A real estate lawyer only charges about $400 cheap insurance.

They don't want you to have a lawyer present. If he examined and went through all the legal crap and do's, do not's, etc it would take most of the day with just the lawyer explaining everything to you. They want a closing to go quickly so they can get the next one started.

My wife and I have bought and sold eighteen homes in our 52 years of marriage and have never hired a lawyer for a closing with no negative repercussions. We have even bought and sold a number of those homes without involvement of a real estate agent, using only a title company for contracting and closing. I worked summers as a Realtor for ten years in Missouri when coaching and rarely saw lawyers get involved. In every instance when a lawyer got involved they would require some minor change in the contract language on a standard contract approved by council for the Missouri Secretary of State. I always felt that it was simply a way for them to justify their fees.