From Homescape

When my friend John started looking at buying his first condo last year, he felt like a fish out of water. John is no dummy. He’s an intelligent and financially savvy Gen Xer. While he knows how to invest and save his money, he was clueless when it came to the actual home buying process. John is like many first time home buyers. In the age of the Internet it’s not hard to stay informed, but it gets mind-boggling to sift through all the garbage floating out there on the Web. What John ended up doing, which he now regrets, is he relied too much on his agent to keep him informed.

Don't get me wrong, agents can offer a wealth of knowledge, but the home buying and selling process is not a spectator sport, and the more detached you become from the process, the more likely you will get burned.

I recently came across an article from real estate broker and author Dian Hymer, who shared some very intuitive advice: “To ensure that you have a successful home purchase or sale, resolve to stay involved in the process from beginning to end.”

Hymer is author of “House Hunting, The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers” and “Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer’s Guide.” Hymer says some agents think they’re doing their clients a favor by insulating them from bad news. They hope to solve the problem so that the buyer or seller isn’t bothered. Although the agent’s intentions might be good, they are ill conceived.

“There’s usually a lot at stake, so it’s worthwhile to make time to stay involved in the outcome of your real estate transaction” Hymer writes. “One reason buyers and sellers shrink into the woodwork as soon as the contract is signed, is that they feel they’re out of their element. They have little or no real estate experience and think it’s best to leave the heavy lifting to people who know what they’re doing.”

Hymer’s home buying and selling tips:

Tracking dates
A good way to stay on top of your transaction, regardless of your level of expertise, is to ask your agent to provide you with a summary of the critical details of your purchase contract as soon as possible, after the final contract is signed. The summary should include key contract dates for such things as when the buyer’s deposit is due, contingency deadlines (for financing, inspections, the sale of another property, etc.), a final walk-through of the property and the closing date.

It should also include the names and contact information of the people involved in the transactions, such as the buyers and sellers, their real estate agents, attorneys, the closing agent, inspectors and the buyer’s mortgage broker or loan agent. A synopsis of who pays for what (transfer taxes, mortgage fees, etc.) is also useful.

Paper trail
Learning from his own experience, John now tells friends looking to buy a home to keep copies of every written correspondence between the parties involved, such as letters, e-mails, and contract amendments sent to your attorney. Create your own timeline of events if you can.

The closing
Enter the key contracts dates on your calendar and follow up with your agent on the critical deadlines as they come due.

What other tips do you have for home buyers or sellers to keep them more involved in the process?