Georgia Sues MV Realty Over Allegations of Unfair and Deceptive Practices
February 1, 2024
Georgia became the eighth state to file a complaint against MV Realty, alleging the company misled consumers over the terms of the brokerage's 40-year listing agreement.
As alleged in the complaint, MV Realty widely and aggressively promoted its deceptively branded “Homeowner Benefit Program” on websites and social media and through a massive telemarketing operation that included over 550,000 calls to Georgia consumers.
“It’s critically important that homeowners receive all of the information they’re due up front before signing financial agreements that could drastically impact their families for years to come,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. “We will continue to hold accountable any company that purposefully engages in deceptive tactics in an attempt to mislead or take advantage of hardworking Georgians.”
Attorneys general in California, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania also have filed lawsuits against MV Realty.
MV Realty presented the program, as a way to “get cash without borrowing” and promised consumers that they could keep the small cash payment “no matter what” in exchange for simply agreeing to use the company’s services in the future. What is not made clear to consumers is that they are then locked into a 40-year agreement that will cost them or their heirs at least 3 percent of the value of the home if it is sold, transferred to another person, or goes into foreclosure before the 40 years are up. This cost applies whether or not the homeowner uses MV Realty as its agent when selling the house.
The complaint further alleges that, between June 13, 2020, and Nov. 18, 2022, MV Realty enrolled more than 3,300 Georgians into the agreements, known as Non-Title Recorded Agreements for Personal Services (NTRAPS). To secure performance and payment under this agreement, MV Realty recorded a “Memorandum of Homeowner Benefit Agreement” in the real property records. The memorandum acts as cloud or lien on the homeowner’s property that is worth at least ten times the amount of the no-strings-attached payment consumers receive up-front. According to Carr, MV Realty often interferes with a consumer’s ability to refinance their home and refuses to remove the cloud from the title when a consumer wants to obtain a reverse mortgage, unless the consumer pays the greater of 3% of the current home value or the value of the home at the time the memorandum was executed.
In view of these alleged violations of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act, Carr is seeking a civil penalties, restitution for consumers, a court order to stop these practices, and other equitable relief.
ALTA has prioritized combating this abusive and anti-consumer activity in the marketplace, which adds costs and complications to the transfer or financing of real estate. ALTA has worked with national stakeholders to design model legislation to make these types of unfair agreements unenforceable, prevent the recording of the agreements in land records and provide consumers with options for seeking damages.
Several states, including Georgia, have passed legislation that prohibit fraudulent schemes like the one MV Realty engaged in. While Georgia’s legislation doesn’t follow the model bill, Senate Bill 90 makes NTRAPS unenforceable by law.
Other states to pass versions of bills that address NTRAPS include Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.
On Sep. 22, 2023, MV Realty filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11.
Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.