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So far I've learned a couple of things the hard way. Here's the list of my suggestions:
Join a club and seek advice in times of doubt. I joined Small Stuff. Small Stuff is a free email list dedicated to miniatures and dollhouses. They have over 1 thousand members from all over the world.
Don't use regular white glue on shingles or any other thin pieces of wood (no matter what the instructions tell you). I had to contend with individual shingles warping into semicircles. I would have saved myself a lot of trouble by using wood glue (which I believe is just thick white glue). Some parts will need contact cement, or some other glue that isn't water based.
Don't attempt furniture kits from Scientific Models without good tools and patience. I had an awful time with the one I bought until I threw out the instructions. Please don't misunderstand-- the kit probably wasn't the problem. There are many skillful crafters who pull this kind of thing off flawlessly; I'm just not one of them! I'm told that House of Miniature kits are much easier, but I haven't given them a try yet.
Don't use spray paint for the exterior walls. I thought I had a pretty good idea in spray painting the exterior walls. The instructions said to use oil-based paint to help keep them from warping, and spray paint was quick and painless on clean up. Unfortunately, I don't have any easy way to do touch up now. But I don't regret using spray paint for the white interior. It was a breeze.
Buy good tools. I've had nothing but frustration with the coping saw I bought for this project. I got what I paid for. It's hard enough cutting some of these pieces with a good tool. I'd go as far as to suggest spending a little extra money on a small miter-box to help get those angles right.
Spend extra time to precision fit wallpaper pieces. Keep the paper away from any edges that have to fit in a slotted piece of trim. I installed my wallpaper before putting up the walls. It has a few drawbacks (such as getting a little dirty from all the handling) but I'm pleased with my results.
Be creative with the instructions-- they don't always represent the best way to do something.
I'd suggest to anyone that they put as many of the windows as possible in before putting the walls up. I did one set of bay windows this way and found it a much more enjoyable experience than the windows I put in the finished walls. Also don't use any kind of super glue close to plastic as the fumes fog plastic.
Trial fit EVERYTHING. I can't count the number of times I saved myself pain by finding a problem before the parts involved were covered with glue.
Paint your roof to match the roofing before you put your roofing on. That way if there's any gaps in your roofing (and there will be!), they won't be noticeable.
Looking for more advice? Check out Anne Gerdes' What I Learned Building The Duracraft Heritage Kit