5. Get a loan agreed in theory.

Now you have to approach a mortgage lender and work with him to determine exactly how much you can comfortably afford to borrow. He will take into account many factors but these will include amount you have as a down payment and amount you earn. Ultimately he will arm you with a budget with which you can now work when searching for your new home.

6. Begin searching for your new house.

Now you have a budget to work with you can begin exciting process of searching for a new home. It may seem dull to have to get all financial facts and figures in place before heading off to find that dream house, but by doing all ground work first you will be less likely to fall in love with an unsuitable, unaffordable home. You will not have set yourself up for a fall; you will once again have set yourself up for success.

7. Give your home a makeover!

Take advice given to you by real estate agents and get to work with repairs, renovations and heavy work needed to bring your house up to top of market.

8. Find best real estate agent.

Having already met and worked with real estate agents for valuation of your home get back in touch with your preferred agent and ask them to revalue and then market your home. If you are in doubt about which agent to choose speak to any friends, family and colleagues in your local area who have recently bought, sold or rented property through an agent and ask for personal recommendations. You need to feel comfortable with agent you choose to represent you, you need to make sure they will sell your house as quickly, efficiently, honestly and effectively as possible and that they are trust worthy to be left to show viewers around your home.

Once you choose your agent go through their entire marketing strategy for your home and make sure you are comfortable with their approach and that they are going to do everything required of them to assist you. Furthermore, ask them to revalue your home based on work you have done to it and any market movements that have occurred in interim.

9. Remember - first impressions count!

Now time has come for buyers to begin viewing your home. You have to go over every single aspect of your home with a very critical eye and consider what potential purchaser will make of every aspect. Their first impression of your home will be as they look at it from sidewalk, ensure outside of your home is as clean, tidy and well presented as possible and then walk through every room and garden and look at it with fresh eyes. What will a buyer’s eye be drawn to, beautiful proportions of room or dirty window and vase of dead flowers?

Because first impressions count so very much take time to consider every aspect of your home and then make time to clean, polish and present your home in very best light possible.

10. Be as flexible as possible.

If you can be quick to react to a viewing request and flexible when it comes to a contract completion date you will be doing everything within your power to enable your buyer. By remaining on top of upkeep of your home you should be able to say ‘yes’ to a viewing request at drop of a hat. And if you remain on top of your home search and are at least mentally prepared to move out swiftly – even if this means moving into rental accommodation for a short period – you will be doing absolutely everything within your power for home selling success.

Knife handles that are made from domestic wood ( wood within U.S. such as Birdseye Maple, Oak, Basswood, Walnut and Maple, etc), usually do not have their own oils and if not stabilized, may need a little extra care to keep them from drying out. There 3 ways I know of to help wood handles of this type.

Apply a light coating of furniture wax and a good hand rubbing which will help protect it from moisture.

Apply a small amount furniture polish with a moisturizer. I use a furniture polish that has a moisturizer and lemon oil. The polish cleans and gives wood some protection from water and stains.

Linseed Oil can also be use as a preservative on wood handles. Whatever you choose to use always wipe off excess.

Leather stacked handles can be cleaned with a all color saddle soap which gives it some protection against moisture. You may also preserved them with a good quality leather treatment such as mink oil, always wipe off excess oil or soap.

Synthetic handles (man made) such as Micarta, G10 and its variants also require little care other than good cleaning. These type of Knives can be placed in a dishwasher, although extreme care should be taken to make sure knife blade does not bang against other object as this could damage cutting edge.

Sheaths

Leather sheaths over a period of time get dirty and leather can dry out get cracks and splits and need to be cleaned. This is best done with a saddle soap (for all colors) or any good leather soap or mink oil. I find that using Kiwi Outdoor Saddle Soap periodically works real well. It cleans leather, keeps it supple and helps protect it from moisture. Periodical cleaning of sheath will ensure that it does not dry out and split. However, do not overdue leather oil products as this will cause your sheath to lose its molded form. If that happens, your sheath will not securely hold knife.

Sharpening

Every knife blade with prolong use will need sharpening. More people are hurt from using a dull knife; more pressure on knife is needed to cut and this extra pressure at times cause knife to slip. Keep you blade well honed. Probably most difficult part of honing your blade is maintaining correct angle. There are many good sharpening systems out there that will help you and make it easy for you to get correct angel. Lansky sharpening system is easy to use and helps get correct honing angle. It also does a wonderful job of sharpening. Marvin Poole uses this system to sharpen dull knives.

Storing

Always make sure your knife is clean then store it at room temperature. Do not store your knife in a leather sheath, remember chemicals used in tanning sheath can cause stains and rust on your blade. It’s easier if you store your knife in same location as sheath, that way when you are ready to use it everything is right there and ready to go.

To see Marvin Poole custom made knives visit: Sage Creek at http://www.sagecreek1.com

Rhonda Erline is the exclusive internet seller for the knife maker Marvin Poole. You can view Mavin Poole custom made knives at Sage Creek (http://www.sagecreek1.com)