Things to consider when remodeling your home

By Jeff Jolly

Home renovations can enhance your living space and raise the value of your home, but they also come with many decisions and potential pitfalls. If you’re considering a home renovation, keep these tips in mind: Set a realistic budget. Know how much you can spend before you ask for the moon. Remodeling projects are notorious for running over budget. Once the work begins, your contractor may discover problems lurking behind walls and floors. A simple job can become complex due to unforeseen water damage or foundation issues. To accommodate budget creep, set your budget at the low-to-mid range of what you can afford.

Save up for your project. Home remodels can cost tens of thousands of dollars. In our current economy, raw materials are more expensive than ever due to supply chain issues. Plus, interest rates have risen with inflation, adding to the cost of financed projects. You’ll need to be prepared to make a down payment ranging from 10 to 50 percent of the total estimated cost. The most cost-effective way to pay for a project is to use savings rather than a loan. Don’t be tempted to use credit cards, which will inflate your total costs unless you pay off the balances on time and in full.

If you must finance your project, shop for an affordable home equity loan. Select a lender with the most attractive interest rates, fees and repayment terms. Consider how your plans will impact your home’s resale value. In general, kitchen and bath remodels lead the list of value-add projects. Many other home enhancements provide only a nominal return on investment – and some can even lessen your home’s resale value. For example, few home buyers are willing to pay a premium for high-end upgrades such as a fancy wine cellar or extravagant landscaping. Installing a pool, particularly in regions that don’t enjoy year-round sunshine, can make your home harder to sell down the road. At the end of the day, it’s not only about the money projects that don’t add to resale value may still be worthwhile if the changes make you happy and you plan to stay put long enough to enjoy them. Just be sure to consider the downstream financial impacts before you make any decisions.

Choose a reputable partner. It’s imperative to find a licensed and insured remodeling contractor who delivers quality work, on time and within budget. Ask people you trust for referrals. Interview multiple contractors and check their references and affiliations with local building associations. Expect written bids with detailed project cost estimates. Make sure you know who is responsible for obtaining and paying for local inspections and permits. The contract you sign should specify agreed-upon materials and describe the process for change orders and other contingencies.

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“We’ve had notice that this was it ... the legalization was coming, so we’ve done additional training for our officers on what’s legal, what’s not legal,” Southington police Chief John Daly said.

Enforcing what is or is not legal particularly in regard to DUI arrests may prove challenging for officers, however. There is little technology to determine if an individual is in fact high, and state law does not currently place a limit on the volume of THC a motorist may have in their bloodstream while driving.

As a result, Cheshire police Chief Neil Dryfe said officers will need to rely on testing methods such as urine samples to make arrests. Dryfe said a potential outcome of leaning on these procedures as police have done for decades could be unwarranted DUI charges, as current test measures can de- tect marijuana in the bloodstream days after it is consumed. “Marijuana stays in people’s bloodstream for a lot longer than alcohol does,” Dryfe said. “The fact that somebody’s urine sample tests positive does not necessarily mean that the person was smoking marijuana or using marijuana in the immediate lead up.”

Data out of states such as Colorado indicate measurable increases in THC-related DUI arrests after marijuana sales were legalized, according to the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice.

Daly too said he worried that ease of access to cannabis could lead to a spike in DUI arrests and automobile accidents involving an impaired motorist.

Daly is not concerned by the prospect of adults choosing to use marijuana, but is troubled by statistics out of peer states indicating a growth in high driving on the horizon. “We worry about accidents associated with people driving im- paired,” Daly said. “I’m not going to judge people whether they choose to [consume marijuana]. I just hope they do it responsibly, and don’t drive after.”

In the interest of reducing the odds of false DUI charges, the state legislature mandated police departments increase the number of drug recognition experts on hand as part of the passage of Public Act 21-1 in 2021.

Drug recognition experts, or DREs, Daly said, are officers who receive specified training in determining whether or not an individual is under the influence of narcotics. Though having these experts on hand is essential to pressing DUI charges, becoming a DRE is lengthy and expensive process which Dryfe said entails extensive training sessions and a cross-country trip to Arizona.

Wallingford Police Sgt. Stephen Jaques said Public Act 21-1, though a valuable measure for both police ac- countability and DUI enforcement, may place financial strain on smaller departments.

“It’s going to require law enforcement agencies across the state send more people to this training,” Jaques said. “It’s a pretty rigorous program from what I hear, and it’s also expensive. So, that’s something that law enforcement and all agencies across the state have had to deal with.” topped only by Maryland, California, Minnesota and South Carolina.

Yet, the predicted jump in impaired driving and the number of certified DREs likely will not be accompanied by an expanded police presence on Connecticut highways and backroads.

Daly, Dryfe and Jaques each indicated their departments will not increase the number of officers on the road, with Jaques attributing a plateau in highway patrols to persistent short staffing observed statewide.

At its current level, the Connecticut EITC provides about $144 million in relief to poor families, according to the General Assembly’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis.

Lamont’s budget staff project boosting the state EITC to 40% of the federal credit would push the overall tax break to nearly $190 million and would benefit an estimated 211,675 families.

Unlike certain other state tax credits, the EITC is refundable. If a working household ‘s earnings are so low it owes no income taxes, it still would receive the full value of the credit via a refund.

“Numerous studies have shown that the EITC is one of the best anti-poverty tools we can use because it encourages work, boosts economic stability and uplifts generations to come,” Lamont said. “Ultimately, this tax credit helps improve entire communities because these dollars are being invested right back into our local economy through groceries, transportation, clothing, rent, utilities and other necessary expenses. The EITC encourages work and boosts economic stability, and I think it’s about time that we increase it.”

The governor’s proposal is expected to draw strong support from progressive Democrats in the legislature who have argued for years that the combined state and municipal tax systems in Connecticut disproportionately burden low- and middle-income households.

Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, a longtime advocate for a strong tax credit for the working poor, said many Democrats had wanted to enacted a state EITC before 2011 but had been blocked prior to that by Republican governors.

“We can say we want to help people out of poverty, but the EITC is one of the ways to actually accomplish that goal,” Looney said. “The EITC is an important piece of a Democratic budget, and I want to thank Gov. Lamont for including it as a priority.”

Lamont still is expected to face considerable pressure from progressives, though, to support a second expanded income tax credit.

A coalition of Democrats led by state Comptroller Sean Scanlon want a new state income tax credit for families with children. Scanlon has proposed a $600-per-child credit that offers a maximum of $1,800 per household. About two-thirds of this credit also would be refundable, ensuring low-income households with little or no income tax liability still would benefit.

This would cost an estimated $450 million per year, about 10 times the value of Lamont’s new relief proposal for the working poor.

The governor prefers to offer tax relief to the middle class by driving down state income tax rates. But while this would chiefly help middle class households, critics note that it also would provide some relief to wealthier filers, while the child tax credit would not be available to top-end earners.

Representatives of Recovery for All CT, a coalition of more than 60 labor faith and other community groups, endorsed Lamont’s proposal to bolster the EITC. But they also made it clear that while an extra $211-per-poor family, on average, will help, it is far from a complete solution.

“We share a vision of ending our state’s extreme racial, economic and gender inequities,” said Nelli Jara, executive director of the Connecticut Worker Center in Bridgeport. “Families are choosing between paying utility bills or buying groceries.”

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Keep good records. Maintain a paper trail to account for project expenses. Provide your tax preparer with receipts for energy efficient home improvements that may qualify for tax credits. Get receipts for all payments to your contractor, whether made by check, credit card, or cash.

Organize receipts, warranties and manuals in an electronic or physical folder. These can come in handy for maintenance and repairs. They also help justify a higher asking price when you put your house on the market.

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