Contactless Conveyancing in Scotland

Completing property transactions during COVID and beyond

Difficult Times - Innovative Answers

An introduction to ContactlessConveyancing

These are challenging times. At the start of 2021 we are facing a newly ferocious pandemic. The vaccine is on the horizon but, regrettably, it will be a long time before life returns to normal.

The housing market remains open but how can you safely access property legal services.

As one of the largest providers of property-related legal services in Scotland, McVey and Murricane recognises both the impact of the virus on transactions and the absolute requirement to offer legal services while working from home and protecting our colleagues.. Often it is the logistics which have been limited by lockdown requirements which mean that transactions do not complete, even where the parties involved want to achieve that.

ContactlessConveyancing is the key that unlocks the barriers.

How does ContactlessConveyancing work?

Since 2012 McVey and Murricane have been utilising an innovative method called MMiAuthority to ease the constraints and tensions of conveyancing and remortgage transactions.

MMiAuthority is a limited single use authority which has been successfully used in over 100,000 transactions. It has received widespread praise including the Property Law Committee of the Law Society of Scotland. MMiAuthority requires a great deal of organisation to be effective which is provided by the innovative and unique systems used and developed by McVey and Murricane. The systems use a "traffic lights" control to determine whether an MMiAuthority exists for any particular transaction.

ContactlessConveyancing develops the existing MMiAuthority further. As innovators, as well as experts, in Scottish property and lending law McVey and Murricane are always looking at new ways to make the conveyancing process easier for clients and lenders. We invest heavily on innovation as opposed to replicating what has been done for years.

ContactlessConveyancing takes matters one step further. Where necessary, relying upon an obscure section within existing Scottish legislation it allows for digital documents to be treated as original provided that that digital document is an electronic image of an original wet signed document.

The process has been approved as entirely valid and secure by one of the most senior conveyancing authorities in Scotland.

See our section "What are the requirements" to find out more detail on the working of ContactlessConveyancing.

How do I request the ContactlessConveyancing service?

CONTACT FORM

IMPLEMENTATION

Who can benefit from ContactlessConveyancing?

Essentially anyone who is involved in the property legal market but the people most likely to benefit are:

What are the requirements of ContactlessConveyancing?

HIGH STREET LENDERS
ContactlessConveyancing makes the provision of a safe and secure document signing environment far easier for people in isolated circumstances. It removes
- the requirement of leaving the house to obtain a stamp and posting.
- the Royal Mail having to deliver and
- recipients in handling the documents.
SECOND LENDERS

ContactlessConveyancing opens up a market which has been severely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, including the advance notice system.
OTHER LENDERS

ContactlessConveyancing enables deals such as bridging loans and other similar transactions to be completed in an organised and secure manner.
ESTATE AGENTS

During the lockdown, market activity is low. You want to know where there is activity, in compliance with regulations,that the transaction can be carried out in an environment which will maximise the possibility of completion. Using McVey and Murricane not only provides access to one of Scotland's busiest property legal firms but also ContactlessConveyancing technology which will enhance the chances of completion.
PROPERTY INVESTORS

Business can continue in some form but ContactlessConveyancing means that deals can be completed where both sides are happy to do so in compliance with regulations.
COMMERCIAL

Landlords and tenants necessarily want to document arrangements at the current time and ContactlessConveyancing removes the problem of dealing with the execution of complex documents being unable to be completed.
OTHER SOLICITORS

McVey and Murricane can provide you an opportunity to use ContactlessConveyancing at attractive rates.

a printer (if you do not have a printer the MMiAuthority can be sent by post);
a smartphone/tablet; and
a witness.

OUR TEAM

An award winning 65 person legal firm

The Contactless Conveyancing team

Fallon Sara Spencer

fspencer@mcvey-murricane.com

Fallon is the rising lending practitioner in Scotland - already in charge of her own department dealing with specialist lenders who greatly rely on her advice and training sessions.

Fallon is the driving force behind the contactless conveyancing innovation.

Within McVey and Murricane, Fallon has had a shooting star career quickly becoming an Associate and then a Principal. She has a particular interest in registration and technical matters and has developed a close partnership with Registers of Scotland, regularly providing recommendations to improve processes and registration law in Scotland.

Jonathan Edwards

jedwards@mcvey-murricane.com

A solicitor for over 40 years, experienced in property and lending work and renowned for new document creation and a systemised approach to lending property work; Managing partner of Golds Solicitors from 1991 to 2007 when the firm was merged with Irwin Mitchell. Golds was a leader in property and lending work being the second largest firm in Scotland by fee earners before the merger.

Jonathan has created original lending paperwork and innovative systems including white label arrangements for numerous UK high street organisations.

Jonathan is always pleased when his ideas gain purchase in the legal environment but is always frustrated that the rest of the world does not grasp the future of lending as clearly as him!