SchillingBridge Cork & Tap House is hosting Evan Bartels on Thursday, January 11.  Stop by The Bridge located in the Town Center of Fallbrook in Lincoln, NE for live music from 7-10pm.  Enjoy a great dinner, glass of your favorite wine, craft beer or cocktail while relaxing and enjoying great company by your side.

Evan Bartels is a lot of things, but above all else he is a story teller.  He has dedicated his life to living in a way that encompasses all facets of the human experience and capturing those feelings and emotions in his songwriting.  The words that you can’t find when you wish only to know someone has felt what you are feeling…that’s what is put into his songs and they grab you and resonate in your bones.

Upcoming Live Music Thursdays at SchillingBridge Cork & Tap House:

• January 18: Ro Hempel
• January 25: The Wildwoods Duo
• February 1: Derek Dibbern
• February 8: Lloyd McCarter
• February 15: The Shineys
• February 22: Evan Bartels

Millennials are often labeled the renter generation. It turns out that’s a myth. Researchers have found that Millennials want to own a home. Today, more than one-third of Millennials are already homeowners, says the National Association of Realtors.Compared to previous generations, Fannie Mae research shows that while fewer Millennials are initially buying homes, they are accelerating their purchase activity as they get older. In fact, not only do Millennials want to own a home, they want to own multiple homes throughout their lifetimes. One study found that more than two-thirds of Millennials see their current home as just one step towards the home they eventually want. Millennials might just become the greatest home-owning generation of the last 100 years.

The vast majority of home buyers secure a mortgage to purchase a home. What you get when you buy a home is a title to that property, a legal document that gives you the right to possess that property.

To protect their investment – the mortgage – lenders require title insurance. Like any insurance, it’s designed to protect an investment from loss. Loss can be caused by a “defect” with the title, which means there could be an issue with who really owns the property you purchased.

Homeowners themselves are protected by an Owner’s Title Policy, which insures your equity in the property. Title insurance makes sure that you don’t lose money because of a defect.

While title defects are rare and might not show up for months or years, they can result in the loss of the property or an expensive lawsuit. Title experts say defects can include forged deeds or wills, undisclosed missing heirs, errors in public records or tax reports, mistakes in recording legal documents, and more.

Title insurance is designed to give both lenders and home buyers long-term piece of mind. Like any insurance policy, you hope you never have to use it. But if you ever do, you’ll be glad you were insured.

A home warranty program protects your home by replacing or repairing items that are not covered by your homeowners insurance. When a home’s mechanical systems fail – such as the central air conditioning or heating system – or major appliances break down, a home warranty limits your maximum out-of-pocket expenses for each repair.

When a breakdown occurs, you simply contact the home warranty firm and they contract a local services firm. The local services firm will arrange an appointment to provide either a repair or replacement.

There are two payment components to a home warranty protection plan: an annual flat fee (differs by state, but ranges from $300 to $500 a year), plus a small service fee (typically about $75-$125) for each reported repair. Home warranty plans and their coverage will differ, so read the contract terms carefully to avoid future surprises.

The holiday season is known for more than setting record sales; it’s also known for an increase in hospital visits. Holiday decorating sends 200 people a day to emergency rooms. You can avoid the stitches, slings and burns by following these steps from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:

Tree ornaments: Hang the breakable ones out of the reach of children, and avoid trimmings that resemble treats if you have little ones.

Candles: Always keep burning candles in sight, and away from places where they can be knocked over or set items on fire.

Check fresh-cut trees: You can prevent a tree fire by checking for freshness. Pull on the needles – they should not easily come off your hand, and the branches should not break when they bend.

The Fallbrook Kiwanis Club is hosting a Gift Wrapping Party on Sunday, December 17, 2017 from 3:30-5:30 pm at Toast in the Fallbrook Town Center.  Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online or at the door.

Want to join in on the fun and support the Kiwanis efforts in “adopting” a family for Christmas?  Here’s what you need to do: Buy a ticket and bring your presents to Toast.  The Fallbrook Kiwanis group will provide all the supplies to get everything wrapped.  This includes a variety of nice papers, tissue, tags, ribbons, boxes, bags, scissors and tape.  Plus…everyone receives light appetizers as part of their entry.

• What: Gift Wrapping Party. You bring your presents and supplies are provided.
• Where: Toast
• When: Sunday, December 17 from 3:30-5:30pm
• Tickets: $30
• Ticket Includes: Wrapping supplies and light appetizers
• Questions: Contact Carrie Derner at 402-617-0940 or carriederner@gmail.com

Proceeds from the party benefit the club’s efforts in “adopting” a family for Christmas.  This is the second year the Fallbrook Kiwanis has worked with surrounding elementary schools to adopt families in need.  Each year a social worker or principal helps collect a wish lists and basic needs for each family.  In addition to donors who help fulfill the wish lists,  local businesses have also donated meals.

SchillingBridge Cork and Tap House will be hosting Andrea von Kampen: A Christmas Special on Friday, December 22, 2017.  Start your Christmas weekend with a festive evening filled with lots of beautiful holiday-inspired acoustic music performed by this incredible local talent.

Nebraska-based Andrea von Kampen has quickly established herself in the recording studio and on the road.  Andrea has shared the stage with Tall Heights, Esme Patterson, Gregory Alan Isakov, Dead Man Winter, John Moreland, Dead Horses, Gaelyn Lea, and more. She was featured as a finalist in NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, and won Eddie’s Attic Open Mic Night in Decatur, GA. Her recent midwest tour included a live session at Audiotree in Chicago.

Be sure to stop by SchillingBridge Cork and Tap House in the Fallbrook Town Center for this special night of dinner, drinks, and the wonderful vocals of Andrea von Kampen!

Holiday lights add luster to the winter season and help promote the holiday spirit. Here are three pro tips for working with holiday lights:

Start early: Don’t wait until the weather turns wet, icy, or cold. It’s easier and safer to work when the weather is mild. Even if you don’t hang your lights yet, you can prep: Install hooks and hangers and run extension cords now.

Create a map: Create a to-scale map with your home’s measurements to figure out how many light strands and extension cords you’ll need for each area. This will save you time next year as well if you use the same display.

Go all LED: Today’s LED holiday lights are brighter, longer lasting and more energy efficient. Plus, you’re less likely to blow a fuse since you can run many strands end-to-end.

Are you considering refinancing into a mortgage with a lower interest rate because it will reduce your monthly payment by $100 or more? You may save thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

However, you need to do this one exercise before you refinance: You need to factor in how many payments are left on your current home loan. If you don’t, a new loan with a lower interest rate might actually cost you more.

To double-check if you’ll actually save money, total your payments left on your current mortgage, then compare this against your new total payments. Keep in mind that this comparison assumes you’ll stay in a home for 30 years. For those who plan to stay in their homes, this is an important calculation and one many people forget.

It’s tempting for a first-time buyer to start shopping for a home without the help of a real estate professional, especially with the abundance of online information.

But why would a first-time home buyer go at it alone, when the seller usually pays the commission to the buyer’s agent from sale proceeds? While commissions are always negotiable, a buyer doesn’t pay anything extra.

Another compelling reason why first-time home buyers need the help of a professional is the complexity of a real estate transaction. It’s complicated. Real estate agents do this for a living, while buyers have other jobs.

Agents are experienced and trained to negotiate a sales contract, can help avoid missteps, know the local neighborhoods, and see red flags early in the process. They have the connections to home inspectors, septic or sewer experts, pest inspectors, as well as a list of local plumbers, electricians, and handymen for future repairs. Plus, if something does go wrong, first-time buyers will need the skills of an experienced professional to get things back on track.

The vast majority of people who have bought several homes and are familiar with the process still rely on a real estate agent, because they know that if something unexpected happens, they won’t have to fix it themselves.