Remember when they turned off analogue TV? My nan was really upset about it at the time. “What’s wrong with how TV has always been?” was the main question, but beneath it was fear, deep-seated, that her routine of 5.30pm Wheel of Fortune would be ‘disrupted’.
She resisted the change until the mandated switch to digital TV took effect and she no longer had the option. We gave her a digital TV for Christmas, and she was delighted by the new game shows that she could watch at all times of the day across a range of new channels.
Nan was all good in the end, but I remember there being so many people who seemed to be caught unawares when the telly-box turned off. How come, when there was so much coverage that the analogue TV switch-off was happening? How was it that so many people just weren’t ready?
It is the same with the mandate we have for a switch to electronic property transactions. Some of these milestones have already been hit as the march to turn paper off begins and moves along in all of the States and Territories under the intergovernmental agreement known as the Electronic Conveyancing National Law Agreement of 2011.
In each jurisdiction, there are (or will be) mandated milestones for when the analogue capabilities will be turned off, and yet most real estate agents are hanging onto paper contracts like a redundant analogue television.
Sure, there are a few things you need to do to get ready; but once you make the switch to digital, the benefits to business and consumers are enormous – just like Nan found out with all those extra digital TV channels. The possibilities!
Verification of Identity – According to a recent industry survey conducted by InfoTrack, only around half of all agents are aware of and using verification of identity checks in line with legislation. A switch to digital will make VOI easy and instantly confirmed via a smartphone app such as the IDfy app.
Greater Efficiency – The survey also showed that compiling and comparing copies of contracts (36.23%) and tracking down parties for signatures (29%) were the most time-consuming aspects of finalising sales. None of this administration work is dollar productive, it doesn’t add value to the client and it is all unnecessary when the technology exists for single-entry secure electronic contracts that can decrease administrative work, minimise errors, reduce costs and create a smooth and frictionless process for customers.
Peace of Mind – The survey also reported that 40 per cent of agents are concerned with fraudulent activity, according to the survey responses. While that may or may not be a legitimate degree of concern, the reality is that digital technology and electronic signatures support the elimination of fraud, thanks to multiple levels of authentication – a capability that has no paper equivalent.
Do you know what you need to do to make the most of digital property transactions? Are you ready for the analogue paper contracts to be turned off? If not, InfoTrack has put together a roadshow series of seminars offering agents, conveyancers, businesses and ultimately consumers ‘The Gift of Time’ – because that is what digitising the transaction will bring: a gift of time and time is money.
