Md. homebuilder must give deposit refund, pay penalty
A Garrett County homebuilder and its backers must refund $154,599 in new-house deposits collected from consumers as well as pay penalties of $23,000, according to the consumer protection division of the state attorney general's office. The division found that Mark Shrout, William Cook and their company C&S Contracting Inc., violated Maryland's Custom Home Protection Act by collecting money from at least four families, failing to protect that money and failing to build the homes or refund the consumers. The attorney general's office recommends that people buy houses only from registered builders and ensure their deposits are protected by an escrow account, bond or letter of credit. Check whether your builder is registered by calling the Division's Home Builder Registration Unit at 410-576-6573 or toll-free at 877-259-4525, or at www.oag.state.md.us/homebuilder.
- Liz F. Kay
Record number of biotech firms wait for tax credits
With many waiting in line for five days, a record number of biotechnology companies yesterday filed for a generous Maryland tax credit that would grant their investors a 50 percent tax credit for investing this year. Representatives from 20 companies waited in line to submit applications for the Maryland Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit program, according to Karen Glenn Hood, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Business and Economic Development. The program, administered by DBED, began accepting applications at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the University of Maryland's BioPark in Baltimore. Two more companies filed applications shortly after state officials began accepting them in the morning, Hood said. The tax credit program this year has $6 million in state funding, and the credits are doled out on a first-come, first-served basis, per state law. Hood said it would take DBED officials about a week to review the applications and determine how much total money in tax credits had been requested.
- Gus G. Sentementes
Settlement reached against Beazer Homes
