The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new world where digital technology and the Internet are the standard for services delivery–including e-conveyancing in Australia.
Electronic conveyancing or e-conveyancing was first introduced in 2010. It was part of the Council of Australian Government’s initiative to address the need to optimise property transactions and the development of a national e-conveyancing system.
Due to lockdowns, travel restrictions, and requirements for social distancing, most transactions are now done online. Hence, e-conveyancing was even more emphasised during the pandemic.
In the traditional conveyancing method, all parties involved in the property transaction must prepare the contract documents first, including verification and authorisation forms. Next, they will prepare the documents for exchange. This includes contracts, loans, land transfers, and other relevant papers.
After the documents have been signed and exchanged, they will now move to the financial settlement and finalise the settlement documents. Lastly, they will lodge the transfer form with the land registry before notifying other relevant authorities of settlement completion. This complex process is not only time-consuming, but also costly. It also requires a lot of travel for meetings, especially when both parties are still negotiating the provisions of the exchange.
With e-conveyancing, contracts can now be prepared and signed electronically. Moreover, rest of the conveyancing process, i.e., documents exchange, settlement and lodgement, are all completed in one virtual settlement room or workspace. Further, e-conveyancing enables all parties in a property transaction to communicate and share necessary information online—anytime, anywhere, and on any device.
E-conveyancing has completely revolutionised the property transaction and conveyancing process. Moreover, it has been the key to keeping the residential property market growing in the midst of COVID-19.
In fact, a study by The University of Melbourne found that, while the US and UK saw a decline in property settlements due to the pandemic, Australia’s property market continued to thrive. The study also found that between March and August 2020, $230 billion worth of property settlements were completed electronically.
Indeed, the convenience and safety in completing transactions has increased the relevance of e-conveyancing in this pandemic. E-conveyancing helped home buyers and sellers proceed with their property transactions without worrying about social distancing and other health directives. Moreover, it also provides stakeholders several advantages:
Prior to e-conveyancing, all parties meet in one place at a particular time to bring all settlement documents. According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one out of five settlements experience delays resulting in stress and anxiety.
With the introduction of e-conveyancing, property transactions can now be done in your seats without leaving the office. In fact, lodgement and financial settlements can be done in less than an hour.
Moreover, reducing the time spent in conveyancing also offers an average cost savings of $380 for a typical four (4) party settlement. The PwC report also determined that implementation of e-conveyancing in all jurisdictions could provide cost savings between $220 million to $248 million annually.
In e-conveyancing, documents can be easily added, updated, or removed from the virtual workspace as the property transaction progresses.
Online document checkers can also be integrated or used in conjunction with e-conveyancing systems. Thus, enabling e-conveyancers and solicitors to identify problems or inconsistencies with the provided documents.
Further, the status or progress of the property settlement can also be seen on the virtual workspace—allowing for greater transparency for all parties involved.
E-conveyancing enables automatic lodgement to the relevant land registry upon completion of the settlement.
Funds are also simultaneously disbursed to the vendor and its bank upon completion of the settlement. More importantly, funds could be accessed in real-time.
Finally, e-conveyancing can also be used in multiple settlements for several properties that are linked together.
For example, a purchase of a property from the funds coming from the sale will automatically commence once the transaction for the sale of property has been completed.
Indeed, e-conveyancing has greatly reduced the manual process and paperwork involved in property transactions. It also effectively minimised the time spent in conveyancing, financial settlement and lodgement. More importantly, it decreased the risk of costly delays and fraud, and provided home buyers and sellers real-time updates with their property transactions.
Hence, as we continue navigating through health and travel restrictions, e-conveyancing will not only be beneficial to the property market, but also to home buyers and sellers. Instant lodgement, and real-time tracking and access to settlement funds guarantees not only successful transactions, but safe and secure ones.
Currently, New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria have already transitioned to a 100% e-conveyancing process. NSW is also planning to remove paper titles completely by the end of 2021. The other jurisdictions are also on their way to a full e-conveyancing process by year’s end.
VC Lawyers has been a pioneer of electronic conveyancing due to quite a number of property settlements handled. We are a team of well-experienced solicitors and paralegals who can help you on your property transaction journey. More importantly, we can reduce the difficulty, stress and anxiety of settlement, especially for first-time home buyers and sellers.
Call us now and find out how we can serve your interests better, and provide you with the most beneficial legal outcome for your property transactions.
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