More than 600 Alabamians signed up with MV Realty in less than a year

Living on a fixed income, Debbie Turpin works hard to make ends meet.Then in April of 2022, she received a call about earning quick cash in exchange for a long-term real estate deal.Turpin chose to sign on the dotted line.“Because of the money. They offered me $500, and, you know, times are hard,” Turpin said.For that $500 upfront cash, she committed to using MV Realty of Alabama to list her house over the next 40 years.Ten minutes up the road in Alabaster, Paul O'Dell signed a similar agreement just three days earlier.He received $850.“I wasn't getting as much work as I was. And you need the money,” O’Dell said.Local realtor Joseph Daley started hearing about the 40-year service agreements this summer.So, he called us.He felt asking homeowners to sign a real estate contract that would outlast their mortgage for quick cash seemed questionable.“One, it made me sick. But two, I got to thinking, how long is 40 years? I'm not even 40 years old. It's my entire lifetime that somebody would be committed to a deal,” Daley said.We started digging.We searched the probate court of every Alabama county with online records.We found 617 homeowners in 34 counties had signed agreements with MV Realty in a one-year span.Our research revealed MV Realty's parent company is headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida.It turns out, attorneys general in the Sunshine State, plus North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Ohio, have sued MV Realty and its affiliates over their 40-year real estate deals.The company has declined the states' claims.Also, eight states have passed legislation to crack down on such agreements, including Alabama.This spring, Bill 228 passed both the Alabama House and Senate unanimously.It goes into effect on Aug. 1.Jeremy Walker is the CEO of Alabama's Association of Realtors.He helped craft and lobbied for Bill 228.He claims agreements like the ones signed by Turpin and O'Dell are predatory.“Our goal with the bill is, number one, to stop these agreements from happening in the future. There's only so much you can do looking backwards. But we want to be sure that no more of these agreements are entered into in the state of Alabama,” Walker said.Under Alabama's new law, such 40-year real estate contracts are characterized as deceptive, unfair, and unenforceable.They could also carry fines of up to $10,000.Walker says while the new law does not automatically void existing deals, it does offer a possible way out to anyone who signs a new one.“We included a provision in the bill where you can go to circuit court and get the agreement invalidated,” Walker said.So what does MV Realty have to say about their lengthy agreements?A company's spokesperson said, “Notably, there are no liens put on a customer's property.”"MV Realty remains confident that the homeowner benefit program fully complies with the law and benefits consumers who select m-v realty as their listing agent,” the spokesperson said. With that said, the company has temporarily paused entering any new agreements. In fact, the last deal we found signed in this state was more than a month ago.That agreement adds to more than 600 other Alabamians who've received fast money for a lengthy commitment.“I just was more focused on the cash in hand than I was the nasty forevers,” O’Dell said. Unless he sells his house, the deal O’Dell signed for that money will be in effect until after he's gone.The Alabama Attorney General's Office says they have not received any complaints about MV Realty of Alabama so far but ask any customers with problems to call their Consumer Action Line at (334) 242-7300 or email them at cosumerinterest@alabamaag.gov.