Buying a house? Not necessary under normal circumstances.

Assembling a parcel of land, changing the zoning, and applying for a radical usage change? Get a lawyer.

I have found that using an attorney for real estate transactions can be useful. There is an inordinate amount of paperwork that needs to be filed just to buy land and it's always helpful to have someone help you through it all. The law can be quite complex and dealing with sellers can be even more so; it's good to have legal counsel through the process. Lawyers will also run a background check on the property to make sure that no one else has a deed to the property you're buying. You'd be surprised to see how many people get screwed over when they find out that someone else owns the same property that was just bought. You have to pay legal fees, but it really is worth it when you consider everything.