ProPublica: “HomeVestors of America, the self-described largest home buyer in the country, is continuing to reform some of its business practices in the wake of a ProPublica investigation last year that revealed predatory tactics used by the company’s franchises toward homeowners in vulnerable situations. The company’s 1,100 “We Buy Ugly Houses” franchises will now be required to provide homeowners who sell to them with a simple disclosure. The disclosure provides a three-day window to terminate a sales contract — a safeguard that housing advocates say is critical to guarding against aggressive tactics often employed by cash homebuyers. It also includes a resource for homeowners to evaluate their options for selling or keeping the home and encouragement to consult with a trusted family member or friend before finalizing a sale. In addition, HomeVestors “made a series of updates” to its systems and standards, created an ethics hotline for franchise owners to report violations and changed how it trains its franchise owners, a company spokesperson told ProPublica. The company also created a team of “brand compliance auditors” to better police franchise activities, she said. “HomeVestors takes very seriously the responsibility that comes with being the most recognized brand in residential real estate investing franchising,” the spokesperson said. “We will continue to work to ensure that our core values are reflected in everything we do.” The changes come in response to ProPublica’s reporting last year that found some HomeVestors of America franchises used deception and aggressive sales tactics to persuade homeowners in vulnerable situations to sell their homes for far below market prices. Some franchises deployed legal maneuvers to make it nearly impossible to get out of a bad deal. While the company said at the time that it didn’t target homeowners based on age or other demographics, ProPublica found HomeVestors aimed its massive advertising apparatus at the types of houses often owned by people in desperate situations or who didn’t fully understand the value of their property.”