MILESTONES

SCHEDULED COMPLETION DATE CONFIRMED

12 June 2018

Sinking Fund & Management Fund refund

Let's look at that god-awful edited Tender Form that passes as the S&P.  What does it say about the MCST funds.

• The accounts will be audited by an independent certified public accountant up to the actual Date of Completion (DC) and within 3mths from DC. The audit will take into account all the outstanding liabilities, debts including owners still owing monthly fees etc
• Sim Lian will give us back the Sinking Fund & Management Fund monies less all liabilities within 14 days of receipt of the audit. (18.0.(d))
• At Completion, there shall be NO outstanding MCST debt owing by owners. (19.2 (b)) 

Q: If we are supposed to get our cheques at DC, and the audit is up to 3 mths after the DC, when do we get the money owing to us from the Sinking Fund & Management Fund? It cannot be on Completion

Q I am not sure what mechanism is used for clawing back outstanding debt, but if Sim Lian is to be presented with a clean bill of health [19.2(b)], then I presume he is not involved in dividing the funds and worrying about who owes what to whom. Correct?

Q: After the Completion Date, MCST2644 no longer exists, so they can't be involved either,  so will the funds be sent to the Lawyer? Will he then divide the funds by 560 (we are all equal Shares) taking into account those owing outstanding amounts?

Q: What if the owner owes MORE than his share of the MCST Funds? How is that recovered? 

Questions that need clarification by our lawyers. 

Sinking Fund & Management Funds . 

(not official approximations only)

I do not know what outstanding bills need to be paid - probably the balance of the lift upgrading.  Nor do I know the current amounts owing to the MCST fund from recalcitrant owners.
I used to be on the MC many moons ago and the above figures look pretty healthy to me.

What's worrying is the outstanding arrears.

This time last year, our arrears ran to $220,000. God knows what they are now, $500k? Owners skiving on their contributions.

The end of Collective Sale audit:  up to 31 May 2018  comes in only after the  Completion Date and is therefore completely useless to us, we will never see those figures and so never know if the arrears were cleared. It's akin to counting the number of horses that ran away after the barn door was opened.  Any uncleared arrears would be simply written off. That audit is purely for the buyer. 

But if you are academically interested enough, you could write in to the Layer and request for a copy.  

Let's talk about .....

It's good to look a variety of  matters whilst we are twiddling out thumbs until Completion Date. FB people would have all owners stay quiet and not bring up new issues on this blog because they don't like to rock the boat. Winkling out details on matters which affect us directly is what I do, what I have done for the past 10 yrs and will continue to do until the day I say Sayonara, TC. Live with it. Mistakes on both sides have been made, pointed out and rectified. The process has not been smooth and trouble-free. The stakes are high and everyone still has outstanding questions.

Digital pressure has worked all along, it was digital pressure which got us the recent SP Meeting, so lets see if some more will goad Our Boys into responding definitively to some of our notions and questions -  misguided or otherwise

Onwards we go....

Topics I will touch upon:

1. What happens to the Sinking & Management funds?
2. Do we need to pay maintenance fee during the 6 months free stay?
3. AOB

MCST Matters

I went to the management office today to do 2 things: find out what is happening with the MC & Managing Agent and cancel my giro monthly payments. I shall pay by cash from now on. 

The managing agent was not there, but the young secretary was. She doesn't know much but I did find out a few things.

1. Of the 7 Council members, 3 resigned en mass on 2nd Mar 2018, including the Secretary. I don't know the reasons why.
2. Only 4 council members remain (and they all attended the meeting) and one was instated as the new Secretary on Fri 9th Mar.  
3. The Notice said '5th Council Meeting of the 16th Management Council' but that was amended to emergency meeting of the council. That meant that matters 2.0 to 5.4 were not discussed. 
4. The Condo Manager is resigning, possibly 21 Mar, though that is TBD
5. The only matters discussed 6.0.: Reappointment of Secretary & Appointment of Condominium Manager

Now here is the worrying matter.  The new acting Condominium Manager will be the young, inexperienced and unqualified 22 yr old secretary. Poor girl! I advised her not to take on the onerous position as it was unfair to her.  The weight of the collective sale finale should not fall on someone who is untrained in BMSM matters.

Why did the committee agree to this? How is this in the best interests of TC owners?

Lets keep an eye on the Sinking fund/Management fund

Something odd is going on at the management office. Earlier this week I sent in an email requesting to sit in at the next MC meeting as an observer. I also wanted to see the latest Financial report to see how much our estate has in the Sinking Fund/Management Fund and generally just look over the accounts. 

The Managing Agent replied that the next scheduled meeting was for the 26th March and he would inform me if there were any changes to the date. He also said he was leaving his post - which is unfortunate at this critical juncture in time. He also informed me that since his appointment, he has been running the estate in the black. Which was good to hear, But we may be left vulnerable if a rookie MA were to be installed at such short notice.

Anyway, someone alerted me to a Notice that has suddenly been posted at the MA office. 

The 5th MC meeting was held today, 9 Mar at 5pm!! This is against the rules and this meeting is null & void. 

I was not informed of this sudden change as promised, it seems to be an emergency meeting.

Why was a meeting held at such short notice? Are the council member so free as to attend at this working hour? Are they all retirees? Has it something to do with the impending CSC announcement? Did the managing agent leave his post? I looked at the agenda:

3.2 Update of Financial management

3.3 Update on expenditures that paid from sinking fund

.

6.1 Reappointment of Secretary (Why? What happened to the old one?)

6.2 Appointment of Condominium Manager (Has he resigned already?)

6.3 Transition of duties

How many management council members do we have?

This is all very irregular.

I shall find out and let you know...

Completion Date

To be confirmed  ........

Apparently this flashed on the FB page long enough for 3 likes, and then quickly taken down. Someone jumping the gun?



Suddenly, I feel so sad.





Update
Well, it sounds like people have been flooding the lawyers with phone calls.

Shh time again

Unless, there are are further developments, a newspaper article, something that piques my interest or the sky falls in.....

......it's shh time again.

This Blog is NOT closed

In the News (2018)

En bloc stirring emotions at Mandarin Gardens - Today 25 Jan 2018

Mega sites raising stakes in collective sale craze - 25 jan 2018

Tampines Court collective sale hit by technical hitches - BT 12 Feb 2018

The Big Read: En bloc wars erupt once more, turning neighbours into foes - Today 12 Feb 2018

Tampines Court collective sale mired in technical hitches - TNP 12 Feb 2018

Tampines Court Is the sale still on? - PropertyGuru 12 Feb 2018

Chinese newspaper article - ZaoBao 5 Mar 2018

4 Residential sites join collective sale market - BT 8 Mar 2018

Do Objections delay the Sale?

Blogger view only (I have to keep reminding people that everything said on this blog is my opinion only, not the word of god)

The Objections have become a handy scapegoat for the delay in the Sale. This is unfair as there are 2 entirely different processes which overlap in a collective sale:

1. The LTSA Process which Owners have to go through: this starts at the formation of the CSC under the Schedules and ends an the STB Sales Order. The Objections fall within this process.
2. The Purchaser/Developer Process which begins at the SPA Date and ends when all their units in the new development are sold.

From the moment the S&P is signed, the Buyer has to get cracking and obtain all the necessary Gov Approvals to complete the sale. He has to apply to the LTA, URA,SLA to obtain his Lessor Approval, PAFS, QC, OPP, SLA Top Up Consent, LUP, & Baseline Confirmation. It is this Application-Approval period which is delaying the completion of the sale. We were told on FB that these Approvals were being done 'concurrently' with the Objections, but we later found out from the newspaper that the buyer did not Apply for the OPP until December 2017 and that it is still outstanding. Why didn't he apply earlier, why the delay? The answer is not important - just the fact that he made the calculated decision NOT to apply earlier and so has run smack into the new DC Rate increase. It was his folly and his alone. 

The DC Rate that is used in their DP calculations is pegged to the OPP Approval date - that is why they were hoping & praying for the OPP Approval before the 1 Mar 2018. It didn't come so now the new DC rate applies

I look at it this way: Objections in general work to the Buyer's advantage as they provide a breathing space for them to do the necessary before the PCP clock starts to tick. In a regular sale, the PCP clock starts at the date of issue of the QC (Qualifying certificate) but 'for cases where a developer has purchased residential land through a collective sale under the Land Titles (Strata) Act (“the Act”), the PCP will commence from the date of the collective sale order granted under the Act. This is to enable the developer to have the full PCP to complete the project.'   

So the longer the Sale Order takes, the more time he has to get his approvals without it eating into his precious 5 yr PCP.  We were told that the  QC/RPA was granted 17 Sep 2017 - so the Objections have saved the Developer 3 months of PCP - which he clearly has wasted.

I have tried to put it pictorially - but it's not very good, sorry.

From the Owners perspective, it feels a little different. Owners generally want that STB Order to come quicker as they believe the Completion Date would be sooner. But it's all wishful thinking, as an earlier STB Sales Order does not make anything move faster, the Approvals will take as long as they take and completion is in the Developer's hands.

Moving forward, I believe Developer-Buyers of future collective sales might secretly wish for a toothless STB objection or two, to cover their Approval Application period. It's ALL about timing, isn't it...... just saying :P

Braddel View Collective sale

Braddel View's collective sale website is very sleek indeed

Development Charge Rate Mar 2018

1 Mar 2018

Development Charge Rate Shoots Through the Roof

(TC is Sector 98 use group B2)

https://www.ura.gov.sg/Corporate/Guidelines/Development-Control/Planning-Permission/Folder/~/link.aspx?_id=654B550206B745E3BF80292AC9CBA29B&_z=z

Bloggers opinion (warning: may be completely off the mark)

The material date of determination of DP will be pegged to the date of Provisional Planning 

Permission (PP) 

Bloggers estimated DP = ~$318m and estimated LUP = $143m 

Total payable by Buyer: $461m

I THINK the land value just shot up from $676 to $728 psfppr

Existing PR (plot ratio) is TBD 

SP MEETING 24 Feb 2018

Venue: Blk 131 void deck, no slide presentation
Present: 2 Lawyers and Marketing Agent. 1 CSC member
Crowd: quite large, I estimated around 300
Atmosphere: Cordial
Heckling: Nil

I know some of you are waiting for me to give a run down on the proceedings and what we learnt today. I will do that, but not today as I am busy with family visiting.  I will do so over the next few days.

In a nutshell:

• Owners will not have to top up the difference in the LUP.
• The end date for Sim Lian to continue/back out of the sale: 27 APRIL 2018
• Date of Completion 27 July 2018 (or sooner).
• Moving out is + 6 months from completion date - so 27 Jan 2019
• Sim Lian wants to reduce the 6 months free rental stay to 4 months. This cannot be done without 100% of owners agreeing, which will never happen, I for one disagree.
• Sim Lian is closely monitoring the social media so we should all keep quiet. 
• Helloooooo Sim Lian, welcome to my blog! 
• If the sale does not go through the Buyer has 6 months from Date of Remission to get his Stamp Duty refunded ( not 6 months form Sale Date)
• SL initially wanted to build 2500 units, now it's 2200
• In Principle Planning Approval (OPP) is outstanding
• SL hoping for OPP approval before 1 March; when the new DC rates come out. 
• SPs are encouraged to pressure our local MP to nudge the authorities to speed up the Approvals.
• MA commits to updating owners through Circulars/Notices/FB
• Owners will go to the Lawyers Office to collect their Bank Draft (Sales Proceeds) minus all the costs, charges & deductions of the sale.
• Lawyer will provide a breakdown of all said costs, charges & deductions.* [the subject of a future post]

Completion Date

I hope the MA does not mind me clipping this tiny bit (15 seconds only) - it pretty much says what we all wanted to hear.
Audio (15.05)

"Yes, that is our deadline. That means the latest they can, you know, delay the whole completion, is up to 27 April., and you have 3 months to complete, 6 months for rent free period."

I hope this puts to bed the confusion sown by the legal letter in Jan. The fear then was that unless Sim Lian expressly withdrew then the long stop deadline would be bypassed like the OPP deadline with or without Approvals. Honestly, they shouldn't have asterisked  the LSD, it put a question mark on it's validity.

Okay, listened to some more today: The female lawyer confirmed the MA completion date.  It may seem like I was asking the same question again and again - I was - I wanted confirmation from both MA and lawyer. I think I even got it confirmed a third time with the main Lawyer... later in the tape, will see.  I won't put it on an audio clip because she might not like that, but this is a transcript of what she said 

(50.57) Me: Can this deal stretch for 6 more months, 1 more year?

Female lawyer: Will the deal keep stretching on indefinitely? As we shared earlier the last date for Sim Lian to confirm whether or not they are proceeding with the deal is the 27th April. there is no extension beyond that. By the 27th, they have to say yes or no. 

Me: Sorry, if they say yes, then it goes on forever?
Female lawyer: If they accept the deal by the 27th April, then the completion will take 3 months from the 27th of April. 
Me: Excellent (meaning: nailed it)

Oh dear, I had to re-listen to the nonsense our CSC member had to say:- 

"I think we have forgotten some very important things. Now there is a rule in Singapore that from the Date of Purchase of any common land, the developer will have to build and sell everything within 5 years. That is a standing rule. From the date of the signing of the agreement about 6 months has passed. They will have to give you 6 months for you to move out and before that date comes there will be another 3 months delay for them to issue cheques blah blah blah blah. So you talking about more than 1 year already gone. Now Sim Lian will not drag you on, they will want to be in as much as a hurry as you. They don’t have a lot of time. They only have 3 years plus left for them to knock down everything here, rebuild and sell every unit, otherwise they will have to start paying additional charges"

-build and sell everything within 5 years: 
Wrong. They have to build within 5 years but they then have a further 2 years to sell all the units. (so 7 yrs in total), though in practice they start selling units off the plans long before the TOP. The last 2 years does not apply to local developers and even if developers have partial foreign ownership there are currently 2 loopholes they can legally utilise to avoid paying the penalties. 

From the date of the signing of the agreement: Wrong, the 5 yr clock does not start ticking until the date of STB Sales Order (see SLA Circular). It's only been 2 months, hardly time to panic yet.  3 months completion is normal in all property sales and 6 months to move out is also normal in collective sales, We have not asked nor been given the moon. All is normal.

In fact, the Objections- far from delaying the sale -  have actually bought the Buyer some precious time. Think about it: had there been no objections, then the STB would have issued the Sale Order sooner, and the Buyers PCP (5yr Project Completion Period) would have started earlier. The Approvals have nothing to do with the STB process and  would still be outstanding.

Got fed up listening
Moving on

SP Meeting

Not a word about this on FB...

TC in the News

ENBLOC WARS

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/big-read-en-bloc-wars-erupt-once-more-turning-neighbours-foes

Shh now

Okay, the countdown is on for 27 April 2018.

If the buyer does not rescind by that date then the SPA 'remains in force'. For how long?

I am putting the blog on a slow down. I have the Colls of Clondavaddog to sort out this weekend (don't ask, it's my other time consuming hobby).

Just because SL can take forever to close the deal does not necessarily mean it will. We can still live in hope that SL will do the proper thing and finish the deal as quickly as possible. 

The Question on everyone's mind:

Is the deal dead on the 27th April 2018 if the Buyer does not rescind? 

Some people say Yes, it is dead, others say No, the sale will go on at the buyer's pleasure. I am not going to answer this question conclusively (though I am in the No camp) so we desperately need this confirmed or denied by the Lawyer. It is too important to leave hanging in the air. It is not enough that they use unambiguous legal language like 'remains in force' when even that is interpreted differently by different people. Just tell us in simpler terms if it is Dead or Alive. 

Mr Tan posted this query on FB today (6 Feb 2018) so let's see if they answer him. I don't know how many TC owners have committed themselves to a new home, but it must be quite a number. They deserve a STRAIGHT answer.

Slip Road to the PIE

Just when I want to sit back and relax - out comes a piece in the Business Times about LTSA roadblocks and Tampines Court.

According to the report. Sim Lian submitted it's OPP Application in Dec, it should have the approval any day now.

LTA wants them to build a slip road at the market side to ease the congestion caused by a 2000 unit estate. Understandable and this will surely enhance the marketability of the new development; super easy access to the PIE & TPE. What the developer loses on the swings he gains on the roundabouts. Perhaps there can be a co-sharing with LTA on the cost, after all, this will be a public road. Interesting development.

https://www.srx.com.sg/singapore-property-news/45782/en-bloc-projects-running-into-technical-road-blocks

Sorry folks, I just don't have the time for all this, I am putting the blog into draft again.

We just have to sit tight and wait.
The Approvals should be finalised by 27 April
The Completion Date by 27 July
Or hopefully earlier
Or possibly later
Or maybe never

The ball is in the Buyer's court


..... and along comes someone with a different perspective for me to mull over

I am not a lawyer, ust a simple SP, so take what I say with a pinch of salt:-

May I point to Clauses 8.0 & 9.0 about Purchaser delaying and/or failing to Complete in the SPA.  They are crossed out in their entirety.  Now read what is crossed out ....basically all our rights as Vendors to seek redress.

Now look at the Clause 10.0 Qualifying Certificate / RPA Approval 

This is the only remaining Clause which mentions the vendors having any right to rescind, and it's quite laughable really, because it is moot. If the Buyer did not get RPA Approval then there is no sale anyway. (RPA Approval is the Gov giving the Developer permission to build).  The wording in this clause is what should have been placed in ALL the clauses with deadlines. It is pretty standard wording found in Round 1 SPA, too. It goes something like this-

'...Approval not obtained on or before the ...date...either party shall be entitled to rescind the SPA by written notice to the other party ...'

The total absence of 'either party' in other clauses is positively glaring and can only mean it's the Buyer's prerogative to rescind and not the Vendor's. There is no firm date by which he has to complete. 

So, I still disagree with you, if the Buyer does not rescind then he is legally bound to complete the sale... but at no specific date in the future.  

5 years to build? Not a problem; the average condo goes up in 2+ years. 

2 years to sell all the units? Not a problem : two loopholes in the Law exist.

So why am I angry at the SPA at this late stage?
I am angry at myself  for being lazy and not going through it with a fine tooth comb when I should have. I only gave it a quick glance before the SP meeting and missed the lot! At the very least, I should have requested for a clean copy and not that garbage sent out to us all. But that's history now. Who cares. All this SPA is good for is to serve as a template for other estates on what NOT to do. 

Speaking in GENERAL TERMS - it isn't all about getting the deal done no matter what it takes, it should be about getting the best deal possible whilst protecting your flanks as well. If a Buyer tries to strong arm you with unfavourable / detrimental / weakening conditions then have the courage to walk away. Remember,  when push comes to shove, the unpaid professionals are not there to protect your interests at negotiation, they are there to protect their commission. If Round 1 didn't teach you that basic fact, then nothing will.

I'm rambling again

gtg