A Certificate of Title is a person’s record of ownership and provides a record of all registrations and recordings of interests made with the Registrar of Titles on that particular property.
Property settlements and transactions are now completed online through Property Exchange Victoria (“PEXA”). All documents lodged within PEXA are completed electronically and signed digitally by an authorised party such as our office. With the transition to a fully online system, Land Titles Victoria now prefers issuing electronic Certificates of Titles at settlement.
If your property is mortgage-free, your electronic Certificate of Title (“eCT”) will be held by us, as a registered PEXA subscriber on your behalf. Should you have a mortgage over your property, the eCT will be held by your mortgagee (eg Commonwealth Bank).
For any future dealings required for that specific Certificate of Title, the holder of the eCT will be required to nominate that Title at Land Titles Office before lodging the required dealing. If ASAP Lawyers holds the eCT, please get in touch with us to arrange this. ASAP Lawyers can also assist in liaising with your mortgagee on Title to facilitate the nomination of your eCT to allow for the registration of further applications such as Plans of Subdivision or Transmission Applications on your eCT.
According to Land Titles Office Victoria, there are currently 3.4 million current titles securely stored electronically in the Victoria Online Titles System (VOTS). Land Titles Office Victoria has designed the electronic Certificate of Title system to minimise the possibility of fraud when dealing with property and provides for the additional protection of customers’ interests. We are assured that in ‘storing’ Certificate of Titles digitally, the Land Titles Office uses the latest security technology and has enhanced security features.
Should you wish for your current paper title to be converted and held by our office electronically, please do not hesitate to get in contact with our office. Additionally, if you require your eCT to be nominated for lodgement of an application with Land Titles Office, we would also be happy to assist.