Judge rules against Florida brokerage accused of scamming homeowners

[Zorro]

A South Florida real estate brokerage accused of trapping vulnerable homeowners into predatory contracts will no longer be able to enforce those agreements in Florida thanks to a ruling by a Hillsborough County judge on Wednesday.

The state sued MV Realty in 2022 for using deceptive business practices that impacted over 9,000 Florida homeowners.

Earlier that year, the Tampa Bay Times reported on how the company used quick cash payments to lure homeowners into signing away the rights to list their homes.

Many did not realize that those contracts, called “homeowner benefit agreements,” lasted 40 years and allowed MV Realty to place a lien on their homes if they listed with a different brokerage. The only way to get out of it was by paying a fee equivalent to 3% of the property’s value.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/real-estate/2025/02/13/judge-rules-against-florida-brokerage-accused-scamming-homeowners/

Always read the fine print.

I've had realtors, lenders, and contractors get impatient as I read every page and every paragraph of documents put in front of me to sign; too bad for them.