Money, legal & closing: the paperwork that makes it real

01The contract, and its escape hatches

The purchase-and-sale agreement (the P&S, or purchase contract) is the deal in writing: price, what's included, the key dates, and the contingencies that let a buyer walk without losing their deposit, typically financing, inspection and appraisal. Earnest money, a good-faith deposit, sits in escrow as the buyer's skin in the game.

Every date in that contract is a deadline with consequences. In Massachusetts and much of the Northeast, a real-estate attorney, often with a paralegal, reviews and negotiates the P&S before you sign, because once signed, it binds.

02Clear title, and who holds the money

Before ownership can change hands, someone runs a title search to confirm the seller actually owns the home free of surprises, old liens, unpaid taxes, easements, boundary problems. A title examiner does the digging; title insurance then protects against anything missed (an owner's policy protects you; the lender's protects the bank).

An escrow officer or the closing attorney holds the funds and documents and releases them only when every condition is met, so no one hands over money or keys on trust alone.

03Who actually runs the closing

It depends where you are. In Massachusetts and much of the Northeast, an attorney conducts the closing. In many other states, a title or escrow company does. Either way you may meet a notary signing agent who walks you through the signing, and on busier deals a transaction coordinator keeping every party and deadline in line.

04Closing costs, and the tax side

Closing costs are the fees on top of the price, lender fees, title, attorney, recording, plus prepaids like insurance and a property-tax escrow. Who pays what is partly local custom, partly negotiated. Expect transfer taxes and a proration of property taxes to the day of closing.

For anyone treating property as an investment, a real-estate CPA or bookkeeper keeps the numbers clean, a property-tax consultant can challenge an over-assessment, and a 1031-exchange intermediary can defer capital-gains tax when you roll into another investment property. More in Taxes & incentives.

05Closing day

On closing day you do a final walkthrough, sign a stack of documents, funds move, and the deed is recorded, the moment ownership legally changes. Deals slow down here for avoidable reasons: a last-minute title snag, a wiring delay, a walkthrough problem. Line up your attorney, funds and paperwork early, and never wire money on emailed instructions without confirming by phone. Closing-wire fraud is real.