Douglas County Recorder Issues Notice Regarding Consumer Affairs Alert on Real Estate Service Agreements
Douglas County, NV – Douglas County Recorder Shawnyne Garren has issued a public notice following a recent Consumer Affairs Alert released by the Nevada Department of Business and Industry’s Consumer Affairs Unit regarding potential deceptive trade practices involving MV Realty.
The State’s investigation centers on “Homeowner Benefit Agreements” that may have resulted in long-term liens—some lasting up to 40 years—being recorded against Nevada homeowners’ properties. These agreements often required the homeowner to use MV Realty as their listing agent in any future sale of the home or pay a percentage of the property’s value to release the lien. Homeowners only discovered these liens upon attempting to sell, refinance, or take out a home equity loan on their property. In many cases, property owners were told the liens could only be removed by paying MV Realty 3 percent of their homes’ value, regardless of whether the property was listed with the company.
Recorder Garren has been actively engaged on this issue since late 2022, working with the Nevada Land Title Association and the Nevada Legislature to address deceptive recording practices. Their collaboration, led by Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama, resulted in the passage of Senate Bill 355 (2023), which prohibits certain predatory “service agreements” that run with the land or create unauthorized encumbrances on residential property.
“Nevada Law requires that documents submitted for recording that meet recording format requirements must be recorded, leaving little discretionary authority for county recorders and their staff,” Garren said. “While SB 355 was an important step to prohibit the recording of these types of agreements moving forward, it has taken continued diligence to address those agreements already recorded. The Consumer Affairs Unit’s current alert is an important step toward protecting affected homeowners and ensuring they are aware of available state resources.”
There are more than 800 recorded documents in the public records of county recorders throughout the State of Nevada connected with MV Realty. The Douglas County Recorder’s Office has identified local properties with recorded MV Realty documents and is preparing to send direct letters to those property owners as a courtesy. The letters will include copies of the recorded documents and information from Nevada Consumer Affairs.
Homeowners who believe they may have entered into an agreement with MV Realty are encouraged to contact the Nevada Consumer Affairs Unit:
The official consumer alert can be viewed at:
https://consumeraffairs.nv.gov/Alerts/Notice_Regarding_MV_Realty/
Residents can also search for recorded property documents or sign up for Douglas County’s free Property Recording Alert Service at:
https://douglascountynv.gov/recorder