There is a title company locally that will / can act as the intermediary - however the complication comes in the form of new construction.

Title search a must and you will want to look at sellers credit report to learn if he/she has an judgement pending or have child support to pay. 

Then I emailed the contract to title company to open new escrow and close the deal.

We are in the process of doing a cash-out refinance right now and what I would like to do is give her the money we get from that to basically buy her out and take her off the loan and title.

I’m able to save money every month for a down payment but not sure if that’s the best route to get into the game.

Make sure it isn't in a flood plain or flood way.Do your research to make sure there is value to and end buyer.Also do a title search before you buy it to make sure there are no issues that you can't easily clear up.

In this game you have to take the good with the bad.

This gets you in the game of real estate investing.  

Full Title: Ten things I learned from The Real Estate Guys at How to Win Funds and Influence People. 

If you mean playing the assignment game without being a FL licensee that is NOT legal.