The process of real estate is different in Canada, but in terms of money, the last 4 properties I've bought (since 2007) have been done with bank drafts.

It's really not hard to receive or send a wire transfer. Just make sure you get the directions directly from the title company. Even if they send an email, it's good practice to follow the email with a call to the closing company. Scammers have been known to send emails with fake account information. In Indiana title companies, where most closings occur, will require a wire transfer for anything over $10,000. As a seller don't close until you've confirmed the title company has received the buyer's wire transfer from the mortgage company.

My lawyer only gives out paper copies of the wire transfer information now. When I recently bought a home out of state he wouldn’t send them the funds until he spoke to them on the phone.

I think the title company usually runs the closing in most real estate transactions. You will probably have a real estate agent who has established relationships with title companies, and the loan officers will also be involved. Your agent will schedule the closing, and let you know how the financial transactions will occur. Just go with a more experienced agent. 🙂

I guestimate selling costs at 10% of contract price for $200 to $250K price range. After commission, there is property tax allowance, survey fee, title insurance, attorney's fee, settlement fee, state and county transfer fees, and probably more that I can't remember at this time.

The attorney I use has a closing agent on her staff so one less opportunity for paperwork to go missing. I have used a few different attorneys but this one is on top of the details and she and my agent have worked together for many years. Message me if you are in Kane County and I will give you her contact info. 

Before he retired, my husband did IT consulting for several financial services providers. He knows quite a bit about the technical side of wire transfers and how difficult it can be to straighten out a transaction in case of issues. He asked for a paper check when we sold our house.

Toronto Veterinarian agree, I feel more comfy with bank drafts.

rrah Indiana is where we love to move to. It has many running trails. My husband is near retirement and he's a marathon runner. Easy to find lakefront house by googling "waterfront houses" but I have zero luck when I google "homes by trails or hiking path".

I'm not particular about waterfront house due to flooding risk, but I really want a house which back up to a hiking trail .. not sure how to locate one? Thanks for any how-to.

HALLETT & Co. Agree with phone call first. Pretty scary on how artificial intelligence can mimic one's voice (from YouTube). There's a scam targeting seniors with "Help me" phone call with faked voices from their children. My rule of thumb is to contact legit sources first, and never trust anyone contacting me first.

ShadyWillowFarm I lean toward experienced agent. I get junk mails from real-estate-agents which don't give how many years of experience they have.

Lyndee Lee Thank you for those safety tips. Yes, I'm in Kane County, IL (nearby is Aurora). I tried message you. No luck since your message option is not turn on. My message option is turn on, which allows anyone to message me. Would love to receive useful tips. Thank you.

strawchicago Small world-we lived in Kane County for 12 years before we came back to our home state of IN. We left 20 years ago because of the taxes. My daughter is also a marathoner and a 2 time Ironman so she bikes a lot also. She does most of her daily runs and some biking on the Monon trail. I think it's all asphalt, so I wouldn't consider it a hiking trail. It's just a couple of blocks from her house. It runs through Hamilton County and Indianapolis.

You might think about finding trails first and then looking for houses near them. I don't think this list includes all trails as I notice one missing from my town, but it's a start. https://www.traillink.com/stateactivity/in-running-trails/

You also might try just using the word "trail" as a key word in the filter on realtor.com I searched for Indiana with the key word "trail" and quite a few listings popped up. Most seem to be close to a trail. It will be harder to find one directly on a trail.

BTW-in Illinois don't forget the transfer tax when you sell. I know we had a city transfer tax with one of our houses in Kane County. I think there is a state tax also. Counties too maybe? We also were required to pay for a staked survey when we sold both of our houses there. I don't know if that's still a requirement.

rrah Thank you for that fantastic link on the many trails in Indiana, perfect for hiking or biking. I will enter the keyword "trail" as filter on realtor.com.

Many neighbors moved out, and they all had staked survey done on their lot. Thank you for the info. on transfer tax and state tax. With the high cost of selling a house, I wonder if it's necessary to have BOTH a real-estate agent plus hiring a lawyer to sell my house (fully paid for). Thanks in advance.

You don't need an agent, but unless you already have someone who wants to buy your house, I would advise that you have one. Listing a house for sale without using an agent is going to be a lot less fruitful.

Thank you, Lyndee Lee, for those great tips.

Toronto: Agree, houses here sell quickly with an experienced agent. There's a run-down house which hired a non-reputable agent. After 1 year of no sale, they switched to a more experienced agent, and it was sold quickly.

I like this website where one can enter any address, and it gives flooding, wind, fire and heat risks: Find Your Property's Climate Risks - Homepage | Risk Factor

I use Google Map to see if a house is near grocery stores, but sometimes Google Map doesn't work, is there any website which gives info. like grocery stores and schools within a zip code area? Thank you.

@strawchicago z5

Good Morning,

Lovely thread Straw!

I have bought & sold 8 homes & I‘d be happy to give you a few tips for best timely sales and making a profit.

Selling Your Home Tips list:

1. Only add home improvements that ”a typical buyer wouod appreciate & need.“ Additional extravagant improvements that the house doesn’t really require may not raise the price if your home because I buyer doesn’t want or need them such as adding a sky light or an extra marble floor if the house already has good lighting & other marble floors.

2. Be careful about adding unique home improvements that the typical buyer wouodn’t aporeciate. A movie star put stone floors in living room which was very expensive, in a regular neighborhood which wouod need to be removed to sell to an average buyer.

3. Do simple and clean gardening w/ a few flowers near entrance doors to brighten sell appeal. However However, most typical buyers are usually not interested in your personal gardens and will not pay extra for fancy gardens. Typical buyers do all new landscaping. A house is priced to sell on the market by it’s size, it’s rooms, and it’s standard improvements.

4. Clean fresh new paint inside & outside can upgrade the value of your home and sell it instantly.

5. A realtor once said to me that most buyers are women and you need to set the home stage so that when they walk in they ”Fall in love with your house,” aesthetically. Freshly paint all if it! Put new linen out, clean carpets, bake cookies as they walk in the door.

6. Do your own research , too, to price your home. Look at the internet homes for sale in your area yourself after you ask a realtor to price it. Look at square footage to match with yours. Match your home with other homes w/ bathrooms. Match home upgrades with other homes until you find homes that are reasonably oriced that are close to matching/competitively priced similar to your home. Then reasonably price your home.

7. If you buy in popular home neighborhoods, areas that are fast growing, people are buying homes frequently in that area, you can make handsome profits. .

8. If home has some improvements & you want to make a profit, you may need to finish all improvemts so you are selling a fixed up home to make a profit. People orefervit all fixed up or it’s a fixer. If its difficult to determine it’s value because it needs 1/2 or 1/4 fixing and you did a few upgrades the buyer may be confused on whether to take a chance in it or not & what’s it’s value.

9. If owner puts a value too high on a home it can sit for months before they drop price & eventually sell it. This tells the buyer it may be an undesirable home if it sits on market for awhile when it is eventually sold the price may really have to go low. Sometimes one looses more money when this hapoens.

10. Clean it well before the sale process starts. A green well-manicured simple lawn and painted home sells a home! (Keep tye home furniture simple, get rid of all clutter, pack clutter in storage. Make home staging look like a furniture store-very simple, attractive, clean.) It will give your home more spaciousness for buyer to imagine how they will use it. Have only a few decorative pieces out. Turn on lights in each room when showing home.

11. Try not to talk to buyers. Let your realtor do it. You should leave the home when realtor shows it. Best keep transaction totally not personal-keep the selling of home to be polished-professional . Do not appear needy in selling home or anxious.,It will effect the price the buyer may offer.

(I’ll offering buying home tips another day.)

BEST WISHES!

KittyNYz6 Thank you for taking the time to help me, much appreciated. I agree about NOT putting fancy fixtures. My sister bought a $400 chandelier to make my Mom's house flashy before selling, but the buyer took it out and put in energy-efficient lightning.

In two tiny & old houses that I toured the seller put in brand-new MARBLE kitchen countertop. Another one put in brand new expensive carpet down the basement. A contractor bought both houses and TORE those houses down, to build LARGER & brand new homes on those lot.

In high rain or coastal areas, it's good to check for flooding. My Illinois village's park is next to the river, and one year the entire park was under 4 feet of water. That's the same year when my brother in Florida had to park his car 1 mile away from his condo by the coastline due to hurricane/flooding.

The first link below determines one's risk of flood by entering one's address, plus other extreme weather risks:

Find Your Property's Climate Risks - Homepage | Risk Factor Enter address for risk of flooding

The 2nd link below list counties in USA with the most tornadoes. In my 30+ years living in Illinois, I heard tornado sirens twice which I had to go down the basement.

See below map of the number of tornadoes in each state: IL has 54 tornadoes per year (versus only 14.7 annual tornado in Michigan. Click on below image to enlarge:

The Most Tornado-Prone Counties in the U.S. | The Weather Channel

I'm a bit late to this thread, but also in the Chicago area (western suburbs, ditto the high property taxes!) and have sold and bought in the last few years. Both with selling (late 2020) and buying (paid cash, early this year) my financial, legal, and real estate representatives were very careful not to send any account numbers via email. Luckily, my attorney and Edward Jones rep are in offices mere steps apart, so they just walked paperwork back and forth. You are smart to be very cautious about that.

Re: " I wonder if it's necessary to have BOTH a real-estate agent plus hiring a lawyer to sell my house (fully paid for)."For me, it made sense to use both a Realtor and an attorney. The Realtor managed showings and negotiations when I sold, and negotiations with the seller when I purchased. My attorney dealt with the buyer's attorney when I sold (their attorney was a challenge for sure) and he reviewed all the paperwork and managed the process when I bought. I'm single (widow) and it was a relief to have a team working with me.

Re: "is there any website which gives info. like grocery stores and schools within a zip code area?" try Niche.com and look at the places to live tab. You can search by area or the whole country. It doesn't have grocery stores as far as I know, but its rankings include things like schools, public transport, diversity, etc. (In fact, when I was selling I printed off the ranking for Clarendon Hills because we were ranked very high - maybe #1 but top 3 in Illinois for sure. My realtor included it with the other handouts for showings. Who knows if it made a difference, but it couldn't hurt.) I take all rankings with a grain of salt, but you might find helpful info there.

chicagoans Thank you for answering my concerns and thank you for your wonderful tips. I would be so lost if my husband dies before me, and I would rather sell house now with husband's helping me.

We will hire both a lawyer and a real-estate agent in selling our house (fully paid for). And for buying a house in a different state, most likely we will go with a reputable builder in new construction homes.

I did that back in 2001 and the buying process was a breeze since no need to hire an inspector for flaws .. our Centex builder gave a 1-year guarantee which they fixed any flaws to our satisfaction.

Hi, Straw,

Thosexare excellent ideas concerning rain, flooding, a

lawyer, realtor and buying a new home.

I bought a 2 year old home in Oregon, though and got a really good deal. Also selling it just 5 years larer made a profit. Buying a home in an area where real estate is growing fast, you see a lot of new homes movng in and real estate is climbing in the beginning of an upward trend-ine can makeca profit. We bought just as market had started to turn upward so a low price & mover very motivated to sell. I also looked all over internet to find the best home on my own before hiring a realtor, which I always do. I find I am willing to to look way more than a realtor and I find the better deals. Afterwards which time I have askef them to find me a better deal and they could not.

Another tip, if buying an older home, ask lawyer to get history documents of home prepared at keast a week before deal is closed. My kawyer fave me history docs after I closed deal on historic home and I read after deal closed that I had an easement that was an issue.on new property. I had it terminated a few years later, read law myself and learned how to do it; however however, lawyer shouod have tead history and alerted me to oroperty issues.

Professionals you hire may not do a thorough job and if you know to ask for things, no what to look for, ask for it early like documents about history, or information docs on the area of the oroperty.

Also, check to see if buying a home that seller says they fixed up. Check with City Hall to see if they made improvements to permits/codes. O asjed realtor to check in that and he did not finish that task.

Double check to see if the professionals all complete tasks you ask for and that they give you all infirmation ahead of time. Best to read and learn how best to buy and sell homes and get involved in the process.

KittyNYz6 Thank you for those great tips on safety in buying a house. I agree that professionals don't care to check thoroughly like oneself.

I read posts in Citydata.com about the MOST AFFORDABLE place with good soil. Folks recommend Missouri (5 hours south from my NW Chicago), rural areas of west coast Washington and Fingerlakes, NY (where you live).

Despite high taxes and cold weather, my NW Chicago has fertile black gumbo alkaline clay, fantastic for fruit trees. My peach tree gave sweeter fruits than the orchards in Michigan (more acidic soil). My pear trees give the sweetest fruits (from dolomitic clay), also juicy pears from our good rainfall.

Organic growing of no-spray fruit trees need a good soil like black fertile clay.

My sister grows fruit trees in her Idaho garden, but she has to water them due to less rainfall at 12" per year. I never water my fruit trees, and nearby rose friends don't water their roses. I watered my tomatoes a few times when they were tiny plants, but never afterward.

Fruit trees are best in a cooler winter. From the web: " Most fruit trees require some chill hours in order to bear fruit. Peaches, plums, nectarines, apples, figs, cherries, apricots, persimmons, pears, pomegranates, and more. Aside from a chilling requirement, these fruit trees all have something else in common: they are deciduous, or lose their leaves over winter."

I hope to find a place with fertile black clay like my NW Chicago area, summer is hot but tomatoes love the heat and sweet-tasting in my alkaline clay. Anyone know of an affordable place with good soil and decent rainfall for gardening? Thank you.

Straw, Well, I have lots if rain spring, summer, fall in the Fingerlakes, NY.. However, I do water roses in summer and fruit trees get hit by the sprinklers when ai water roses and grass. I amended clay soil for first time olanting apple trees and I will amend soil planting new fruit trees this spring. I think the soil is excellent after I add some organic Miracle Gro or Espoma soils.

KittyNYz6 Your Fingerlakes, NY is absolutely gorgeous with fall colors and waterfalls, plus lake for fishing. If you are less far away, we would love to move there ... husband loves fishing besides marathon running. At least yours is zone 6, versus my zone is 5. Plus the wind here is brutal .. this past Christmas Dec. 2022 it was -30 F below zero windchill factor. Strong wind makes it colder.

Yesterday Friday 3/31/23 we had a storm at 90 miles per hour wind, the sky turned a weird greenish-dark-gray color. Thank God the tornado missed us, but hit towns south of us. Here's an excerpt from CBS news, with 400,000 people in central Illinois are out of power:

"More than two dozen were hurt, some critically, in the Little Rock area, authorities said. The town of Wynne in northeastern Arkansas was also devastated. The town's coroner told CBS News there were four people dead there. Officials also said there are people trapped in the debris of destroyed homes.

Sullivan County, Indiana's emergency management director Jim Pirtle told CBS News that there had been three deaths there. CBS News has also confirmed one death in Pontotoc County, Mississippi.

Authorities said a theater roof collapsed during a tornado in Belvidere, Illinois, killing one person and injuring 28, five of them severely. The collapse occurred at the Apollo Theatre during a heavy metal concert in the town located about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of Chicago."

Below map from below link explains how tornadoes have spread to more areas for the past year, the worst being April 2011 with 350 tornadoes that month. Click on below pic. to see which part of a state is safer from tornado:

Tornado Alley is an outdated concept, research shows - The Washington Post