You’d rather work with an attorney than a realtor? Wow. I think it’s insane that people have that much distrust of realtors to prefer an attorney. There are a lot of good realtors out there if you ask me and they only get paid at the close of escrow vs. an attorney you have to pay just to meet with.

You might want to just find a good escrow officer and title rep to help with the paperwork.

I’d personally just find a realtor and negotiate on the commission a bit since you already have the property. Maybe get an appraisal on the value unless that has already been agreed upon.

I really don’t see why you need a realtor or attorney.

Data Agent is right, the escrow company/title company will take care of it. If there are problems with title, the title company will not issue a policy. Simple as that.
And you need a title company anyway — First American, Ticor, Fidelity… sometime escrow and tile are separate, especially in SD, but the title company can handle the escrow also.

If you’re not familiar with the process, the realtors are seller and buyer agents; escrow is the intermediary that handle the funds and recording of the deed. Title is the Insurance company that issues the title policy to protect the buyer in case there’s a problem.

Since seller and buyer found each other already, you don’t need Realtors. In the West Coast, escrow/title handle the transaction. On the East Coast, an attorney handles the escrow. Just regional variations and traditions.
So in San Diego, for a typical transaction, you don’t need an attorney.

I also like Heritage Escrow.