Debbie Harry, of "Blondie", infamously crooned that "accidents never happen in a perfect world", thus proving the current real estate market is far from perfect. Over the past few years city officials and construction companies across the nation have accidentally leveled and destroyed a handful of homes, and have done very little to make proper retribution to the affected homeowners. Some of the mistakes have been blamed on technological glitches as well as bad practical jokes and owners of the doomed properties are struggling not only with the financial loss but the emotional burden levied on them by the action.

Pittsburgh Site of Latest Accidental Home Leveling

While visions of sugarplums may have filled the mind of Andre Hall this holiday season, when the city accidentally demolished his home he was rudely snapped back into reality. Hall was in the process of renovating and remodeling a foreclosed home he legally purchased in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and he opted to take a break for vacation. Upon his return to the property, he discovered that his pursuit of the American Dream was killed when he noticed an empty plot of land where his future home once stood. Turns out that a city construction team demolished his home in error as the neighboring property was the one that was supposed to be returned to the earth.

Hall had already invested time and money into the home as he already installed new windows and sheet rock as part of the renovations. Prior to Hall purchasing the home, the home was slated for demolition. The sales transaction nullified that condition and the city provided Hall with six months to rebuild the property up to current code. He stayed faithful to his end of the obligation, but despite his best efforts, the contractor the city hired to level the neighboring property, tore his down instead.

Bad Joke Costs Jackson, Mississippi Her Home

Annie Wilson is not laughing after a prank went array and her Jackson, Mississippi home was demolished as a result. Jackson State University had purchased the land next to Wilson's home and there was demolition work scheduled on that lot. University officials suggested that a buffoon swapped the signs indicating ownership at a lame attempt of humor. That foolish change caused the construction company to completely level her 713 square foot home out of error.

Georgia Home Reduced to Rubble

Millions of travelers count on global positioning system (GPS) technology to help them safely navigate their way. Unfortunately, the mechanics have been sited as the cause of a construction company leveling the lifetime home of a Georgia native. Al Byrd lost the home that was hand-built by his father when construction crews misread the GPS generated coordinates of a neighboring house that was slated for demolition.

The homes that were destroy all had one thing in common; the legitimate property owners were no where near the properties at the time of the work and therefore had no idea that demolition was looming on the horizon. Homeowners who are concerned that they may become the victim of such construction actions should ask friends and neighbors to keep a watchful eye on a home in their absence and request that they immediately contact the authorities if something does not look right.