Online Property Settlement Platform

Won't be long until this is a national platform to make the purchasing process more efficient.

South Australia's property settlements go online

 

Its already been happening for about 2 years in NSW now.

 

Yep. WA in trials. Expecting to release soon.

 

I didn't realise that COAG has agree to implement this nationally.

Electronic conveyancing

Providing efficient settlement of property transactions
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) decided that National Electronic Conveyancing (NEC) should be implemented to provide an efficient and effective national platform for the following processes:

• electronic settlement of real property transactions
• electronic preparation and lodgment of documents with land registries
• electronic payment of associated duty and tax obligations.

NEC introduces a more efficient and convenient way of settling property transactions and lodging documents at Landgate. It augments the paper channel for property transactions and does not replace it.

Property Exchange Australia Ltd (PEXA) provides and operates the first Electronic Lodgment Network(ELN). In June 2014, PEXA successfully implemented release 1 of NEC in Western Australia, with mortgages and discharges of mortgage becoming eligible for electronic lodgment at Landgate.

Release 2 was implemented in May 2015 and enabled caveats and withdrawals of caveat to be lodged electronically through the PEXA ELN. In June 2015, transfers became available for electronic lodgment.

The May/June 2015 release marks the first time that settlement agents, legal practitioners and financial institutions are able to lodge mortgages, discharges of mortgage, transfers, caveats and withdrawals of caveat electronically in Western Australia.

Electronic conveyancing - Landgate

 

It's been rolled out in Victoria. I don't know much about it myself, but one conveyancer I spoke with suggested it was actually costing them more to use at this point in time.

 

Hi Perthguy. Thanks for your comment. The good news is that WA has been live for property transactions since June 2015. About 275 lawyers and conveyancers are now signed up to the Property Exchange Australia network - called PEXA. The banks are also working towards a 100% digital future for online property transactions. Cheers

 

We are joining up with PEXA - just had them come out today for the first time.

 

It will get better as more firms sign up for it from NSW experience.

 

Sold 2 props already using PEXA.
The future has arrived....for now.

 

Is there any difference from your point of view? Or does it really just impact the conveyancers, solicitors and banks?

 

Latest settlement is happening much quicker, like about 3 weeks since exchange of contracts. 1 st one went a shorter term too I think a week or more quicker.
Cheaper, no extra charges for cheques, settlement attending etc.
I mean really, it’s 2018 in a couple weeks time and we are still using cheques?

 

Certainly should not cost more to use PEXA. Practitioners should no longer need to pay staff to spend unproductive hours on the phone with banks trying to book in settlements.
Benefits for buyers is instant transfer registration meaning no registration delay.
Benefits for sellers is instant availability of settlement funds, meaning no bank cheque clearance delays.

 

For the PEXA fees I would pay I could hire an extra 8 staff (not solicitors) than I currently use to book settlements, attend settlements, collect cheques etc.

 

My firm is fully accredited for PEXA, but we’ll only be diving in from February 2018. Hopefully enough time for the gremlins and bank issues we’ve heard of from colleagues to be resolved.

Econveyancing is a good thing: it will weed out the dinosaurs and the incompetent practitioners in the industry.

 

It would be if it was cheaper. We have been registered since before they turned it on a few years ago in QLD and have completed exactly zero transactions through PEXA. Originally I thought it was going to be great but I would have expected the total transaction cost to be what is our side of the fee alone.

PEXA gets over $350 a transaction - that is crazy. There needs to be a competitor come along but I just can't see it happening. If it becomes compulsory and every one charges it then it will be just one of the ludicrous amounts of money I pay out on behalf of clients. If the other big guys up here were to try and absorb some of it then I will hang out to the last. I will literally be paying them more than what many small law firms turn over every year.

 

As far as I know, E Conveyancing will be mandatory from 1 July 2019 in NSW.
E-conveyancing to be mandatory by July 2019. Are you ready?

 

How does it affect DIY conveyancing?

 

You won't be able to.

 

AFAIK, you won't be able to use PEXA but cannot be denied the right to do your own conveyancing if the other party in the transaction agrees. Can't see any vendors turning down a good sale for their conveyancer's convenience.

 

If the registry no longer accepts paper transactions then you would still need to find a PEXA user to lodge transfer docs