A woman who spent $22,000 on a Hawaiian island lot was left shocked to find a $500,000 house built on it by mistake.
Back in 2018, Annaleine ‘Anne’ Reynolds purchased a plot of land in Hawaii, only to later discover a rather expensive home was built on it without her knowledge.
During that time, Reynolds had been residing in California and was alerted to the construction company’s mistake when she received a phone call from a realtor.
“[The realtor] 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?”
Following that, Reynolds had been offered an adjacent plot of land of equivalent size and value.
She ultimately decided to reject offer, citing that she only wanted the initial plot she purchased.
“There’s a sacredness to it and the one that I chose to buy had all the right qualities,” she told Hawaii News Now.
Reynolds bought the lot for $22,000 (Hawaii News Now)
Reynolds had hopes of building a women’s wellness retreat on the land, while herself, construction company, the architect and others, were sued by the developer.
Anne’s attorney James DiPasquale said of the suit: “There’s a lot of fingers being pointed between the developer and the contractor and some subs.”
Peter Olson, an attorney representing the developer, told the Associated Press recently: “My client believes she’s trying to exploit PJ Construction’s mistake in order to get money from my client and the other parties.”
Reynolds filed a counterclaim against the developer, stating she was not made aware of the ‘unauthorized construction’.
During the legal dispute, Reynolds has also been hit with other unexpected costs.
The house posed a lonely figure (Hawaii News Now)
She claims that she’s paying several thousand dollars in tax, with Real Estate Hawaii reporting that properties in Hawaii County are taxed anywhere between 0.61 percent to 1.36 percent of the home’s fair market value, meaning Anne could be paying as much as $6,800 each year.
Reynolds has also had to pay for fencing around the property to prevent squatters, which has been a huge cause for concern in the local area.
“Before they put the fence on the property there were people coming, looking inside,” a neighbour said.
Squatters had apparently left the house is a ‘disgusting’ state after someone had defecated in the hallway and in the bathrooms.
“Both had poop. The hallway one had poop on the floor,” the local resident added. “It was disgusting.”
In the summer of 2024, a judge decided the property would need to be torn down by the developer.
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Featured Image Credit: Hawaii News Now
Plans have reportedly been unveiled for Mark Zuckerberg’s massive hidden bunker on a secluded Hawaiian island.
Last year, Facebook’s founder started construction on the mansion in Hawaii – but that didn’t come without controversy.
Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, purchased 110 acres of a former sugar plantation on Kauai, Hawaii’s oldest island, back in 2021.
The purchase led Hawaiian advocacy groups to argue that the estate is part of a wider trend of wealthy people depriving Hawaiians of their land by buying it up.
A spokesperson for the Meta founder has denied that families were being ‘forced out’, adding that the couple had ‘made commitments to Kauai charitable organizations that help to improve the island’s education and health care systems, promote conservation and help to promote efforts to recover from flooding and Covid-19’.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
“Under their care, less than one percent of the overall land is developed with the vast majority dedicated to farming, ranching, conservation, open spaces and wildlife preservation.” they said.
“This includes a large cattle ranching program, organic ginger and turmeric farms, a nursery dedicated to native plant restoration, and partnering with Kauai’s foremost wildlife conservation experts to protect native birds and other endangered or threatened wildlife populations.”
Zuckerberg has since pushed on with his plans to develop his plot of land – with the estate reportedly costing a whopping $260 million.
So, what exactly is he doing with his land?
Well, an 2023 investigation by Wired uncovered details about what Zuckerberg has planned for the estate.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
“[The] compound consists of more than a dozen buildings with at least 30 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms in total,” the report claimed about the mansion estate.
It is said to be centred around two main mansions ‘with a total floor area comparable to a professional football field’ and will also reportedly contain multiple elevators, offices, conference rooms, and an industrial-sized kitchen.
“In a nearby wooded area, a web of 11 disk-shaped tree houses are planned, which will be connected by intricate rope bridges, allowing visitors to cross from one building to the next while staying among the treetops.” the publication continues to say.
“A building on the other side of the main mansions will include a full-size gym, pools, sauna, hot tub, cold plunge, and tennis court. The property is dotted with other guesthouses and operations buildings.”
While that sounds all rather impressive, the most talked about feature will be out of view.
“The plans show that the two central mansions will be joined by a tunnel that branches off into a 5,000 square foot [464 square metres] underground shelter, featuring living space, a mechanical room, and an escape hatch that can be accessed via a ladder,” the report states.
The bunker will be made of metal and ‘filled in with concrete’ to soundproof it.
It is also said to be entirely self-sustainable – with Wired claiming that it is able to produce its own food and water due to water tanks and farming land across the estate.
UNILAD has contacted Zuckerberg’s reps for comment.
Featured Image Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images / Paul Mounce/Corbis via Getty Images
Topics: Mark Zuckerberg, Hawaii, News, US News
The owner of a mansion that miraculously survived the devastating Los Angeles wildfires has revealed why he thinks his home escaped disaster.
At least 11 people have lost their lives as a result of the devastating fires, while more than 10,000 homes and other structures are said to have been destroyed.
David Steiner, from Texas, is one of the lucky ones as his $9 million Malibu mansion is somehow still standing after the raging fires approached his home.
The 64-year-old retired waste-management higher up thought his mansion was a goner after a local contractor sent him a video of flames and smoke engulfing nearby properties.
The mansion miraculously survived the blaze (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
But somehow, the house – which was vacant at the time – is still standing.
Steiner told the New York Post: “It’s a miracle — miracles never cease. [The contractor] was watching the news reports and saw my neighbor’s house going down and told me, ‘It looks like your house is going, too.
“It [the video] looked like nothing could have possibly survived that, and I thought we had lost the house.”
Once the fire had calmed down, Steiner was expecting his mansion to be burnt to the ground, bun then he received the unexpected news it was still standing.
He added: “I started getting pictures and realized we had made it through. My wife sent me something this morning that said, ‘Last house standing’. And it brought a pretty big smile to my face at a pretty bad time.”
As for how the mansion survived the fire, Steiner told the New York Post how the property’s ‘ultra-sturdy construction’ likely saved it from the fires.
“It’s stucco and stone with a fireproof roof,’’ he said.
Steiner thought his mansion was a goner (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
While Steiner is grateful his mansion survived the fire, he’s understandably hurt by the devastating events taking place in LA right now.
“It wasn’t a happy time,” he said of the moment he received texts stating his home was being engulfed by flames. “But I can replace it. It’s not a person.”
Steiner continued: “I was getting texts from people saying, ‘We’re praying for you. It’s so horrible’. I said, ‘Don’t pray for me — what I lost is material goods.’ … I lost a property, but others lost their homes.”
The home doesn’t have the usual family connection you get with a property, with Steiner explaining how he bought the mansion when two of his sons were in the area for school.
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Featured Image Credit: JOSH EDELSON/Getty/JIM WATSON/Getty
Topics: Los Angeles, News, US News, Weather, Environment, Property
Spencer Pratt has revealed he plans to sue the state of California after he and wife Heidi Montag lost their home in the Los Angeles wildfires.
At least 11 people have lost their lives as a result of the devastating fires, while more than 10,000 homes and other structures are said to have been destroyed.
Officials have confirmed at least six fires are blazing, with the latest, the Archer fire, out of control after starting on Friday (January 10).
Thousands of people have lost their homes as a result of the fires, including Pratt and Montag.
The LA wildfires have caused huge devastation (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
Sources close to TMZ say the pair’s LA home has been completely destroyed after initially catching fire on Tuesday (January 7).
Thankfully, Pratt, Montag and their son were able to get to safety before the blaze brought their home down.
On Friday (January 10), Pratt announced his intentions to file a lawsuit against there State of California as a result of alleged negligence that led to the celeb couple losing their home.
The former reality TV star explained to Perez Hilton how he sought the help of Los Angeles Fire Department as his house went up in flames.
He said: “They never came. The gate was still locked. They never came. I watched from my security cameras until our house burned down. There were no fire trucks.”
When on a 911 call, Pratt suggested the fire brigade send a truck so ‘they could stop [the fire from] coming down the whole freaking area’.
But Pratt claims he was told emergency services didn’t ‘have the assets’ to provide such.
UNILAD has reached out to the State of California’s press office for comment.
Spencer Pratt has lost his home (Instagram/@spencerpratt)
Pratt shared a video on Thursday (January 9) of him returning to his LA home.
“Good news, my pot that I made all the humming bird nectar survived. Look at this. Some nectar still in there for the hummers,” he told fans on Snapchat. “That’s good news.
“We got what’s left of a humming bird feeder! That’s positive.”
“There’s my rose quartz. That’s cool,” he added walking through the debris. “Definitely going to keep this.”
Pratt previously expressed his devastation at recent events, telling his followers on TikTok: “When your house burns down and you have nothing, your parents’ house burns down, and they have nothing.
“Obviously, I’m in shock. My brain’s not functioning, I think this is the most unhinged post you’ve seen.”
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Featured Image Credit: @spencerpratt/TikTok/@spencerpratt/Instagram
Topics: Los Angeles, News, US News, Wildfires, Celebrity, Social Media, Property
The architect of a Los Angeles home that miraculously survived the devastating wildfires has detailed the ‘design choices’ that helped.
Local Officials have confirmed at least six fires are blazing in the LA region, with the latest, the Archer fire, out of control after starting on Friday (January 10).
At least 11 people have lost their lives as a result of the devastating fires, while more than 10,000 homes and other structures are said to have been destroyed.
We have heard stories of houses surviving the fire despite all properties around them being destroyed. Such news has provided remarkable but chilling pictures.
11 people have died as a result of the wildfires (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
One particular image is doing the rounds on social media, showing a house still standing as all the nearby properties have been burnt to a crisp.
But how did the house survive?
Well, the building’s architect has since taken to Twitter to reveal how.
“No words really – just a horror show. Some of the design choices we made here helped. But we were also very lucky,” the architect who goes by the name of ‘g chasen’ wrote alongside a photo of the house.
“Architect on this. Will share a detailed thread after the dust settles a bit,” the architect added.
He explained in the comments of the Twitter post that he had designed the house for a friend.
While the house has sustained some damage, the architect explained how the property is ‘totally liveable’.
Speaking of how the house survived the blaze, ‘g chasen’ penned: “Also no vents or eaves and tempered glass windows. Lucky that there was bit more space from the neighbors – but unlucky that the neighbor pulled his car into driveway. Solid concrete perimeter wall probably saved us there.”
The house remarkably survived (Twitter/@ChasenGreg)
He added: “The trail of 1200° molten aluminum stands out. The neighbor moved his car into the driveway before leaving – this may have burned his house down.”
As for the damage caused, the architect added: “A couple glass panels will require replacement. Otherwise fine. A tiny bit of ash residue collected on the interior sill there.”
David Steiner, from Texas, is another one of the lucky ones as his $9 million Malibu mansion is somehow still standing after the raging fires approached his home.
As for how the mansion survived the fire, Steiner told the New York Post how the property’s ‘ultra-sturdy construction’ likely saved it from the fires.
“It’s stucco and stone with a fireproof roof,’’ he said.