A Florida couple who signed up for a rent-to-own house in Yukon was offered a mortgage for the same property within months by an affiliate of Berry-Rock Homes, whose employee encouraged them to lie about their business income.Michael and Shannon Taylor made the allegations in a lawsuit against Berry-Rock Homes and LIV Mortgage. In an amended complaint filed in December, the couple said the companies and other affiliates were coordinating to conduct business beyond the reach of consumer protection laws. The Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office invested $8 million in Berry-Rock Homes in 2022. The agency, which manages land, commercial building and oil and gas investments to benefit public education, gets an 11% return each year on the investment. But questions about how the investment was vetted and the actions of a former Land Office secretary continue to beset the agency. The Taylors said they signed a rent-to-own agreement with Berry-Rock Homes in January 2024, putting down $30,700 as a nonrefundable option to buy the house later. Monthly rent was $4,505 for the four-bed, three-bath house in Yukon built in 2022. The couple found out about Berry-Rock from a real estate agent after a previous rent-to-own property they had agreed to rent sight unseen before they moved from Florida fell through. The Taylors picked out the Yukon house and signed a rent-to-own agreement with Berry-Rock, which then bought the house for $439,000 through a related limited liability company.  the latest Education Bills to Watch in This Year’s Legislature by Jennifer Palmer January 17, 2025January 16, 2025 A few months after moving in, the Taylors were contacted by a loan officer for LIV Mortgage, who encouraged them to apply for a loan to buy the house. After going through the application, he advised them to fudge the income numbers for the small business they owned, saying they could always file an amended return later with the Internal Revenue Service, according to the lawsuit. The Taylors, who own a bookkeeping and tax preparation company, were hesitant to do that. “Generally, a consumer participates in a rent-to-own program because they are not currently mortgage-eligible,” the lawsuit said. “It is unreasonable to expect that a rent-to-own tenant will become mortgage-eligible within two months of joining a rent-to-own program.” The lawsuit documents an April conversation between Michael Taylor and the loan officer, who said he had discussed the Taylors’ mortgage application with his supervisor. “So it’s, I mean you’re kinda, you know, gaming it a little bit, but you know, it’s kinda, at this point, this is like the only thing we’d need to kinda get that loan approved, but you’re gonna have to play the game a little bit on there,” the loan officer said, according to a transcript in the lawsuit. “Talk to the wife, make sure that you guys are comfortable doing it that way, but that would be the path to kinda get it approved, for the loan.” The loan officer declined to comment when contacted by Oklahoma Watch. Licensing information on file with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System shows he last worked for Berry-Rock Mortgage in October and is not currently licensed.  The Taylors said Berry-Rock, the company’s owners and its affiliates misled them about the nature of the $30,700 deposit. They said an assignment of rents filed in Canadian County after a mortgage was taken out on the property by a Berry-Rock affiliate didn’t contain anything about the deposit. Property owners use an assignment of rents if a property is sold that has an existing lease. The Taylors have moved out of the house, and it now has a for sale sign in the front yard. The listing price is $445,000. “The Berry-Rock Homes Pathway Program has created 542 homeowners who would otherwise not be able to access home ownership, and we have paved the way for many more who are on the path to home ownership,” the company said in a written statement to Oklahoma Watch. “The $8 million investment by the state of Oklahoma has already produced taxpayers with more than $2 million return.” The companies haven’t yet filed a response to the amended complaint. But earlier court filings said the Taylors knew the $30,700 option fee was nonrefundable. The companies countersued the Taylors, claiming they had stopped paying rent and interfered in the business relationships of Berry-Rock Mortgage. “Bound by the arms-length transaction the Taylors voluntarily and knowingly agreed to, the Taylors have concocted various theories they contend require the return of the option contract,” Berry-Rock and its affiliates said in a July court filing. “Furthermore, the Taylors have also made threats and complaints regarding third party, Berry-Rock Mortgage LLC, to create leverage to coerce Berry-Rock into returning the option consideration.” Paul Monies has been a reporter with Oklahoma Watch since 2017 and covers state agencies and public health. Contact him at (571) 319-3289 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @pmonies.  MORE FROM PAUL MONIES Oklahoma State Guard Plan Unveiled Berry-Rock and Beyond: How Ex-Secretary’s Investment Ties Sparked Lawsuits, Audits and Controversy State’s New Mental Health Center Faces Huge Construction Cost Overrun  The post Florida Couple Accuses Berry-Rock Homes of Fraud in Rent-to-Own Program appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.