Owning Property
in Connecticut

Finding the right home

This is the one step in the process where emotion is allowed to matter — you're going to live here. But keep it anchored to the pre-approval conversation from Foundation: a great kitchen in a house $60K above your range is still $60K above your range. Your agent's knowledge of the specific street, not just the town, earns its keep here — school boundary lines, flood zones, an assessment the town hasn't announced yet.

Make an offer, negotiate terms

Earnest money, price, and which contingencies you're keeping all get negotiated together. As an owner-occupant you're not always racing cash buyers the way an investor is, so you generally have more room to keep the standard protections — mortgage, inspection, appraisal, attorney review. Waiving inspection or appraisal to win a bidding war is the single most common regret first-time buyers report after the fact; know what you're actually giving up before you offer it.

Finalize financing

Your loan application should already be moving by this point — see the Timeline chapter for exactly when. If this is a first purchase, this is also the moment to ask whether down payment assistance changes the math: CHFA, Time To Own, and similar programs are only available to owner-occupants, which makes this the one path where they're on the table at all.

Inspection and appraisal

The appraisal here is doing one job: confirming the home is worth what you agreed to pay, so the lender's collateral supports the loan. No rent schedule, no income math — just value. The inspection is where first-time buyers most often talk themselves out of caring about a real problem because they've already mentally moved in; a second, less attached set of eyes (your agent's, or a friend who isn't buying the house) is worth having in the room.

Closing

Typically in your personal name, which is simpler than the entity decisions Path B has to make — but confirm how you're taking title (individually, jointly, with rights of survivorship) with your attorney, since that choice has real implications later. Line up utility transfers and change-of-address items for moving day before closing week gets consumed by paperwork.

The offer and negotiation

You're often competing against other investors and cash buyers, not just owner-occupants. Timelines get compressed, and contingencies you'd keep on a primary home purchase sometimes get shortened or waived — know which ones you're actually comfortable giving up before you're in a bidding situation, not during one.

The appraisal

On a DSCR loan, the appraisal does double duty: it establishes the property's value and its market rent (via a rent schedule), because your qualification is based on the property's income covering the debt — not your personal income. A property that appraises fine on value but comes back light on projected rent can still sink the deal.

The inspection

For a primary home, inspection findings are mostly about "is this move-in ready." For an investment property, they feed directly into your numbers — every repair item is a line in your rehab budget and affects your actual return, whether or not you go back to the seller for a credit.

Financing

DSCR and Non-QM loans qualify the property, not your personal income, but they typically carry higher down payment requirements than an owner-occupied loan. For larger properties — five or more units, mixed-use, or straightforward commercial buildings — the financing moves into commercial lending entirely: different underwriting (based on the property's net operating income and cap rate rather than a residential DSCR ratio), different terms (often 5, 10, or 20-year terms with a balloon or recast instead of a 30-year fixed), and larger down payments.

Closing

Often in an LLC or other entity rather than your personal name — worth deciding with your attorney before you're under contract, since it affects title work and sometimes financing terms.

Mortgage contingency

Gives you a set window (typically 30–45 days in CT) to secure financing. If your loan gets denied within that window, you get your deposit back. Once the deadline passes, you're generally committed — if financing falls apart after that, your deposit is at risk. This is why the pre-approval step matters: fewer surprises during this window.

Inspection contingency

Covers the general home inspection, but in Connecticut, don't assume it automatically covers everything it should: radon, well water, and septic are each their own separate test, not automatically bundled into a standard inspection.

Appraisal contingency

Protects you if the home appraises for less than your offer price — letting you renegotiate, cover the gap in cash, or walk away with your deposit, depending on how it's written.

Attorney approval period

Connecticut-specific — most other states don't have this. After the contract is signed, both attorneys get a short window (usually a few business days) to review and request changes before it's fully binding.

Title contingency

Lets you exit the deal if your attorney's title search turns up something that can't be resolved before closing — an unpaid lien, an easement, a boundary dispute.

Hubbard clause (kick-out clause)

Comes into play when your offer includes a home-sale contingency — meaning your purchase depends on selling your current home first. A Hubbard clause lets the seller keep marketing the property even after accepting your contingent offer. If the seller gets another acceptable offer, you're typically given a short window (often 48–72 hours) to either remove your home-sale contingency and proceed without it, or step aside and get your deposit back.

Loan origination fee

Charged by the lender for processing and underwriting the loan itself; covers the administrative cost of putting the mortgage together.

Origination / discount points

A point is 1% of the loan amount, paid upfront to either cover the lender's cost of originating the loan (origination) or to buy down your interest rate (discount points). Optional in most cases — paying points trades cash at closing for a lower rate over the life of the loan.

Appraisal fee

Pays the licensed appraiser to independently determine the property's market value, which the lender uses to confirm the loan amount is supported by the collateral.

Attorney fee

Your attorney's fee for reviewing the contract, running the title search, and representing you at closing.

Closing fee

Charged by the title company or closing agent for coordinating and conducting the closing itself, separate from the attorney's fee.

Title search

The actual research into the property's ownership history and any liens or encumbrances; distinct from the title insurance policy that protects against something the search missed.

Closing protection letter

A lender-required document from the title insurer guaranteeing they'll cover losses if the closing agent mishandles the funds (fraud or error) during the transaction.

Title insurance

A one-time premium for a policy protecting you (owner's policy) and your lender (lender's policy) against a defect in the title the search didn't catch.

Recording fees

Paid to the town clerk to officially record the new deed and mortgage in the public land records.

Connecticut conveyance tax

A state and municipal tax on the sale price, typically paid by the seller.

Prepaid property taxes

The taxes that will accrue between your closing date and the next tax due date, collected upfront so the account has enough to make that payment on time. This is the largest single piece of the 8.5–14 month escrow-establishment figure covered above — most of it lands here, in Prepaids, not in the separate escrow cushion line.

Prepaid interest

Mortgage interest accrues daily, but your first monthly payment typically isn't due until the first of the month after you've owned the home for a full month. To cover the gap, you prepay the daily interest from your closing date through the end of that month. Close earlier in the month, and this number is bigger; close near month-end, and it's smaller.

First-year homeowners insurance premium

Lenders require your full first year of coverage paid in advance at closing, not month-to-month. After that first year, the renewal premium gets paid out of escrow instead.

Prepaid mortgage insurance (if applicable)

On an FHA loan, this is the upfront mortgage insurance premium; on a conventional loan with less than 20% down, it may be the first month of PMI.

Day 0 — Offer Made

Your agent submits the offer. Price, contingencies, and terms get negotiated here — counters can happen over hours or a few days.

Day 0–3 (varies) — Offer Accepted

Once both sides agree, the contract is signed. The clock on everything below starts here.

Days 1–5 — Attorney Review Period

Connecticut-specific. Attorneys review the signed contract for legal issues and can add riders or raise objections — a legal safety check, not a re-negotiation of price or terms. Once it closes without objection, the contract is fully binding.

Days 1–10 — Loan Application Submitted

Apply as early in this window as possible. The sooner underwriting starts working your file, the more room you have if anything comes back needing extra documentation later. Earnest money deposit also goes into your attorney's escrow account during this window, and inspections get scheduled.

Days 5–14 — Inspection Contingency Deadline

General inspection completed, results reviewed, any repair negotiations wrapped up. Radon and water test results can take longer (typically 2–4 days minimum) — schedule accordingly.

Days 7–21 — Appraisal Ordered

Ordered by the lender once inspection-related renegotiations are settled, so the appraiser is valuing the property at its final, agreed-upon terms rather than a price that's still moving. There's no separate appraisal contingency deadline — the appraisal outcome is handled as part of the mortgage contingency below, not its own standalone deadline.

Days 14–30 — Title Search

Attorney checks for liens, easements, or ownership issues. Any problems need resolution before the title contingency deadline.

Days 14–25 — Homeowners Insurance Bound

Needs to be in place before the lender clears you to close. Worth shopping now rather than accepting the first quote.

Days 15–30 — Mortgage Contingency Deadline

Financing needs to be fully secured by this point — including a satisfactory appraisal, since a low appraisal is a financing problem the mortgage contingency covers, not a separate one. Miss this deadline, and deposit protection tied to financing is gone.

Days 25–40 — Clear to Close

Underwriting finishes, lender issues final approval, closing disclosure is prepared.

3 Business Days Before Closing — Closing Disclosure Delivered, Compared to Your Preliminary Fee Sheet

Federal rules (TRID) limit how much your final Closing Disclosure can drift from the Loan Estimate/preliminary fee sheet you got at application, and the allowed drift depends on the type of fee:

• Zero tolerance — fees like the lender's own origination charge and points can't increase at all from the original estimate.
• 10% cumulative tolerance — a bucket of fees (recording fees, and services you chose from the lender's provider list) can increase, but the total of that bucket can't rise more than 10% combined.
• No tolerance limit — fees like prepaid interest, homeowners insurance premiums, and initial escrow deposits can shift with actual costs, since these depend on your specific closing date and third-party pricing, not the lender's estimate.

If something moved outside these limits, the lender is generally required to absorb the difference — unless a valid change of circumstance occurred. This is a specific, defined exception, not a catch-all excuse for a higher bill. It covers things like:

• You changed the loan itself — different loan amount, program, or property after the original estimate was issued.
• New information came in that wasn't known or reasonably available at application — an appraisal with unexpected repair requirements, a title issue that surfaced during the search, or property damage between contract and closing.
• Something on your end changed — a shift in your credit, income, or assets that affects eligibility or pricing.
• You requested a change — asking to add a rate lock extension or change the closing date, for example.

If a valid change of circumstance applies, the lender can issue a revised Loan Estimate resetting the tolerance baseline — but only for the specific fees affected by that change, and only within a required timeframe. What it isn't: a lender simply padding a fee at the last minute with no underlying reason.

Days 20–45 — Closing Day

Final walkthrough (confirm the property's condition hasn't changed and any agreed repairs are done), signing (loan documents, deed, and closing disclosure — expect a thick stack), funds transfer (your remaining cash to close wires or is certified-check delivered in advance, per your attorney's instructions), and keys handed over once everything's recorded.

The 60-day protection

Federal law covers the window where these transfers actually break. Under Regulation X (12 CFR § 1024.33(c)), during the 60-day period beginning on the effective date of the transfer, if you send your payment to the old servicer on or before the due date — including any grace period in your note — that payment cannot be treated as late for any purpose. No late fee, and no delinquency reported to the credit bureaus. The old servicer also has to either forward your payment to the new servicer or return it and tell you where it should have gone.

This exists because transfers are genuinely messy. Autopay stays pointed at the old servicer. A paper check goes to the old address. The new servicer’s portal won’t let you register yet. None of that is your fault, and the rule says you don’t pay for it.

If a payment goes wrong anyway

Don’t call and hope. Send a written Notice of Error to the address the servicer designates for that purpose — it’s listed on your statement and on the servicer’s website. Under § 1024.35 the servicer must acknowledge it within 5 business days and respond within 30 business days. And for 60 days after receiving your Notice of Error, the servicer may not furnish adverse information to any credit bureau about the payment you’re disputing. A phone call gets you none of that. Put it in writing, and keep a copy.

Shortage vs. deficiency

A shortage means the projected balance falls below the required minimum — the account is short of where it needs to be going forward. A deficiency means the account is actually negative: the servicer paid out more than it had. Shortage is common and routine. Deficiency usually means a large, unexpected bill landed mid-year.

Why your payment goes up by more than the tax increase

This is the part that catches people. Your new payment does two jobs at once: it collects the higher monthly amount going forward, and it repays last year’s shortage. So a $600 annual tax increase doesn’t raise your payment by $50 — it raises it by $50 for the increase plus roughly another $50 to repay the twelve months the servicer already fronted. The second piece drops off after a year. The first doesn’t.

The cushion

Federal rules let a servicer hold a cushion of up to two months of escrow payments as a buffer. That’s the ceiling, not a target, and it’s why the account always looks like it’s holding more than the next bill requires.

Paying the shortage as a lump sum

You’ll be offered a choice: pay the shortage in one payment, or spread it over twelve months. Paying the lump sum removes the repayment piece — but not the increase. Your payment still goes up, just by less. People pay the lump sum expecting their old payment back and are surprised twice. Understand which piece you’re eliminating.

Most servicers also accept extra payments toward escrow specifically, in a field separate from extra principal. Adding to escrow around tax-refund season builds a buffer against next year’s increase.

Revaluation and your assessment

Connecticut assesses property at 70% of fair market value. Towns revalue on a five-year cycle, with a physical inspection at least every ten years. A revaluation year can move your assessment substantially even if the mill rate falls — the two move independently, and a town can lower the mill rate while your bill still goes up.

Appealing it

If your assessment is wrong, you appeal to the town’s Board of Assessment Appeals. The filing deadline is generally February 20 following the October 1 assessment date, and it is a hard deadline — miss it and you wait a year. You are arguing that the town’s valuation exceeds 70% of what the property would actually sell for, which means bringing comparable sales, not a complaint about the mill rate. Confirm the current deadline and procedure with your assessor’s office; the process is standardized but the calendar can shift.

Shop the insurance

You are not locked into the carrier you bound at closing. Because the premium is paid automatically out of escrow, most people never look at it again while it drifts upward. Connecticut homeowners premiums rose roughly 9.6% in 2023 and 13.5% in 2024 CT. A competing quote every 24 months is one of the few levers you control directly.

Electricity

Connecticut had the second-highest average residential electric bill in the United States in 2024, at roughly $200 per month, behind only Hawaii. The national average was about $144 CT. Standard Service supply rates reset every January 1 and July 1, and supply is only about half the bill — delivery charges make up the rest. Treat electricity as a major line item here, not a rounding error.

Heat

Roughly a third of Connecticut homes still heat with oil, which makes fuel choice one of the largest swings in a household budget. As planning ranges for a typical single-family home: heating oil runs about $3,500–$5,500 per year, a natural gas furnace about $1,600–$2,900, and a cold-climate heat pump about $1,400–$2,800 CT. Electric resistance heat is the most expensive option.

Fuel prices are the most volatile figure in this guide — heating oil in particular can swing more than 50% year over year on a hard winter. Check the current EIA Connecticut weekly price before relying on any annual estimate rather than trusting a single snapshot, including the ranges above.

Water, sewer, and septic

Municipal water runs roughly $60–$120 per month depending on provider and usage, with sewer billed separately by the local authority CT. On well and septic you trade those bills for maintenance: pump the septic tank about every three years at $520–$560 per visit, and budget for a well pump roughly every fifteen years.

Insurance

Average Connecticut homeowners premiums run about $2,200 per year on a typical single-family dwelling CT, but the spread is wide and geographic. A shoreline town can run 50% higher than an inland town on an otherwise comparable home. See the insurance chapter for what drives that.

Condo common charges

Typically $200–$400 per month in Connecticut, higher in amenity communities and in lower Fairfield County CT. The number that matters more is the reserve balance. Underfunded reserves are how a $300 monthly charge becomes a $12,000 special assessment for a roof. Ask for reserve study and assessment history before you buy, not after.

Seasonal services

Snow removal runs roughly $30–$100 per storm for the first six inches, or $200–$600 for a seasonal contract. Lawn care runs $50–$100 per visit, or $300–$1,000+ for an annual program CT. Optional if you do it yourself — but budget it if you won’t.

The pattern

Cheap, visible, exterior work wins. A garage door, an entry door, and siding all return more than they cost in New England. Expensive interior additions lose roughly half. Nothing in the top of that table is a project anyone posts about — and nothing at the bottom is a project anyone regrets living with. Those are two different questions.

Note also how volatile the middle of the list is: heat pump conversion returned over 100% nationally in 2023 and dropped to 66% in 2024. Re-check any single figure before you make a decision on it.

Over-improving

An appraiser values your home against the neighborhood. A $160,000 kitchen in a street of $400,000 houses does not create a $560,000 house. There is a ceiling on any given block, and money spent above it is spent for your own enjoyment, not your equity.

Permits

Pull them. Unpermitted work surfaces at appraisal and again at resale, and the cost of retroactively permitting finished work is far higher than permitting it up front. Be aware that a permit generally puts the project on the assessor’s radar — finishing a basement can raise your assessment. That’s a real cost to weigh, not a reason to skip the permit.

Hiring the contractor

In Connecticut, home improvement contractors must be registered with the Department of Consumer Protection, and you can verify a registration online before you sign anything. Registration also matters because it connects to the state’s Home Improvement Guaranty Fund, which exists for homeowners harmed by a registered contractor. Get the contract in writing, avoid large deposits up front, and don’t make the final payment until the work is finaled.

Paying for it

Cash, HELOC, home equity loan, cash-out refinance, or a renovation loan such as an FHA 203(k) or Fannie Mae HomeStyle that finances the improvements into the mortgage itself. Which one fits depends on how much equity you have, what your current rate is, and whether the work is happening at purchase or years later. Worth a conversation before you commit to a structure — the wrong one on a large project is expensive for a long time.

Replacement cost vs. actual cash value

Replacement cost pays what it costs to rebuild today. Actual cash value pays that minus depreciation. On a 20-year-old roof, that difference is most of the check. Know which one you have — and specifically whether your policy carries a roof-surfacing ACV endorsement, which converts just the roof to depreciated value. Those are increasingly common and easy to miss.

Dwelling coverage is not market value

Your dwelling limit should reflect the cost to rebuild the structure, which has nothing to do with what you paid or what the land is worth. Construction costs have moved faster than most policy limits since 2020. Underinsurance is the quiet failure mode here.

Endorsements worth asking about

• Ordinance or law — pays to rebuild to current code, not to the code in force when the house was built. In a state with Connecticut’s housing stock, this matters more than almost anything else on the list.
• Water backup — sewer and drain backup is excluded from a standard policy.
• Service line — covers the buried water, sewer, and electrical lines from the street to the house, which are your responsibility and are not otherwise covered.
• Umbrella — excess liability above your home and auto limits. Cheap, and close to mandatory once you own a rental.

Shoreline properties

Coastal Connecticut carries hurricane deductibles expressed as a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat dollar amount — commonly 1% to 5%, with the higher figures applying closest to the water. On a $600,000 dwelling limit, a 5% deductible is $30,000 out of pocket. These typically trigger only on a declared hurricane with sustained winds at or above 74 mph in Connecticut, but the exact trigger language is policy-specific and worth reading. Homes that can’t find coverage in the standard market may end up with the Connecticut FAIR Plan, the insurer of last resort.

Flood is separate

A homeowners policy does not cover flood. Ever. That’s a separate policy, and it matters inland along river corridors as well as on the shoreline — being outside a mapped flood zone means your lender won’t require it, not that water can’t reach you.

When not to file a claim

Small claims sit on your loss history for years and can lead to nonrenewal or a surcharge at a moment when the market has few alternatives. If the damage is close to your deductible, paying out of pocket is often the cheaper decision over a five-year horizon. Ask your agent to talk it through before you file, not after.

Getting rid of PMI on a conventional loan

Private mortgage insurance on a conventional loan is not permanent, and the rules are written in your favor. Under the federal Homeowners Protection Act, you can request cancellation once your balance reaches 80% of the original value, and the servicer must automatically terminate it at 78% based on the original amortization schedule, provided you’re current. There’s also a midpoint termination if you somehow reach the halfway mark of the loan term without hitting either threshold.

The part people miss: many servicers will consider cancellation based on the current appraised value rather than the original purchase price, subject to their own seasoning requirements. In a market that has appreciated, that can remove PMI years earlier than the amortization schedule would. It costs an appraisal fee and a phone call. For a lot of borrowers this is the highest-return hour of paperwork in the first five years of the loan.

FHA is different

For most FHA loans originated after June 2013 with a low down payment, the mortgage insurance premium lasts the life of the loan. It does not fall off at 78%, and no appraisal will remove it. The only exit is refinancing into a conventional loan once you have the equity and credit to qualify. If you bought with FHA, this is the specific thing to revisit as your equity grows — it changes the refinance math substantially, because you’re not just chasing a rate, you’re eliminating a permanent monthly charge.

Refinance math

Ignore rules about how many points the rate must drop. The question is the breakeven: divide the total cost of the refinance by the monthly savings, and that’s how many months you must stay for it to have been worth doing. If you’re moving in three years and the breakeven is forty months, the answer is no regardless of how good the rate looks.

Also watch the reset. Refinancing a loan you’ve paid on for seven years back into a new 30-year term lowers the payment while extending the debt. Sometimes that’s exactly right. Sometimes a shorter term at a slightly higher payment is the better deal and nobody offered it.

HELOC vs. home equity loan vs. cash-out

A HELOC is a revolving line at a variable rate — flexible, good for staged work, and exposed to rate movement. A home equity loan is a fixed second mortgage — predictable, good for a known lump sum. A cash-out refinance replaces your first mortgage entirely, which is a poor trade if your existing rate is well below market. If you’re sitting on a 3% first mortgage, a second lien almost always beats a cash-out.

Recasting

Less known and occasionally the right answer: pay a lump sum toward principal and ask the servicer to re-amortize the loan over the remaining term. Your rate and term stay put, your payment drops. Not every loan permits it and there’s usually a small fee, but it accomplishes what people mistakenly try to accomplish by refinancing out of a good rate.

What you can deduct, and why it may not matter

Mortgage interest and property taxes are deductible only if you itemize, and the deduction for state and local taxes is capped. In a high-tax state, that cap does real work — plenty of Connecticut homeowners find the standard deduction still beats itemizing. Run it, don’t assume it.

The Connecticut property tax credit

Connecticut offers a credit against state income tax for property taxes paid on a primary residence or motor vehicle, subject to income limits that change periodically. Worth confirming the current year’s parameters with your preparer.

The capital gains exclusion

When you sell a primary residence, you can generally exclude up to $250,000 of gain if single and $500,000 if married filing jointly, provided you owned and lived in the home for at least two of the five years before the sale. This is one of the largest tax benefits available to an ordinary household, and it is why the two-year mark matters if you’re thinking about selling early.

Keep the receipts — basis tracking

Your gain is measured against your basis: what you paid, plus capital improvements, minus certain adjustments. Every improvement you make raises your basis and lowers your eventual taxable gain — but only if you can document it. Start a folder on day one and put every contract, invoice, and permit in it. A homeowner who renovates for twenty years and keeps nothing hands the IRS a larger number than they owe. This connects directly to the upgrades chapter: the receipts you keep there pay off here.

On the sale side

Connecticut charges a conveyance tax on the sale price at both the state and municipal level, typically paid by the seller. Factor it into net proceeds when you model a sale.

Security deposits

Connecticut caps residential security deposits at two months’ rent, and at one month for tenants aged 62 and over. You are also required to pay the tenant interest on the deposit annually, at a rate set by the state Department of Banking. The deposit is the tenant’s money that you are holding, not additional rent, and the rules on withholding and returning it are strict.

Source of income is a protected class

Connecticut prohibits housing discrimination based on lawful source of income, which includes housing vouchers. “No Section 8” in a listing is illegal here. New landlords get this wrong constantly because it is legal in many other states. Add it to the federal and state protected classes you already can’t screen on.

Lead paint

Federal disclosure rules apply to any pre-1978 rental. Connecticut layers additional requirements on top, particularly where a child under six resides. Given the age of the state’s housing stock, assume this applies to you and confirm the current requirements rather than assuming the federal pamphlet is sufficient.

Local registration

Several Connecticut cities — New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport among them — require rental property registration and periodic inspection. Check with the city before your first tenant, not after a complaint.

Where to read more

Start with the Connecticut Judicial Branch Law Libraries’ guide to landlord/tenant law, which is organized by topic and links to the relevant court forms. If you want the primary source, the statutes themselves are in Title 47a — Landlord and Tenant; Chapter 830 covers the landlord-tenant relationship and Chapter 832 covers summary process.

Self-manage or hire out

Property management typically runs 8–10% of collected rent plus a leasing fee for placing a tenant. Self-managing saves that and costs you the calls. The honest test is whether you will actually screen properly, document properly, and follow the statutory process when it goes wrong — because the cost of doing those badly dwarfs the management fee.

Reserves for a rental are different

In addition to the capital reserve from the replacement schedule, budget for vacancy and for turnover — paint, cleaning, flooring, and the leasing cost of finding the next tenant. Turnover is the expense that owners consistently underestimate, because it doesn’t appear in any month until it appears all at once.

Call the servicer early

Loss mitigation options — forbearance, repayment plans, loan modification — are far more available to a borrower who calls before missing payments than to one who surfaces four months in. Servicers have dedicated loss mitigation departments and documented procedures. Use them at the first sign, not the last.

Connecticut’s foreclosure mediation program

Connecticut foreclosure is judicial, and the Judicial Branch operates a foreclosure mediation program that brings the homeowner and lender to the table with a neutral mediator. It has real deadlines tied to the court file, so if you are served, read the paperwork immediately and get counsel. Do not let the response window pass.

Insurance claims

Document before you clean up. Photograph everything, keep damaged materials until the adjuster has seen them, and keep a written log of every conversation. If you are displaced, your policy’s loss of use coverage pays for temporary housing — many people never claim it because they don’t know it’s there.

Contractor disputes

If a registered Connecticut contractor takes your money and fails to perform, the Department of Consumer Protection handles complaints, and the Home Improvement Guaranty Fund exists for exactly this. It only helps if the contractor was registered — which is the practical reason to verify registration before signing rather than after.