Texas Couple's 'Forever Home' Accidentally Built On Wrong Property

Jacqueline and Ron Howard thought they did everything right.

They purchased rural land 50 miles east of Austin, Texas, in Smithville from a friend in 2018. The couple started saving and planning for the home they wanted to build on their property.

“This is where we were going to build our forever home,” Jacqueline told KXAN.

They cleared the land themselves, found a builder, got a loan, and got all of the paperwork and permits with Bastrop County to make their dream a reality. When their home was installed in November 2020, the Howards thought they were set.

That is until a man recently knocked on their door and told them "Your home is on my property."

The Howards built their home on the land that they were originally shown in 2018. What they or the previous owner didn't know at the time was that they actually owned the plot of land next door.

The couple is trying to figure out what happened.

The Howards got a land survey done before building. While the survey correctly identified their land, no one during the entire home building process stopped the check if the work was being done in the right place.

They want to know how their home builder Titan Factory Direct Homes and the companies they used to set up their utilities got the job completely wrong.

When asked by KXAN what happened, Titan couldn't explain the mistake.

Now, the couple is trying to work out a trade with the actual property owner so they won't have to move again.