One Texas family is caught in a mind-boggling mix-up over their dream home. Iraq war veteran Sergeant Andy Jabsen and his fiancée Kindell Mills sank their life savings into constructing a house for themselves and their seven children, only to find out they had had it built on the wrong lot!
Now, apart from an occasional visit to check on the property, they're trespassing if they visit their own home.
"We feel like we let our kids down...it's really tough," says Kindell Mills.
The mix-up started when Jabsen and Mills made an offer on a plot of land outside Austin, Texas.
The listing Mills showed INSIDE EDITION says the "For Sale" sign "...is located approximately in the middle of the property."
But somehow, Mills says, the "For Sale" sign appears to have been put on the wrong lot. The land that was actually for sale was the neighboring lot.
Incredibly, the couple says, nobody spotted the mix-up as the sale went through, not even as the family began building a dream home on land they didn't actually own.
Ten months later, when the final survey was being done before the family was due to move in, the blunder came to light.
Mills says, "They were like, 'We think there's a problem. This isn't your lot.' We were like, 'No, you're wrong, we'll go home and get our paperwork and we'll come back and show you.' And before we even made it back, (we live about five minutes away), they had called and said, 'No, you're actually on the wrong lot."
"I was disgusted, I was sick to my stomach when I found out," says Jabsen.
The land is actually owned by Leaman and Delores Owens, who bought the five acres 30 years ago as an investment for their daughters.
They were stunned when they found out someone had built a home, and a big one at that, on their property.
Leaman tells INSIDE EDITION the situation is "unbelievable," and Delores says, "It just boggled my mind."
Both families, who are perfectly cordial to each other when they meet, have lawyers trying to resolve the bizarre situation.
Olaide Banks, the Owens family's lawyer, says, "To be perfectly frank, the only ones who didn't make any mistakes were my clients"
Until there's a solution Jabsen, Mills, and their kids can't move in to their dream home.
To make matters even worse, the lot that Jabsen and Mills actually own has ravines running through it and is totally unsuitable for their needs.
"We would have never put an offer on this land if we knew that this was the land that was actually for sale...we want to move into our home to raise our family," Mills says.
All the parties involved are trying to mediate the dispute, but they may not be able to resolve it. If they don't, the case will likely head to court.