It's not that lawyers are lazy. There is another problem with owning real estate in your own name. If a judgment is obtained against you and filed in any county in which you own real estate, all real estate in that county will have a lien attached to it. You cannot sell or refinance any property in that county, since no title insurance company will guarantee a clean title. You're stuck until you pay off the lien.
Some people use a corporation or limited liability company to hold title to their real estate.
While these entities will protect you, they will not protect your property. If you own all of your properties in one corporation, a judgment against the corporation will create a lien on all property owned by the corporation. Furthermore, the directors and officers of a corporation are public record, so a corporation will not hide your ownership. The solution for holding title to real estate is a land trust. A land trust is a revocable, living trust used to title ownership of real estate.