Learning to buy from owner - no realtor

[Katrin Willoughby]

I have found a good deal on an off-market home in Galveston County TX and am looking into buying the home from the owner.  From the research I have done the buyer typically has a real estate lawyer work with them and both parties chose a title company to work with.   I haven't had business hours to call a real estate lawyer yet, so started communication with email. The first two to respond have not really told me what they actually do in this process and I only got their hourly rate with a "This should take less than 5 hours."  The total bill for there services would then be much more then what I have been seeing in forums. Can someone help me better understand what the real estate lawyer does, and is there anything else I am missing from the big picture?  Any tips for buying without a real estate agent? Any suggestions for a real estate lawyer or title company in the Galveston or Clear Lake area in Texas? 

[Blair Poelman]

A Real Estate attorney can facilitate transactions, but they probably won't help you with all the nitty gritty - either way you're going to pay for their time.

I'm not trying to be a turd, so please don't take this as offensive - but you're probably missing a lot, and it sounds like you don't know what you don't know - and that's a really bad position to be in, especially in Real Estate.

This is an expensive industry to be in and transactions always carry substantial liability.  Using a licensed trained professional helps you avoid many of the liabilities - and many of the liabilities will last a very long time, or even forever. So if you make a mistake, or you miss a form, or give the wrong form, or you handle something the wrong way, or you say something, or don't say something, that liability can hang over you for the rest of your days.

It's worth your money to have a professional help you through the process - especially when you have no clue what the process is.