B.C. senior wins right to sell home she paid $3.4M to build, despite objections of co-owners who paid just $115K
CTV
A B.C. senior who has spent more than $3.4 million on the construction of a home on the Sunshine Coast has been granted an injunction against the former co-owners of the property, who have contributed only $115,000 to the project.
A B.C. senior who has spent more than $3.4 million on the construction of a home on the Sunshine Coast has been granted an injunction against the former co-owners of the property, who have contributed only $115,000 to the project.
Maria Sandberg Jones and the two men she bought the property with in May 2020 – Leslie Thomson and Andrew Press – are involved in ongoing claims and counterclaims against each other in B.C. Supreme Court.
While the litigation is still ongoing, Justice Anita Chan granted Jones an injunction earlier this month that requires Thomson and Press to vacate the property, which will allow Jones to sell it and recover some of her investment.
According to Chan's decision, which was issued Jan. 10 and posted online this week, Jones is the sole registered owner of the property.
When the trio first purchased the land in Gibsons, this was not the case. Initially, Jones was registered as owning an undivided one-quarter interest in the property, with 1251078 B.C. Ltd. – a numbered company controlled by Thomson and Press – owning the rest.
The plan was to construct a home on the property that would have a separate suite for Jones, then 74 years old, to reside in as she aged. Her portion of the house was slated to take up one-third of its footprint, with the remainder – where Thomson and Press would live – taking up the other two-thirds.
Jones became the sole owner in November 2021, when the parties were seeking a construction loan. While the two sides dispute the exact circumstances that led to Jones acquiring the full property, the court decision indicates Thomson and Press had bad credit, and the bank was more willing to advance funds to Jones.
