Pg 4 - Letter of Authority

Just when we are nearly done and dusted, another little hiccup comes along. Never thought I would be writing another piece such as this ever again. I waited until after the signing was finished to comment on this strange little matter of the Page 4 Letter of Authority .

We are at the very last stages and it should be no bother for people to sign the necessary documents to close the matter - but really, asking people to sign off on a substantial bill-as-yet-unseen is too much - especially when the numbers don't seem to tally. The 'vocal' amongst are bound to object - - and object we do.

So, what was on this Page 4 that has caused it to be possibly withdrawn on the last day of signing (to be confirmed)?

Well, it was a Letter of Authority to the 2 law firms confirming that we agree to permit payment due to them' in the manner as follows'.

1. Our lawyers fees in accordance with the CSA
2. The Property Agent's fee in accordance with the CSA
3. Bank redemption
4. CPF redemption
5. The balance going to our bank account

First objection:

'In the manner as follows'? What does that mean - that they will deduct their fees in that particular order? Surely the CPF and Bank have first charge - they have to wait until those sums have been settled, surely. Remember me asking about 'Order of Charge' at the last meeting and not getting a satisfactory answer? This to me looks like we are being asked to agree in writing to a specific order in which the funds are to be channelled. Why does this matter? For the vast majority, the sales proceeds are ample enough to cover all 4 payments and then some, but you never know if there are units under stress and what complicated arrangements they might have with lending authorities. 

Hypothetically speaking - if a unit runs out of money after paying the first 3 items on the list - the CPF has a waiver policy which means the unit will lose his CPF (capital as well as accrued interest).

If the order of charge were reversed and items 1 & 2 were last then there would not be enough cash left to pay the collective fees and they would have a hard time getting blood from stone. This is all just hypothetical and only if the Letter of Authority is referring to the order of charge.

'In the manner as follows' is an odd choice of words if not. Perhaps they meant to say "In the matters that follow"

2nd Objection

The young lawyer was very adamant that we sign for the fees as stated in the CSA, I told her I didn't sign the CSA, nor are the fees fully fleshed out and that I wasn't signing for a bill I have not yet seen.  I have no problem with the fees as stated in the CSA - amounting to 1.28%, I have a problem with the unbilled extras which may be 'plus or minus 0.22%'. We were told we would be given a breakdown of costs and here they were, getting hundreds of people to sign on the dotted line without them ever seeing any kind of breakdown. Their confirmation of the unseen fees would be 'irrevocable'. To me this is bad practice. An asterix at the end of the letter noted that a draft completion account would be provided at the end of May - lets hope it is not just bald figures and is a comprehensive breakdown of all the costs & expenses.

The young lawyer also told me 'everyone will pay the same' and that the percentage is 1.5%. I told her the percentage was not 1.5% and everyone will pay according to their proportion of the sales proceeds. In the end, I just didn't sign page 4 and toddled off to my favourite lawyer who has more informed answers.  This lawyer told me I need not sign and after I confirmed with her that neither the Bank not the CPF require me to sign this form for matters to move along, I took my page 4 home until after the itemised bill is presented in May.

It is my opinion that I do not have to sign Page 4 at all, it is totally redundant because I have sold my house and these things will be done automatically anyhow.

Now on to the next matter of the 1.5% 'plus or minus'
As with any collective sale, the full costs of the sale cannot be known at the beginning. Base fees are agreed upon in the Terms of Appointment and it is these base fees that add up to 1% for the MA and 0.28% for the lawyer.
What's not included in these fees (as far as I can determine from the CSA)

• GST @ 7% 
• STB Application fee 
• Newspaper Advertisement 
• Valuation at close of tender 
• Legal fees with regard to Discharge of Mortgage / CPF / SSD / PropertySearches - all of which are minimal fees
• Disbursements; eg printing @15cents/page, postage ($20 each), probably the number of paper clips used, travel expenses
• Unknowns to blogger

Now, the question is, will all these extras really add up to the extra 0.22% of the Sales Price =  $2.134 m or approx $3,800 per unit. 

GST alone costs approx $870k, but it is our money being spent, and it is only correct and proper that we be given the bill before signing off on any amount. Expedience and efficiency should not trump proper procedure and accountability.

Property Tax

We have paid out property tax in full for 2018 as per the Law. It is now up to the Buyer to reimburse the unused portion when we leave.

So, will we be refunded the full 6 months property tax or will it depend on when we leave?

According to the Law Society of Singapore's Conditions on Sale 2012 Booklet, the Vendor is only liable for payment up to and including the Completion Date.

Will we be held to this same standard or will we be still paying property tax on a unit we no longer own? 

A question for the lawyer, but I think the answer is we are contractually obligated to pay up until we vacate the unit. It's a small matter and not one I am particularly concerned about.

Developer broadcast: Move out ASAP

Look at this warning:

I don't think this is even legal. No where in out S&P does it say that we are liable to pay damages if the Buyer can't handle the workload. 

• How are owners to know how many slots are available?
• How are owners supposed to know how many men Sim Lian has assigned to the task?
• Why can't Sim Lian employ more people to the task KNOWING IN ADVANCE that there might be a rush at the end?
• By right, all owners have a full 6 months to vacate inclusive of 10 Business days written notice to the developer (see 14A of the S&P). - 

The owner has a responsibility to hand over vacant possession giving the Buyer 2 weeks notice (10 business days). This 10 business days was a condition set by the Buyer in the S&P and so they must honour it by boosting their manpower if need be.

But there is another little not-so-innocuous clause in the S&P - 12.35
12.35 says that we, the venders, have to comply with all reasonable administrative directions.  

Q: Does this clause let them off the hook? - one clause laying down the administrative guidelines of handing over and the other  the power to penalise you  if you take your 10 days at their busiest time? 

Isn't this warning (or threat) akin to those false signs in shops which read "no returns or exchanges " when we know there are Lemon Laws which protect all buyers.

Sensible comment below :

Nice :)

Dotting i's and Crossing t's

On the 12 Jun 2018 (the scheduled completion date for Tampines Court) MCST 2644 will be no more. Our Books would have been handed over for Auditing and no one is liable to pay anything to MCST as it has ceased to exist. There will be no Management Council, no Managing Agent - just whoever Sim Lian wants to be in charge and in the management office - which may or may not be the present MA.

The Audit is from the last Audit to the actual date of Completion. So the post-completion period is not included.

Whilst I understand the rational for continuing to pay maintenance fees as long as you are staying in the estate, I am baffled by the requirement to keep adding to the Sinking Fund*. The Accounts are closed and there is no need for a Sinking Fund. This is just handing over money to Sim Lian for no purpose and it won't be coming back to us. This is post-audit, remember.

It is just small change/free money for Sim Lian.  (560 x $44 = $24,640 per month decreasing)

Rent by a different name, perhaps?

* The amount owing by your unit will be deducted from the $50k retention sum when you hand over vacant possession

I have yet to send in my official request for an email copy of the Audited Accounts when they come through post-completion. As rightful owners of TC right up until the last day we should be entitled to see the Audited Accounts.

I shall send my official request to both  the current Managing Agent and the Lawyer.

A case of dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

Next Step

A Legal Letter in the post today.

We have to sign four more sets of documents no later than 4 May 2018

The Lawyers will be in the estate on the following days:

26 April 2018 / Thursday / 5.00 pm - 9.00 pm

27 April 2018 / Friday / 5.00 pm - 9.00 pm

28 April 2018 / Saturday / 11.00 am - 3.00 pm

All SPs must attend to sign and bring a copy of their IC. 

Co-owners can sign on different days if they can't attend together.

If you are unable to attend: call the lawyer (details provided in letter) and make an appointment to sign no later than 4 May 2018 at the lawyer's office.

Faber Graden (FH, Upr Thomson Rd)

Life's Baggage

After 35 years of marriage and 4 children, one is bound to have amassed a mountain of possessions. Even the periodical throwing out of unwanted or broken items over the years never really put a dent in the steady accumulation of 'stuff'.  My last house move was in 2002 and that involved moving from a spacious old Black & White pre-war house we had occupied for 10 years into Tampines Court.  Stuff did get thrown away then, but mostly old baby items, the rest I managed to get in somehow, it was a tight squeeze.

This next move will be brutal and the non-sentimentalist in me is chafing at the bit to get it done.
I have four simple questions to ask of each object in turn - 

1. Does this serve a function? 
2. Do I need it in my life?
3. Do I have space for it in my new home?
4. Will my daughters want this when I am gone?

The answer to the first three questions is a simple yes or no. The fourth requires the sending of a WhatsApp pic to my girls and waiting for their determination. I really should not be surprised by their unanimous reply of 'Throw!' to so many things. They are their mother's daughters after all.  For example, a heavy wooden sideboard which has been in their lives since they were born; I thought surely one of them would like that as an heirloom. No! they cried, it's hideous, get rid of it!  So be it.

Invisible stuff
In truth, I started the whittling down process last year, weeks before my husband's retirement. Being a hoarder who sees a future use in every useless object, I had to make sure that the forthcoming moving period was not going to be difficult for him and quietly removed things by stealth without them ever being missed. I started with the hidden stuff and stuff that hadn't seen the light of day in 16 yrs. I emptied presses of unused kitchen appliances, excess delph from our party days in Changi, and goodness knows how many old computer screens, hard discs & assorted computer paraphernalia hidden away in drawers and the back of the storeroom. Nothing was missed. I grew bolder and removed entire bookcases and tons of books. Again, nothing missed. The bedrooms were beginning to feel decluttered and delightful. I gathered all the bags and shoes in the house into one pile and chose only those I actually used on a regular basis. I did the same with sheets, towels, cutlery, scissors, you name it, they all got pared down to a manageable number. That was Round I only. I will repeat the same process again before I leave, I feel I may have been too lenient on a number of items.
The storeroom remained formidable and dense as ever, but I have been making great strides in that area this past week

Visible stuff

The big stuff I couldn't touch until now.

Now that we know what our future home looks like; snazzy and small,  the impossibility of bringing all that we have has sunk in with my husband. He is now a keen helper in the downsizing process. Only this morning he took a hammer to a super-heavy wooden wardrobe that was unfit to pass on and broke it down into smaller pieces before removing it to the dustbin centre. This would have been unthinkable a few short weeks ago.  Last week I put my upright Yamaha piano on Carousel for free and 2 men were at my door in 45 mins to cart it away. From wall paintings to a cello,  whatever I deem is in good enough condition to give / sell away will get one chance to find a new home, or else it's the dump for them.

Stuff still to go: 

• Large vintage 1950's teak wardrobe  Sold 
• Large Chinese watercolour painting (framed)  Sold
• Medium-sized oil painting Sold
• Yamaha upright piano  Taken
• SMD Rework Station Sold
• Vintage 1946 Singer Sewing machine 1 (Electric) Sold
• Vintage 1948 Singer Sewing machine 2 (Electric) Sold
• Vintage 1954 Singer Sewing machine 3 (Electric) Sold
• Dining table  Discarded
• 1 Queen sized mattress Taken
• 1 Carpet   Discarded
• Computer table  Discarded
• 1 Large Ikea wardrobe Discarded
• 1 Queen sized divan bed Discarded 
• 3-seater + 2-seater sofa  Discarded
• Office chair  Discarded
• 2x Ikea Wardrobes  Taken
• 2x Ikea sets of Drawers Taken
• 2 x 54" Crestar AirVac ceiling fans Sold
• 3 x 48" Crestar AirVac ceiling fans Sold
• 2 Queen sized bed frames Taken
• 160cm TV console Sold
• Oven with Cabinet Taken
• Samsung Fridge (2 yrs old) Sold
• Stand-alone Gas Cooker Discarded
• 3 x 13+yr old cats,  names : Scruffy, Nuisance & Gorgeous ....any takers?

Not one item removed so far has caused me a moment's worth of grief. My aim is to eventually move with just the bare necessities and to begin a new phase of life surrounded only by that which is essential or loved. I want to recreate that feeling of lightness not felt since we were both young and carefree and just starting out, unburdened by the oppressive weight of possessions. I am not there yet, I have weeks of sorting to go, but it's getting easier by the day.

Rio Casa / Riverfront Residences

Website: RIVERFRONT RESIDEBCES

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