Fire crews found a man's body in the basement of this Shaughnessy home after a blaze damaged the house on Monday night. (CBC)

A house fire in Vancouver's Shaughnessy neighbourhood has become a crime scene after firefighters found a man's corpse in the basement of the large 98-year-old home early Tuesday morning.

Assistant Chief Wade Pierlot said the fire broke out about 9 p.m. PT Monday and quickly swept through the home at 1518 Laurier Ave., near the intersection with Granville Street.

Firefighters initially thought they had put out the fire, but it spread through a false ceiling in the attic, and flames in the roof continued to flare up for several hours.

It was believed the 4,000-square-foot home was uninhabited, but when firefighters finally put the fire out at 1 a.m. they found the unidentified body in the basement, and police investigators were called in.

Police have not said how the man may have died, or whether they believe foul play was involved. However, fire investigators said it appears the fire was deliberately set in several areas of the home.

Investigators said it could be weeks before they identify the burned corpse.

Legal fight surrounds home

The home has recently been for sale, listed at nearly $2.4 million, after it was subject to foreclosure earlier this year.

Court records show a Vancouver businesswoman named Gail Hamilton Hewitt once owned the home.

In a court affidavit dated Sept. 9, Hewitt said she ran into financial trouble while renovating the home with the intention of turning it into a bed and breakfast.

Cost overruns meant she was unable to pay for the renovations, which were financed by a second and then a third mortgage on the home, so she attempted to sell it, but was unable to because of the property market crash fall of 2008.

The financers then moved into foreclosure on the three mortgages, including one worth about $600,000 from a Burnaby man named Robert Poloni, who was granted possession of the home by a court order in October.

In an affidavit filed in September, Hewitt alleged Poloni once threatened to torch the home, and said she eventually moved to California, fearing for her safety.

Hewitt alleged Poloni then moved into the home with his family in the summer, changed the locks and had her belongings carted away. She said when she returned, Poloni threatened to kill her.

Hewitt also alleged her partner was also assaulted on the property by an unknown assailant earlier this summer.

In an affidavit filed by Poloni later in September, he denied he ever threatened Hewitt, or removed her belongings, or threatened to torch the home.

Police said they would looking into the legal wranglings surrounding the home as part of their investigation into the fire and the death.