I can easily believe a lawyer might make sense here. But a real estate agent? Once the purchase and sale has been agreed to, that role is pretty much superfluous, so there’s little to no chance such an agent could earn the steep (savage?) commissions they often want.
The smartest real estate guy I know (has made serious millions in Boston-area rental property) says that real estate agents are a “tax on stupidity”.
Well no one said get the realtor instead of the lawyer, they just said get one or the other. But yeah, I’d be curious to know if there’s any reason to get a realtor at this point, other than convince you he can find you something better.
May I make this analogy?
“I’m having sex with a coworker (and boss). Do I need a condom?”
Yes. Yes, hell yes, and always.
Sorry to be pedantic, but are your really drawing a distinction? To say “do A or B”, aren’t you saying “you can do A instead of B, or B instead or A”?
Remember: Buying property is the biggest monetary investment in your life. If you don’t need a attorney for that, what do you need one for?
oh, I took your post #17 to mean: “OP asked about getting a lawyer, but some of you said he should not get a lawyer, he should get a realtor instead”. sorry, I obviously misread!
Does anyone have any anecdotal evidence?
Not having a lawyer and then later finding out that you really should have?
Or having a lawyer and then finding out it was a really, really good idea?
As is, means your responsible for a furnace which breaks tomorrow. If there is termite damage and the walls fall down it is on your dime. I would suggest an inspection.
When we had our house built, the house was delayed and developer needed his money before it was finished, offering a $10k discount for early payment. I ran the agreement past my attorney, which cost about $100, and everything was fine.
Wound up with no problems, I signed over the money early, they completed the house.
Some may say that the money was wasted, but I slept better at night.
Here’s one. My buddy hired a RE lawyer for his 3rd house purchase. He didn’t really want to, but his bank insisted. The lawyer missed the outstanding tax bill and the outstanding hydro bill. My buddy was on the hook for over $5,000.00. He had to pay it or lose the house. He had to SUE the lawyer to get his money returned. If you are reasonably intelligent and half way diligent, you really can do all of the paperwork yourself.
My wife and I are lawyers, and early in our marriage/careers many folk asked us to do their closings and wills. We did a couple closings before getting comfortable saying no. (Were smart enough never to write anyone’s wills other than our own - another situation that any intelligent person can do without a lawyer.) In closings, if nothing comes up, there really is nothing for the lawyer to do. But a lot of information isn’t disclosed until the final minute. It wasn’t worth the hassle to me of dealing with such stuff just to save my family/friends a couple hundred bucks. Heck, I’d rather cut my friends a check for a couple hundred $ than handle their close for them! 
I was handling one for my buddy’s brother where the day before the closing we learned of multiple mortgages which had not been disclosed and which were being foreclosed upon. It was just a matter of getting the right documents drafted and executed, but nothing I wanted to do in my spare time for the price of a nice dinner. Add in the fact that I was out-of-town when I learned of it. So I told my buddy to have his brother get a lawyer, which he did, and it was not problem.
Selling, you have to produce documents which the average non-lawyer is probably better off leaving to a lawyer. Like I said, the average buyer oughtn’t need a lawyer. But when you are buying something for $100K+, it seems foolish not to spend $3-500 for a little security.
Bought my condo without using a lawyer. Had a fairly useless real estate agent. And everything went fine. As far as title searches go, the title company does that, and I assume the seller arranges for that. As several people have stated, the mortgage company is putting up their money in good faith; they won’t lend if it looks dodgy.
As a potential buyer, you’re nuts if you don’t go to the county Registry of Deeds and do some title research on your own. It’s surprisingly easy, always interesting, and occasionally discloses information that is very useful.