Home Purchase Scheme Targeting Black Homebuyers

In the wake of the housing crash of 2008, Black communities have been targeted by predatory “land contract” schemes that advertise the dream of home ownership but are structured to fail. One company, Vision Property Management, engaged in predatory lending schemes across the United States by tricking consumers into signing rent-to-own contracts carrying the promise of homeownership but none of the rights. Vision purchased over 1,000 dilapidated properties in Michigan and sold them to unsuspecting homebuyers. Vision’s contracts obscured the true cost of buying and repairing the home, the interest rate, and the term of the loan; made it nearly impossible for buyers to achieve homeownership; and allowed Vision to avoid responsibility for upkeep. Vision also marketed its product primarily to low-income Black consumers. In September 2020 the ACLU of Michigan, Legal Defense Fund (LDF), National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), and Michigan Poverty Law Program (MPLP) filed a federal class action lawsuit against Vision and its main funder Atalaya on behalf of lower-income and Black Michigan consumers who were the primary targets of Vision’s predatory home purchase scheme. The lawsuit sets forth claims under the Federal Fair Housing Act, Truth in Lending Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and various state laws. In August 2021 Judge Sean Cox denied Atalaya’s motion to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed. Following extensive discovery, in August 2022 Atalaya filed a motion for summary judgment. Meanwhile, upon learning that a new Vision lender had entered the picture and was selling off homes occupied by prospective class members, in December 2022 we filed a motion for a preliminary injunction asking the court to prohibit the sales without court approval. In October 2023 Judge Shalina Kumar granted Atalaya’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing the race-based discrimination claims. But in April 2024 the court partially granted Plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration, reinstating the homeowners’ intentional discrimination claims. After months of negotiations, the case finally settled in October 2024. The Court held a fairness hearing on the class settlement and ultimately approved a resolution which would give anyone in the home time to either buy the home and obtain the deed in their name, or sell the home and keep the proceeds. For class members who were previously evicted or left the home, they would be entitled to a share of money damages. The settlement ensures that those promised a pathway to homeownership can achieve it or set themselves up for a better future. (Henderson v. Vision Property Management; ACLU Attorneys Bonsitu Kitaba-Gaviglio and Dan Korobkin; Co-counsel Coty Montag, Jennifer Holmes, Alexandra Thompson, Tiffani Burgess, and Pilar Whitaker of LDF, Stuart Rossman, Sarah Mancini, and Shennan Kavanagh of NCLC, and Lorray Brown of MPLP.)