Amity Law, a property law firm specialising in residential conveyancing, has completed its first digital purchase transaction using PEXA. The transaction marks an important milestone in the adoption of a digital completions process in the UK property market, the companies said.
The transaction saw the Bolton-based firm experience the live completion environment via PEXA’s FCA-regulated digital completions infrastructure. The case completed following a controlled onboarding and training process that enabled the Amity team to progress from progress the transaction through to completion in a pre-selected 8.30am slot, exchanging funds and digitally lodging the title application with HM Land Registry, all within the PEXA platform.
The transaction was a cash purchase and formed part of a property chain, with Amity acting on the purchase of a property.
Sarah Ryan, head of legal practice, finance and administration at Amity Law, said: “At the beginning, it is fair to say we all wanted change but still felt some apprehension about what that would mean in practice. Operationally, we knew the process via PEXA would work, but it still felt like a significant change. Once we were in the workspace and could see things in action, that apprehension disappeared. The process was easy to navigate and showed us what digital completions can mean in practice.”
Jenny Randell, the senior licensed conveyancer who handled the case, described the experience as a turning point in being able to provide a more certain experience for clients. “It was awesome,” she said.
“The idea of being able to have completions done and dusted before you have even logged on in the morning is genuinely mind-blowing. It completely changes what completion day can feel like for conveyancers and clients.”
Joe Pepper, UK CEO at PEXA, said: “This is a brilliant milestone for Amity Law and another positive step for the adoption of digital completions in the UK. Amity’s experience shows that while change can understandably feel significant at the outset, the right infrastructure, onboarding and support can give firms greater confidence and control at completion.
“Digital completion is not about replacing the expertise of conveyancers. It is about giving firms better tools to support their clients at one of the most important points in the transaction.”
Amity Law will continue to work with PEXA to identify further suitable cases and share its experience with other law firms, introducers and industry stakeholders. As more firms begin to explore digital completions, PEXA and Amity Law say they are keen to work with like-minded law firms that want to understand the process and help shape how digital completions works in practice and encourage interested firms to get in touch.