Deceased man’s mother says she had to pay MV Realty $23,000 for contract he signed

CHARLOTTE — For months homeowners have contacted Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke saying they got locked into contracts with MV Realty, a real estate company that offers fast cash in exchange for exclusive rights to sell your home for 40 years. Now for the first time, Stoogenke hears from a woman who had nothing to do with the company until she tried to sell her late son’s home.

Ron Glenn had kidney disease.

“He was so sick. … He was like a skeleton with skin over it,” said Glenn’s partner Allan McPherson.

The 66-year-old died in August 2022.

“He was a very, very hard worker. He was very honest,” said Glenn’s mother Betty Louise Wiedenhoft. “Everything he did made me proud.”

“He was an absolutely amazing human being. Probably the most intelligent, most artistic, most talented man I’ve ever met in my life,” McPherson said.

His mother and partner say when they went to sell Glenn’s home, their realtor discovered he had a contract with MV Realty. The contract was for the “Homeowner Benefit Program” that Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke has been reporting on.

The company gave Glenn more than $2,000. In return, he gave the business exclusive rights to sell his home for the next 40 years. If he hired another realtor during that time, he’d have to pay MV Realty 3% of the contracted value of his home, which was $775,000 (3% was more than $23,000).

If Glenn died, the person who inherited his home, which was his mother, would be bound too.

Wiedenhoft decided to go with her own realtor, so she had to pay MV Realty more than $23,000.

“I just feel like I’ve been robbed,” Wiedenhoft said.

Making matters worse, the home only sold for $530,000. But MV Realty still wanted its money.

“The whole thing has been hurtful,” McPherson said.

PAST COVERAGE:

• Realty company offers fast cash, but locks you in to 40-year commitment
• Florida attorney general sues realty company Action 9′s been investigating
• Florida sues realty company and reality-star founder for ‘swindling’ homeowners across U.S.
• Three states suing realty company Action 9′s been investigating
• Senators call on consumer protection agencies to investigate exclusive real estate listing agreement
• FCC: Embattled realty company, MV Realty, used robocalls to target homeowners

“I want somebody to wring (MV Realty’s) neck. I really do,” Wiedenhoft said. “I want them to have to do right by everybody that they’ve wronged.”

MV Realty, which is based in Florida, says it operates in more than 30 states. Stoogenke’s been investigating the business alongside Channel 9′s sister stations across the country.

Now, attorneys general in three states, including Florida, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, are suing the business. Other attorneys general, including North Carolina’s Josh Stein, say the business is on their radar.

In January, a federal agency took action involving the company. The Federal Communications Commission is ordering companies to make sure robocalls from ‘MV Realty’ don’t make it to consumers.

Action 9 has been checking county records to see how many new Homeowner Benefit Agreements MV Realty has signed with people in the Charlotte area. Action 9 found zero in more than 10 counties in the Carolinas since the news reports began.

The TV stations have asked MV Realty for an on-camera interview multiple times, but the company has declined every time.

It emailed statements saying it has more than 30,000 satisfied customers, that the terms of its agreements are clearly explained, and that the company is confident “any inquiry will confirm (its) team has operated in full compliance with the law.”

In Glenn’s case, the company said, “MV operates with transparency and in full compliance with the law. We extend our condolences to the Glenn family for their loss.”

The company’s most recent statement is below:

“MV Realty has helped more than 35,000 satisfied homeowners nationwide through our Homeowner Benefit Agreement (HBA) by providing up to $5,000 that can be used to pay for mortgages, utility bills or a child’s school supplies. We are proud that our teams in states are built with local, licensed real estate agents who have developed client relationships with households across 33 states.

“New and innovative business models, like the HBA, can transform established industries and can sometimes draw questions from critics or outright hostility from those whose existing business model is threatened.  However, to suggest that MV Realty has engaged in unfair or deceptive practices is simply false.

“MV Realty is committed to working with policymakers, regulators, and attorneys general where needed to discuss these questions and demonstrate our commitment to transparency and oversight in the work to help homeowners buy and sell homes. We are confident that after a full airing of the facts, these discussions will reinforce how MV Realty’s business transactions are legal and ethical and that our team operates in full compliance with state and federal laws.”

VIDEO: Realty company offers fast cash, but locks you in to 40-year commitment

Action 9: Fast cash for homeowners comes with strings attached

©2023 Cox Media Group