Page 39 - Flathead Beacon // 4.27.16

ENERGIZING THOUGHTS DAVID BOPP FEELING TAXED?
BUILDING PERMITS
BUILDING PERMITS ISSUED IN KALISPELL AND WHITEFISH IN MARCH
SATISFACTION. A SENSE OF CON- tentment. Happiness. Life should be full of these things. Some- times we get them from inside ourselves, sometimes from our family and friends that we love, and sometimes we get them from other sources, which to be honest can be a little perverse.
I just received my tax refund checks and I de nitely had a feeling of satisfac- tion. Of course it is satisfying to get some money back that I earned. I think what made it especially gratifying is that I got extra money back for investing in myself and my family. I feel like I beat the sys- tem but I didn’t; I used the system as it is designed.
This is completely legit; not a scam, a pyramid scheme, or some y-by-night sure re invest now or you’ll regret it forever opportunity. This is simply the importance of energy e ciency to our country and the value attached to it in our tax system. I invested in my home last year to make it a little more com- fortable, energy e cient, and improve the value and I got 25 percent of it back. To be exact: $968. Woohoo! That is $968 I would have paid to the state of Mon- tana but instead is in my pocket.
That is almost $1,000 I did not have to pay in taxes because I chose to make my own home more e cient. Think about that for a minute. I reduced my monthly util- ity costs, improved the value of my home, improved the durability, and I am more comfortable. Yes, I had to invest my own money to do this but it is truly an invest- ment. For investing in myself I owed less to the government. Where else in life do you get opportunities to invest in yourself and have someone else help you out?
It actually gets better! Thanks to Congress the federal tax credit for upgrading an existing house has been reinstated for this year. What does this mean for you? If you choose to invest in yourself this year you can get even more
back next tax season than I did. For an upgrade of $4,000 for your future you could get back $1,300.
That doesn’t include any rebates from Flathead Electric for which you could qualify. That is over 25 percent of the cost of the project back in your pocket. Where else can you nd this type of return on your investment? If you buy a new car is anyone going to give you back a quarter of the cost? Can you ever resell it for more? If you take that money and put it in your home you have equity. Plain and simple. The upgrades may not be glamorous or add a lot of bling but it is smart to balance bling with invest- ments. We aren’t young forever.
I have been claiming tax credits for e ciency upgrades at my home for more years than I’d like to remember since I’ve been working on it for more years than I’d like to remember. I am complet- ing the last project right now; new siding with extra insulation for my walls. It was a 1980 house that I have brought into the 21st century. Along the way I have hap- pily taken advantage of thousands in tax credits and rebates.
Most people don’t go as far as I have. That is OK. You don’t have to spend $10,000 dollars or more to upgrade your home, invest in yourself and take advan- tage of the money you can get back. You could start as simply as one window or a whole houseful. Maybe a little more attic insulation for a few hundred dol- lars. Maybe a new high e ciency heat- ing system or an upgrade to a heat pump water heater. The important thing is to pick one thing and do it.
What are you waiting for? Not sure where to start? What would qualify? Wondering about nancing? We have answers to all of these and more. You just need to pick up the phone today and call your trusted energy advisor; Flat- head Electric. We are here for you and all our members.
KALISPELL
RECIPIENT: Ealr and Rachiel Flanigan; 1131 Fifth Ave. W
CONTRACTOR: Great Lakes Enterprises
FOR: Garage
VALUE: $12,000
RECIPIENT: Heartlander LLC; 140 Second Ave. W
CONTRACTOR: Flathead Construction Solutions FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $3,500
RECIPIENT: Silvermont Properties LLLP; 122 E Monture Rdg.
CONTRACTOR: Westcraft Homes
FOR: Single-family residence
VALUE: $260,000
RECIPIENT: Bighorn Development; 145 Battle
Ridge Dr.
CONTRACTOR: Bighorn Development FOR: Single-family residence VALUE: $200,000
RECIPIENT: Derrick Baker; 230 14 St. E CONTRACTOR: Creighton
FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $5,600
RECIPIENT: Northwest Healthcare Corporation; 75 Claremont St.
CONTRACTOR: Swank Enterprises
FOR: Repair
VALUE: $60,000
RECIPIENT: Flathead Family Properties LLC; 1338
Second St. W, Units A/B CONTRACTOR: Brevik Construction and Design, Inc.
FOR: Duplex
VALUE: $330,000
RECIPIENT: Kalispell Regional Healthcare; 210 Sunny View Ln.
CONTRACTOR: KRMC Woodshop
FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $60,500
RECIPIENT: Sjanet Erhard; 355 Westland Dr. CONTRACTOR: Gillette Construction Inc. FOR: Single-family residence
VALUE: $180,000
RECIPIENT: Gillette Construction; 450 Triple Creek Dr.
CONTRACTOR: Recipient
FOR: Single-family residence
VALUE: $160,000
RECIPIENT: Ron Terry Construction; 47 Muskrat Dr. CONTRACTOR: Recipient
FOR: Townhouse
VALUE: $128,000
RECIPIENT: Ron Terry Construction; 46 Muskrat Dr. CONTRACTOR: Recipient
FOR: Townhouse
VALUE: $128,000
RECIPIENT: Glacier Country Builders LLC; 150 Swede Trl.
CONTRACTOR: Recipient
FOR: Single-family residence
VALUE: $182,500
RECIPIENT: Hutton Ranch Plaza; 175 Hutton
Ranch Rd.
CONTRACTOR: J&K Project Mgmt Consultants FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $172,500
RECIPIENT: Alano Club of Kalispell, Inc.; 153 N Meridian Rd.
CONTRACTOR: Plevel Construction, Inc. FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $1,350
RECIPIENT: George Bland; 86 Fifth Ave. WN
CONTRACTOR: Kalispell Structural Moving Inc. FOR: Repair
VALUE: $18,000
RECIPIENT: Glacier Land and Development; 97 Financial Dr.
CONTRACTOR: D&H Builders
FOR: Apartments
VALUE: $600,000
RECIPIENT: Eureka Town Pump Inc.; 859 W Reserve Dr.
CONTRACTOR: Fire Guys Leasing
FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $11,200
RECIPIENT: Eureka Town Pump Inc.; 859 W
Reserve Dr.
CONTRACTOR: Fire Guys Leasing FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $4,000
RECIPIENT: Hutton Ranch Plaza; 175 Hutton Ranch Rd.
CONTRACTOR: Mahugh Fire and Safety FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $1,100
RECIPIENT: Flathead County; 40 11th St. W CONTRACTOR: Mahugh Fire and Safety FOR: Sprinkler
VALUE: $2,000
WHITEFISH
RECIPIENT: Richatti Investment Corporation; 205 Junes Way
CONTRACTOR: Meredith Construction
FOR: Building
VALUE: $850,000
RECIPIENT: Gary Stevens; 124 Central Ave.
CONTRACTOR: Lifehouse Design FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $18,000
RECIPIENT: Reich Partnership; 845 Wisconsin Ave.
CONTRACTOR: Randy Scott
FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $150,000
RECIPIENT: Alpine Enterprise LLC; 773 Aspen Grove St.
CONTRACTOR: Bridgewater Builders
FOR: Townhouse
VALUE: $500,000
RECIPIENT: Alpine Enterprises LLC; 769 Aspen
Grove St.
CONTRACTOR: Bridgewater Builders FOR: Townhouse
VALUE: $500,000
RECIPIENT: LIRA LLC; 56 W Second St. CONTRACTOR: Mindful Designs
FOR: Apartments
VALUE: $174,000
RECIPIENT: LIRA LLC; 54 W Second St. CONTRACTOR: Mindful Designs
FOR: Apartments
VALUE: $174,000
RECIPIENT: LIRA LLC; 52 W Second St. CONTRACTOR: Mindful Designs
FOR: Apartments
VALUE: $174,000
RECIPIENT: Patrice LaTourelle; 326 Lupfer Ave. CONTRACTOR: Steve Kinniburgh
FOR: Addition
VALUE: $43,300
RECIPIENT: Ron Breese; 432 Geddes Ave. CONTRACTOR: Owner
FOR: Addition
VALUE: $50,700
RECIPIENT: Aric and Katie Harris; 319 Sawtooth Dr.
CONTRACTOR: North Valley Const.
FOR: Single-family residence
VALUE: $300,000
RECIPIENT: Wendy Coyne; 1058 Meadowlark Ln. CONTRACTOR: Great Northern Homes
FOR: Single-family construction
VALUE: $407,000
RECIPIENT: Bill and Audrey Oglesby; 3071 River Lakes Dr.
CONTRACTOR: Matt Arave
FOR: Single-family residence
VALUE: $297,700
RECIPIENT: Barbara Mikolajczyk; 526 Scott Ave.
CONTRACTOR: Dan Thompson FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $3,000
RECIPIENT: Nora Kristensen; 514 Somers Ave. CONTRACTOR: C&G Construction
FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $1,200
RECIPIENT: Brian Alter; 1476 Barkley Ln. CONTRACTOR: Saurey Custom Builders FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $46,000
RECIPIENT: Tom and Anita Patton; 214 W Sixth St. CONTRACTOR: TBD
FOR: Remodel
VALUE: $2,000
David Bopp is energy services representative at Flathead Electric Cooperative
APRIL 27, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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