"Todd H." wrote
"Elle" writes:
"Bill" wrote
In school you learn a lot of things. When you learn a
bit
more, you learn how much you do not know. A smart
person
will understand how much they do not know about things
and
seek advice from an expert...

OTOH, a smart person will know that people do not qualify
as
"experts" merely by holding a "professional"
certification.

And hence won't pick the attorney with the biggest ad i
the yellow
pages.

Your attitude sounds to me like you've never had the
benefit of a
good, experienced, conscientious and thorough real estate
attorney.
They do exist.

I haven't felt the need for one, in my two home
transactions.

I have considered, and will continue to consider, going
something like FSBO but having a real estate attorney
represent me, etc.

Attorneys had a virtual monopoly for centuries because
the
information to which they were privvy was hard for an
ordinary person to access. But the internet's many legal
resources have meant the truth comes out: In many
instances,
attorneys are no more than licensed clerks who do not
necessarily read carefully, pay attention to detail, or
try
to get things done economically. Hence the market for
attorneys is much more competitive today. Their rates
have
dropped. Their ads read like those of used car
salespeople.

Plus attorneys do make mistakes.

For which they are insured.

Dunno if that's always true or sometimes true.

If they screw up big, you aren't left
sleeping in your own filth.

Maybe, maybe not. Either way the cost in time and energy to
correct a significant attorney's mistake is generally going
to be so high that people write it off.

Since their first interest must necessarily be their
income, they
are not necessarily as likely to pay as close attention
to a
client's interests as the client him/herself will.

From an attorney acquaintance of mine, addressing a
client:
"No one is going to care about this as much as you do."

That's true. However, imagine if you team that self
interest with the
experience of a seased real estate attorney to whom you
can ask
questions and make sure that your self interest is being
addressed?

I think arguing against spending $300-$500 on an attorney
for a decent
sized real estate transaction is pretty silly, honestly.

Do you use an attorney for every real estate transaction??

The realtor or real estate agent does carry a fair amount of
the burden if something does go wrong, ya know.