Maryland homeowner gets $234,368 check for home; new law bans such offers
Maryland has enacted a law banning real estate investors from sending unsolicited, negotiable checks to homeowners as a marketing tactic. The legislation aims to protect vulnerable residents from deceptive practices that could inadvertently bind them to unfavorable property contracts.
Why it matters
This highlights a growing regulatory effort to curb aggressive and potentially predatory real estate marketing tactics in the United States.
A homeowner in Parkville, a suburb of Baltimore, opened her mail one day to find an unexpected check for $234,368.25 (£176,000) made out to her. It was not a lottery prize or a bank mistake. Instead, it was a tactic used by a potential buyer who wanted to purchase her home without putting it on the open market. That practice is now banned across Maryland under a state law that took effect on 1 October. The law targets an aggressive type of direct-mail marketing. It makes it illegal to send property owners negotiable financial instruments along with unsolicited offers to buy their homes. The legislation, called Senate Bill 582, was signed into law by Maryland Governor Wes Moore in April.
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