The property conveyancing industry is undergoing a profound transformation as different facets of the process are becoming digitised. Traditional manual procedures in property transactions are making way for a new era of conveyancing services prioritising advisory tasks. Recently Queensland joined New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia and mandated e-conveyancing for property transactions. As technology reshapes customer expectations, businesses in this sector have been trying to rise to meet higher service quality standards, transparency, and accessibility. To maintain a competitive edge, conveyancers need to  embrace digital solutions to streamline operations, reduce time and costs, and provide value-added services that set them apart.

Amongst such a competitive landscape in the legal industry, solicitors and conveyancers face increasing challenges to improve the profit margins of their firms. This blog will give an overview of property conveyancing, how electronic conveyancing has changed the industry and what processes to outsource to improve productivity.

What does a Property Conveyancer do?

Before we begin, let’s look at what a conveyancer does.

The conveyancing process oversees various essential tasks related to property transactions, ensuring compliance with legal obligations and protecting the interests of buyers and sellers. Here are some of the typical conveyancing services performed by a conveyancing lawyer representing the buyer:

1. Conducting thorough searches on the property and its title,
2. Preparing and lodging legal documents,
3. Calculating adjustments for rates and taxes,
4. Facilitating property settlement by coordinating with banks or financial institutions,
5. Monitoring critical dates to prevent complications, and
6. Advocating for the buyer’s interests when interacting with the seller or agent.

When acting for the seller, a conveyancing lawyer will typically:

1. Arranging the execution of legal documents required for the property sale.
2. Managing the settlement process, representing the seller’s interests and ensuring a smooth transaction.
3. Act as a representative for the seller in interactions with the buyer, addressing inquiries about searches, extension requests, and other related matters.

What is the General Process of Property Conveyancing?

A property transaction involves registering one or more documents with a land registry as part of a single lodgement case. Such transactions typically involve multiple parties and encompass financial settlement. Conveyancing is the legal and statutory process of transferring land ownership from one entity to another.

Conveyancing can broadly be categorised into five stages: contract, preparation, settlement, lodgement, and post-lodgement. The contract stage entails the preparation of relevant contractual documents, which are then exchanged between the involved parties during the preparation stage. Once these documents are duly completed and exchanged, the settlement stage occurs, wherein the property and the associated payment are exchanged. The conveyancing process concludes when the settlement documents are lodged with the appropriate government bodies during the lodgement stage. Subsequently, the transfer is notified to relevant government authorities in the post-lodgement stage.

Typically, four key participants are involved in a property transfer: the purchaser’s conveyancer and bank and the vendor’s conveyancer and bank. Financial institutions come into play when a mortgage is created or discharged. Additionally, several government bodies are engaged in the process, including the land titles office, the Office of state revenue, and local councils.

Electronic Conveyancing is Changing Property Conveyancing Services

As we enter an AI-driven era, it is evident that customers now possess greater digital proficiency and have widespread access to devices. This has generated a growing demand for transparent and accessible experiences. The digitisation and potential automation of the conveyancing process have driven significant changes in how services are provided to buyers and sellers. With the shift from traditional paper-based methods, new technologies are being harnessed to transform the overall experience for everyone involved. These advancements are reshaping how practitioners deliver their services and enhancing the efficiency and convenience of the conveyancing process.

In the traditional paper-based settlement process, completing a property sale or purchase involves solicitors, conveyancers, and banks physically meeting to exchange bank cheques, transfer documents, and mortgages. It can be time-intensive, where practitioners may spend approximately 45 minutes on the phone with financial institutions and up to an hour travelling to settlement locations. However, with the advent of eConveyancing, the entire settlement process is conducted electronically.

In an eConveyancing transaction, once the contract is signed, solicitors representing the buyer and seller utilise an online platform, alongside any involved financial institution, such as a bank providing funds or releasing a mortgage. They perform all necessary tasks to transfer property ownership through an Electronic Lodgment Network (ELN) web-based platform.

Currently, in Queensland, the approved ELN operators for eConveyancing are Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) and Sympli Australia Pty Ltd. These platforms facilitate the secure and efficient transfer of property ownership, eliminating the need for physical meetings and paper-based documentation.

Impact of Electronic Conveyancing

Market

Many law firms are already leveraging Electronic Lodgment Network Operators (ELNOs) to streamline the preparation, settlement, and lodgement stages of conveyancing. This adoption provides a significant advantage as practitioners can efficiently handle a high volume of exchanges, enabling them to compete on price and achieve scale efficiencies by capitalising on time savings.

Process Improvement

Technological innovation and time savings have significantly reduced the human labour required to complete a conveyancing transaction. This, along with the customer’s preference for bundled services and the competition to establish customer ownership, has resulted in the consolidation of industry verticals. Despite practitioners still engaging with buyers and sellers in person, the digitisation of processes has increased the speed of transactions. Buyers and sellers now have the convenience of accessing an online dashboard to track the progress of their settlement, leading to a more professional and streamlined service experience.

Customer Acquisition

As the conveyancing industry undergoes a digital transformation, a high degree of automation is poised to revolutionise how transactions are processed. Simple transactions may soon be handled independently, while complex exchanges will receive specialised support. Referrals and strong industry relationships will thus remain invaluable assets for conveyancers handling complex transactions.

Reputed large-scale law and conveyancing firms that have made significant technology investments can extend their services to a broader range of clients, reaping the benefits of substantial time and cost savings.

On the other hand, partnering with banks, mortgage brokers, and real estate agents and forming alliances to bundle services can be instrumental for small conveyancers’ customer acquisition efforts. Forming alliances and bundling services enables them to offer comprehensive solutions and enhance their value proposition.

Outsource Property Conveyancing Processes to Increase Productivity

Outsourcing can be instrumental in helping conveyancing practices drive efficiency and optimise their operations. Businesses focusing on increasing the value-added services and simultaneously increasing the conveyancing volume can partially outsource conveyancing services.

So what does that look like? When it comes to outsourcing in a conveyancing practice, several areas can be effectively delegated to external professionals. Here are the types of services that can be outsourced:

1. Opening Matter and Client in Practice Management System: Outsourcing the task of opening matter and client files in the firm’s practice management system for purchase and sale files can streamline the administrative process and ensure accurate data entry.
2. Document Preparation: Outsourcing the preparation of various documents such as Matter Component files, Legal Services Letters, Purchase Documents, Sale Documents, Audit Letters, post-exchange letters, and post-settlement letters can save time and ensure the accuracy of legal documents.
3. Searches: Undertaking required searches is a critical part of conveyancing. Outsourcing the task of conducting searches, including Title Search, Plan Search, Drainage Search, and any other necessary searches through a search portal integrated with the Practice Management Software, can ensure comprehensive and efficient search results.
4. Updating Matter and Records: Outsourcing the task of updating matter details and records in the practice management system can help maintain accurate and up-to-date information, ensuring smooth workflow and communication within the firm.
5. Drafting Correspondence: Drafting draft emails and correspondence for end clients can be efficiently handled by outsourced professionals, saving time for conveyancing lawyers to focus on core legal tasks.
6. Conflict Searches: Undertaking conflict searches to identify potential conflicts of interest can be outsourced, ensuring compliance and safeguarding the firm’s reputation.
7. PEXA Workspace Preparation: PEXA is an online property exchange platform for electronic property settlements. Outsourcing the preparation of PEXA workspaces as per requirements can streamline the settlement process and ensure proper documentation.

By outsourcing these specific tasks, conveyancing practices can benefit from increased efficiency, improved accuracy, and time savings, allowing lawyers to focus on providing high-quality legal services and maintaining client satisfaction.

Outsource Property Conveyancing with Team SBA

Team SBA offers a reliable conveyancing support solution that can handle up to 50% of the tasks involved in a conveyancing transaction, providing law firms with significant cost savings. By leveraging SBA’s services, law firms can balance quality work and a reduced investment budget.

Our competitive pricing ensures that you receive top-notch work while optimising your expenditure. With SBA’s conveyancing support, law firms and conveyancing businesses can efficiently handle a higher volume of conveyancing work and, at the same time, increase their profit margin for each transaction.

Outsourcing with Team SBA to streamline your operations, improve efficiency, and increase focus on the core areas of your practice.