IN a competitive market place where innovation and performance matter and business growth is dependent on relationship and service delivery, the use of technology to enhance productivity has become a priority.
“With 92% of respondents in LexisNexis Attorneys’ Profession in South Africa Report 2016 considering smarter use of technology to be of importance, utilising the best and most reliable sources of information and data, in the most cost-effective manner is what differentiates market leaders from the rest,” said Greg Brown, director at LexisNexis South Africa.
While the law dictates that the process of transferring property ownership rests firmly in the hands of the legal fraternity – more specifically those of qualified conveyancers, there is a shift of knowledge power resulting from clients’ increased access to technology and information. This shift has meant that transactions and the reporting thereof come with the expectation of immediacy, where before the conveyancer and the Deeds office led the process.
“As 60% of clients use family and friend referrals as their primary point of reference when selecting a legal representative, today’s legal conveyancer needs to put relationship building at the forefront – with real time tracking of processes and communication to clients forming an integral part of that,” said Brown.
“The importance of accurate and regular updates on the transfer process – with anxious sellers and keen buyers hanging on every shred of progress to confirm their transaction, has become especially relevant in the current economic climate where bond applications are regularly rejected by lending authorities.”
Against this background, his company offers Lexis WinDeed, which claims to provide conveyancers with a “comprehensive and trustworthy” point of access to the relevant documentation required during the transfer process including property reports, ID verification, automated valuations and street address conversion maps.
Transfer of property through the Registrars is now streamlined with Lexis WinDeed offering users the ability to update Title Deeds using OCR Text versions of Deeds Office Document Copies and track matters lodged at the Deeds Office using the Deeds Office Tracking System (DOTS).