Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser reached a consent judgment with right-to-list agreement firm MV Realty that voids the firm’s long-term “Homeowner Benefit Agreement” contracts in the state, clears related title filings and blocks the company from performing real estate brokerage services in Colorado.
The agreement, which was announced at the end of March and is awaiting court approval, resolves a 2025 lawsuit that accused MV Realty of illegally locking “hundreds” of Colorado homeowners into decades-long listing contracts, according to the attorney general’s office. The contracts were secured by filings in county property records and required homeowners — and in some cases their heirs — to pay what the state called “exorbitant” fees if they sold or refinanced with a different real estate agent.
Under MV Realty’s Homeowner Benefit Agreement, the homeowner signs over the right to list their home for the next 40 years to MV Realty in exchange for a cash payment ranging from $300 to $5,000. This means that if a homeowner decides to sell their house sometime in the next 40 years, the company is entitled to list the home for a 3% commission, which is separate from the commission earned by the buy-side agent.
If the homeowner breaks the agreement or decides to terminate it early, they must pay the firm 6% of the appraised value of the home.
At the height of MV Realty’s success in 2023, the firm said since launching the program in 2020, it had enrolled more than 35,000 homeowners in 33 states and has paid homeowners nearly $40 million.
The firm announced it was pausing its right to list agreement program in late February 2023, after it had been sued by attorneys general in several states beginning with Florida, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania in late 2022. In Sept. 2023, MV Realty filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the 33 states it operates in.
Under the attorney general’s consent judgment, all MV Realty Homeowner Benefit Agreement contracts with Colorado consumers are void and unenforceable, and the company is permanently barred from collecting any related fees or payments. Based on evidence gathered in the case, Weiser’s office estimates the cancellation will prevent MV Realty from collecting about $8.4 million from Colorado homeowners.
Additionally, MV Realty must also terminate all documents recorded against homeowners’ properties, fully release any claim or interest in those homes at no cost to consumers and notify impacted owners that their titles have been cleared. The agreement requires the company to meet “strict timelines” for those steps and to dismiss any pending lawsuits based on the agreements.
As part of the resolution, MV Realty has agreed to pay $600,000 to Colorado for consumer restitution and education over the next year. The consent judgment also includes $450,000 in civil penalties and $50,000 in attorneys’ fees, which are suspended as long as the company complies with the terms and pays the restitution, the attorney general’s office said.
The agreement resolves Colorado’s claims without any admission of wrongdoing by MV Realty and avoids prolonged litigation. Weiser’s office retains authority to enforce the consent judgment and pursue any future violations of state law.
Earlier this year, a North Carolina court barred MV Realty from enforcing its right-to-list agreements, after the firm was banned from operating in North Carolina back in 2024. Additionally, several states have enacted laws banning right-to-list agreements.
This article was written by Brooklee Han and generated with the assistance of HousingWire Automation. It was reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication. The system helps convert company announcements and industry data into HousingWire-style news coverage.
