CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION ENTERS INTO SETTLEMENTS WITH 15 HOME BUILDERS

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that his Consumer Protection Division has entered into settlement agreements with 15 home builders who have agreed to pay a total of $23,000 in penalties to settle allegations that they violated building laws including operating without being registered with the state’s Home Builder Registration Unit or not providing required protection for consumer deposits.

" Under Maryland law, home builders must be registered before they can enter into contracts to build homes for consumers," Curran said. "Builders must also protect advance payments made by consumers through an escrow account or by posting a surety bond or letter of credit with the Consumer Protection Division."

Curran encouraged new home buyers to check whether their builder is registered by contacting the Division’s Home Builder Registration Unit at (410) 576-6573 or toll-free at (877) 259-4525, or by visiting the Attorney General’s website at www.oag.state.md.us/homebuilder.

Each of these companies entered into a settlement agreement with the Division, prohibiting it from acting as a home builder in the state unless registered with the Home Builder Registration Unit. The settlements also require the builders to comply with other Maryland laws governing home builders, including the laws requiring protection of consumer deposits and other advance payments. The companies also agreed to submit to arbitration consumer complaints that cannot be resolved through mediation, using the Division’s arbitration program.

The Division settled with the following builders to resolve allegations that they failed to place consumer deposits in escrow accounts or protect them with a surety bond or letter of credit:

• Anchor Down Homes, Inc. and Mark S. McCulley (Burkittsville)
• Cher-Chris Construction, Inc., Michael S. Aiello and Christopher M. Aiello (Cockeysville)
• Liller Construction and Dwight Owens Liller (Oakland)

The Division settled with the following builders to resolve allegations that the builders operated as new home builders in Maryland without being registered with the Home Builder Registration Unit:

• A&M General Contracting, Inc. (Salisbury)
• B&F, LLC (Potomac)
• Barnett Ventures, LLC (Severn)
• Charles Black Construction Company, LLC. (Upper Marlboro)
• Donald L. Hooper t/a Country Carpentry Construction (Prince Frederick)
• Halp Properties, LLC (Phoenix)
• Maxxam Homes, LLC and, Sassan Emral Shaool (Hagerstown)
• October Development, LLC and July Development, LLC (Berlin)
• Park Place Residential Condominium Trust (Annapolis)
• River Run Development Associates, LLC (Huntington, New York)
• Southern Builders, Inc. (Salisbury)

Consumers who may have had problems with one of these builders may call the Consumer Protection Division at (410) 528-8662.

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