You can buy a house anywhere in the United States without a real estate agent or lawyer. All you do is make an offer, get it accepted by the seller, open an escrow account, make a deposit, and pay the balance at the close of escrow. Easy peasy.

However, you might want to:

1. Make sure the home is worth what you’re paying so hire an appraiser.

2. With your vast negotiating skills, you should be able to get the seller to accept your below-asking-price offer.

3. Work with your lender to make sure you get the best loan that suits your needs. You should also consider whether it makes sense to pay points to lower your rate.

4. You could possibly want to know that the home is in good condition so you’ll want to engage a home inspector, pest control inspector, roofing contractor, etc.

5. Then you’ll want to review all of the paragraphs of the contract to make sure it accurately reflects your wishes on the most important purchase of your life. If you have a legal background that should be simple.

6. You also want to make sure that the seller lives up to all of the terms of the contract as well.

7. Finally, you’ll need to make sure that all of the terms of the escrow are met so that the title can be legally transferred to you and that the seller gets every dollar they’re entitled to but not one cent more.

8. Don’t forget to get title insurance for the lender who will require it and for yourself, just to be safe.

Easy as pie. Who needs an attorney or agent???