@worriedguy, having run titles for a living when younger, you want to have a title run and title insurance. People try to sell houses they don’t own. Churches even sell property they don’t own.
I’ve run titles before where the wife found out the husband forged her name to second and third mortgages, which turned up as unpaid during the title search. When you buy a house, you buy all the unsatisfied liens against the property along with it. If you buy property that’s been in foreclosure, the primary mortgage holder must pay off all the secondaries before selling you the property.
As a buyer, you really do want the title exam.
If you buy a house with a conventional 15 or 13 year mortgage from a major lender, and you understand the terms of your loan, you don’t really need an attorney; the bank attorney and the closing attorney represent your interest. The bank is going to want to make sure they are primary, and everything is paid off. If you are doing any sort of clever financing, or not going though a regular lender, or are part of a special lending program, you will want to have an attorney at the closing, just in case you’re not as clever as you think you are.