DAYTON — There are new developments in an I-Team story that News Center 7 has been following for years.
Ohio homeowners can finally free themselves from decades-long real estate contracts.
MV Realty’s confusing contracts first caught the attention of our I-Team in 2022. Lead Investigator, John Bedell, talked with Ohio’s Attorney General about the action his office took to help homeowners.
News Center 7 also talked with a man who says he can finally sell his mother’s home after MV Realty took advantage of her.
The I-Team called Denise and Andy Reim this week. “I was excited and shocked. It was definitely good news to find out that we could possibly get her out of this mess that she got into,” Denise said.
“We appreciate the call and letting us know,” Andy said.
Andy will finally be able to see his mother’s home in Harrison Township.
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News Center 7 first met the Reims two years ago. Andy said he hasn’t been able to sell his mother’s home for years, ever since he learned his nearly 90-year-old mother with dementia signed a crippling contract with MV Realty.
“We were not able to put her house in mine or my brother’s name unless we paid the $15,000 or $20,000 fee. So that kind of put a crimp on us big time,” Andy said.
However, that all changed this week, thanks to a big development in Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s lawsuit against MV Realty.
“We reached a settlement. Really excited about this,” Yost said.
The I-Team talked to Yost this week about homeowners in Ohio who can now cancel the decades-long deals they’ve signed with MV Realty. But it’s only available for 90 days, ending on April 29.
“This is action right now for consumers to get out of these arrangements. And I encourage everybody to grab this with both hands while the getting’s good,” Yost said.
The only cost will be a $75 recording fee to record the paperwork that will cancel the MV contract at your local county recorder’s office.
MV Realty’s homeowner benefit program gives people a small check up front, but a big penalty later. Three percent of the value of your home if you don’t use one of their agents to sell. And the length of the deal is 40 years.
News Center 7’s I-Team investigations found the company records the contracts as liens on properties at county recorder offices.
Andy and Denise tell the I-Team they plan to get to work selling Andy’s mom’s house after they cancel her contract with MV Realty.
“We definitely did not want MV being able to be a part of this sale because they don’t deserve it,” Denise said. “They’re scammers.”
It’s an opportunity they’ve got now, made possible by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office settlement with MV Realty.
“Yeah, for sure we’re going to be checking into this and making sure we’re all clear from them,” Andy said.
Yost stressed the importance that consumers only have until April 29 to take advantage of this settlement. He said there will be no extensions and no grace period.
Yost’s office said MV Realty has begun sending letters to more than 900 consumers in Ohio outlining their cancellation options.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has also sent letters to those affected homeowners asking them to review the cancellation offer closely.
Since the News Center 7 I-Team started reporting on MV Realty, 32 states, including Ohio, have passed laws making the company’s contracts illegal.
Twelve state attorneys general, including Dave Yost, have sued the company over its business practices.
Aside from Ohio, Massachusetts, Florida, and Georgia have also ordered homeowners to be released from MV Realty contracts.
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