CBS Moneywatch reviewed a book by Ilyce Glink called "Buy, Close, Move  In" that details some of the most overlooked items that can delay the  purchase of a home, cause it to cost considerably more, or worse yet,  kill  the deal. The four outstanding ones, in my  opinion are: 

1. Not understanding the new rules. The author says that the market  has changed in the past 5 or 10 years. We just got a brand new contract  this year, let alone changes in the laws.


2. Your team. The two most important people in your life  (after you)  are your realtor and your lender. And you should have a full  consultation with each before looking at your first home. This alone  will save you countless hours and untold frustration.


3. Not responding to your lender's requests. This can delay the loan's  funding, putting you beyond the deadline for the close of escrow, and  possibly into having to pay per diems. Your lender is on your team and  is there to help you. If s/he needs to talk with you, then by all means  make yourself available.


4. Believing what you see/read on the internet. How many clients have  challenged me on something because they saw it so on the internet? While  your realtor can claim expertise, he or she certainly doesn't "know it  all," but the internet is a place full of opinions. Even expert home  searching sites are not accurate. There is no requirement for them to be  so. Many times clients will call me to ask about a property they saw  there and I have to tell them that it is already sold and that the sale  may not be reflected there for another two weeks or so. I don't  discourage my clients from looking on the internet, but I ask them to  check the home's status with me first before planning on a showing.

  For more detail, read excerpts from the book in CBS MoneyWatch.

While the real estate market has slowed, there are many reasons for this  and cause to be optimistic. The slowdown, especially in Southern  California, can in a small part be explained by extreme weather swings,  discouraging going out and seeing homes. Unusual for this time of year,  it has rained off and on for the past three weeks. In October? And in  between times we've witnessed record heat.   Combine that with the heavy political advertising with increasingly  negative claims, stock market jitters, and with the exception of the  Chilean minors, no good news, and it's no wonder people delayed their  home search.
    
Southern California Real Estate Depends on...    People being employed and able to buy a home. This is the most critical  part of the equation. And the news is encouraging. The fact of the  matter is that in October 151,000 jobs were added to the rolls. It's a  far cry from the millions that we need, but it's a number to the  positive, it is not paltry and it is not temporary government Census  jobs.    When you consider that people are still getting married, getting  divorced, relocating and all the other factors that influence in buying a  home, then the activity (and opportunity) will still be there. What's  more is that the worst of the recession is over, despite the dire predictions the naysayers have been making since the worst of the  recession. Here is the latest from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  

This is great news. For the second month in a row sales are up. Your  half-empty glass crowd will say that it's down from a year ago, but in  today's economy each year is a different dynamic. Yesterday we saw that  there were over 150,000 jobs added. Now we see increased home sales. We  are slowly recovering from what is the worst recession most of us has  ever witnessed. Combine that with the fact that the news on broadcast TV  has been all but canceled (except for sensationalist or embarrassing  celebrity stories), and the population, even without accurate  information about real estate, is still moving forward. And for each  home sold forty other industries are  activated. Yes, we need to be cautious, wise with our spending and  mindful of work. Chances are we always should be. But there is plenty of  room for optimism. RISMedia carries the story.