Increased efficiency, better client service means there's no 'going back' to the old way of doing things
This article was produced in partnership with Teranet.
Although much of day-to-day life has returned to pre-COVID norms, there were gains made by businesses over the pandemic period that people are reluctant to lose – and that includes the myriad benefits real estate law firms have derived from SureFund.
“There’s no question the COVID period drove more law firms to adopt remote-friendly technologies,” says Dilprit Grewal, Senior Vice President, Registry and Property Solutions at Teranet. “SureFund delivers an efficient and secure way to enhance productivity and deliver increased client satisfaction, and that’s not something these firms want to back down from.”
What SureFund delivers
A secure platform that manages and processes closing day funds and disbursements in Ontario, Teranet’s digital payout solution is a one-stop-shop for real estate legal professionals. They can organize, disburse, and track real estate or mortgage refinancing transactions online, at any time, making one transfer for all types of disbursements and letting SureFund handle the rest. It also lets users know when funds are ready to disburse and there’s the option to have SureFund keep legal teams updated on the progress of payments in real time. With a focus on smooth deal completion, SureFund can also send important notifications on necessary steps to ensure what needs to get done, is done on time.
“When the sale is done, within 10 minutes you input the information and it’s all disbursed,” says Zamir Alakozi, real estate lawyer and founder of Advent Legal. “It’s simple but effective and overall makes everyone’s lives easier, which is what we look for.”
Lauren Darby, law clerk at Caruso Law, agrees with Alakozi, noting that “SureFund is 100% integral to my day-to-day operation.”
“We trust the system to take care of all disbursements – we haven’t done a physical payout since spring/early summer last year.”
Teranet is committed to providing a secure environment, and that commitment is ever more critical to combat cyber-fraud. SureFund uses the highest level of security measures available – two-factor authentication and data encryption – and all servers are protected by sophisticated firewall hardware and software. The protection of clients’ confidential information is paramount, with sensitive data such as credit cards and bank accounts protected with secure encryption transmission, and only lawyers in good standing in Ontario can sign deals and release funds.
A point of no return
While the height of virtual closings may be cooling as COVID restrictions fade out and some return to in-person, many lawyers are resisting a return to “the old way of doing things.” Faced with ever-increasing client demand that they do more with less, practice management is a critical component to a thriving, modern law firm. Automating manual processes and providing superior customer service are key to that goal, and SureFund helps real estate legal professionals do both.
By removing the need to wait at the bank, run cheques, organize couriers or deal with endless paperwork and potential processing errors and delays out of their control, real estate law firms are able to focus on growing their client base and strengthening existing relationships by increasing value and convenience — the mark of a modern office that’s committed to providing solutions to clients’ ever-evolving concerns, and that matches client demand for a more efficiency.
“SureFund streamlines a previously labour-intensive process and the biggest perk, especially with working remotely, is you don’t need to stress about going to the bank,” says Darby.
Above and beyond streamlining the management of real estate funds and delivering greater value to existing clients, SureFund’s web-based platform creates opportunity for real estate lawyers to attract clients from anywhere in Ontario while its efficiencies free up time for lawyers to source more clients and build their practice as they wait out the current dip in the market. As a faster and easier way to do things, lawyers are free to leverage their skills where they’re most needed: taking on more complex work and focusing on client deals.
Streamlining refis
The vast majority of clients use SureFund for sales and refinancing deals, with the latter seeing more activity throughout the pandemic. When people are taking out a new mortgage or consolidating debts, refinancing often comes with multiple payouts and SureFund is especially effective in these situations as it streamlines the process: lawyers can make one wire transfer to one place, and SureFund handles the disbursements. This simplifies things for all parties, bringing an efficient and dependable solution to what can be a time-consuming process.
Moving in the right direction
Ultimately, while the pandemic may have been the push that some real estate legal professionals needed to embrace technology that allowed them to connect remotely and conduct business securely, the efficiencies gained across the board means many of these solutions are here to stay. The appetite for remote working arrangements and streamlined processes is still strong, and addressing those needs is where SureFund’s capabilities shine.
“We can’t imagine running the firm without SureFund,” Alakozi says. “It’s something we’ve come to completely depend on as a firm, and we can’t do our jobs without it: it serves a function that’s useful for real estate law generally.”
Beyond a remote-friendly technology capable of connecting team members and clients from wherever, whenever SureFund also helps real estate law firms action their top priorities: delivering a more efficient and secure service in a way that enhances productivity and drives client satisfaction in the right direction.
Darby has embraced the technological advances brought about by the pandemic, including the mass movement to an online way of doing things, and she for one is not going back. She’s an advocate for anything that makes her job more streamlined – and other real estate legal professionals should feel that way too.
“Bottom line, more lawyers should get into this system,” she says. “It saves time for the lawyer, clerks and clients and eases a lot of stress.”
For a first-hand look at what SureFund delivers, request a demo today.
SureFund, powered by Teranet, is a secure platform for real estate legal professionals to digitally manage and process closing day funds and disbursements in Ontario. The solution closes the tech gap of the funds management component of real estate or mortgage refinancing transactions, which has been manual, costly, and prone to delays. SureFund enables real estate law firms to thrive by increasing value and convenience to their clients.
Teranet is Canada’s leader in the delivery and transformation of statutory registry services with extensive expertise in land and commercial registries. We also market insightful property and data solutions, as well as practice management automation to thousands of customers in the real estate, financial services, government, utilities, and legal markets.
