1 August 2017: banking industry deadline for paperless refinancing in Victoria and NSW
If you’re living in Victoria or New South Wales, the next time you refinance your home loan there’s a good chance that the mortgage will be lodged online.
Why does this matter? For a few really good reasons. Firstly, 1 August 2017 is the banking industry deadline for paperless refinancing. It marks the first compliance date for how refinance transactions must now be lodged with land registries in these two states. Western Australia follows suit in December.
Secondly, and most importantly, home owners looking to refinance in the event that interest rates trend upwards will benefit from the latest technology through Property Exchange Australia (PEXA). In the past a refinance could typically take more than one month to process. Now by digitising property exchange through PEXA, the time taken for a mortgage to move to another lender can be significantly reduced.
Mortgage lenders Australia-wide are now digitising back office operations. This is a huge milestone with more than 120 lenders now signed up to exchange property online through PEXA’s network. To date the value of property transacted on PEXA’s network is almost $58 billion.
PEXA at a glance:
– A world-first digital platform for completing online lodgement and property settlements
– Conveyancers, lawyers, banks and land registries interact, collaborate and share information
– Banishes cheques, postal services and attending settlement in person
– PEXA integrates into state-based land registries’ databases
– Property sellers’ funds can be promptly banked. This contrasts with waiting days for cheques to clear
– The value of property to date transacted on PEXA’s network is almost $58 billion
PEXA evolved from a 2010 Council of Australian Governments’ mandate to deliver a national e-Conveyancing solution in collaboration with the Australian Bankers’ Association, the Australian Law Council, the Australian Institute of Conveyancers and the four major banks to reform a paper-based settlement system dating back to the 1850s. PwC’s Digital Property Report cites key opinion leaders calling to bring conveyancing into the 21st century
