Gone are the days of paper documents and face-to-face exchanges; in our increasingly digitised world, even conveyancing has taken the leap to an electronic solution. When it comes to selling or buying a home in Australia, you’ll find that the vast majority of conveyancers and property lawyers confer on one platform for the settlement process — PEXA.
To help you gain a clear understanding of what PEXA is and how it works, we’ve provided this guide covering everything you need to know about PEXA and how it relates to your property sale or purchase.
What is PEXA?
PEXA, short for Property Exchange Australia, is the leading electronic service platform in the country for the transfer of ownership of property between buyers and sellers. First established in 2010, PEXA has since become the go-to platform for digital conveyancing for property buyers and sellers, as well as conveyancers and property lawyers. In fact, it’s likely that any property transaction carried out with the help of conveyancers today will be carried out on PEXA.
How exactly does PEXA work?
There are certain prerequisites to using PEXA for a property transaction, such as the requirement to be a registered user of the platform. When working with a professional conveyancing service, conveyancers (who are already registered) will typically guide clients through this process. Upon successful registration, clients can then access the PEXA platform to initiate the settlement process.
Here are the key stages for how PEXA works during the property settlement process:
1. Workspace creation
Conveyancers or property lawyers servicing the property seller create a PEXA workspace and send out digital invitations for all relevant parties to join. This online workplace is kept private to invited members and serves as the main hub for activity for the entire process.
2. Verification and certification
Each party involved in the transaction must obtain a digital certificate from an accredited provider. The purpose of this verification is to ensure accountability and allow individuals to legally sign documents on the platform. These digital certificates are obtainable from an external range of accredited providers for a fee.
3. Document upload and exchange
With all identities verified, both parties will upload and exchange the relevant documents for the transaction, such as sale contracts, transfer of ownership documents, and financial statements.
4. Financial settlement
Upon signing of the contracts, the buyer can proceed to transfer the funds for the property settlement amount. This transfer can be completed electronically via the PEXA platform.
5. Land Registry lodgement
As a final stage, the parties lodge the transfer of ownership of the property with the appropriate land registry through the PEXA platform, adding any other relevant documents as necessary.
The adoption of PEXA for digital conveyancing in Australia
It may be difficult to believe, but up till a decade ago, almost all property transactions and conveyancing were completed with paper documentation, with the exchange of documents and contracts carried out in person. Naturally, this meant that the process of conveyancing and property transfer could take much longer, especially if travel or face-to-face meetings were required, or due to delays or even simple mistakes made on essential legal documents.
All of this changed when PEXA came onto the scene with a digital solution to conveyancing, allowing buyers and sellers to conduct their transactions entirely online without the need for physical meetings or even documents to be exchanged. Since then, PEXA has become the predominant platform for conveyancing and is now used by the majority of all Australian financial institutions and over 10,000 conveyancers and property lawyers across all states and territories.
Benefits of using PEXA for settlement
As a fully electronic solution, PEXA provides a number of benefits for both buyers and seller by streamlining the property settlement process. Some of the main benefits of using PEXA include:
Secure transactions
PEXA’s requirement for identity verification provides a secure way to ensure that parties don’t fall prey to scams or bad actors. This provides a layer of security and peace of mind for all parties, helping to ensure that transactions are carried out safely and properly.
Quicker settlement
PEXA significantly streamlines the property transaction process by making it happen all in one place. On average, property settlements conducted on PEXA can be finalised as quickly as within 90 minutes which is much shorter than compared to the drawn out process of physical exchanges and paper-based documentation.
Useful information
PEXA also includes additional guidance for the conveyancing process by providing helpful articles and tips on what each stage of the settlement process means, plus checklists to help buyers and sellers prepare the necessary items they need.
Experience smooth property transactions with PEXA and Entry Conveyancing
Property transactions have many moving parts — any mistakes or delays in the settlement process can be costly for both sellers and buyers. When you choose to work with Entry Conveyancing, you can rest assured that we will help you cover all aspects of the conveyancing process from managing it on the PEXA platform, to providing the right expertise for your next steps. Contact us today to get a free quote for our conveyancing services in Sydney or across Melbourne.
