ORLANDO, Fla — A Florida judge issued an injunction against MV Realty. You may remember this case was part of an Action 9 investigation that first launched in 2021. The company was accused of deceiving homeowners into signing 40-year listing agreements on their homes in exchange for upfront payments.
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The latest development impacts more than 9,300 homeowners in Florida.
Following the Action 9 Investigation, the Florida Attorney General’s Office sued MV Realty in late 2022. The suit claimed MV Realty used predatory tactics to get people to sign those long-term agreements. For now, the new court ruling has stopped the company from enforcing the contracts and collecting any more money from homeowners.
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In 2021, MV Realty customer Eleanor Gardner said, “There were two ladies they were two notaries. He didn’t tell me anything was going to be notarized.”
Her interview was the beginning of a multistate investigation by Action 9 and our Cox Media Group television stations. Eleanor felt trapped after signing a contract she didn’t understand that gave MV Realty a 40-year exclusive right to sell her home in exchange for $1,000 upfront.
Former Action 9 Consumer Investigator Todd Ulrich asked Carla Turman back then, “It sounded like free money?” Turman answered, “Absolutely.”
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Turman is one of thousands of Florida homeowners who signed up for Mv Realty’s so-called Homeowner Benefit Program. Consumers Action 9 spoke with said they had no idea the program was a 40-year listing agreement that could be enforced by liens. That meant they had to use MV Realty if they sold their home. Cancelling could cost them 3% of the home’s value.
A whistleblower who claims she made calls for MV Realty said, “I felt like I was taking advantage of people. It’s horrible. I didn’t want to make calls anymore.” She said she regrets the impact on consumers.
Former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody called MV Realty’s program a “complex and deceptive scheme.” Now, in the AG’s office lawsuit, the judge has issued a ruling stopping the company from enforcing the homeowner benefit agreements with liens or collecting any money from Florida homeowners related to them.
Eleanor Gardner said, “I don’t want anything to do with those people.”
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MV Realty has not responded about this latest development. In the past, the company said it has more than 35,000 thousand satisfied customers nationwide and that it has not engaged in unfair or deceptive practices. It is appealing the latest ruling and is asking the court to stop enforcement of it until the appeal is heard.
Since Action 9 broke this nationwide investigation, attorneys general in twelve states starting with Florida sued MV Realty to keep them from enforcing the agreements. Twenty-nine states have passed legislation to ban or limit these types of contracts. There have also been efforts to stop them at the federal level.
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