Maryland homebuyers beware: How to avoid those nightmare discoveries

Buying a home can be the biggest purchase of a lifetime. It can also lead to a money pit.

Today’s homeowners face not only high interest rates at the front end but steep costs of repairs, appliances and labor to maintain their homes. Sometimes homeowners are caught off guard as the effects of inflation hit home, literally.

Not every problem can be prevented. But at least some can be diagnosed before the point of no return. Here are some of the more common problems Maryland homeowners face and how to prevent them.

Waive at your own risk

Karen Straughn, an assistant Maryland attorney general who oversees the Consumer Protection Division’s mediation unit, said homeowners across Maryland have turned to the state for help with faulty or incomplete construction and repair jobs.

Her office suspects more buyers are waiving home inspections to get a leg up in a competitive housing market. Last year, the office paid out more than $350,000 in compensation to consumers seeking reimbursement from harm caused by state-licensed contractors, more than the amounts for the previous two years combined.

“The best thing you can do is take all the steps necessary to protect yourself in the event there is a problem, and not commit yourself to something that would be a bad situation,” Straughn said. To skip a home inspection, she said, is to invite risk.

The National Association of Realtors reported that as many as 32% of buyers nationally waived an inspection in June 2022, during the peak of a COVID-19-induced buying frenzy. The rate declined to about 12% in January, the association reported.

Inspectors can identify potential foundation, roof and plumbing problems, which tend to be among the most expensive to repair, said Nick Gromicko, founder of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, a trade association known as InterNACHI. And many inspectors carry a certain type of insurance that can provide homeowners some relief for anything missed during an inspection.

“Consumers have to realize they’re not buying a lawnmower built on an assembly line,” he said, but a unique structure, each with its own subcontractors, soil and components that make quality control difficult.

If a buyer decides to waive an inspection, Gromicko said there are other ways to get ahead of some problems, including asking for detailed sellers’ disclosures, purchasing warranties or having friends or relatives offer a second set of eyes during a walk-through. InterNACHI also offers a “buy-back” program for the serious lemons. In the program’s 11 years, around two dozen homes have been bought back, he said.

“A consumer doesn’t ever have to worry about making a financial decision that will be life-ruining,” he said. Though he added, “all your leverage comes before the closing.”

Check for open permits

Arienne Jones bought her Northwest Baltimore home in February 2025 for $240,000 and had it inspected twice before settlement. The Alabama native expected to pay for some upgrades over the years, but nothing unmanageable.

Then she noticed water pooling in the basement last June. After contractors found various problems, Jones researched the home’s permit history and discovered it had multiple expired work permits. A city home inspector signed off on the final use and occupancy permit before she closed on the house, city data shows.

Jones requested reinspection by city code enforcers, who found that the house failed for mechanical, electrical, gas and plumbing deficiencies. To resolve the problems, Jones would have to pay extra.

“I prayed and saved for this home for years,” Jones said. “It’s exhausting, especially when you try to do the right thing.”

She claims the sellers should have known the house lacked the right permits and sold it anyway.

An attorney, Jones entered mediation with the seller, but it failed to resolve matters. Now, representing herself, she’s suing for about $150,000 in compensation, alleging breach of contract, negligence and unjust enrichment.

ST Management LLC, the seller, has not responded to the lawsuit. Salomon Bemaras, a representative of the company, did not respond to a request for comment.

Kristopher Bengtson and Brian Dawson, in Reservoir Hill, faced similar problems with their 2022 home purchase.

They left Washington, D.C., in search of a lower cost of living. When the ceilings of their six-bedroom home began to leak, they realized that the sellers never closed the required permits, either.

The house needs about $100,000 in repairs, including for windows, joists and plumbing in all five bathrooms. In court, a jury found that while Bengtson and Dawson had assumed the risk in purchasing the house, they also were entitled to compensation.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Associate Judge Jeannie Hong declared a mistrial based on the “inconsistent” verdict. Instead of retrying the case, Bengtson and Dawson have decided to move on and apply for a renovation loan.

Research the contractors

Michelle Simmons bought her newly renovated Upper Marlboro dream house in 2015 after a long search. Almost a decade later, Simmons said the experience didn’t pan out how she’d hoped.

For one, Simmons said, she can’t close an electrical permit due to a problem with a previous contractor. The Prince George’s County permitting website says prior electricians “installed but never inspected” a significant repair.

Two other permits — one for the heat pump and air handler, and another related to plumbing, heating and electrical — are marked as abandoned; Simmons said she has been unable to find contractors willing to take on the jobs.

Simmons complained to the Maryland Real Estate Commission and attempted litigation with the seller, claiming he misrepresented the quality of the house’s renovation. Both attempts were unsuccessful, and a judge ruled against her and ordered she pay the seller’s attorney fees. Simmons said the situation has jeopardized her retirement plans, and she feels the systems designed to help homebuyers failed.

Buyers can search a house’s outstanding permits, previous contractors and past citations before closing, said Mary Giles, deputy director of the Prince George’s County Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement.

Applicants can do much of it on their own or ask a local government agency to fulfill a records request for them, Giles said.

“People really need to do their homework,” she said.

Giles said most of the complaints the Prince George’s office receives stem from illegally done, nonpermitted construction. The county tries to help people resolve their issues, she said, but in many cases there are limitations once the purchase is complete and the homeowner assumes responsibility.

Check the ‘VBN’ status

Baltimore homebuyers in particular have to worry whether their home was once classified as vacant.

Owning a city-designated vacant house can subject homeowners to fines, and they must pay to remove the notice. A 2021 bill signed into law by Mayor Brandon Scott sought to get ahead of the problem by requiring sellers to disclose if a house still carries a vacant building notice, or VBN. But it doesn’t always happen.

Tammy Hawley, a spokesperson for the Baltimore Department of Housing and Community Development, said the situation happens often enough that the city has stepped up outreach efforts, including with direct mailers to potentially affected buyers. About 400 homeowners have experienced this problem since 2020, according to city estimates.

In the letters, the department acknowledges it has seen an increase in homebuyers discovering their renovated properties are still considered uninhabitable. Sometimes, it’s because developers and contractors have not completed the necessary steps; other times, it may be a city error.

Buyers have the right to withdraw from a contract if a vacant building notice is present, and sellers can face penalties and fines for nondisclosure. Ultimately, the liability belongs to the new homeowner.

Baltimore buyers can look up a property’s status online by visiting the city’s CodeMap website and typing in the home’s address in the search bar.