Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has sued MV Realty and its corporate officers, accusing the real estate firm of running a predatory scheme that gave financially vulnerable homeowners small cash payments in exchange for the exclusive right to list their homes for sale decades into the future. Homeowners who took the deal reportedly signed away that right for years, only to find the arrangement recorded against their property like a lien.
According to the lawsuit, MV Realty marketed its Homeowner Benefit Program heavily, offering immediate cash payments to homeowners under financial strain, per the complaint cited by 12News. In return, homeowners gave MV Realty the exclusive right to act as their listing agent whenever they eventually sold, and the company then recorded memorandums that functioned as liens on those Arizona properties. Mayes named corporate officers Antony Mitchell, Amanda Zachman, and David Manchester in the suit, which also accuses MV Realty of misleading homeowners about the program's actual terms.
Homeowners Say They Were Trapped by Fine Print
Speaking during a June press conference, Mayes said her office would not allow predatory companies to profit from Arizona homeowners through false promises. “Mv realty trapped homeowners with liens and stripped them of their hard-earned equity,” Mayes said, according to 12News's reporting on the case.
The complaint alleges MV Realty charged homeowners thousands of dollars in early termination fees and reportedly prevented them from transferring their homes unless those fees were paid. The company also reportedly used illegal telemarketing calls to reach consumers registered on the National Do Not Call Registry, per the state's filing. Arizona's complaint seeks civil penalties, restitution, and injunctive relief, including termination of the memorandums recorded against homeowners' properties across the state.
A Contract Structure Arizona Already Outlawed
The lawsuit leans on legal groundwork the state laid two years ago. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed Senate Bill 1218 into law in April 2024, prohibiting exclusive real estate listing agreements lasting longer than a year or creating a lien on a home, a measure Hoodline reported was championed by Mayes, according to Scottsdale REALTORS. That law also bars Arizona courts from enforcing agreements that don't comply, giving the state's new complaint against MV Realty a statutory foundation under the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and telephone solicitation statutes.
MV Realty's business model, known industry-wide as a Non-Title Recorded Agreement for Personal Services, has drawn scrutiny far beyond Arizona. The American Land Title Association identified at least 25,000 homeowners across 32 states affected by these long-term service agreements, which title professionals view as improper clouds on a home's title that can block sales and refinancings, according to the American Land Title Association. Under the Homeowner Benefit Program, MV Realty offered upfront payments ranging from $300 to $5,000 in exchange for a 40-year exclusive listing right, while imposing a 3% early termination penalty if a home sold or transferred without the brokerage, per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Federal Scrutiny Predates the State Lawsuits
Concern over MV Realty's contracts reached Washington well before state attorneys general got involved. In December 2022, members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs formally asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission to review the company for offering deceptive listing agreements advertised as loan alternatives, according to the Office of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. The CFPB later issued a Civil Investigative Demand to examine potential Truth in Lending Act violations. MV Realty and 35 affiliated companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2023, citing regulatory pressure and lawsuits across multiple states, per Epiq 11.
Other States Have Already Unwound the Liens
Arizona's case follows a string of settlements that show what relief for homeowners can look like. California Attorney General Rob Bonta secured a settlement in May requiring MV Realty to void all homeowner contracts in the state, terminate recorded liens, and refund collected early termination fees, according to the California Department of Justice. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell finalized a $2.25 million settlement in March that forced MV Realty to release deceptively recorded mortgages, saving residents an estimated $7 million, per Mass.gov. Colorado's attorney general reached a consent judgment in April voiding the company's 40-year agreements statewide and eliminating roughly $8.4 million in homeowner fee claims, as reported by HousingWire.
Closer to home, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr finalized a consent judgment permanently banning MV Realty from doing business in that state, unwinding agreements on more than 3,300 properties and returning $1 million to consumers, a case Hoodline previously covered. Nevada regulators opened their own investigation into the Homeowner Benefit Program and its 40-year property memorandums earlier this year, a story Hoodline also detailed.
Part of a Broader Housing Enforcement Push
The MV Realty lawsuit adds to Mayes's recent record on housing market enforcement. In February, her office secured a $1 million settlement with landlord Weidner Property Management LLC over allegations that algorithmic software inflated residential rents in Phoenix and Tucson, directing the funds to tenant assistance through the nonprofit Wildfire, according to the Arizona Attorney General's Office.
Arizona's complaint against MV Realty seeks civil penalties, restitution, and court orders wiping out remaining title memorandums recorded across county recorder offices statewide. Homeowners with concerns can reach the Arizona Attorney General's Office's Phoenix Consumer Information and Complaints Unit at 602-542-5763, the Tucson unit at 520-628-6648, or callers outside metro Phoenix at 800-352-8431.
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