This guide covers a residential real estate transaction from listing or offer through recording and the problems that surface afterward. Part one covers the purchase agreement as a schedule of deadlines and the meaning of earnest money. Part two covers the three contingencies in operational detail, including what a general inspection does not include and how to frame an objection that actually gets resolved. Part three covers title: what the search looks for, how to read a commitment, what the two policies do, and what a survey adds. Part four covers the federal disclosure regime, the tolerance rules that require a lender to refund excess charges, and the prohibitions on kickbacks and required title insurers. Part five covers seller disclosures, including the federal lead-based paint requirements. Part six covers the walk-through, the closing table, and recording. Part seven covers the fair housing and fair lending law that runs underneath the whole transaction. Part eight covers what to do when things go wrong, before and after closing.