Two North Vancouver families who co-own a home but can’t co-operate are in a legal battle because the party with the majority ownership wants the other family to sell its interest in the property.
Patricia Georgina Belben and Philip Mark Belben have filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court seeking an order for the other couple, Craig Ian Veroni and Tamara Dian McKay, to sell their stake in the two-storey, five-bedroom home at 539 West 14th St. the couples purchased together in 2008 for $1 million.
The families met through a mother and baby group in Vancouver, became friends and decided to invest in a home together, according to the petition. While the Belbens needed more space after their baby was born, Veroni and McKay also wanted a detached home but couldn’t afford to buy one on their own.
Before investing in real estate together, the couples entered into a “friendship maintenance agreement” that outlined the terms of their co-ownership including the division of living quarters on the West 14th Street property which has separate entrances but a shared garage.
They agreed the Belbens would have a 60 per cent stake in the property, while the other couple owned the remaining 40 per cent interest, an equation also reflected in the mortgage payments and living space.
The families were close during their early days of co-ownership, according to Patricia’s affidavit, and viewed their venture, dubbed “For Fun and Money,” as an opportunity to make money in the “rising Vancouver real-estate market.”
Over the years the couples’ friendship has eroded to the point where they no longer even have a neighbourly relationship, stated the Belbens in their petition. The acrimony came to a head after an incident at school between the couples’ sons that allegedly left the Belben boy with a deviated nasal septum.
Last April the Belbens say they told Veroni they wanted to terminate the co-ownership of the property within the next two to three months. A clause in the co-ownership agreement allowed for either couple to end the arrangement with reasonable notice and without question. The Belbens say it was agreed upon in principle that the property or one of the couples’ respective interests in it would be sold. After not hearing back from the respondents, by the middle of the June the Belbens hired a lawyer and offered to buy out Veroni and McKay for $210,200, based on a property assessment of $1.36 million.
Instead, the respondents countered with their own proposal: the parties either list the property for sale when the current mortgage expires in October 2017, or they would purchase the Belbens’ interest based on their property assessment of $1.25 million, with a 55/45 split in the petitioners’ favour.
The Belbens say in their petition they are not prepared to wait more than two years to terminate the co-ownership and have asked a judge to order Veroni and McKay to sell their stake for $210,200. Selling the home altogether and moving would be a last resort, say the Belbens, due to their reported significant health issues.
Veroni and McKay filed a counter petition on Feb. 3. They say allegations by the Belbens that they have financially contributed more to the property do not factor in the value of home maintenance and improvements the respondents contend have been almost entirely left up to them. Veroni and McKay also dispute the Belbens’ claim the couples are no longer friends.
As for the Belbens’ claim that their child is no longer comfortable playing with Veroni and McKay’s child, the respondents say that is not the case.
Veroni and McKay say they remain willing to maintain joint tenancy in the property with the Belbens by addressing recent conflicts. If, however, that can’t happen the respondents say an equitable arrangement should be made where either they move or the Belbens vacate the property.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
