Appearing in ProPublica on Jan. 24, 2024, Anjeanette Damon and Byard Duncan talk to Sarah Bolling Mancini, co-director of advocacy at NCLC about ongoing reforms at HomeVestors of America, the self-described largest home buyer in the country. A ProPublica investigation last year revealed predatory tactics used by the company’s franchises toward homeowners in vulnerable situations.
Mancini cautioned that the effectiveness of the new disclosure will depend on whether franchisees ensure homeowners fully understand the document. The disclosure and the cooling-off period are “positive developments,” she added, but disclosures aren’t necessarily a panacea.
“Context matters,” she said. “Written documents can only go so far. What they are told orally is very important. It’s still possible to give people a document, but to give them, overall, a misimpression of what the transaction is.”
Sarah Bolling Mancini, co-director of advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center
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