By Shereen Siewert

A Florida-based real estate company already facing lawsuits in at least three states is entering into agreements with Marathon County homeowners that allegedly have hidden language creating a lien against their property.

Marathon County Register of Deeds Dean Stratz said two such agreements were recorded locally last year. The agreements are also being recorded in other Wisconsin counties as well, Stratz said.

Whether the company, MV Realty, is operating a scam will be determined by the legal system. Lawsuits by attorneys general in Florida, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania allege the company deceived customers, who entered into what they say are predatory loans disguised as real estate service agreements. MV disputes the allegations.

Here’s how it works. The company pays residents a few hundred dollars in exchange to be the designated listing agent in the event they chose to sell their homes. The contracts also allow MV to obtain mortgages on the homes, something some clients say they were not told at the time of signing.

According to reporting from the Philadelphia Inquirer and CBS Boston, homeowners sign 40-year contracts that allow MV Realty to receive money if the homeowner cancels the agreement, dies or transfers the property in another way. But some alleged victims say they were misled.

According to the terms of the contract, homeowners can get out of the deal they sign if they pay cash equal to 6 percent of the home’s sale price or value, an amount MV determines. According to court documents and additional sources, the company has already signed up more than 30,000 customers in at least 33 states.

Thomas Halapin, a Pennsylvania resident ensnared by the alleged scam, said MV Realty did not represent themselves fairly in their dealings and led him to believe the agreement was for 10 years, not 40. He said he learned that the company took out a mortgage on his property only when a reporter showed up at his home.

Eleanor Gardner, an Orlando resident who entered into an agreement with MV Realty, told WFTV-TV she was lured by a company agent who came to her home and offered her $8,000 to join a “Homeowner Benefit Program.” Gardner said the agent said she could receive $100 for every person she referred. She ultimately signed three notarized documents and was paid $1,000, giving MV exclusive rights to sell her home when she chose to do so.

Then, WFTV reports, Gardner struggled to get a copy of the contract. When the document finally arrived, it included pages she was allegedly never shown that stated the contract lasted 40 years and came with a hefty cancellation fee.

MV Realty disputes Gardner’s account.

According to a Jan. 9, 2023 Forbes report, MV has paid about $40 million to homeowners so far, which implies the company stands to make commissions of about $400 million, based on the current value of the homes under contract.

MV Realty, based in Delray Beach, Fla., was founded by Amanda Zachman, formerly known as Amanda Zuckerman, a former star of TV’s Big Brother.

Now, three Democratic U.S. senators are asking the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to explore whether federal laws are being violated by MV’s practices.

“MV Realty, and companies like it, take tens of thousands of dollars from homeowners in exchange for a minimal upfront payment,” said the December 21 letter signed by Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Minnesota’s Tina Smith and Ron Wyden of Oregon. “By advertising these agreements as a ‘loan alternative,’ companies are attempting to avoid the legal limitations on lending while in essence charging borrowers onerous rates. Sadly, exclusive listing companies are now a national problem, affecting consumers across state lines.”

MV Realty officials, in statements to multiple media outlets nationwide, say they are putting much-needed cash in the hands of homeowners and deny they are engaging in any deceptive practices.

But Massachusetts AG Maura Healey, in a statement, said the company’s business model and contract terms target elderly and financially vulnerable homeowners who are short on cash, only to leave them with agreements they don’t understand and can’t afford to terminate.

“We are suing to get homeowners out of these contracts, protect our residents from this scheme, and stop this predatory company from doing any more business here in Massachusetts,” Healey’s statement read.

No formal action has been taken in Wisconsin.