The conveyancing sector is undergoing significant transformation, driven by technological advancements and the need for greater efficiency.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to support various aspects of conveyancing, helping to mitigate persistent challenges and enhancing the overall process.

We’ve taken the industry view from our recent Residential Market Research Report, which surveyed residential property solicitors and conveyancers from across England, Scotland and Wales, and our own experts to collate the following list of benefits that conveyancers can derive from using AI.

1. Automation of labour-intensive tasks 

As part of our market research, we asked conveyancers to select the top three options for the question, ‘where do you see AI being the most useful in real estate?’, the top response was the streamlining of general administrative tasks (28%).

AI could help to reduce the burden of repetitive and mundane chores, allowing conveyancers to focus on higher-value activities. For instance, it can automate the process of document reviewing and data extraction, both of which are typically time-consuming and prone to human error. By leveraging AI, conveyancers can streamline these tasks, improving accuracy and efficiency.   

“AI can take away those labour intensive or laborious tasks, so that you’re allowing conveyancers to focus on the task where they add the most value, and they probably get more satisfaction in their own role day to day,” says Rob Steadman, Sales Director within Landmark Information Group.

2. Risk assessment and management 

Digitisation and automation can also play a supporting role in risk assessment and management. When asked the question “To what extent has digitising and automating certain conveyancing tasks delivered the following benefits in your business?”, nearly three-quarters (74%) of survey respondents said that automating certain tasks had improved risk management for lawyers and conveyancers to a ‘great’ or ‘some’ extent. 

“Understanding risk in a transaction earlier will help to support the process and the workflow management,” says Rob. “AI helps with automation, managing risk, and with the ability to price immediately.”

AI can also analyse vast amounts of data to identify potential risks, such as property disputes, environmental hazards, and compliance issues. This early identification allows conveyancers to address these risks proactively, reducing delays and ensuring smoother transactions. 

3. Enhancing due diligence 

Due diligence is a critical component of the conveyancing process, involving thorough checks on the property’s legal status, ownership, and any potential encumbrances. When asked, “what do you see as benefits of receiving data insights on the property and location,” just under two-thirds (65%) of respondents in our survey said that upfront data insights for transactions would remove delays earlier in the process.

“AI can enhance due diligence by providing comprehensive information, and ensure no critical information is overlooked,” says Allie Parsons, Customer Success Consultant at Landmark Information Group.

AI-powered tools also have the potential to quickly analyse property records, historical data, and other relevant documents to identify any red flags. This can not only speed up the due diligence process but also ensures that no critical information is overlooked. 

4. Improving communication and transparency 

According to our research, when answering the question “Thinking about the transactional process, what is your biggest frustration in your role as a residential conveyancer?”, 31% of conveyancers placed “Poor communication among all the transaction stakeholders”, within their top three concerns, the same level as being chased by or having to chase other stakeholders.

“Effective communication and transparency are essential for successful conveyancing transactions,” says Liz Jarvis, Divisional Director of Legal and Search at Landmark Information Group.  

AI could facilitate this better communication, for example, by providing a centralised platform where all stakeholders can access real-time updates and information. Rob adds: “A central hub that provides real-time updates on the status of various tasks could significantly reduce the time spent chasing information.”

AI-powered chatbots could handle routine enquiries from clients, providing instant responses and reducing the need for manual follow-ups. This improves transparency and keeps all parties informed throughout the transaction. 

5. Document management and verification 

The conveyancing process involves handling numerous documents, from contracts and title deeds to mortgage agreements and compliance certificates. AI has the potential to streamline document management and verification processes.

AI can automate the process of verifying the authenticity and completeness of documents, ensuring that all the necessary paperwork is in order. This can help to reduce the risk of errors and omissions, which can lead to downstream delays and complications in the transaction. 

6. Predictive analytics for market trends 

AI could provide valuable insights into market trends and property values through predictive analytics. By analysing historical data and current market conditions, AI could forecast future trends, helping conveyancers and their clients to make more informed decisions.

For instance, AI could predict property price fluctuations, identify emerging market hotspots, and assess the impact of economic factors on property transactions. This information can be invaluable for conveyancers when advising their clients and planning their strategies. 

7. Enhancing client experience 

Improving the client experience is a key goal for conveyancers. Digitisation, automation, and AI can play a significant role in achieving this. When asked about the extent digitising and automating certain conveyancing tasks delivered benefits to their business, nearly three quarters of our survey respondents (73%) replied that it had improved the overall customer service and customer experience for buyers and sellers by providing a more transparent process. 

“Improving the client experience is key, and AI can personalise updates, reminders, and recommendations based on individual client needs,” says Allie.

For example, AI could send automated notifications about the status of the transaction, upcoming deadlines, and any required actions. This keeps clients engaged and reassured, enhancing their overall experience. 

8. Training and skill development 

When prompted to choose three possible answers to the question: “thinking about your role, what do you think needs to be improved in order to attract and retain more talent in the sector?” The second and third highest selected replies were ‘enhanced training / development support’ (37%)  and ‘better technology to reduce workloads’ (36%).

This opens up the discussion around how AI could support the training and skill development of conveyancers. For instance, AI-powered tools could be used to train new entrants into the profession, providing them with interactive learning experiences and real-time feedback.

“Addressing skill shortages requires a careful balance to ensure that technology enhances rather than suggest it could replace the role of conveyancers” says Rob. AI can simulate various scenarios and challenges that conveyancers may face, helping them develop the necessary skills and knowledge.

This can help to address the skill shortages in the sector and ensure that conveyancers are well-equipped to handle more complex transactions. Allie adds, “AI could support the training and skill development of conveyancers, providing interactive learning experiences and real-time feedback.”

Conclusion 

The integration of AI, as well as digitisation and automation, into conveyancing offers numerous benefits, from automating labour-intensive tasks and enhancing due diligence to improving communication and client experience.

AI offers conveyancers the potential prospect of optimising workflows, minimising potential errors, and reallocating their time to more focus on high-value activities. As the property market continues to evolve and the possibilities of AI expand, choosing the right path may appear daunting. However, seeking guidance, connecting with colleagues to share experiences, and taking a phased approach by improving one key process and building from there can provide a more manageable and ultimately successful implementation strategy.

Download Landmark’s Market Research Report – ‘Residential Conveyancing: Looking ahead to 2025’.

In July 2024, OneSearch’s parent company, Landmark Information Group, interviewed 100 residential property solicitors and conveyancers in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Together, we asked about artificial intelligence, digital transformation, legislative changes, upfront information, and much more.

The responses shaped our new Market Research Report – ‘Residential Conveyancing: Looking ahead to 2025’ – which covers their challenges, concerns, priorities, and predictions for the coming year.

Find out what they said and download the report.

Landmark’s major new cross-market report has uncovered the top challenges and priorities for 2024 shared by estate agents, conveyancers, surveyors and lenders across the transaction chain.  

Our new cross-market report found that market challenges and the length of time it takes to complete a transaction to be among the top frustrations shared by all residential property professionals. 

The report, entitled ‘Future Thinking: what’s driving property professionals into 2024?’, features the views of hundreds of estate agents, conveyancers, surveyors and lenders.  

A striking convergence  

Our findings highlight some of the challenges and frustrations that senior property professionals are currently prioritising and sense-checks these against the aspirations of home movers.  

Here are some of the key headlines:  

  • Economic headwinds have clearly affected the sector, with over 75% of all groups citing the current economic climate, interest rates and the cost of living as a leading business concern for the next year.   
  • The length of time to complete a transaction was a top three frustration in the transactional process for estate agents (37%), surveyors (40%) and lenders (36%).
  • The ever-increasing regulatory and admin burden placed on property professionals appeared as a top five frustration for all four groups, with lenders ranking highest in this area, with 55% agreeing.  
  • All groups spent over 20% of their working days chasing or being chased – with poor communication among stakeholders cited as a top five frustration for estate agents and conveyancers in particular.   
  • Looking ahead, better technology and less administration were seen a key for all groups in improving efficiencies and reducing costs. 

Protracted timeframes  

Our research also canvassed the views of 500 home movers, with this group also sharing the sentiment expressed by property professionals to speed-up transactions. In fact, the majority of consumers aspired to wrap up their home moves within an 8-week timeframe – which is in stark contrast to the current average transaction time of 19 weeks1.  

A desire for digitisation  

The report also highlighted a remarkable consensus regarding the best solutions to addressing these challenges. Digitising workflows featured highly for three of the four groups, with surveyors (63%) and lenders (55%) ranking it as the leading factor that would have the biggest impact on productivity, and estate agents placing it third (41%.)   

Simon Brown, CEO, Landmark Information Group says:   

“Our research has thrown into sharp focus the many shared challenges our sector is facing. It also reminds us that we’re all part of the same property ecosystem, and although our roles and areas of expertise are different, we share more areas of commonality than we perhaps thought.   

“If we are all experiencing some of the same frustrations around difficult communications, increasing amounts of administration and a desire for better technology, then we need to focus on a collaborative solution to provide the speed and certainty the property professionals and consumers are so desperately craving.”   

Access our new market research report here.

This is a snippet of a blog post written by Simon Boyle, a solicitor from Landmark Information Group, reflecting on thoughts post-COP 27. To read the full post, click here.

The 27th Conference of the Parties held at Sharm el-Sheikh has drawn to a close. As with the previous COPs it has had mixed results. There was a positive development in the agreement to set up the loss and damage fund to help the poorest countries- but overall it did not deliver that which was urgently needed- a binding target on the big emitters whose economies are still mainly powered by fossil fuels. At the start of the conference Alok Sharma (President of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference and British Politician) warned that this was the last opportunity that world leaders had to ensure that the global temperature would not exceed 1.5 degrees c.

But with the failure to agree on binding targets, especially from the three biggest emitters China, US and India, it is looking almost certain that the critical 1.5°C goal set by the Paris COP in 2015 is not going to be achieved.

This should be ringing alarm bells across the world. We are already experiencing the effects of climate change from the 1.1°C rise that we have had so far. And of course, things will get a lot worse once we get to the 1.5°C of warming. But it is at least far better than a 2°C rise within the next 20 years.

That extra half degree additional increase may sound relatively modest but the global effects on both ecosystems and humans would be profound. For example, at 1.5°C of warming 8 % of plants will lose their habitable area but this doubles to 16% at a 2°C rise. A 1.5°C rise is predicted to destroy 70% of the world’s coral reefs but a 2°C rise will wipe them out entirely.

You can read Simon’s full post on the Landmark blog page here. To read more blogs from Landmark, click here.