Just my opinion, but from all my reading a good real estate attorney would
be fine, too, and quite possibly will charge less than a real estate agent.

We've sold by owner twice and bought by owner once. The real estate attorney
cost quite a bit less than an agent would have cost us as sellers. Our real
estate attorney in a mid-size midwestern city is $90 per hour -- over the
course of the sale, including a buyer backing out 6 days before closing, having
to put it back on the market and then evaluate and negotiate with two buyers at
the same time vying for our home, we will spend less than $1000 on the
attorney. This was for a $200,000 home sale.

Had we used an agent with this home we are currently selling, we would have
raised the price at least $20,000. We probaby would not have recouped the full
$14,000 an agent would have taken from a $200,000 sale, but we also would not
have sold it for $200K -- so in effect we sort of "split" the savings -- the
buyer got the house at a cheaper cost and we will pocket a little more when we
close.

We've been very up-front about all of this with our buyers (all three of them,
lol!)

When we bought by owner we felt we got the house for less than we would have
had it been with an agent. We backed this up by looking at comparable sales in
the neighborhood and also with an appraisal.

A good real estate attorney is an excellent investment with or without an
agent, imo. The attorney gets paid whether you buy/sell or not. The agent
only gets paid if you buy/sell.

To the OP -- the best way to know if you are truly buying the house for less
than it would sell for with an agent is to get an appraisal and then back that
up by looking at comparable sales. In many communities you can seek recent
sales in the same neighborhood through the real estate tax website. (I'd think
comparing townhomes would be even easier than trying to compare homes).

Hope this helps, and good luck.

-Dawn