Between the accepted offer and the keys sits a thirty- to forty-five-day period in which almost everything that can go wrong with a home purchase actually goes wrong. This article explains what happens in that window and who is doing what. It covers the purchase agreement as a set of deadlines rather than a description of a sale, and the three contingencies that let a buyer walk away with their money. It explains what a title search actually looks for, why title insurance is the one insurance policy people buy without understanding, and what a survey adds. It walks through the federal disclosure documents that govern the loan, the rules on what may change between them, and the closing table itself. It covers the walk-through, the deed, recording, and the things that surface after closing. It closes with the fair housing and lending law that runs underneath the whole transaction.