Make sure to stay on top of your agent to stay on top of the seller's agent to actually do all of the work that you demand they do prior to closing. When we bought our house, the seller's agent kept telling ours that it had been done. We moved in to find out that not a single thing on the list they agreed to had been done. It took us 18 months to get it all done and we had to deal with putting up with the work while we lived there, though the sellers did pay for it.

Also, make sure your mortgage company actually stays on top of paying your insurances and taxes our of your escrow. I've had a couple of years where they just dropped the ball. I hate the bank that runs our mortgage, and they even are a local bank.