In the real-estate world, we spend a lot of time talking about agent duties — what agents should and shouldn't do to comply with laws and ethics. We don't hear nearly as much about buyer and seller duties, and they are every bit as important. Simply put, your real-estate transactions will be more successful and less stressful if you treat your agent in the same way you want to be treated.

Get Your Finances in Order

Talk to a lender to find out exactly what types of financing are available to you. Don't waste everyone's time looking at listings that are out of your price range unless you feel a property can be bought for much less than its asking price. If you're preapproved for a loan, you'll feel much more confident about making an offer, and your lender will have given you a close estimate of how much you can expect to pay in closing costs — an important consideration when you make an offer.

Be Clear and Honest

The type of information you give a real-estate agent depends on your relationship with the agent, but no matter what the relationship is, be honest. If you're working with multiple seller's agents, let them know so that their efforts don't overlap. It's a waste of everyone's time and will ultimately create hard feelings. You plan to be in this game for a while, so let everyone know you are honest and sincere.

It also helps if you're able to communicate what you need and want. The perfect property may not be out there. Do you want to wait for it, or do you want to compromise and find something that you can alter with a little work? Determine which qualities are most important to you, and share the list with your agent. An agent can't create something that doesn't exist, but most of them can do a pretty good job of finding properties with the majority of your must-haves.

Cooperate with Your Agent

Don't blindly follow an agent's directives, but do try to cooperate. If contracts must be signed, don't let them linger. Your offer may be discarded if you wait too long to deliver documents or promised deposit money. A better offer could be presented at any time — can you guess whose unsigned contract is void when that happens?

Don't refuse to enter a property just because you don't like its exterior. When you have an appointment, you should at least take a quick walk through the property. It's rude to drive away, and it creates hard feelings among agents. It's in your best interests if your agent is on good terms with the other agents in town.

Don't assume you can accurately judge a listing by looking at an MLS sheet. Your agent has probably been to the property and knows that the photo or description is terrible and not a true representation of the property. Choose some of the properties you want to see, but trust your agent to choose some, too. You'll be surprised by how many properties that you would have discarded are actually good finds.

Your agent will likely go to the home inspection, but you should attend too, if possible, so that the inspector can show you problem areas and talk with you personally about them. Being there to ask the inspector questions gives you a much better feel for which repair issues are important and which ones are minor. Some things sound much worse on paper than they truly are. Hearing about them secondhand through your agent simply isn't as informative and forces the agent to describe something that may be out of his field of expertise.

Stay on Top of Closing Issues

Handle all issues required for your loan. Choose your closing agent if that applies in your area. Work with your agent to make sure everything is ready for closing, such as switching utilities and obtaining insurance binders. Your agent will help, but those items are your responsibility.

Real-estate closings don't just happen. They happen because at least one person is following through, usually on a daily basis. You'll find that the road to closing is a lot smoother if everyone does his share of the work.