GREENSBORO, N.C. — A Guilford County leader is raising a big red flag about a possible real estate scam.
Three states have already filed lawsuits against Florida-based MV Realty's Homeowner Benefit Program. The program offers cash in exchange for the right to list your home over the next 40 years.
According to it's website, the program offers between $300 and $5,000 to homeowners without a loan. In exchange, the homeowner agrees to let the company have control over any future home sales. If the homeowner uses a different broker for a sale, they could owe a fee.
The lawsuits claim the program might actually end up costing homeowners more money and put a lien on their property.
Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen wrote a letter to the North Carolina Attorney General's Office about the program. He said the state is investigating MV Realty.
"The concerns are that, for example, someone dies and they have this agreement with the property it could be considered a lien and passed the property down to their children and for people to get out of it, it looks like in several states they’ve been charging fees that are out of the ordinary," Thigpen said.
Documents filed with his office show that more than 160 people have signed agreements with MV Realty.
Greensboro Native Joan Walden was looking to refinance her home when she received an email from MV Realty about the program.
After a few phone conversations, a notary brought her the documents to sign. She said the company told her she would have three days to cancel her agreement. When she read through the document again after signing, she noticed something wasn't right.
"There were all these misspelled words. I'm used to seeing legal documents and that was not appropriate for a company of that magnitude to have a lot of misspelled words," Walden said.
She said she canceled her agreement within the three-day window and was told she was in the clear. Then, when refinancing with a different company she found out the company had not ended her contract and was claiming her property.
"I felt violated when they told me that I had a company that had a lien on my property. I said I've never had a lien on my property," Walden said. " I wrote letter after letter telling them I was not going to be responsible and if I had to pursue it legally I would have done so. I guess my wording was pretty strong in the letter because they responded."
Thigpen believes the program is predatory.
"I've never seen anything like this," Thigpen said. "We all know that money is tight right now and people really need every bit of money they can get to refinance things but we also know that there are businesses out there that sometimes take advantage of people."
MV Realty told WFMY News 2's Grace Holland via email that their practices are not deceptive and that the documents used in these agreements are not liens. The company also said that while the agreement term is 40 years, they can only represent the seller for six months.
Walden was able to get out of her agreement without penalty but she discourages others from joining the program.
"Close the door immediately. Don't talk to them, and don't respond because it's false representation," Walden said.
Thigpen encourages people who signed an agreement with MV Realty and have questions to call the state Attorney General's Office or to consult an attorney.