The Alexanders are fighting to reclaim their East Austin property after discovering their childhood home was demolished without their consent.
AUSTIN, Texas — A Central Texas family is searching for answers after a home on their mother’s East Austin property was demolished.
In March of 2024, Robert Alexander dropped by his childhood home at 118 Kimble Lane and made a startling discovery: the home was gone.
“That was shocking,” Robert Alexander said. “I didn’t know what had happened to it.”
Scattered pieces of wood were all that remained.
“For someone to just come take it … it hurt, mentally and physically,” Robert Alexander said.
Decades of memories lost
Other family members couldn’t believe it either. Robert Alexander’s brother, Joe Alexander, became emotional.
The home held decades of memories.
“That’s where I was born and raised. That’s where I watched … my family come up,” Joe Alexander said.
Another brother, Kelly Alexander, moved to Houston in the early 2000s but visits Austin often.
“Everything was still inside – all of our family heirlooms. Everything was destroyed,” Kelly Alexander said.
Cousin Roscoe Daniel said while he didn’t grow up at the Kimble home, he was there all the time.
“It ain’t right what happened,” Daniel said.
KVUE met up with the four family members at a nearby park in East Austin. They explained that their mother, Julia Alexander, died in 1979. Another brother, Charles Alexander, was born in that home and lived there until early 2024.
“When we talked to our brother who lived there, he said the same thing … people kept coming by. I kept getting letters and things like that – phone calls saying that we were behind on taxes and we had to leave, so that’s why my brother left. And immediately after, that house was torn down,” Kelly Alexander said.
New duplex replaces the family home
After learning their childhood home no longer existed, the family received another surprise.
“A new foundation had been paved for a duplex,” Kelly Alexander said.
Now, more than a year later, a brand-new duplex sits on the land where the Alexander family home once stood.
KVUE spoke with the renter who lives in the new unit on the Alexander property side. Joshua Labauve said he had no idea of his new home’s history.
“But to hear that, you know, all this is happening, is very unfortunate,” Labauve said.
Property records raise questions
The KVUE Defenders started digging. First, a property search in the Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD) shows 118 Kimble Lane still under Julia Alexander’s name and that of her son, Charles Alexander.
TCAD records also show Precise Custom Homes owns the land right next to the property. That property was only identified as Kimble Lane, with no street number attached.
But an online search shows the new duplex on 118 Kimble Lane, with the address of 120 Kimble Lane, listed on several real estate sites like Realtor.com, Compass.com and EliciaMichaudRealEstate.com.
A city of Austin construction permit search for 120 Kimble revealed several building permits, including one for demolition. It was issued on Feb. 16, 2024 – a month before Robert Alexander’s visit.
Secretary of State’s Office records show Danny Olivarez as the president and director of Precise Custom Homes. KVUE reached out to him several times. We called, left several messages, emailed, sent direct messages on social media and texted.
On May 6, we asked Olivarez if he wanted an opportunity to take part in a story about 120 and 118 Kimble Lane. He wrote, “I’m not asking for an opportunity!” He asked us to “stop pushing,” saying he was “a big fan” and that “the complainer is trying to get something for free.”
On May 7, KVUE reached out again. We asked for Olivarez’s response to the Alexander family’s claim that he tore down their mother’s home at 118 Kimble Lane. He told us to “stop harassing him.”
Olivarez also wrote that we were “wasting time” because the home was “foreclosed” on “in the ’70s.” When we asked for that paperwork, he wrote “no.”
KVUE checked with the Travis County Tax Office. We found about $15,000 of back taxes owed for 118 Kimble Lane, but a spokesperson said there is no record they attempted any foreclosure.
Legal review reveals misuse of property lines
We reached out to real estate attorney Julia Null.
“We were primarily looking at two lots – Lot 8 and Lot 9 – and finding out what happened to this family’s estate,” Null said.
KVUE and the law firm hired a title company to run what’s called an “ownership and encumbrance report.”
“We have found that the estate of Julia Alexander still has property on Lot 8,” Null said.
The report found that Lot 8, where Unit B of the new duplex sits, is on Julia Alexander’s property.
A Deed of Trust from the Travis County Clerk’s Office showed Precise Custom Homes acquired the land next to it in 2023. That deed mentioned “along the southeast line of said Julia Alexander’s tract,” indicating where the two properties meet.
“It appears that … a developer bought Lot 9 and then, unfortunately, forced the family out for Lot 8, took down their home, bulldozed it and then moved into it and actually built on it,” Null said.
Null also said while we know what happened, we don’t know why it happened. But one thing is clear.
“When they bought Lot 9, it very specifically said in their legal description that it butted up to Julia Alexander’s property, showing that they did not own that property,” Null said. “So I’m not sure where the confusion happened.”
Family plans to fight back
But there’s no confusion for the Alexanders.
“Oh, it makes us angry. It makes us very angry,” Kelly Alexander said.
As they navigate a range of emotions, they are preparing for what’s next to reclaim their family’s property.
“We’re ready for a fight. We’re the Alexanders,” Kelly Alexander said.
The Alexander family is now considering a lawsuit against Precise Custom Homes for wrongful taking of property.
Null said, unfortunately, she has seen this happen before in her 29 years specializing in real estate law. She said sometimes, the transactions stand because people don’t fight back, like the Alexanders plan to do.