Buying a house is a journey that ends at the closing table, with a mountain of papers that most people don't read, and never will.

But sometimes, the trip doesn't end where it should.

Take the case from a couple of years ago, when a California closing agent called the lender to say that he couldn't attend the scheduled settlement because he'd been arrested on the way there.

Or the 2013 closing in Texas that had to be adjourned because none of the participants, aside from the settlement agent, spoke English, and he could not communicate with them.

Or the instance in Massachusetts, when the closing attorney passed away two days before escrow and no one informed the other parties. The borrower showed up, the seller showed up and the title company rep showed up -- but not, of course, the deceased attorney.

Anomalies, you say? Au contraire. Andrew Liput, CEO of analytics firm Secure Insight, has been collecting these and other closing-time tidbits for a decade. And he swears they're all true.

But mortgage fraud, which often happens at the closing table, is no laughing matter. The FBI estimates that 13 percent of all mortgage fraud occurs at the settlement table, and Liput estimates around $650 million in lender or borrower money is lost because of it. Not a lot of money in the overall mortgage industry, perhaps, but as Liput eloquently puts it, "not chump change, either."

And it's not just dollars and cents at stake: People run the risk of having their personal information compromised.

"Closing is a mystery to most people," says Liput. "They show up excited, but they don't have a clue to what's going on. It's an environment that's a good breeding ground for fraud."

The message, then, is to keep your antennae alert to anything that might seem out of the ordinary. Stay vigilant to avoid falling prey to con artists. Liput has plenty of tales of fraud in his hip pocket to serve as warnings:

-- Last year, an Alabama man was convicted in a $15 million mortgage fraud scheme. During the investigation, it was discovered that not only did the perp orchestrate the massive fraud with the assistance of several professionals, he also contracted with another individual to kill the straw buyer. Testimony showed that the "hit man for hire" lured the straw buyer to a wooded area and shot him multiple times. Fortunately, the victim survived.

-- A Maryland title agent was sentenced to 51 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in losses of more than $4.8 million.

-- In 2002, a title agent's license to issue title insurance policies was revoked after she was convicted of theft for fraudulently endorsing checks at the title attorney's office where she worked. Despite her conviction, she worked at another title agency from 2007 until 2010, this time as a manager -- and once again engaged in fraud.

-- A settlement agent from Tennessee operated for three decades without the required state business license, only obtaining one when finally confronted with evidence of the state law. He maintains that no one had ever asked him about it in 30 years of practice.

-- A Virginia attorney was using his personal, husband-and-wife joint checking account as his trust account, and had been doing so for more than 20 years. Lenders and warehouse banks were happily wiring funds into that account without ever verifying the account's type or its owner. Even more amazing, regulators never performed an audit.

-- In California, a mobile notary who was being sent to close loans in customers' homes was on the nationwide registered sex-offender list. Lenders had no idea their clients were welcoming this person into their homes. Neither did the company that hired the individual, because it failed to conduct complete background checks on its notaries.

-- A Maryland-area title company owner, who was closing loans for large national lenders, had been previously convicted of wire fraud and had his licenses revoked. Neither the lenders nor the title underwriter for whom the agent wrote title insurance was aware of his past, or the fact he was unlicensed.

-- In 2012, an employee at a major title company was charged with seven counts of grand theft and five counts of money laundering for his role in embezzling $469,000 for gambling purposes. This wasn't some run-of-the-mill title agent: He was the company's vice president, as well as its in-house counsel.

If your builder says he can construct your new home in three months, don't believe it.

According to 2014 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the average completion time for a single-family house is twice that. And that doesn't count the 23 days it takes to obtain the necessary government approvals.

If you are building the house yourself, it takes even longer: 11.5 months, according to Uncle Sam's count. But if the house is being built by a contractor on your lot, it takes about eight months to be completed.

As noted, these are 2014 figures. It's very likely that it takes even longer to build a house today, because builders continue to have trouble finding the craftsmen needed to do the work. Indeed, the shortage of subcontractors has become acute in many parts of the country, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

On average, 22 different subcontractors are used to build a typical house, NAHB says. When asked about 23 different jobs, builders reported "always" subcontracting a sizable chunk of them. Concrete flatwork, masonry, drywall, fireplaces, plumbing, electrical and carpeting, among others, all received "always subcontract" responses in the 90-percent range.

About two-thirds of builders reported that they subcontract 75 percent of the construction cost of an average single-family house. Any way you slice it, that's a lot of work -- and it likely won't be done in three months.

Not long after revered reverse-mortgage spokesman Fred Thompson passed away, Danny Glover has signed on as the latest celebrity to push the products.

The 69-year-old actor can be seen on various marketing materials, as well as the Facebook and LinkedIn pages for USA Reverse, an online lead generator. The company aims to help people understand Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, and also allows would-be borrowers to compare various reverse-mortgage lenders.

Glover, best known for the "Lethal Weapon" films and "The Color Purple," joins a long list of entertainers who have promoted reverse mortgages: Henry Winkler (aka Fonzie of "Happy Days"), James Garner, Pat Boone, Barbara Eden (Jeannie of "I Dream of Jeannie") and Robert Wagner. Glover is the first African-American to represent a reverse-mortgage company.

You've heard of "zombie homes" -- those distressed properties abandoned by financially strapped owners, but not yet foreclosed on by lenders.

But how about "zombie debt"?

That's the term coined by the Federal Trade Commission to cover bills you think are dead, gone and forgotten, but that somehow spring back to life. Zombie debt can wreak havoc with your finances, and especially with your ability to buy a house.

We're talking about debt you settled with a company or debt collector; debts that were discharged in bankruptcy; time-barred debts that are past the statute of limitations; debts that no longer show up on your credit report. Zombie debt can also include debts you never actually owed, such as those resulting from identity theft.

Before paying any of these bills, take a deep breath and look at them carefully. They could be fake, and the bill collector could be a con artist, so make sure you recognize them as your own. If they don't look familiar, obtain a free copy of your credit report -- annualcreditreport.com -- to see if the debt is listed there.

If the "walking dead" debt is a result of identity theft, you'll find tips and sample letters to help you dispute it at identitytheft.gov. But if it is yours, and it's come back to haunt you, federal law still gives you certain rights to protect yourself.

For example, if someone contacts you about a debt you thought was dead, you can ask the collector to send you a written validation notice detailing the amount owed and the creditor's name. By law, the debt collector has to send you this notice within five days of contacting you.

But don't ignore lawsuits. If a debt collector files a suit against you to collect a zombie debt, respond to the lawsuit -- either personally or through your lawyer -- by the date specified in the court papers to preserve your rights.

Don't accidentally reset the debt clock, either. If you make, or promise to make, a debt payment on a time-barred debt -- a debt too old for a collector to make you pay -- the statute of limitations clock may reset. Then, a debt collector can sue you for the full debt amount -- plus interest and fees.

Most real estate agents enter their listings on the multiple listing service on Fridays. But according to a survey by Atlanta realty firm Terrace 24, Thursday seems to be the best day to list a house.

Homes listed on Thursday sell faster and for more money, reports managing broker Mike Minihan. Those listed on Sunday, on the other hand, were on the market the longest.

Of the houses in the Atlanta-area sample that sold without a price reduction, those listed on Thursday were on the market a median of 19 days less than those listed on other days of the week. Also, homes listed on Thursday were more likely to draw offers above the asking price. And eventually, sellers of Thursday-listed houses reaped nearly 98 percent of what they asked.

The moving truck is full, the kids are already in the car, and you are waiting not-so-patiently to sign the mound of closing documents for the mortgage on your new home. Then, bam: The settlement agent tells you the lender isn't going to get the papers delivered on time.

The closing has to be delayed.

Now you're stuck paying not only for the moving van, but also for storing your household goods somewhere. Worse, you've already given back your apartment to your landlord, or closed on your old house, so you have to find somewhere to live until you can close on the new place.

Even worse yet, since you won't meet the deadline to close on the house you're buying, the seller may get antsy. So antsy, in fact, that he may declare your deal null and void and sell the place to someone else.

All of these scenarios are possible these days, because closings are taking longer then they used to. The reason: Many lenders are still having trouble coming to grips with new federal "Know Before You Owe" settlement rules that went into effect in October.

Lenders and their vendors had almost two years to figure out how to combine the old requirements from the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act (RESPA) into the new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure, or TRID, forms. But they're still having trouble.

Before TRID, according to the National Association of Realtors, it took roughly 30 days to close. But in November, it took an average of 40.5 days. And according to Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report, December closings took even longer than that -- up to 50 days.

The key to closing now is the new Closing Disclosure (CD), the statement of final loan terms and costs, which must be given to borrowers at least three days prior to settlement. Lenders cannot change any of those costs once the CD has been issued; otherwise, they are responsible for the differences.

"That's why lenders either wait until the last possible moment to issue the CD, or they have a strict list of items that must be completed in the loan process prior to issuing the CD," says Daniel Jacobs of Michigan Mutual.

So, how do you avoid a TRID-related delay in your closing? Here are a few ideas from the experts:

-- Rate lock. Ask your lender for a longer rate lock, or guarantee of a certain rate pledged on your new loan. That way, if the closing is delayed, you won't lose whatever interest rate you were promised.

Prior to TRID, you could lock in your rate with the lender and close the next day. Now, the rate must be locked in prior to the CD being issued. So lock it in early, advises Jacobs.

Pay extra for a longer rate lock if you have to. Typically, lenders will guarantee their rates for 30 days, but they will lock it in for a longer period -- at a price. It may well be worth paying a few hundred extra dollars for the peace of mind in knowing that however long it takes for the paperwork to be done correctly, you won't lose the house.

-- Act quickly. Schedule all inspections and surveys right away. That way, if there is an issue -- say, the home inspection finds a major problem with the furnace, or the surveyor discovers an unknown right-of-way through the property -- it can be resolved. Moreover, invoices or paid receipts for these services must be accounted for on the CD.

Similarly, invoices or quotes for homeowners' association dues and insurance premiums also must be accounted for on the CD, so take care of these early, too. And if the lender vows to contact the HOA or your insurance agent on your behalf, ask for confirmation.

-- Slow down. Schedule the sale of your current house for at least a week after you are set to close on the new place. Similarly, don't give up your apartment too early. Give yourself plenty of time. It may cost an extra month's house payment or rent, but if there is a delay in closing on your new place, your family won't be out on the street.

"If you are selling one home and moving into another, give yourself more time for issues arising on both ends of the transaction," says Becky Walzak, a longtime mortgage business consultant.

-- Tell all. Don't hold anything back. "Full disclosure, always," advises Brian Koss of the Mortgage Network. Koss says borrowers need to know that getting a mortgage "will be akin to an IRS audit," so they should tell lenders everything. "Because these days, the lender will find it anyway," he says.

If your lender discovers new information toward the end of the transaction, the closing will be postponed. "And until it can be proven otherwise, the new information will be presumed to be an issue," says Koss.

-- Double up. Attach two years' worth of W2s, two months' worth of pay stubs and two months of bank statements to your loan application -- and keep copies for yourself. If you wait until the lender asks for these and other documents, it will slow the underwriting process.

-- Nothing big. Don't make any major transactions -- taking out a car loan, for example, or charging a room full of furniture -- until after closing. Ditto for taking a job at a new company.

"Any movement of money through bank accounts or credit cards, or job changes, can cause your loan to be postponed or denied," says Koss. This holds true even if you've already been approved, because all loans are really only "conditionally approved" until just a few days before closing. The lender can recheck your financial picture at any time.

"You must keep your profile exactly as presented until after closing," explains Koss. "This is one of the biggest delays in lending, and it causes mad scrambles to keep deals on track."