Back in 2008, a commitment was made by the Council of Australian Governments to create on national e -Conveyancing solution for the Australian property industry. Two years later, Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) formed, which rolled out its electronic platform across six of the states and territories including Victoria.
Whether you are a first time buyer looking for home or off the plan conveyancing, or a property developer who requires commercial conveyancing, the roll out of digital or e-Conveyancing means that as a customer you will be provided with a faster and more efficient service. In turn, this leads to additional benefits provided when you work with a Melbourne conveyancer who is experienced in offering this system. Before we look at the 5 benefits of e- conveyancing, it is important to define e-Conveyancing.
E-Conveyancing is a national roll out of a digital system that allows conveyancers. Government bodies such as local councils, financial institutions and other practitioners to upload and lodge documents and complete settlements electronically. Everyone involved has to agree to E-Conveyancing but when you review the benefits it is a win-win for all parties concerned. So, what are the benefits?
1. Reduced costs
Commercial conveyancing involves a number of professional bodies and with the traditional methods of conveyancing, legal firms and related parties would have had to use settlement agents, pay courier fees, bank cheques and other methods which attracted additional charges. As finance can be dealt with online, documents transmitted at the touch of a button, there is a reduction in labour cost and a number of professional fees, which normally would be passed onto the client. Working with a Melbourne conveyancer who is part of the PEXA system has streamlined this process and vendors can save on property transactions.
2. Quicker transaction time
If processing a manual conveyance, there are five things that have to be concluded. There is the contract, all the preparation including collation of information, visits to site, checking of any zoning requirements and so on, settlement agreement, lodging transfer papers with relevant government office and the government response. The contract is prepared by conveyancers and property lawyers after a title to the property is located. The relevant documents are put together before the vendor receives the money from the sale which is paid by cheque – normally taking five days to clear.
Once the cheques clear, transfer documents are lodged and all parties are told that the settlement is now complete.
All of the above takes time and if working on a commercial deal, can be very frustrating. If buying a family home or needing to move from your current residence, this is a very stressful position to be in, so any delays are not helpful for the wellbeing of all concerned. However, e-conveyancing speeds up this process as your Melbourne conveyancer will use PEXA to search titles, lodge documents and payments and document transfer all occurs on line.
3. Updates in real time
While any big transaction is underway, particularly one that could be life changing such as starting a new business venture or providing a better home for the family, you naturally want to know what the status of the settlement. Trying to ring or chase updates is a waste of everyone’s time but with e-Conveyancing, you can check the status by using an app on your mobile phone. Not only that but you will get automatic updates and alerted to key dates during the process, so nothing gets missed and you keep on track.
4. Secure and quicker transactions
As with any transaction, it is important to get the money into the bank in order to maintain your cashflow, so speeding up the process for those selling a property is a definite plus. With the manual system, you could be kept waiting for the money to arrive in your bank account and all the while you may have been trying to pay off other loans or interest rates. With e-Conveyancing, you receive the sales money into your account on the day of the settlement.
5. Less room for errors
Legal documents, paperwork and survey reports that need to be collated manually and transferred between relevant parties are open to a certain margin of error. The PEXA system has in-built alerts so that for example, any mistakes made during transfer of money, means the person responsible is notified immediately so they can rectify the mistake. Documents sent electronically can be quickly retrieved and are not “lost in transit” which is another benefit for all involved.
Make sure you work with a residential or commercial conveyancer/lawyer who subscribes to e-Conveyancing and benefits from the savings this service employs.
This story first appeared on the Business Daily.
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