Join our Waitlist for Expert Advice!

A Nevada Woman Intended to Buy One House, but an Administrative Error Gave Her a Whole Development A copy-paste error led to a woman accidentally acquiring an entire neighborhood of Toll Brothers lots near Reno.

By Gabrielle Bienasz

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

A woman intended to buy a single-family home in Sparks, Nevada — and left with 84 empty lots and two other pieces of land, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.

The planned purchase was $594,481 for one house, but an administrative error left her with an entire neighborhood. The title agency made a simple copy-paste mistake, according to Cori Burke, chief deputy assessor for Washoe County, who spoke with the Reno-Gazette.

"It appears Westminster Title out of Las Vegas may have copied and pasted a legal description from another Toll Brothers transfer when preparing (the homebuyer's) deed for recordation," Burke told the outlet.

In this case, Burke added to Entrepreneur, the relevant title agency, Westminster Title Agency, inadvertently transferred a property description related to the Toll Brothers' luxury development near Reno, to the Sparks woman.

The Toll Brothers develops luxury real estate all over the country but with a particular presence in the West and Florida and the "most highly desirable areas of the country," per its website.

A home in this development in particular boasts nearby golfing and views of the Sierra Nevada.

Burke's office was able to catch the goof pretty quickly, she said.

"We have a division that processes all these transfers, and they're used to really closely looking at transfers because mistakes are fairly common, so they recognized right away something was not right and called Westminster immediately," she said.

To resolve it, the property was transferred back from the Sparks woman to the Toll Brothers and the people who bought some of the lots from the Toll Brothers.

"It's all been cleaned up," Burke added.

Westminster Title Agency, which appears to be owned by the Toll Brothers, did not respond right away to a request for comment, nor did Toll Brothers.

Gabrielle Bienasz is a staff writer at Entrepreneur. She previously worked at Insider and Inc. Magazine. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

You Have One Month Left to Buy a House, According to Barbara Corcoran. Here's Why.

"If you are planning on waiting a year and seeing where interest rates go, you are out of your mind," Corcoran said.

Side Hustle

I Made $14,000 in 1 Week With a Spontaneous Halloween Costume Side Hustle — Here's How

Sabba Keynejad was in art school when he started to refine his entrepreneurial skills.

Business News

This New Restaurant Is Banking on One Dish — Because It's the Only Entrée on the Menu

The new hotspot is gaining buzz on social media for its innovative yet super simple concept.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Leadership

4 Bold Leadership Moves Every Successful CEO Uses to Navigate Change

Ready to turn fear into fuel and lead with confidence? In this article, I share how leaving my corporate job without a plan led me to build a thriving business. Learn four bold strategies to embrace uncertainty and turn challenges into opportunities for growth today.