Legislature, courts tackle predatory housing practices

Sep. 1—TRIAD — A judge has ruled in favor of a preliminary injunction against a company accused of predatory real estate practices in North Carolina, including Guilford County, a week after a state law was enacted to prevent the practices in the future.

State Attorney General Josh Stein said Thursday that the issuance of the preliminary injunction by Judge Mark Davis indicates the N.C. Department of Justice is likely to succeed in its lawsuit alleging that MV Realty has acted in ways that deceive homeowners in North Carolina. The case was filed this past March in Wake County Superior Court.

"This company has preyed on too many North Carolinians," Stein said.

The lawsuit accused Florida-based MV Realty of tricking homeowners into signing 40-year agreements to use MV Realty as their listing agent, then placing liens on the homeowners' property to ensure it can enforce its agreement. These liens make it difficult or impossible for homeowners to sell their homes or tap into its equity. And if a homeowner wants to be released from the agreement, MV Realty charges a penalty that is at least 10 times the upfront payment they received.

MV Realty has denied the accusations, arguing that the business has helped secure homes for tens of thousands of people across the country.

The injunction ruling comes a week after Gov. Roy Cooper signed legislation meant to prevent practices like those linked to MV Realty. The governor signed House Bill 422, known as the Unfair Real Estate Agreements Act, after it passed unanimously in both chambers of the N.C. General Assembly.

Stein said that more than 2,000 homeowners in North Carolina have been victimized by unfair MV Realty practices. The number includes 144 families in Guilford County, said county Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen, who wrote Stein's office this past December with a warning about MV Realty.

"There is a one-two punch in this effort — legislation and litigation," Thigpen told The Enterprise.

Even with passage of the legislation, existing customers who have had run-ins with MV Realty want relief, Thigpen said.

"There are many families in these agreements who feel deceived, and they are angry," he said. "They want the agreements terminated without losing thousands of dollars in their home equity."

pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul