Why the Conveyancing Sector Needs to Embrace Tech
Many industries have embraced the digital side, yet the legal sector is still behind in this regard. But the property market has exploded as Covid-induced stamp duty holidays and lockdowns have prompted property owners to rethink their situation.
As a result, the conveyancing sector has been met with staffing challenges and a backlog of clients to contend with. While the sector has made positive advances in terms of adopting technology, there’s still some way to go.
So, what benefits can embracing technology provide to conveyancing firms around the country?
Appeal to digital home movers
It’s important for conveyancing teams to realise that the demographic of home movers plays a key role in where they choose to do business. For example, for younger buyers, having online services can be the difference in whether they choose one firm over another. Customers expect to be provided with online quotes, but they also expect to be able to download documentation and access files digitally.
Online tools make the conveyancing process much faster and easier to manage. Firms dealing with property law need to be able to manage customer expectations more effectively, which online portals allow them to do. It’s a differentiator that provides businesses with an edge to help them attract more clients.
Speeding up the chain
Online conveyancing is designed to remove roadblocks in the property buying or selling process, compared to traditional conveyancing, so that businesses can deliver a faster and more efficient service for their clients. The property market is booming after lockdown and there are various stages that a client might be at, from buying for the first time to remortgaging or selling a property, so ensuring that you can deliver a professional service to everyone is essential.
Combining online portals, telephone calls and emails, online conveyancing creates a seamless process and enables clients to respond to documents or fill in forms digitally to remove the need for paper, taking minutes instead of weeks. There’s less risk of documents going missing in the post or being delayed by postal services, and it’s also more convenient for clients who no longer need to drop documents into the office in person.
Build communication
There’s a lot of pressure for conveyancers to maintain constant communication with clients. At each stage of the process, your clients will be looking for updates or answers to questions to ensure that everything is moving along and making progress. But this can be time-consuming and takes away from carrying out the legal tasks that keep the chain moving along.
Online conveyancing networks provide immense value here, as they enable clients to look through documents to find the answers they need without needing to contact conveyancing staff, or provide direct lines through to support teams via messaging or email. Up to date chains are more secure and robust, and strong communication plays a core role in achieving this.
Meet the new customer demand
There’s a constant battle throughout the conveyancing process where clients demand a faster process in order to buy or sell as quickly as possible, while solicitors prefer to work manually in order to ensure a thorough job. Many believe that speeding up this process could leave room for error and legal elements being missed.
But an industry-wide change needs to occur in order to meet customer demand and deliver the type of service that clients want. The system of conveyancing is antiquated in this regard and adopters of online tools will agree that making the switch alleviates the frustrations that all parties experience.
There are many benefits to embracing technology in conveyancing, from providing a single view of client interactions to ensuring consistency, automating repetitive tasks and attracting new clients. It’s simply a case of conveyancing firms realising how the technology can assist them and the advantages they can benefit from.
Final thoughts
Businesses have evolved swiftly over the past year, but there is still plenty of opportunity for legal teams to adapt and embrace technology in order to keep up with competitors and deliver a better service to clients.
With the property market so buoyant, there’s never been a better time to switch to online tools to improve and speed up the process, minimise transaction times and build better relationships with clients.
Lucy Cromwell, a new contributor to Inside Conveyancing has many years of experience working in property management and has recently turned her focus towards establishing herself as an authority in the industry.
Connect with Lucy on LinkedIn.
Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay
