A wise man once told me that using a real-estate attorney for something like this is a bad idea.

I agree.

Attorneys are necessary only when things go wrong or the process is different from the norm. The whole process is spelled out ad-infinitum.

You don’t need to know the law, you need to know the process, so enlist someone to help who knows the process.

You’ll be better off hiring an agent on a very low commission or hourly agreement. Might even consider getting bids from agents. Maybe agents here would let you know what is reasonable to expect to pay.

Probably a good idea to pay their agent a normal fee. Sometimes agents will steer clear of non-agent deals because they don’t want to deal with people who don’t know the process.

Find a great Escrow agent and pay them a bit more than normal. Escrow agents know the process and aren’t beholden to either buyer or seller.