Challenging Times for RPs

Picking up from a comment made today about Florence Regency's Audited MCST Fund and the Buyer's reluctance in making a speedy refund - I went to the FR website here and sure enough there is some noise going on over there.

I do not know the specifics of the S&P for FR - but if there is a legal space for the Buyer to query the Audit then it surely has to go through the proper channels, namely ACRA (Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority). After all, the audit must be done in accordance with the Singapore Standards on Auditing. 

I wonder why they are making such a mountain out of what surely must be a molehill. They are counting every penny...

As for the 50K retention sum; again I do not know if this sum is returned after each individual unit vacates or after the last unit in the estate vacates. Tampines is the former and I got my retention sum (minus accountable deductions) without any bother. Ditto the MCST refund. 

URA tweaking guidelines

PINE GROVE

The echoes of Tampines Court are ringing through Pine Grove's collective sale. Not only did we have the same Marketing Agent, but seemingly the same tactics are being played out as well. In late 2016 , the Sale Committee wanted to raise the RP from the miserly $1.32m to $1.5m/unit. Even at that price, I argued it was too low and should be set at $1.7 minimum. I remember the sale committee meeting where I attended as an observer but was allowed to speak. I though $1.5m would only garner the support of 60%. Soon after that meeting, Huttons resigned. They thought the $1.5m was unobtainable and a waste of their time. A short while later they rejoined the sale attempt picking up where they had left off - arguing that the SC had not accepted their letter of resignation and hence they were technically still engaged as marketing agent.  

Are the same tactics being employed here? Has Pine Grove's CSC accepted the resignation or is it still just hanging in the air? Huttons somehow swallowed the new RP and soldiered on - but still, Tampines Courters were not biting in large enough numbers. At the eleventh hour, the RP was further raised to $1.72m and the the finishing line was finally crossed with a few days to spare. 

In the article above; Huttons explained that Pine Grove's reserve price was based on the Residual Land value method - but has anyone in Pine grove (including the Sale Committee) ever seen this mystical RLV? We in TC never ever saw the touted RLV, not even once. 

Another unanswered question of mine was the mechanism for lowering the RP should a bid come in below the RP.  There was some argument about whether a fresh consent from ALL consenters would be necessary or only those that signed for the later, higher RPs. The question was never addressed and we did not, thankfully, have to find out the hard way.

Pine Grove's 2% represents 14 units - lets see if they can do it before DDay on 28 Oct 2018 - with or without a Marketing Agent.

FINAL AUDIT & MCST REFUND

Well, it came in the email today - the final Audit as of 12 Jun 2018. The Auditor is the same Auditor that TC has used in the past. All seems to be in order.

The Total sum in the MCST funds was $2,411,495 so each unit will receive $4,306.24 directly into their bank accounts.

Mine has already been credited so there endeth my involvement with Tampines Court.


Thank you, Eldan Law

Aborted Collective Sales 2018

So, two collective sales have bitten the dust since the Government cooling measures in July. One is my neighbour - I was wondering why their banner had disappeared between the time I left for my  extended Europe vacation and when I got back. 

Goodbye Normanton Park

Normanton Park residents go on souvenir-collecting spree ahead of final goodbye

I wonder if Tampines Court residents will do the same. We don't have nice block signs and I doubt if anyone will be digging up the hideous orange signage with the giant purple snails. Perhaps a park bench for those lucky enough to have a garden? 

The only souvenir I took was my own wrought iron door sign - the ubiquitous kind you hang outside the front gate. It's still in the storeroom. 

Handing Over, Retention Sum & Sinking Fund Refund

On 29 Aug 2018, we handed over our unit to Sim Lian's representative without hassle.

On 10 Sep 2018 , the remainder of the Retention Sum was deposited into our Bank Account.

Retention Sum : $50,000
Deposited: $49, 093.36
_____________________
Deducted: $906.64

I have been away since August and am only now looking at tying up the loose ends. Seeing as monthly maintenance fee was only $207 - I calculate it should be around $600 at the very  most.

I have sent an email requesting a breakdown. (If we got one before, I haven't seen it)

UPDATE:
Eldan was very swift in their response and sent this breakdown:

In case you are wondering about the Property Tax - you recall we had to pay up for the full PT for 2018, but we were also reimbursed $33.33/month (if paying resident owner tax rate) for the period 13 June - 31 Dec 2018 to the tune of $220. This small sum was added to our Sales Proceeds. (See Completion Accounts as at Jun 2018 from the Lawyer's Legal letter. The Developer incurs a higher PT which he asks us to pay.

I hope there is a similar breakdown for the forthcoming MCST Account - which will be distributed 'by the end of the month'.

Ivory Heights Enbloc Bid fails

Mega site Ivory Heights fails to get 80% approval, collective sale off

Ivory Heights, a 654-unit privatised Housing and Urban Development Company estate in Jurong East, has failed to get the requisite 80 per cent approval to launch a public tender by yesterday's deadline.

Analysts pointed to factors such as the July 6 cooling measures as well as the postponement by two years of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project.

Collective sale committee chair Vincent Ng cited resistance from some residents even after the initial reserve price of $1.34 billion had been raised twice, to $1.68 billion.

Each owner would have got $2.5 million to $2.8 million, up from $2 million to $2.3 million.

"We were at 74 per cent for the last few months. More than 480 units had signed. We just needed another 40-plus units. But the people who refused to sign kept asking for more, and market conditions have changed," said Mr Ng, 69.

"We have to leave it to the residents whether they want to restart. Our committee has done our part, and since we were unable to achieve 80 per cent, it will be dissolved."

Built on 825,502 sq ft of land and with 68 years left on its lease, Ivory Heights offers views of Jurong Lake, Chinese Garden and Japanese Garden.

According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority Master Plan 2014, the site is zoned for residential use with a gross plot ratio of 1.6.

Analysts were not surprised by the steep asking price, given its large land area and location near Jurong East and Chinese Garden MRT stations and the proposed HSR terminus.

"But... you can't ask for a high price when the unique selling point - the HSR project - is absent for the moment," said Mr Alan Cheong, senior director of research and consultancy at Savills Singapore.

A bigger issue is higher land acquisition costs and potential penalties for developers following the latest cooling measures, Mr Cheong said.

A developer would have to pay a non-remissible additional buyer's stamp duty of 5 per cent and a remissible 25 per cent if it can complete and sell the entire project within five years of buying the site.

Ivory Heights' failed attempt could be a harbinger of what's to come for other mega sites, analysts said.

Next up is Pine Grove. Its deadline to get the 80 per cent mandate expires on Oct 28. To date, 78 per cent of owners have consented to a reserve price of $1.72 billion.

Huttons Asia's head of investment sales Terence Lian, who is marketing Pine Grove, said: "The 2 per cent who are holding out should come to terms with current market conditions and not harp on getting a higher reserve price, so as not to end up like Ivory Heights, which lapsed prematurely."

The New Paper  - 01 Oct 2018