Collective Sale of Tampines Court

There have been rumors made about how an EOGM for a collective sale is imminent. I was asked if I had heard the 'good news' by a fellow resident. Alas, I think his jubilation might be a little bit premature as the en bloc group is still only procuring the necessary signatures for a proper requisition. They are possibly inept at the job  but I have no doubt they will achieve their goal. They are hoping for an EOGM in January, so look out for an announcement soon.

They have taken an inordinately long time getting the necessary 20%. - seeing as they started months ago. The flipper, property agents et al have been canvassing  non stop, knocking on doors, walking around, making cold calls.   Could they be possibly saying something like:-

• En bloc is inevitable (no it isn't)
• Everybody is interested (no they aren't)
• The en bloc will go through for sure (how do they know?)
• The new rules make everything safe (rubbish)
• We have your best interests at heart (more rubbish)
• The lifts have a 25/30 year lifespan only (no they don't)
• The BCA requires that lifts be replaced (no it doesn't)
• We need only a few more signatures (an agent's favourite sales pitch)
• Now is a good time to sell (you never can tell)

I would like to take issue with a corner cutting measure made by the pro-en bloc group. They have not done an estate-wide poll to gauge the level of support, preferring instead to gather the bare 20% and not bother to find out the views of the rest. Perhaps they are afraid that the level might only be hovering around 40% - in which case it would be pointless to go ahead. There is no LTSA requirement to conduct such a poll,  but it is something I would have expected a conscientious group of owners to have done, especially as the estate has gone through one bruising en bloc attempt already.

But pro-enblocers are generally not the conscientious type.  The flippers want to turn a quick profit. The backers tend to have pressing financial reasons to sell.

Our Minister of law, Mr. Shanmugam had something to say on the issue in the Second reading of the LTSA Amendment Bill:

"Our view is that such repeated attempts especially frivolous ones should be discouraged.  If there is no prospect of an en bloc sale succeeding, then owners should not be harassed, nor should owners be worn down or be subjected to attrition tactics.  The owner's right to live in peace and not be subjected to repeated attempts should be respected."

 

"Now, really, there can be no objection in principle to require that before you restart the entire process, you have to make sure that you are going to succeed."

 "Yes, we could do that, but there is the other aspect which I have emphasised, which is in a development, people if they have made their views extremely clear, and there is no realistic prospect of success, should not be bothered again and again."

Holding an EOGM does not automatically mean a sale committee will be formed, it will all depend on the wishes of the simple majority (50%+1) of those attending or by proxy. So it is vital that as many owners as possible should attend for it to be a true reflection of the estate's  sentiment and direction.