Latest news with #HomeownerBenefitAgreements
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge blocks company behind 40-year listings from enforcing agreements in Florida. Could OH be next?
A Florida judge has issued an injunction blocking a company that has been the focus of a series of News Center 7 I-Team investigations from enforcing its controversial 40-year listing agreement in that state. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The I-Team's lead investigative reporter John Bedell has the latest on the ruling and if Ohio could ask for something similar tonight on News Center 7 at 5:30. TRENDING STORIES: Delta plane crashes, flips at Toronto airport injuring at least 15 Ohio lawmaker introduces 'Boneless Wing Bill' Venomous snake found in box of bananas at grocery store MV Realty's controversial Homeowner Benefit Agreements have been the focus of I-Team reports for more than two years. The new ruling barred the company from enforcing those agreements and placing liens on homes in Florida. The decision also says MV Realty cannot collect any money from Florida homeowners under contract with them. This comes in connection with the Florida Attorney General's Office lawsuit against the realty company. Court documents obtained by the I-Team show roughly a third of the company's contracts around the country are in Florida, where MV Realty is headquartered. 'This ruling is absolutely an important and positive step forward in getting relief for any consumers that were harmed by MV Realty,' Sarah Mancini, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center, said. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FL judge blocks company behind 40-year listings from enforcing agreements. Could GA be next?
A Florida judge has issued an injunction blocking a company that has been the focus of a series of Channel 2 Action News investigations from enforcing its controversial 40-year-long Homeowner Benefit Agreements in that state. In Georgia, Attorney General Chris Carr has filed a motion for summary judgment against MV Realty and its Georgia contracts, similar to the one ordered this week in Florida. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'The relief that has been won now in Florida is exactly the kind of relief that Attorneys General around the country have been seeking,' said Sarah Mancini from the National Consumer Law Center. Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray has been investigating MV Realty and its 40-year listing agreements for the past three years. MV Realty cuts homeowners an immediate check. In return, you either list your home with an MV Realty agent or pay a penalty equivalent to 3% of the sale price of the house. And the term of the deal is for the next 40 years. Since Channel 2 Action News and our sister stations across the country started investigating MV Realty, Attorneys General in 12 states including Georgia have sued the company, and 29 states, including Georgia, have passed laws targeting the company. But a 2023 change to Georgia law did not impact MV Realty contracts currently on the books, only future contracts. RELATED STORIES: Documents show company behind 40-year listings wanted to collect penalties more than sell homes Realty group still trying to enforce illegal 40-year listing agreements, victims say GA Attorney General sues realty company for trying to enforce illegal 40-year listing agreements Governor signs new law tied to Channel 2 investigations into controversial real estate deals In an October motion for summary judgment, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr asked a judge to terminate all MV Realty liens and cease collection of termination fees. 'That is the whole ball of wax. That is the most important relief that Georgians need. And so hopefully this Florida ruling will be helpful to getting to that end goal,' Mancini said. MV Realty is appealing the Florida ruling. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr's office tells us they have requested a hearing for their motion for summary judgment but so far, no hearing date has been set. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida Attorney General stops MV Realty from enforcing contacts, collecting money from homeowners
The Florida Attorney General has taken major legal action against a Delray Beach-based real estate company after an Action News Jax months-long investigation. It's a story we first brought you more than a year ago, exposing questionable -- even predatory -- business practices. Now the Attorney General has stopped MV Realty from enforcing its costly contracts and collecting any more money from homeowners. For years, the state AG said MV Realty has been deceiving homeowners into signing away home equity for a small amount of quick cash upfront. Based on this court ruling, that can't happen again. It's a major victory for the people we've spent months talking to who can now sell their homes free and clear. In November 2023, Action News Jax Investigates uncovered nearly 600 homeowners in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia who signed MV Realty contracts, more than 9,300 total homeowners in Florida. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Florida-based MV Realty is active in 33 states. Its contracts also allowed them to place a lien on their clients' homes and most homeowners we talked to had no idea. Sheila Feliciano is one of them. 'It was a sweet, fast talk, you know?' she said. 'I want to be rid of the contract and rid of MV. Like it was like a bad nightmare I want to wake up from.' Over more than a year, we've been working alongside reporters from our sister stations in seven states -- all of us investigating MV Realty and its practices. Starting with Florida in November 2022, we've seen legal action in all seven of those states, plus five others, and legislation at both the state and federal levels. Yet again, Florida is leading the way. On Thursday, the State Attorney General announced an injunction against the company, prohibiting it from enforcing its liens through the so-called Homeowner Benefit Agreements. MV is also barred from collecting early termination fees or payments from homeowners After months of refusing an in-person interview, Action News Jax made the four-hour drive to MV Realty's Delray Beach home office. We wanted answers for the multiple customer complaints, but they wouldn't even answer the door. 'Five people peeked around the corner and then one guy walked in that back office back there,' Action News Jax Investigative Reporter Emily Turner said. 'Looks like he was calling or texting somebody.' [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] They called the cops rather than talk to us themselves. 'I don't know what to tell you,' the officer said. 'If you want to set up on the sidewalk, there is nothing they can say about that. And nothing I can do about that. Totally your right.' The officer is correct. We not only have a right to be there, but we also have an obligation to our viewers. MV Realty has never agreed to an interview and did not return our request for comment. Court documents show it has filed a motion to stop the injunction from going into place. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
