After turning heads on Big Brother, Amanda Zachman, the self-proclaimed villain of Season 15, stepped out of the spotlight and into real estate, founding brokerage firm MV Realty.
But the controversy she stirred up on the small screen has followed her into her professional career.
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MV Realty’s Homeowner Benefit Program offers homeowners up to $5,000 in exchange for signing an exclusive agreement to use them as their listing agent if they should happen to put their home up for sale. But when those homeowners try to refinance or sell, they’re met with an unexpected reality.
“They find a lot of ways to call something one thing, but it is what it is,” real estate attorney Jennifer Nachtigal told CBS News Texas. “Call it a Homeowners Benefit agreement, but it’s really like an exclusive listing agreement that binds you to basically pay these people whether or not they do any services for you.”
MV Realty is facing lawsuits in 11 other states for its practices, including the use of misleading agreements that can leave homeowners on the hook for thousands of dollars. Here’s why the program is drawing ire and how signing up could come at a cost.
Trapped by the terms
MV Realty’s Homeowner Benefit Program is reportedly structured with terms that can last up to 40 years and may even be passed on to a homeowner’s heirs in the event of a death. Homeowners who exit the agreement could face significant termination fees.
MV Realty is also alleged to file memoranda against properties. A memorandum is a document that, while not legally classified as a lien, can reportedly obstruct refinancing or the sale altogether.
"Texas’ Constitution has strong protections for the homestead, and they don’t allow certain liens to be filed against the homestead," Nachtigal said. "Even if they’re voluntary, even if the homeowner signed the lien themselves."
A review of public real estate records by the CBS News Texas I-Team suggests MV Realty has filed over 500 memoranda across the Dallas–Fort Worth area and more than 1,200 across Texas.
Tanya Shaw is one homeowner who signed a contract with MV Realty. She said MV Realty approached her in 2024, offering around $1,000 in exchange for signing the agreement. Since she had no plans to sell, Shaw admitted she believed it was a safe decision, until a family emergency forced her to refinance her home. That’s when she said she learned about the memorandum filed against her house. Shaw decided to sell her property. But according to her, the contract gave MV Realty six months to secure a buyer. As a remedy, Shaw hired a different agent to expedite the sale — a direct violation of the agreement’s terms. When the home was sold, she said she was required to pay MV Realty $11,000 in addition to the real estate agent fees.
“I felt stupid,” Shaw told CBS News Texas. “Because even though desperate times call for desperate measures, they gave me $1,000. I could have kept my home if I was able to refinance.”
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Signed, sealed and stuck
In September 2023, MV Realty filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing all active Homeowner Benefit Agreements as company assets in its court filing. The CBS News Texas I-Team reached out to company founder Zachman and MV Realty for comment, but neither responded.
While the U.S. Trustee Program said it’s committed to ensuring fair access to the bankruptcy courts, homeowners who signed with MV Realty may find themselves with limited options.
That’s the situation Jonathan Mead found himself in. According to KJCT 8 News, the Colorado Springs homeowner received $1,245 under the agreement, but after seeing media coverage, he began to question the deal. When he received the bankruptcy notice, he hoped it would void the contract. But it didn’t, since homeowners received payment upfront, they aren’t classified as creditors or debtors.
State lawmakers across the country are taking notice. Colorado banned these agreements earlier this year, calling them “predatory.” Over the last two years, more than 22 states have passed similar laws.
In Texas, though, two bills aimed at banning them didn’t make it past the committee stage and into legislation. And the state’s attorney general has yet to take public action, declining to respond to requests for comment from reporters.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
