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October 23, 2026
LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit against three MV Realty LLCs (PDF) in the 30th Circuit Court in Ingham County over claims the companies operated an illegal and deceptive home loan and lien scheme. The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against the Michigan and Florida based businesses, alleging the companies violated the Michigan Consumer Protection Act and the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Act, and alleging claims of public nuisance for violations of the Criminal Usury Act, the Interest Rates Act, and the Michigan Regulatory Loan Act.
MV Realty, presenting itself as a real estate brokerage firm, aggressively marketed to Michigan consumers its “Homeowner Benefit Program,” claiming they will pay homeowners cash with no obligation to repay the amount or sell their homes. Despite representing to homeowners they only need to consider using MV Realty as their real estate agency in the event they choose to sell, the agreements instead granted MV Realty an exclusive 40-year right to represent the homeowner in any sale of the home, requiring the company either be paid a 3-6% commission on the sale or be paid a predatorily structured early termination fee. MV Realty then recorded these agreements into the homeowners’ chains of title, effectuating a lien on the property. Most consumers who entered these agreements received payments between $300-$500.
MV Realty is unable to legally provide real estate services to Michigan consumers, as MV Realty does not possess a valid Michigan real estate broker’s license or employ staff possessing a valid license to provide real estate services in Michigan. MV Realty entered into more than 1,000 “Homeowner Benefit Agreements” with Michigan consumers statewide, and over 900 remain active.
Consumers reported to the Michigan Department of Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Team an inability to sell or refinance their homes due to the impositions of these agreements, and those inquiring to the company to release the liens were met with demands to pay the egregious early termination fees.
“Homeownership is, for most Michigan families, their single largest financial investment,” said Attorney General Nessel. “For many decades home ownership has been a pathway to housing and financial security, and instrumental to building generational wealth. Nobody deserves to be swindled out of a lifetime investment, and the law doesn’t tolerate deceptive schemes to hold consumers’ hard earned home equity hostage for payment.”
The lawsuit alleges claims under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act due to misrepresentations made by MV Realty about how its “Homeowner Benefit Program” works, specifically misrepresenting that the cash payments were not loans, that homeowners were required to work with MV Realty for only six months, and that the memoranda of the homeowners benefit agreements recorded against consumers’ homes were not liens. Two public nuisance claims allege MV Realty secured its cash payments with 40-year liens encumbering consumers’ homes despite having no license to do so, and that the interest rates paid back to MV Realty pertaining to the loans, collected either as a sale commission or early termination fees, exceed 25% per year as contrary to law.
The lawsuit also alleges violations of the Michigan Interest Rates Act, which prohibits parties from stipulating in writing to the payment of any interest rate exceeding 7% annually, and the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Act.
The Attorney General seeks as relief, among other things, court orders declaring the alleged violations of law and enjoining MV Realty from violating the provisions in the future, awarding damages to some consumers, rescinding, striking, or limiting the application of every MV Realty “Homeowner Benefit Program” entered into with Michigan consumers, barring MV Realty from collecting commissions or early termination fees from customers given loans under a “promotion fee” and disgorgement of those already collected, restitution to Michigan consumers who paid early termination fees, and civil penalties.
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