Technology is changing everything we do, especially banking. It’s putting money at our fingertips to be more flexible and secure than ever before. When it comes to buying and selling property, online technology can help there too.

Peta Stewart Conveyancing was one of the first in Australia to be skilled in e-conveyancing and had fully adapted to the government online, paperless systems well before the mandate to switch to electronic processing was brought in in July 2019. 

We embraced e-conveyancing early because we really feel it’s the right move for land title changes.

Through the use of the PEXA e-Conveyancing Platform, we have successfully completed hundreds of settlements for our clients electronically. So how does this benefit you? 

The benefits of e-conveyancing

The digital era has been one of continuous change. I have been in the conveyancing industry for over a decade, and I’ve seen more changes in the past few years than the previous ten combined.

changing requirements for properties over $2 million, as well as the big one – the advent of “e-conveyancing”. 

Over the past five years, we've seen countless changes to Governmental concessions and Transfer and Duties forms, the increased stamp duties and "Verification of Identity" checks for foreign buyers, updated requirements for properties purchased for more than two-million-dollars, as well as the big shift towards electronic conveyancing.

What is all this for?

One is security, but the other is about keeping up with buying trends and making adjustments to fit the growing market. Overall the aim is to benefit Australian buyers. Here are some ways e-conveyancing benefits you:

Better Security

Because only registered pre-approved users (conveyancers, solicitors, lenders) can access PEXA, it means though looking to sell property that they don’t own, they can't get very far with their scam. Even if their titles look accurate in person, they are never going to get onto the processing system to transfer it through, and even if they did, the application would be immediately detected as fraud and stopped well before any significant money changed hands.

Better Accuracy

A big reason for the push to the online PEXA platform was the costly and tiresome delays caused by inaccurate paperwork lodgments. For example, if the title was for Mrs Shirley Gray and the application was filled in as Ms Shirley Gray, it doesn't match and it will be rejected. The same goes for if the paperwork application was sent as Mrs Shirley Grey or Mrs Shirly Gray. Tiny errors can collapse the entire settlement, or at least push it back causing a domino of heartaches on both sides.

Funds are another area plagued with inaccuracies where a change in interest or slightly changed figure during the settlement time could mean the cheque sent through doesn’t exactly match the payment request. Even a one-cent error with the amount owing causes a rejection of the lodgement.

These tedious mistakes are resolved with electronic conveyancing as everything must match and be perfectly aligned to progress to the next step. That way on settlement day it is all lined up and authorised for no nasty last-minute surprises.

Direct Money Transfer

E-conveyancing allows money transfers to happen online, with your lender invited to join the PEXA process and monitor everything online to make sure numbers add up perfectly and the money is delivered on time. That allows buyers to avoid delivering bank checks to us for settlement, saving a lot of time and hassle. 

This helps with avoiding big money scams. Because you know your lender is handling your money transfer directly within the PEXA system you know a message via email asking you to transfer funds isn’t legitimate.

If you receive an email, no matter how genuine it looks, asking for funds to be transferred to a bank account to secure your property purchase, pick up the phone and phone a previously used number to call your conveyancer or solicitor to verify the details. There is a lot of money to be made (and lost) through property purchase scams, making it well worth a scammer's while to create perfect emails and have near-identical email addresses to your conveyancer. Always get a verified bank account from your conveyancer in person or in a trusted phone call. 

Digital Signatures

E-conveyancing uses digital signatures which not only makes them more secure (as only preapproved and checked memoirs can have an account), it also means greater flexibility as all documents from the Land Titles Office are available for digital signing. For clients who live overseas, in a different state or who live remotely, this can be extremely helpful and provide easy and accessible ways to purchase and sell a property. 

Real-Time uploads

The financial settlement of your property occurs by electronically linking your conveyancer to the other party’s conveyancer so both buyer and seller are represented on the same online workspace. All documents, signatures and money transfers occur in real-time and all parties are alerted to changes and progressions so any errors are instantly flagged and can be corrected and amended with instantaneous results.

Completely Transparent

Every party can see where the application is and who is responsible for the next step. It's a way of neatly lining up all the ducks and having them swim in a straight line. If there is any hold up in the line we can immediately see who to contact to get things rolling again.

That also means we can keep you up to date on where your application is at any point in time. Our tracking app lets you log in and check your settlement status 24/7.

Flexible settlement times

You no longer need to be present to sign the forms and no one needs to coordinate their time and travel to meet face-to-face. That means settlements are more flexible for times and dates. In some cases, you can even choose to make your settlement time outside business hours or on weekends or public holidays, something that wasn’t possible to do in the days of paper lodgements. You’ll need to carefully factor how this will work if you want to take the unconventional route, in terms of getting your hands on the keys etc.

Title Is Instantly Changed

With the paper system, it would take around two weeks following settlement before your name appears on the property title. With electronic technology, the final purchase can be verified immediately online and changes to the title are made then and there. For most people, it doesn't really matter, you don’t need your name on the title instantly for any particular reason, however, it is good to know that it's completed and done accurately so you don’t have to go chasing it up, and okay, it is a bit nice to see your name on the deed officially. 

In Summary

As the world changes, new ideas, concepts, and challenges emerge. Embracing change is one thing, but being a part of creating change is quite another. I aim to be part of the drive that makes for better, more secure, and more flexible conveyancing services. Even as the conveyancing landscape changes in the future, we will continue to be at the forefront with skill, care and diligence to effectively manage your property purchases and sales. 

Despite the fact that things seem to be going digital, it is still imperative that you select a conveyancer who has the experience and the human touch to help you avoid the pitfalls in property transfers and ensure a smooth settlement.