Bowles felt deceived: The home featured amenities that boosted its price by tens of thousands of dollars. He said the process made him worry even more about the stacks of paperwork he'll have to sign when he finally makes a purchase.

"It all makes you wonder if you are getting a good deal," he said.

For years, consumer advocacy groups have pushed to make homebuying easier for everyone to understand.

The Consumer Federation of America in Washington, D.C., last year supported proposed changes to federal laws that would have encouraged real estate brokerages to bundle all closing costs and fees, offering consumers a single, guaranteed price for mortgage loans, title insurance, credit reports, document preparation and other items.

However, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development withdrew the proposal after industry and consumer groups and legislators said they didn't have enough time to comment on it. HUD officials have said similar reforms still may be offered.

"Clearly, real estate closings and the prices of different services are a bewildering experience for any homebuyer," said Allen Fishbein, the federation's director of housing and credit policy. "It can really be a daunting task."

Many buyers let other parties that figure into a sale - usually brokers and builders - dictate the professionals who will perform various services required for the transaction.

Permissive buyers also let their brokers steer them to particular appraisers and lenders with little regard for how those companies benefit from their close relationships.

Builders are increasingly cornering customers by offering big incentives only to those who agree to use the company's mortgage and title operations.

"Convenience and laziness have a price," said Thomas Lys, a real estate economics professor at Northwestern University. "Get a car loan through a dealership, and it will cost you quite a bit more. Let other people do all your thinking about a home's sale for you, and that will cost you more, too."

A lot of buyers don't know what title insurance is, much less who is selling it to them.

Title insurance gained nationwide attention last week when Colorado regulators revealed that certain title companies had given kickbacks to builders, brokers and lenders in violation of federal and state laws.

Under the scheme, some builders created separate but affiliated reinsurance companies that paid no claims but shared premiums with certain title companies.

That amounted to a big discount on title insurance not available to consumers.

Colorado insurance investigators were the first in the nation to address the scam. They negotiated a $24 million national settlement with the country's largest title insurer, Santa Ana, Calif.-based First American Title.

Insurance regulators in 10 other states quickly announced the start of their own investigations.

Despite officials' desire to protect consumers, most people could help themselves, Iowa lawyer and lobbyist Jim Carney said.

A critic of the complexity of homebuying, Carney despised one part of the process in particular: the private purchase of title insurance.

Title companies check public records to make sure properties are free of liens, property disputes and deed restrictions that could affect ownership or negatively affect a property's value.

Carney, joined by consumer groups and the Iowa State Bar Association, championed the abolition of private title insurance in the state. He and others thought it was too expensive compared with the benefits.

Iowa replaced the insurance with guarantees sold by the nation's only state-operated land title agency.

Though critics say the agency is less efficient than private firms, Iowa charges a fraction of the prices commanded in other states.

Iowa consumers pay $515 for a title policy on a $150,000 home compared with Colorado's average of $907 and the national average of $772, Carney said.

Indeed, the industry's ability to support the kickbacks suggests its profits far exceed the value of its services, Colorado insurance officials said last week.

They are investigating whether rates are too high.

Title insurance differs from all other forms of insurance in that it examines the past rather than predicts the future.

Most of the money paid for title policies goes for title searches, operations and, ultimately, profit. Only 4 percent actually pays for claims, according to Demotech Inc., a Columbus, Ohio, financial analysis and actuarial services firm.

If the government steps in to lower title insurance rates - an idea officials in some states have floated - consumers will lose choices, some title experts said.

"The little guy will get squeezed because he won't have the volume (of business) coming in to offset the drop in rates," said Geoff Dunn, an analyst for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in Connecticut. "I don't see how regulation of that nature promotes a free market."

Rather than worry about the peculiarities of market dynamics, consumers would be smart to ask plenty of questions and to do their own comparative shopping to determine whether professional referrals really are giving them the best deals, said Lys, the Northwestern economist.

In fact, he added, consumers would be smart to question why they need some real estate services at all - particularly in an age where home listings are widely available on the Internet

"I realize that, for most people, (a house) is the single largest purchase they make and that they like to have someone just to talk to because they are so nervous," Lys said. "But it is my belief that real estate agents serve a psychological function more than an economic function."

Staff writer Will Shanley contributed to this report.