The Florida Attorney General’s Office secured an injunction against MV Realty and its principals for deceiving Florida homeowners into signing away home equity for nominal upfront payments to homeowners. The Honorable Judge Darren D. Farfante of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court ruled that the Florida-based real estate agency and its principals are prohibited from enforcing so called Homeowner Benefit Agreements or collecting early termination fees or payments from homeowners. MV Realty violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act through its predatory actions affecting more than 9,000 Florida homeowners.

Acting Attorney General John Guard said, “When companies, like MV Realty, unfairly and deceptively target Floridians, the Office of Attorney General will fight for them. In my almost six and a half years with the office, this was one of the worst abuses that crossed my desk. I would like to thank former Attorney General Ashley Moody for starting this fight and our fine consumer protection lawyers for finishing it. The 9,303 Floridians who were subject to MV Realty’s unconscionable practices will have their properties unencumbered by this injunction and we will continue to hold MV Realty responsible for its abuses.”

The defendants targeted homeowners needing a quick cash loan alternative. In exchange, the homeowner would purportedly agree to use MV Realty as an exclusive listing broker without ever having to pay back the money received. However, instead of providing a simple listing agreement, MV Realty pressured the homeowner into signing an unconscionable contract that included a 40-year lien or encumbrance on the property that requires the homeowner to pay a minimum of 3% of the home’s value to MV Realty, regardless of whether the company ever provided any listing services. The liens put consumers over a barrel, forcing many homeowners to pay the 3% fee in order to refinance, transfer or devise their property to heirs or otherwise tap into home equity.