Adaptation to the digital age

Adaptation to the digital age

Newly appointed director discusses the conveyancing process and challenges facing the profession

Nick Dyoss, Group Business Development Director at SearchFlow shares his views on the successes and downfalls of conveyancing and ways in which the market has embraced technology.

You have a high profile within the conveyancing search industry, having worked at TM Group for over 10 years, what has attracted you to now join SearchFlow? 

“SearchFlow is providing the best service and product offering in the market. The continual roll out of new products is impressive. Technology and data companies are now making ground-breaking changes within the wider legal and property sector and I wish to be at the forefront of change, working for a company that has an ambitious vision to fulfil.” 

Can you give an example of a product that SearchFlow has recently launched that has improved efficiency within the conveyancing sector?

“SearchFlow has recently launched a new agile mapping and ordering tool which has been redesigned to deliver the best customer experience, removing unnecessary steps and plugging in new tools and data services to help streamline the process. It is available for commercial and residential property transactions and offers significant time and costs savings whilst improving user experience. The tool has been extremely well received and we know we have created an unrivalled tool already. But this is only the first of several releases of the new agile platform and there are further enhancements in the pipeline which will raise the bar further.” 

What is the main challenge facing the property industry at the moment?

“Fraud and cybercrime is clearly up there. According to the Law Society, a quarter of law firms have reported being targeted by scammers in the last year. A startling figure which is reflected in many industries. As a result, the cybersecurity industry is one of the fastest growing in the world. Electronic solutions, checks and systems are more readily available to ensure the profession is best protected but unfortunately they are still not universally adopted. For example, recently we revealed that only 5% of sole practitioners are carrying out electronic AML checks on all transactions, and only half of larger firms, of 15+ partners, are adopting them.” 

SearchFlow is often talking about how your services can aid conveyancer’s risk management, can you explain? 

“Working alongside our sister brand, Landmark Information Group, we are becoming increasingly more sophisticated in mapping and identification of areas of risk, reducing any likelihood that potential problems will be overlooked. This level of analysis, which is clearly signposted, is not only improving transparency but reassuringly aiding compliance and ensuring consistency of standard throughout a law firm.” 

With the Government’s current ‘call for evidence’ on the home-buying process, many have hailed this as a pivotal moment, what do you foresee for the future of the process? 

“We are now seeing all aspects of the homebuying process adapt to the digital age and as a result, the transparency and speed of accessing data, for both homebuyers and the professionals, has reached a higher level of sophistication. Now the technology and change in mindset is in place, the components are there for industry to join up the homebuying process throughout, improving communication and transparency of information at each step.” 

One of the main concerns about the house-buying process is the need to cut down on abortive transactions, how can data providers assist with tackling this problem? 

“We are improving speed, accuracy of data and transparency of information. With professionals and consumers able to access the same information from the outset, it will significantly reduce any unforeseen problems being unearthed down the process, and the resultant abortive transactions that can often follow.”

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