Pauline Curraey, Principal at ConveyAbility, is no stranger to online settlements, calling the transition to digital a “no brainer”.
Not only does she have a double digit online transaction portfolio but her firm is PEXA Certified. Despite this impressive resume, she didn’t refrain from attending a recent ORG e-Conveyancing workshop, stating, “Ongoing training is part of being a good conveyancer”.
With more than 30 years conveyancing experience in her pocket, Pauline’s advice is difficult to ignore.
“You can’t expect to be able to use new tools or improve your skills without training” Pauline explains. “Digital processes aren’t new to any of us in everyday life but I sometimes feel that the conveyancing industry is still catching up to the 20th century – let alone being leaders in the 21st century!”
Ensuring the next generation of conveyancers are aware of industry changes and how, once qualified, they’ll be settling online, Pauline has introduced PEXA into her Conveyancing classroom at Macquarie University.
“I invited PEXA’s Sydney team to speak with my students and present the platform. I want them to be aware of how the industry is evolving. Next step is working to add PEXA to the curriculum like training organisations in Victoria and Western Australia have started to do”.
For Pauline, her training doesn’t end in the lecture hall, she has walked a number of her peers through their first electronic settlement too.
“When I find out that the lawyer or conveyancer on the other side of a conveyance is registered with PEXA but hasn’t transacted before, I offer to help them through it. It puts them at ease when we reach out and remove judgment or pressure from the situation. Conveyancers should be working together and PEXA has the right support to smooth the way. While other interfaces we use provide little or no support, PEXA has a support team, how-to manuals, and the PEXA Community on hand, as well as government-run training like the ORG e-Conveyancing workshop I attended last month – there’s no reason why someone couldn’t learn”.
Although ConveyAbility had some teething problems at the beginning, they continued to train and use available support services to become competent PEXA-users. Now the benefits are evident.
“The idea of having people running around town carrying documents and collecting and depositing bank cheques seems ridiculous and archaic. PEXA removes this need and provides a lot more certainty and flexibility. If fact, one of our PEXA settlements rolled over a couple of times in one day due to an issue outside PEXA and was able to settle at 5pm instead of 2.30pm. We could not believe it, if this happened in the paper world, time would have been called on it by 4pm. Instead, my client still got the keys to their new home that day and their move was not disrupted. It’s these things that make electronic settlement a much better choice. If I could I’d do all my settlements online, I have no idea why people are clinging to paper settlements, they’re so inefficient!”
“I like to be at the front of the pack when it comes to my business and customer service and once the industry hits 100% online property transactions my firm will be well and truly ready”.
