While there will always be factors outside control of any home seller, those factors that fall within their control sphere can proceed fluidly and smoothly when they take time to plan and think one step ahead.

By following these 10 easy but essential steps I can guarantee you home selling success!

1. Get free valuations and priceless advice.

Real estate agents will give you a home valuation for free because ultimately they hope you’ll engage their services when it comes to selling your home. Therefore use experience of a handful of local and trusted agents who are renowned for their selling success and invite them to come and value your home. Then, ask them their opinion on what if anything can be done to raise value of your property to maximum.

Real estate agents spend their entire professional lives examining properties, they know what attracts a buyer, what turns a buyer away and what can and should be done to a property to enable seller to get maximum returns from his property – request advice based on benefit of their experience. Most real estate agents will be happy to give you any tips they feel are applicable to your home because if you can increase value of it, they can raise price of it and if they are asked to represent you they will ultimately make more from sale! It is a symbiotic process!

This whole first step will arm you with two priceless facts – firstly you will know how much money you can work with when budgeting and planning for your next home. Secondly you will have a fair idea of what action you should and can take to ensure you get maximum price for your home thus allowing you to begin planning work that needs to be done.

2. Speak to your current mortgage lender.

You need to contact your current mortgage lender and ask them what penalties and fees you will incur for early repayment. Inform them that you are intending to sell your home and they will give you an up to date statement of amount remaining and exactly how much selling up is going to cost you in real terms.

3. Work out total selling, buying and moving costs.

To assist you with this step ask one of your valuation real estate agents to give you a break down of all local fees, taxes and costs you will likely incur when selling and buying. These will most likely include real estate agent’s fees, a lawyer’s fees, surveyor’s costs, potential gain taxation and also consider factoring in percentage of any annual taxes or charges on your home that you will have to pay.

Add to these expenses costs you will incur when buying a new home and remember to include any deposit, mortgage arrangement fees, survey costs and insurances.

And last but not least, get a rough quotation for removal costs which are easy to gauge based on size of your home and distance you are likely to move.

4. Work out your budget.

By taking original valuation sum given to you by real estate agent and then deducting all of totals from step 3 you will (hopefully) be left with a positive number! This is your clear profit, this is what you can then use towards your new home.

By Rhonda Erline

I own and sell custom made knives by Marvin Poole and I’ve learned good knife care is important to keep them looking and performing at their best.

Whether you are a collector who likes to admire your knives for their sheer design and beauty or a person who uses knife, taking proper care of your knife will ensure it will last many years to come.

Knife Use

Your knife was designed for a specific task and purpose. Do not use knife blade for something it was not designed for, by doing so, you could damage tip of blade which is weakest part and possibly damage knife edge, beyond repair. Most knife warranties will not cover knife repair due to misuse and abuse.

Knife Care

Regardless of what metal blade is made from it will rust if not properly cleaned. Stainless steel blades are more rust and stain resistant than other metals and need less care, but are not completely rustproof. The fastest way to corrode a high quality 440-C stainless steel blade is by leaving it exposed to sea water for a long period of time 24-48 hours or longer.

To prevent rust from forming on blade take time to clean your knife after every use with mild non abrasive soap in lukewarm water. The knife should then be thoroughly rinsed and dried from handle toward blade edge. If you still see stains on blade, you can spray a small amount of Windex on a clean soft cloth and wipe blade making sure to completely wipe or rinse it off. Marvin Poole uses Windex on his knives and finds that ammonia in Windex is an excellent cleaner, as well as acts as a disinfectant. A good metal polish such as Simichrome or Flitz will also easily remove stains.

Handles

The handle is an important part of knife and needs to be taken care of as well. With years of use, Stag will dry out and crack.

Ram horn has a tendency to dry out and crack in extreme heat. Do not leave it in a hot vehicle. It is best stored at room temperature.

Ivory cannot take extreme temperature changes. If you have knife stored in room temperature then take it out to use it in extreme cold or hot weather it will dry and crack. The only care needed for bone handles is to keep it clean.

Marvin Poole, a knife maker, who works with these types of handle materials suggests following care for above handle types:

The most important thing is to keep handles clean and store at room temperature. Apply a small amount of baby oil with a q tip to a Ram horn handle every 3 months, for Ivory handles every 6 months (small amount of baby oil will not hurt scrimshaw on handle) and on Stag handles every 8-12months could help to prolong stag. Always make sure you wipe off any excess oil.

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