
These are people we want to help get into homes of their own, not the other way around.”Īdding to the challenge was the fact that the fee was proposed as a municipal funding mechanism in response to a recent Climate Change and Coastal Resiliency Report, an environmental cause no legislator wants to appear to be opposing. These buyers do not have extra cash to spend on additional closing costs, and this requirement would really hurt them in a competitive market. “Commercial real estate was already hurting – we were trying to fill empty storefronts all over the state,” says Christiansen “On the residential side, properties selling for $150K, at which point the fee would come into play, would be the most entry-level fixer-upper homes in many communities here. Fortunately, they didn’t let their guard down: later in the session, a section cropped up in an Open Space bill that sought to establish another conveyance tax, which it called a ‘fee.’ While it would not have been mandated, it sought to allow any municipality in Connecticut to impose a significant percentage tax on both commercial and residential sales, tiered according to the selling price, to be paid by either the buyer or the seller. The REALTORS ® thought they were in the clear, explains 2021 Association President Carol Christiansen.

And every year, the Connecticut Association of REALTORS ® fights it, in the interests of property owners and aspiring property-owners alike.Įarly in the most recent legislative session, the Governor stated that he wouldn’t be signing any new tax bills, and a proposal for a state-wide property tax was defeated. Smart Growth for the 21st Century ClassĮvery year, it seems, the Connecticut legislature, running on a deficit, seeks revenue in a transfer tax, or a conveyance tax, or some kind of fee that would add to the cost of buying a home or commercial property.Best Practices for Choosing REALTOR® Champions Course.
