According to CTV News, a real estate transaction dispute in Port Moody, Greater Vancouver, after more than 60 years, has finally been settled under the auspices of the court, and the new owner is happy to submit the title deed.
In addition to the eye-popping complexity of the long transaction process, the property has multiplied its value by 100 times, and has also witnessed the golden 60 years of real estate prices taking off in Metro Vancouver.
Built in 1954, this property is a 4-unit apartment building located in Monte Bouquet St. Georges Street, location close to the city center. According to the B.C. Property Appraisal Authority, as of July 1, 2023, it is valued at more than $1.9 million, more than 100 times the price it sold for 63 years ago.
In 1961, owner George May sold the property to Olive Clitheroe, court documents show. The parties entered into a "Land Sale Agreement". The agreement is registered on the house's title documents and is administered by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Mandebao branch.
Under the agreement, May will remain the owner of the property until the buyer has paid the full purchase price. The price was $18,700 with a down payment of $3,500 and the balance plus interest at 7% to be paid in monthly instalments of $100 per month to be paid by November 16, 1976.
During this period, the agreement requires the buyer to pay all taxes and utilities for the property and to insure the house, while the buyer has the right to collect the rent for the apartment.
In 1966, buyer Olive Clitheroe sold all of his rights to the property to Jim Montalbetti for $22,500. The latter made a $9,407 down payment to Clitheroe and assumed the balance of the $13,000 loan, still continuing to make monthly payments at 7% interest rate and $100 per month.
In 1971, Jim Montalbetti transferred the rights to the agreement to his family company, Gooder Holdings (1968) Ltd.
In each of the above-mentioned transfers, the property rights were registered in accordance with the regulations.
In 1969, George May transferred ownership of the property to his wife, Elsie May.
George died in 1975 and Elsie in 1999. Lolita Alsina became the sole beneficiary and executor of Elsie May's will, taking ownership of the property as part of her estate.
In July 2023, Gooder Holdings filed a lawsuit, alleging that the final payment for the property had been paid in 1987 but that there had been no change of ownership.
Gooder Holdings argued that the delay may have been caused by "negligence", but Alsina argued that the plaintiff had failed to pay all the sums stipulated in the initial agreement and was aware of it. It was precisely because of its own knowledge that the plaintiff never took any measures to complete the transfer of property rights. Therefore, the house should continue to be owned by Elsie May's estate.
Rather than denying the original transfer agreement, the defendant pointed the finger at the timing and amount of payment, seized on several issues, and questioned the gaps and deficiencies in the evidence. These include:
The plaintiff failed to provide proof of all the contemporaneous payments, and even some of the payments that were documented could not necessarily be proved to be used to pay the monthly payment for the property, so it could not be asserted that the balance payment had been paid.
The plaintiff failed to meet the deadline of 16 November 1976 set out in the land transfer agreement, in breach of the critical time clause.
The plaintiff's claim that it had paid off the balance more than 30 years ago but had not proceeded with the transfer of ownership was logically unreasonable and could only be explained by its own knowledge of its own reasons.
In response, the plaintiff's representative refined the evidence, including combing through the transaction records and the relationships and testimony of the company's previous principals, and supplementing the proof of payment, among other things. RBC also provided supporting evidence.
In the end, only a total of $835.93 was paid, and no proof of payment for the same period was found. As a company that has been in existence for more than 50 years and is still operating normally, it is not reasonable to owe this money.
In addition, there is evidence to support the consensus of the parties on the sale and purchase agreement. These include:
Elsie May's will left a detailed list of her estates, in which St. May left a detailed list of her estates. The value of a house on Georges Street is marked as "worthless".
In December 1979, a mudslide caused damage to the two apartments on the ground floor of the house. The provincial government eventually settled with Gooder Holdings, not Elsie May, and paid $33,400. The settlement document is signed by the then head of the company.
The rent of the rental unit in the house had been collected by the plaintiff for many years, and the cash flow provided by it had exceeded the balance of the loan and interest.
In the end, the court held that although the delay in the completion of the transfer of the property was mainly due to the plaintiff's procrastination, the evidence supported the legitimacy of the land ownership transfer agreement, and it should be determined that the plaintiff had fulfilled its obligations and completed the payment, and the defendant should cooperate in completing the formal transfer of the ownership of the property.
Formal transfer of ownership of the property.
I have to say that the buyer in this case is really big-hearted, and he has not thought about "correcting" his identity as the owner for more than 30 years.
After all, it was only a house bought for more than 20,000 yuan, and the government paid more than 30,000 yuan in compensation for mudslides. may have seen the valuation of nearly 2 million, only to realize that this earth-shattering wealth is still in someone else's name.
This case is also a faithful witness to the take-off of housing prices in Greater Vancouver.
The transaction price of $18,700 in 1961 is now unaffordable for a toilet. Even after accounting for inflation, this price is only equivalent to $189,000 in 2024, which is enough for a down payment on an apartment in Mandibao today.
Inflation and interest rate hikes are a drizzle in the face of real estate appreciation. Buying a house is more than just three generations of the rich. Real money is the fundamental driving force of the real estate investment boom.