New Home Sale Bill Prompted by I-Team Investigation Signed into Law

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan signed a new home sale bill into law Tuesday. It's designed to protect buyers making what’s likely to be the biggest purchase of their lives.

State lawmakers introduced the bill following a News4 I-Team investigation into a new homebuilder that reported making millions of dollars from seized down payments during the recession.

“I have to thank the I-Team for bringing the story to light,” said former Maryland State Del. Aisha Braveboy, who helped usher the bill through the state house. “People were suffering in silence, losing millions and millions of dollars, collectively.”

The law gives new homebuyers the same protections as people buying pre-existing homes. Previously, new homebuilders could take your entire down payment if you lost your financing. Now, new homebuyers will have the right to get their down payment back if they can’t get a loan.

“It closes a loophole, saves people money, and it eliminates that nightmare in a home purchase,” said co-sponsor Del. Tony Knotts at Tuesday’s bill signing. “That’s one of the largest items in your budget that you could pay for, so to have that denied is catastrophic.”

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