The idea of buying a home for the first time can seem like a daunting task with the pages of documents that will cross your path. It’s essential to stay on top of emails and requests from your real estate agent, escrow officer and lender in order to have the smoothest possible escrow and close your home purchase on time.

A bit of preparedness can make the process much less scary than it may initially seem, and well worth the labor in the end. Following this advice will help you with buying your first home.

The article is written by Beatrice de Jong for Forbes Online. You can read the full article here.