A nurse in B.C.’s Okanagan says her dreams to build a respite home for disabled children are shattered after she unknowingly bought a former grow-op house.

Anna Everson bought a house on a semi-rural property in Summerland, B.C., in 2008.

She planned to turn the house into a home where she could care for severely disabled children and give their families a break.

But a month after purchasing the home, Everson discovered it was infested with mould that covered the rafters, the wooden beams that support the home and throughout the crawl space under the main living area.

“Behind the polyethylene we found pipes; we have found pipes running under the deck running out with fans attached to them; lots of black mould. We started tearing away the polyethylene and found nothing but mould down there and a bag of old weed and just different things like that," she told CBC News.

"I was really, really devastated. I knew once we got to the mould there was no way the kids could come and I couldn't live here."

Cost of repairs could top $100,000

Everson says none of the issues were flagged by the home inspector or listed on the seller's disclosure statement.

"No mention of a grow-op, no mention of mould, no mention of extensive damage to the house," she said.

Everson hasn't been able to live in the home but has been paying the mortgage for the last four years.

The cost of repairs to the home has been estimated at about $100, 000.

"The house was a fixer-upper in need of repair and Anna knew that when she bought it," the seller's realtor, Brian Greekas, told CBC News.

Greekas said buyers are advised to get a full report from a home inspector, but says Everson "didn't pay for a full report, but only the inspector's opinion."

He didn't know there was a grow-op in the home and Greekas says the sellers didn't tell him, but it should have been on the disclosure statement.

Everson is suing the sellers, their realtor and the home inspector.

The matter went to a mediation process a few weeks ago, but the parties could not negotiate a settlement.

Everson says the case may go to trial in small claims court.

With files from the CBC's Brady Strachan