Unusual Closing Situation (at least unusual to me)

[James Wicker]

I am making an offer on a home in Tx. Spoke to the Owner and he is definitely old school and wants to simply swap check for deed/title at the bank. Is this even close to normal? He's a much older gentlemen and obviously likes to do things as they were done back in the day but should I suggest a normal closing or is this method ok? If it's ok, what should I be doing to protect myself?

TIA...