user writes:

Of course you should speak with an attorney. You should
already *have* one for a transaction as large as a house
purchase.

You should, but in many areas of the country, all manner of real
estate changes hands without them involved.

In Illinois, everyone uses real estate attorneys, there's plenty of
em, and prices are a few hundred bucks.

In Ohio and Texas, this simply wasn't the case. It's very rare to use
a real estate attorney in the markets I'm familiar with there. And
they're not easy nor cheap to find either.

--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/