat liable for this considering the news story's quote of them issuing permits. I'd say gross incompetence on the contractors, however.

Also, most big developers and/or architects SHOULD carry what is known as "Errors and Omissions" Liability insurance. But considering this is really the developers screw up even if the County has some liability, but the developer is the only one out the big bucks. I think they should be held accountable for their screw up.

At any event, do they have to disclose the poop on the floor if they manage to sell the house?
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#3
(03-27-2024, 07:02 AM)HiloJulie Wrote: Well, this is unfortunate to say the least, however, somehow, for it being in Puna, is not really surprising.

I can't imagine Hawaii County not being somewhat liable for this considering the news story's quote of them issuing permits. I'd say gross incompetence on the contractors, however.

Also, most big developers and/or architects SHOULD carry what is known as "Errors and Omissions" Liability insurance. But considering this is really the developers screw up even if the County has some liability, but the developer is the only one out the big bucks. I think they should be held accountable for their screw up.

At any event, do they have to disclose the poop on the floor if they manage to sell the house?

The article didn't elaborate if the offensive matter was removed, nor did it make mention of hazmat fees being part of the lawsuit.  Perhaps the "poop" is self-disclosing.
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#4
She could have resolved this quite easily by accepting the lot next door, plus an "inconvenience fee" for her troubles. I cannot imagine that the lot next door is somehow any worse for her needs than the one she bought. If anything, they at least got rid of the albizia.
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#5
The developer could have bothered with a survey. It's cheap insurance on a $500K build.

I'm also a little surprised that County doesn't require surveys before issuing building permits. They micromanage everything else...
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#6
That's some crazy sh*t! 

Not surprised one bit though.  The Park is currently FULL of grey houses for sale with "upgraded LifeProof flooring" LOL (grey of course), painted grey walls (tomorrows harvest gold) grey tile and did I mention grey?  The folks on the hook for these grey ghosts all look like deer in the headlights because when they started putting these deals together, they had bidding wars on houses the minute they put them on the market. Now the grey ghosts  are stacking up, unsold, like EVs on a mainland auto lot.

Everyone seems to be a developer, builder or a house flipper until intrest rates double overnight. Now it's musical chairs and for the moment, the music seems to have stopped.  

There have been a bunch of folks trying to make money at things that they have limited experience with.

If you drive around The Park today you will see it's peppered with ripped and rolled lots that have roof trusses neatly stacked off to one side with the weeds growing up around them.  Not a good sign.  I think we counted about a dozen of those the other day.  These are just observations and opinions.  I'm not an expert.  Markets cycle.  Ultimately it will all sell and many more will be built and the median house in the park will one day be $1,000,000.00.

This lady from California got a prize dropped in her lap and she's clearly "open to receive".  Poop happens.
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#7
She could have resolved this quite easily

She is resolving this easily.  She owns the lot.  Did she sign any loan papers for the house? Nope. Is it worthwhile for the builder to tear down the house? Nope. Plus they’d be trespassing.

It’s up to the developer and builders to resolve this easily, and make her an offer she’s willing to accept. 

Or maybe she just gets a free house?
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#8
(03-27-2024, 04:03 PM)leilanidude Wrote: She could have resolved this quite easily by..

Thanking them for the house, and selling it, herself. I mean, come on, it's her's completely, free and clear. They gave it to her simply by putting it on her property. And if they come on her property to do whatever frickin' slam them with trespassing charges. What a mess.. I hope she sues them into the poor house for their stupidity.
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#9
This is more common than you might think.  I know of several examples.  Shoots, it happened to me.  A guy bought the lot next door, blazed a trail and started building.  I didn’t think much of it until I saw through the trees the walls going up.  It looked pretty close so I checked it out when he wasn’t there and sure enough, the floor footprint was about 80% on my side of the line.

I was a nice guy.  It took about a half hour and some measuring to convince him, but I told him he could tear it apart and move it. 

I know of another nice guy who did a property swap.  And another not-so-nice guy who ended up with a house and another lot because he was sold a “vacant” lot that had a portion of a house on it.  Since the house was attached to the lot he bought, he figured it was his.  And since the other lot (owned by the same seller) was attached to the house, that was part of the deal as well.

Every example has one thing in common.  No survey.
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#10
Hate to say tyhis, but a trip back in the way-back machine, & John Dirgo reminds us this is not the first time AND not even the first time in HPP!!!
https://punaweb.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=3068
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