Susie Skog knows Lake Norman Real Estate Inside Out

Having more meaningful relationships with friends both new and old is a great goal, and it can start with your conversations. Below are five tips for those of us frustrated with small talk.

Skip the weather. As tempting as it may be to springboard off the weather, this can lead you down the empty-conversation rabbit hole and into a twenty-minute dialogue about rain. Asking about almost anything else should yield more interesting results.

Think of base questions. So, what should you talk about, if not the weather? Come up with a short list of base questions you can turn to in a flash. If you’re talking to a stranger or new acquaintance, try “have you done any traveling lately?” or “are you reading any good books?” These more personal questions show genuine interest and will actually reveal something about your conversation partner.

Make eye contact. Regardless of what you’re discussing, work to maintain or at least occasionally create eye contact, which signals to your conversation partner that you’re listening; this can help forge intimacy.

Keep asking questions. An awkward lull in the conversation? Keep asking questions. If you know your convo partner well, turn to questions about their family or hobbies. If it’s a new acquaintance, ask them if they’ve checked out a specific restaurant you loved, or what they do for fun in the area.

Understand how to wrap up. Nothing is more uncomfortable than not knowing how to escape a conversation when it has run its course. A simple, “well it was great chatting with you,” should suffice, and is a lot less uncomfortable than floundering in social agony.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Do you need to put down 20 percent to buy a house?

Not necessarily. In fact, most buyers make lower down payments.

But putting down 20 percent or more does come with major perks.

A mortgage lender would consider you more financially stable and less risky.

That means you wouldnt need to pay for private mortgage insurance.

Youd receive lower interest rates, too, which could save you thousands of dollars over your loan period.

With a larger down payment, youd also likely stand out among your competition if a seller has multiple offers.

A 20 percent down payment isnt necessary, but if you can afford it, consider these upsides.

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Rain, the bride falling into a pool, a wedding cake falling over, and deposit money thats lost because the venue went out of business a week ago.

What do all of these have in common? Theyre all things that can go wrong at a wedding that can be covered by wedding insurance.

Some problems cant be fixed with money, but this type of insurance " also called special event insurance " can provide financial protection if a wedding has to be put off due to bad weather, natural disasters, death, illness or serious injury to key participants.

Insurance riders can also be added to the policy, covering things such as crashing cakes, a guest slipping and falling, or gifts were stolen.

Medical coverage can also be added to pay the medical expenses of anyone injured at a wedding. Also, personal liability coverage can be added to cover bodily injury or property damage caused by an accident during the wedding.

Wedding insurance prices range from $125 to $550 or so, depending on coverage. Policies usually have a specified maximum amount for each area covered, and a deductible applies.

The company WedSafe, for example, offers minimal coverage of $7,500, providing up to $1,000 for problems with photos, and $500 for professional counseling.

There are some things, however, that wedding insurance is unlikely to cover. Wedding rings may be covered, but an engagement ring probably wont be covered by insurance.

Wedding insurance also doesnt cover a change of heart by the bride or groom. If either person gets cold feet, youre both out of luck " financially and otherwise.

The good news is that you may not need wedding insurance if you or the site youre having the wedding at has enough insurance. Rental halls and other sites often have their own liability insurance, though they may require couples to have additional insurance.

Your homeowners insurance may cover you for liability if the wedding is taking place at your home, and it may cover losses away from home if you buy a rider.

Credit cards used to buy food for the reception, for example, may reimburse you if the food doesnt arrive. Auto insurance should cover any wedding day accidents. Trip insurance can cover a honeymoon.

I hope you found this information helpful. Please contact me for all your real estate information needs today!

Published with permission from RISMedia.

If you have a sign in your front yard warning burglars that you have a home alarm system in place, you could be attracting a new breed of scammer. Thats the warning from the consumer watchdogs at Consumer Reports, who say scammers look for signs of existing installations, especially older-looking signs, then strike with one of two approaches:

1. Fraudsters claiming to be remote access technicians from your security company tell you, they noticed glitches in your system and they want to repair it. You let them in and they tamper with your system so they can return and burglarize your house.

2. Scammers claim your company has gone out of business and theyve taken over their accounts. They “examine” your system and convince you to buy new equipment. They take your money and are never heard from again.

The fact is that legitimate home security system companies never simply send a repairman unannounced to your door. Even if they telephone first, call them back to confirm. Similarly, if your monitoring company had gone out of business, you would have been notified by mail, not by telephone and certainly not by someone simply showing up.

Security experts say you can protect against these scams by taking the following steps:

• Get references. Ask any salesperson for names of previous customers, especially in your neighborhood, whom you can check with for legitimacy.
• Do a background check. Demand information about the contractors license: the number, state of registration, etc. Check them out before taking any action.
• Get it in writing. Insist that estimates for service or equipment be in writing, specifying who will install it, how it will be maintained and the cost"and pay by credit card, not with cash.
• Read the contract. Ensure that everything youve agreed to is written into the contract. Check the small print for any monitoring fees or terms you did not agree to.

Most importantly, remember that the FTCs cooling-off rule gives you three business days to cancel the deal if you sign the contract at home. You do not have to give a reason and you can change your mind even if the equipment has already been installed.

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Are you interested in the idea of minimalism, but unsure of where to start? Consider the following…

Get your family on board. You’re fighting a losing battle if only one person in your household wants to minimize. Chat with your spouse, kids or roommate about why a minimalistic home space is important.

Once everyone is on the same page, go room by room and itemize your belongings.

After youve taken stock of everything in your home, start the purging process. Begin by ditching duplicates to get you on the right track.

And, most importantly, aim for dual function furniture, like a kitchen island that opens into a dining room table.

Published with permission from RISMedia.