[QUOTE=ralph124c]
The reason?
We have an archaic system of real estate property transfers. instead of a modern, understandable, error-proof system, we have a system that requires verification of the actual ownership of the property (title search). You also need a search to uncover liens and judgements against the property. Then you need to know about arrangements made about the use of the property (local zoning, easements). because of the complicated nature of this stuff, you need a lawyer to research it-and then you need to buy title insurance (to protect yourself in case the lawyer screws up).
The archaic nature of property law is a big reason so many lawyers are required. Don’t look for reform though-you would be putting lawyers out of work.
That is why the USA is such a strange country-constanly moving ahead with technology, but hamstrung by the antique legal system.
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Almost none of what you talk about in the real estate transaction requires a lawyer, at least not in most states. I’ve never had an attorney representing me in a real estate transaction, and the only time I had to face one was because the condo I was purchasing was owned by an estate being settled.
Which is not to say attorneys aren’t involved in the real estate field, just that the common aspects of changing ownership don’t require attorneys.
The vast majority of attorneys are involved in some way with the corporate world. They advise corporations, or they work for corporations (including, for example, staff attorneys for insurance companies). It’s business law that drives the high number of attorneys, not the needs of the populace in general.