Being Bullied: What to do in Out-of-Control EOGMs.

We've heard this before, and maybe even experienced it ourselves.

Name calling.
Bullying.
Shouting for you to sit down and shut up.
Telling you off, saying you had better stop talking because people have better things to do.

No, I'm not talking about a teacher scolding students. I'm talking about an Enbloc EOGM. But truth be told, the idea's the same - someone of perceived 'greater' authority talking you down, like you're an idiot and what you say is insulting the audience.

We've been told, in recent EOGMs, the following have occurred:-

• Owners not allowed to speak or ask questions during an EOGM
• Owners not allowed to vote at an EOGM
  
• Owners told off by other owners, or SC members, to shut up
• Owners even threatened (verbal and gestural means) to stop talking and leave the room
• Owners not allowed to query the SC, nor will the SC bother to respond

What can you do?

1. Direct from the Parliamentary debate in Sep 2007, a quote from Ms Irene Ng (Tampines GRC) in response to Prof Jayakumar: "The Minister mentioned, in his answer to my oral question in the last sitting, that any owner who at any time feels that he is being harassed or intimidated to consent to an en bloc sale may lodge a Police report." So 1 route to take - Police Report. The aim is not to threaten back, but to ensure a "civil and restrained behaviour" from everyone.
2. If you have been prevented from voting: Check with a lawyer familiar with enbloc laws and the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (BMSMA). See if their stopping you from legitimately voting may constitute a breach of the BMSMA (Section 104) where an owner was improperly denied a vote on a motion. If this is the case, apply to STB to have the resolution repealed. You can find more information here.
3. If you've been bullied/shouted at/name called: Don't lose your cool, nor be impatient, nor should you retaliate or respond to the bully. Their aim is to make you look the fool if you lose your composure. Instead, speak DIRECTLY to the Chairman of the Management Council (who should be present at the EOGM) and request that the Chair tell the bully to calm down. It is the responsibility of the Chair to ensure the meeting is held in an orderly fashion, after all. If the Chair is pro-sales, or in the SC, see point (4) below. Irregardless, it is his responsibility to ensure the EOGM is conducted with due diligence. If he doesn't, just ask him "So can it be minuted that I, the owner of Unit X, has requested for order to be maintained at the EOGM, and the Chair has declined to do so. The owner of Unit X would also like to remind other owners that if they feel their time is wasted by me, they are welcome to leave the EOGM. Please leave your contact details with the MC Secretary or Managing Agent, so you can be contacted when voting begins". Follow this with a nice, polite and wide smile. Ensure that if order is not maintained, that it becomes minuted that you have explicitly requested the Chair to do something about it.
   
4. If the Chair is pro-sales, or in the SC even, BMSMA Section 61.2 applies: "(2) A member of a council, or an officer or an agent or a managing agent of a management corporation, shall not use his position as a member of the council or as an officer, an agent or a managing agent of the management corporation to gain, directly or indirectly, an advantage for himself or for any other person or to cause detriment to the management corporation." You can lodge a complaint with STB that the Chair or Managing Agent is not performing their duty when they refuse to maintain order in the EOGM. And get any resolution from that EOGM repealed. Again see the list of complaints that you can lodge with the STB here or read the relevant section of the BMSMA Act here. (Yes, STB handles not just enbloc sales, but complaints from subsidiary proprietors.)

Always consult your lawyer on the possible actions that can be taken against an out-of-control MC or SC who refuse to treat you like an adult and a human being. Another lawyer pointed out that a 'declaratory order' can be made against the SC/MC, but you'll need to obtain more information from your lawyer about this.

I don't like to be bullied. I like to bite back, but in EOGMs, I'd like to bite back where it hurts most - legally and legitimately. The sting will last for a while, I'd think. :)

Of course, you should act a gentleman (or lady) and be mindful of all owners - if you wish to ask questions of the SC/MC/Lawyer/Agent during an EOGM, keep things short and to the point. Don't prepare to bombard 1000 questions at them, or you will lose your credibility as an intelligent and concerned owner who just wish to let everyone know there are serious issues with the sale. Keep to the big issues, and keep to the point.

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Tags: collective sale, property, enbloc sale, enbloc, en-bloc sale, en-bloc, en bloc, collective sales, singapore

How Minute Should the Minutes of the Meetings Be?

There's been some questions raised recently about what should be included in the contents of the Minutes of an enbloc EOGM. Some argued that the minutes should only contain the resolutions, nothing more. Others say that minutes should be as detailed as possible so that people can be kept informed; it should include, for example, question and answers, comments, queries, issues raised. The amended LT(S)A is 'quiet' about this, aside from requiring that minutes of EOGMs be kept, and they be displayed or passed to owners.

First, let's get back to the amended LT(S)A. Prof Jayakumar during the 2nd reading of the amendments on 20 September 2007 clarified the reasons for the amendments. He pointed they are for procedural clarity,to "provide additional safeguards and ensure greater transparency for all owners" (Reading available here). So safeguards and transparency for all owners are among the main rationale for the amendments to the law.

Second, let's look at corporate practice. In 2003, the investor watchdog body Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS) urged listed companies to keep detailed minutes of shareholders' meetings. They strongly suggested including "comments and queries by shareholders and responses by the board and management" (BT 18 Feb 2003). This, they argue, will improve best practices in accountability, transparency, corporate governance, and will make the company more responsible to the shareholders. From the BT article:

Members complain that many companies refuse to record even the gist of relevant questions asked by them and answers given by the chairman of the meeting,' the statement said. 'Especially in the current environment of greater shareholder participation at general meetings and the emphasis on greater transparency and disclosure, Sias finds this practice of keeping skimpy minutes to be totally unacceptable.'

'Not to record comments or queries from minority shareholders represents total disregard for and disrespect of minority shareholders. It expunges whatever they have said from the institutional memory of the company. It is as if they never said anything at the meeting, as if they are too unimportant to say anything worth recording.'

Are there examples of companies that provide detailed minutes? Microsoft publishes a verbatim transcript of their AGM online, as well as the AGM video. Locally, Qian Hu Corporation published detailed minutes of their AGM, earning them Investors' Choice Golden Circle Special Merit Award for transparency (BT 13 Mar 2004).

Shouldn't what SIAS suggest be the same good practice for our enbloc EOGMs? After all, isn't the law amended to allow for greater transparency and more safeguards for all owners, including minority owners?

Or to paraphrase SIAS, do SCs that choose not to provide detailed minutes of their EOGMs have a "total disregard for and disrespect of" owners who have the courage to stand up, ask questions and raise issues with the sale? "It is as if [such owners] never said anything at the meeting, as if they are too unimportant to say anything worth recording."

SIAS warned that one consequence of having skimpy minutes is that because shareholders feel they are insignificant, they are less willing to ask questions. Perhaps this is what SCs hope for - a subservient group of owners who will just nod, agree, and do whatever the SC wants them to do.

There should be no reason why SCs cannot provide detailed minutes of EOGMs, including the minuting of questions, comments, issues raised by individual owners and the responses from the SC. None, unless they do not think highly of 'transparency', 'safeguard', 'responsibility' and 'accountability.

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Tags: EOGM minutes, minutes, EOGM, Extraordinary General Meetings, collective sales, condo, en bloc, en-bloc, en-bloc sale, enbloc, enbloc sale, property, singapore

Brief Hiatus

I'll be away for a conference and a much needed holiday in a country where they do not enbloc their buildings LOL. I'll try to update the site when I can - a much needed update is about the protocols for the 1st EOGM in light of the new regulations. There's been a lot of feedback from various estates about how confusing the new law is with regards to the first EOGM to elect the SC members (or rather, how vague the law is in procedural terms for the election!). I'll try to compile what other estates have done, were successful in achieving, and what some marketing agents and managing agents have tried to do (pull the wool over owners' eyes, capitalise on the ambiguities to push their agendas, utter confusion over what to do etc).

It's the Wild Wild West out there, ladies and gents. Be careful!

Oh, and I absolutely loved that article about Springwell Mansion in the New Paper (reproduced here) where the owners who were against the sale paid $60 to put up a banner on the gate saying "No to Enbloc". After all, if the marketing agents can put up massive posters/banners on the estate gates indicating the collective sale, why not minority owners?

Poll's ending soon. Any suggestions for possible polls? Hit me.

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Tags: Springwell Mansion, collective sales, Enbloccing Singapore, en bloc, condo, en-bloc, en-bloc sale, collective sale, enbloc, enbloc sale, singapore

The End of Enblocing Singapore?

Parliament has passed the amendment bill. According to the draft legislation (Attachment B):-
"To provide that the amendments to the Land Titles (Strata) Act will not apply to a development where the collective sale agreement has been signed by the required majority owners before the date when the amendments were passed by Parliament."

Likewise in the Consultation Paper (Attachment A):-
"26. The LT(S)A will be amended to give effect to the confirmed changes. The confirmed changes will apply to all projects except those that have already obtained the majority of 80% / 90% (based on share value) at the time the proposed amendments are passed by Parliament."

I take these both to mean that the new rules on enbloc processes just kicked in yesterday. Someone let me know if this isn't the case. You can also read Prof Jayakumar's Second Reading of the amendment bill here; there's information of some of the changes made to the amendment bill based on subsequent feedback (but not the criticisms by the various MPs).

So what now? Is the blog done? Unlikely. What I call the 'baby months' of a new law will comprise of various parties using everything they can to push the boundaries of how the new amendments will affect their estate's sale. Pro-sales will do their best to cut corners if possible, anti-sales will do their best to ensure corners are not cut, and adhered to. While the process will take longer, it will ultimately allow many points of access for those who wish to keep their homes (and conversely many points of attack for those who want to sell).

Here's the prediction for the near future:-

1. Enblocs won't stop. Sales committees will have to be more sociable and actually do the ground work of meeting people, gathering support. Likewise, those against the sale will have to mobilise themselves and gather support. Questions about suitability of potential SC candidates will become frequent. The outcome will be largely positive because in many ways, if everyone turns up with their questions and grill the candidates, only those who are well-supported will emerge as more representative than pre-amendment time.
2. Marketing agents will bump up their commission fees, citing more work that they have to do to get the process moving along. Typical rates of 0.3% will probably go up to 0.4-0.5% for baseline RP, and 1.5-2% for above RP. The more established agents will be monopolistic and very quickly, you'll see standardised rates across the bigger firms. Owners will be in a conundrum - hire a big firm and pay the premium; hire a smaller firm and suffer a potential Horizon Towers. While decisions will rest with the various owners/protem-SCs, what must be clearly outlined now are the duties and responsibilities for the agents, in accordance with the new amendments. Eg some agents are saying you don't need 4 EOGMs but can compress them into less. Will this mess up the application? Maybe not, but maybe it might too. The beginning stages of a new law is always a painful time when both parties (pro- and anti-) strive to find ways to counter one another. Better be safe than sorry though.
   
3. Likewise for law firms and their fees. Again, the bigger ones will standardise quickly and the owners need to make clear what are the duties and responsibilities for the law firms. Through the law firm, the owners should also engage the SC directly to clearly outline their duties and responsibilities. Horizon Towers is an example of how things can still go wrong post-amendment since some aspects of the problems reside in the CSA and the responsibilities of the SC.
4. For those who love their homes, what can you do? Document everything, take note of when announcements for EOGMs are made, when they are held, whether a notice of who are eligible to vote is placed up, who voted, how was the voting done etc. Everything counts now. Attempts will be made by pro-sales people to interpret the new law in their favour and it'll be up to anti-sales people to ensure this does not happen. It means you need to mobilise yourselves into a group if possible. Look at the Love Bayshore Park and Dairy Farm groups, both fairly successful in raising the profile of their intention to keep their homes. Get together, read up on the new law, read both the Land Titles (Strata) Act and the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act. Push the envelope yourselves - can you submit a motion before an EOGM to require all potential SC candidates to present a CV of their relevant experiences? Can you submit motions that require voting of a particular resolution to be done? Can you query the CSA during the EOGM? Can you demand an account or justification why particular agents/law firms were selected? Can you vote on these matters (or put in a motion to vote)? Bear in mind an EOGM doesn't mean that the pro-sales people hold the reins; any SP can submit a motion according to the BMSMA as shown below.
5. Use the forums eg condosingapore (but do create an account!) or create your own blogs, document for others to see what you have succeeded (or not succeeded) in doing. Many estates are now more emboldened by the knowledge that there are other estates that have like-minded owners who wish to do something about protecting their homes against mindless destruction. Information shared is always a good thing.

The baby months will be a time of testing and contesting the boundaries, as both pro- and anti-sales try to find their feet under the new regulations. The pro- have the advantage of big estate agencies and law firms to help them (since these firms will undoubtedly share their knowledge and intelligence about other estates among themselves and their clients). Anti-sales have only the internet, and their strong determination to fight back.

Good luck.

Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act First Schedule Requisition for motions to be included on agenda for general meeting
12. —(1) Any subsidiary proprietor may, by notice in writing, served on the secretary of the council of the management corporation or (as the case may be) subsidiary management corporation, require inclusion in the agenda of the next general meeting of the management corporation or (as the case may be) subsidiary management corporation of a motion set out in the first-mentioned notice and the secretary shall comply with the notice.
(2) The secretary of the council shall give effect to every requirement in every notice under sub-paragraph (1).
(3) Sub-paragraph (1) shall not require the inclusion of a motion on the agenda of a general meeting for which notices have already been given in accordance with this Schedule, but in that case, the secretary of the council shall include the motion in the agenda of the next general meeting after that.

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Tags: collective sale, collective sales, condo, en bloc, en-bloc, en-bloc sale, enbloc, enbloc sale, property, singapore, real estate

Conflicts of Interest II - Sale Committee vs Management Council

I posted a while back what are the implications if a member of the management council (MC) sits in the sale committee (SC), largely centered around the problem of conflict of interest. You can read about this here. Since then, I've heard of more and more SC members who are members of the MC, in some cases dominating the MC completely.

Can you do anything about it? Maybe :) The Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (2004) (BMSMA) makes for interesting reading. Did you know that as a subsidiary proprietor (SP aka owner), you can write an application into the management corporation to make available for inspection certain documents kept by the MC? (BMSMA 47(1)-(4)). Why is this even useful?

Because you can ask for:-

1. The names and addresses of the chairperson, secretary and treasurer of the MC as well as the managing agent.
2. The minutes of the general meetings of the MC
3. Book and statement of accounts

Why would you need these? (1) is useful to know. (2) will be relevant later when I explained another section of the BMSMA. (3) is useful because of the period between the date of legal completion and date of vacant possession, which I've explained here and here before. You want (3) to have evidence that the existing level of expenditure is maintained by the developer, when they take over your estate. I'll explain (3) in greater detail in a future post, especially considering the recent forum articles about developers entering the premises and constructing showflats even while people are staying there, or deteriorating existing levels of service and maintenance quality. Knowing what are the typical monthly expenditures for maintenance is good ammunition should you wish to challenge the developer for not holding up their end of the promise to maintain the estate at its original level (if stated in the SPA).

But (2) is interesting for the conflict of interest issue. For this, you need to know BMSMA Article 60 - Disclosure of Interests in Contracts, Property, Offices, etc. 60(5) states clearly:

Every member of a council who holds any office or possesses any property whereby, directly or indirectly, duties or interests might be created in conflict with his duties or interests as a member of the council shall declare at a meeting of the council the fact and the nature, character and extent of the conflict.

In other words, if you have someone in the SC who is also in the MC, that person must declare "the fact and the nature, character and extent of the conflict". Not only must he declare the nature of the interest (60(1)(a)), he shall not take part in any discussion, consideration, or vote on any matters related to the enbloc sale (60(1)(b)), and even be asked to withdraw by the chairperson (60(1)(c)) unless the council explicitly requests for information from the SC/MC member.

The declaration must be made at council meetings and the secretary must document every declaration in the minutes.

This is why you need the minutes, preferably before anyone doctors the documentation and inserts in any declaration. After all, if the SC/MC member fail to comply with this requirement, he/she is liable on conviction of a fine not exceeding $5000 or jail not exceeding 12 mths or both.

Do verify this with a lawyer or the managing agent. Check your minutes - was any declaration made? If not, why not? If the SC/MC member is convinced there is no conflict of interest, it is not up to him to assert that, since 60(5) above states that the SC member, who holds an office (in the SC), and has interests in selling the estate (which contradicts the role of MCs in upkeeping and maintaining the estate), directly or indirectly, is in conflict with his duties or interests as a MC member. Even after declaring his interests, unless asked by the MC, he is not allowed to discuss, participate in any discussion, on any enbloc matter raised in the MC meetings.

Given the complexity of this conflict of interest, should the SC/MC member not give up one committee seat or the other? If not, one must ask, why not? After all, if it's often a thankless voluntary job being in such committees, why take on 2 thankless voluntary jobs?

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Tags: conflict of interest, conflicts of interest, sale committee, management council, management committee, management corporation, mcst, collective sale, property, enbloc sale, enbloc, en-bloc sale, en-bloc, en bloc, condo, collective sales, real estate, singapore

Meeting your MP - A Guide

There's rampant discussion about the Horizon Towers debacle in the various forums, so we'll do something completely different.

For some, going to meet a Member of Parliament is a useless gesture. For others, meeting an MP is an alien idea. Some people, distraught enough with the enbloc of their homes, might be brave to venture into the unknown and make their MP earn his/her keep in a "Meet the People Session". Here's what happens at a Meet the People Session:-

1. First things first - you need to locate your MP. Each constituency/GRC has a number of MPs with each MP usually assigned a specific location in the GRC (in this case). Go to the Community Development Council's (CDC) website here. On the bottom right you see a "District Detector". Enter your postal code and it'll pull up which CDC you're in as well as a link to the CDC's website. Click on that and go to the website which will have a Meet the People Session page. Locate your MP from there.
   
2. You can find more information about your MP from the Singapore Parliament website (which contains their CVs). You can find Meet the People session times/days here too but NOT the location where the MP is attached to.
   
3. Once you've found your MP, head to the session location and be prepared for a long wait. Most Sessions begin in the evening (7pm onwards). Like most Singaporean activities, get ready to queue.
   
4. You will first be verified that you are indeed in the right constituency for the Session. In other words you cannot go to Potong Pasir if you are not IN Potong Pasir. They will turn you away if you're not verified. Once you've passed verification, you'll be given a Queue Number.
5. Depending on how many people before you, you may have to wait for up to 1 hour before you're called up for "Registration".
6. During registration, you'll need to present your IC card, and fill in your details on a computer for their record and for future visit purposes. Then you wait (approximately) an hour for a volunteer to draft out a petition for you.
   
7. Bear in mind some of the people who wish to meet the MP for various reasons may not be native English speakers (or in some cases, know how to write). So the volunteer prepares a written petition that will be recorded and passed to the MP when you meet.
   
8. Impress the volunteer - write your own petition! This is useful because the MP can bring back a copy of your own petition for follow up, rather than a quick summary written by a volunteer.
   
9. When presenting your case to the MP, be polite and to the point. Air your grievances and the problems with the enbloc in your estate (doesn't matter what stage you're at). The idea is the more petitions/complaints/letters to the ministries about enbloc, the more likely they have to do something, especially in response to the MPs.
   
10. The time from start to finish can be several hours (3 hrs or so) so be prepared. The result? You'll get a formal letter from your MP which will be addressed (depending on your issues raised) to the permanent secretaries of the Ministries of Law and National Development, requesting that they look into the matter on the MP's behalf.
    

The fact is there's been a few people (not a lot) who have approached their MPs so far. The MPs have to be accountable to their constituency members, irregardless of socioeconomic class status. Bring up issues on transparency, due process, conflict of interests, bad faith, cowboy antics, poor legislation covering enblocs, new amendments to enbloc laws etc.

The MPs are, as a senior member of government once said, "as good as it gets". Let's see if they're willing to pull their weight on the increasingly disturbing matter of enbloc sales.

Tags: Meet the people session, Member of Parliament, collective sale, collective sales, condo, en bloc, en-bloc, en-bloc sale, en-bloc sale, enbloc, enbloc sale, property, real estate, singapore, Enblocing Singapore

Another Anti-enbloc Blog - Botanic Gardens View

Well, this is a disappointment.

I've always found that Botanic Gardens View was an excellent example of what a good management council could do to an aging estate - by pursuing an aggressive upgrading and maintenance policy to upkeep the property, and improve it's sale/rental yield. Situated at Taman Serasi, facing the new buildings at Botanic Gardens, this estate is over 30 years old (built in 1970) and while it does not have much in the way of facilities, its location is really superb - next door to the Gardens, near a hospital, at the doorstep of Orchard Road, embassies nearby etc.

Heard from a colleague who stays there that there were talk of en-bloc early this year, then everything went silent, and today CBRE wrote to everyone, telling them that the protem sales committee (PTSC) has selected the agents and lawyers, the CSA is almost ready for signing at their FIRST owner's meeting. They're fast tracking it, obviously hoping to hit the 80% before parliamentary changes to collective sale legislation occur later in the year. Included in their proposal is the application to maintain the gross plot ratio of 1.78+ (their existing buildings are 10 storeys I think, but the current Masterplan plot ratio for BVG is 1.4 or 5 storeys should they wish to redevelop.) Can they do that, given that there are explicit restrictions to the area around Botanic Gardens, as clearly outlined in the Masterplan 2003 and the circular, where it states "the current height restrictions will remain to protect the visual amenity of the Singapore Botanical Gardens"? This of course applies to new redevelopments near BVG and not to BVG which was built before MP2003's revision.

Not good news from my colleague who loves the place and whose family calls it home. A group of owners there have started a blog (it's still new) to gather dissenters to the enbloc of Botanic Garden View:- http://botanicgardensview.blogspot.com

Residents of the estate do feel free to express your thoughts of the enbloc at their blog.

Tags: botanic garden view, botanic gardens view, singapore botanical gardens, collective sale, property, enbloc sale, enbloc, en-bloc sale, en-bloc, en bloc, condo, collective sales, real estate, singapore

Resistance is NOT Futile - Anti-Enbloc Blogs on the Rise

[Added a post below. Keeping this post as first entry for now]

It is always difficult being the minority, whether it's in terms of collective sales, or other markers of differentiation (race, ethnicity, SES, and even those with different political views). Some say the internet is a fantastic avenue for opening up spaces for such minorities. Maybe it is, but a lot depends on how visible these spaces are.

So what I have found, and have been approached to connect with, are other 'anti-enbloc' blogs that have appeared recently. I'm sure others will appear in the near future, as en blocs continue to frustrate many owners who do not wish to sell or move, for various reasons.

Anti-En bloc Blog for Teresaville (Lower Delta Rd): Save Teresaville
Anti-En bloc Blog for Pearlbank Apartments (Outram Park): No Enblock!
Anti-En bloc Blog in General: Pariah's En Bloc Block

Some advice from yours humbly that's been running this blog for a while now:-

1. Always have a way for others to contact you, be it comments or (better) email.
2. Advertise your blog on technorati, google, etc for maximum publicity.
3. Link up with other blogs (like those listed above) for visibility.
4. Search around the internet for others that may have talked about your estate's en bloc attempt, and invite them to discuss in your own blog.
   
5. Try not to moderate your blog. If you're pushing for transparency in collective sale attempts, the same should apply to your blog. It's only fair that even majority owners have a right to say something on your blog, even though you may not agree with their comments.
6. Most important of all - be civilised and rational. En blocs can create rifts and tempers may flare, but you gain nothing by being irrational against others who may disagree with you. It's an ugly world out there, but that doesn't mean you have to be too.

If there are other people that are attempting to start their own anti-enbloc blogs for their estates, let me (and those listed above) know. Of note, and I won't publicise it here, is the fact that there are signs of pro-enbloc blogs online too :) :)

Good luck :)

UPDATE:
This from Channelnews Asia - Members of Parliament to raise questions about the property market, including "measures to ensure that en blocs are transparent". START BUGGING YOUR MPs NOW!!!!

Tags: anti-enbloc, anti-en bloc, anti-collective sale, anti-en-blocs, Enbloccing Singapore, en bloc, collective sale, property, enbloc sale, enbloc, en-bloc sale, en-bloc, condo, collective sales, real estate, singapore

The Time is Now - Ministry of Law Public Consultation

This is the moment we've been waiting for.

To all those who have suffered from enbloc sales, the Ministry of Law is holding a public consultation on the proposed amendments to the en bloc sale legislation. Information can be found here (includes consultation paper and draft legislative amendment document). While the main intent is to discuss the 3 particular amendments (additional consent, empowering STB to increase sales proceeds for minority owners, improvements made to en bloc sales procedures), if you send to them a well-argued, well-justified critique (and importantly, suggestions) of the current en bloc sale legislation, I do not think they would turn you down.

All of us minority owners and people who may be going through enblocs now, we have from 2nd April to 12th May 2007 to send our reviews and comments to the Ministry of Law. There are two methods of delivery to the Ministry:

1. By Mail: The Ministry of Law, 100 High Street, The Treasury, #08-02, Singapore 179434. Attn: Mr Gary Goh.
2. By Email: MLAW_enbloc@mlaw.gov.sg

Please send constructive comments and critiques to the Ministry... It's no point sending a major complaint letter as it'd get nowhere except the governmental bin. Bear in mind as this is a public consultation, it won't be just minority owners voicing out to the government; the Ministry will receive letters from property agencies like CBRE, Knight Frank, etc about why the changes are bad form. They'll get letters from law firms that handle enbloc sales with legal counters to the amendments. There will be sales committee members who will write in to attempt to stop these changes too. So it's not just minority owners who will be writing in but everyone who wants the status quo to remain.

This means you MUST write in and voice your concerns, issues, suggestions. Or the majority will gain the upper hand again.

Some suggestions for you to think about:-

• You are going through an enbloc sale and you're not happy. List down the reasons why you are not happy with the way the sale was conducted, the bullishness of sales committees or agents, the aggressiveness of majority owners etc. For each of these reasons, think about how they can be converted from a complaint into a suggestion. So if the sales committee was being a major bully to every minority owner, how about suggesting, like true elections, anonymous voting at selected period in the enbloc process? An accounting firm can handle the voting and it can be done in writing rather than the way it's done now (collecting signatures so that everyone who signed the CSA knows who has not). Be imaginative but pragmatic. Give valid reasons why you're suggesting such improvements.
• You've been through an enbloc sale and you're not happy. Again, your complaints will get you nowhere unless you can change them into critiques and suggestions. Did you feel your entire estate was suddenly pushed into the enbloc at lightning speed without clear protocols? What procedures would you want to include to ensure this does not happen again?
  
• You've been evicted from your enblocked home and now you're worried that your new home will be removed from you in a few years' time. A good suggestion from The Pariah is to have legislation over how frequent an estate can hold an enbloc sale during the fixed period of time. So say after the first failed attempt, make a suggestion to the Ministry that it should regulate the next time it can be done (say 4 years). How about a permit that must be obtained (like COE) to allow any sales committee to even begin the enbloc. Such a permit would require say a surveyor's report indicating the state of the estate, showing how any upkeep costs would no longer be sustainable, ie justify why an enbloc should be done. This would cut down on environmental wastage and give many owners some security that no single group of ambitious owners can take away your home without sufficient justification.
  

You get the idea. Constructive criticism and suggestions are key in governmental discussions. Lamenting the fact that you lost your home must be balanced with how the government can improve things so that it will not happen to you or anyone else in the future.

Let's get this rolling people. Start writing to the Ministry! Don't sit there thinking others will do the work for you.. please put your frustration, sadness, anger and thoughts onto paper and let the government know enough is enough.

Tags: Ministry of Law, Proposed enbloc amendments, en bloc changes, en bloc amendments, public consultation, Singapore en bloc legislature, collective sale, property, enbloc sale, enbloc, en-bloc sale, en-bloc, condo, en bloc, collective sales, real estate, singapore, Enbloccing Singapore, Enblocing Singapore, Enblocking Singapore

Minority Owners Wanted

Apologies to all for not updating the blog these past 2 weeks. Been busy with work, although I'm aware of recent proposals to change the enbloc regulations. I'll talk about that in the near future but in the meantime, I'll continue to update the En-bloc List (which has become a source for investors, expats, and minority owners) and more importantly...

I have been approached by a reporter from a local newspaper to obtain contacts for MINORITY OWNERS. They want to do a piece on the plight of minority owners and need our help.

For her own record, the reporter will need your personal details but these can be kept out of the newspaper piece (ie you can be relatively anonymous to the public; but the reporter needs to know her sources). So here's your chance to voice your plight about the enbloc madness that has gripped the country. Interviews can be done via phone or email.

If you are interested, please contact me - enblocsingapore@hotmail.com - and let's talk first.

When you email me, let me know why you are/were a minority owner first - your situation and plight. I'll compile a list of potential interviewees for the reporter and she can then choose who she wants to interview and subsequently incorporate into her piece. Suffice to say she has done substantial coverage of enbloc sales in Singapore, but largely from the point of view of the success stories. Since then, there's been an increasing sense of helplessness, anger, frustration, by minority owners that she has been alerted to, and would now like to do a piece on.

Let's not let that opportunity disappear. For those who have been evicted from their homes, who felt that they have lost their individual rights to their homes, who have been bullied and threatened into signing their homes away, etc, please.. contact me. There must be THOUSANDS of people who have disagreed with their development's enblocs by now, and have no recourse but to accept their fate.

Give the public your voices.

Dr Minority - enblocsingapore@hotmail.com
ps. I'll leave this post on the front page for a week. Then I'll resume my posts.

Tags: Enbloccing Singapore, Enblocing Singapore, Enblocking Singapore, collective sale, property, enbloc sale, enbloc, en-bloc sale, en-bloc, en bloc, condo, collective sales, real estate, singapore

Guerilla Tactics II - Quorum, EOGMs and Management Councils

This is a follow up to the post titled Guerilla Tactics. Was going through the Singapore Statutes (Yes, makes for fun reading), and found some interesting bits that have direct bearing on en-bloc sales, especially the START of it.

As I've pointed out before, the first point of contact between any marketing agent interested in offering their services to your development, is the management council. They typically then become the Sales Committee. But to do that, they have to be ratified in an Extraordinary General Meeting.

Did you know the regulations for EOGMs are set out in the Statutes? Look for the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act 2004, First Schedule. This is of course my understanding of the Statutes, and lawyers (of which I am not) are the best people to confirm this, but unless your management council (MC) or sales committee (SC) are comprised of lawyers, I doubt anyone keeps a close eye on these regulations. But here are some nice bits:-

• A group of subsidiary proprietors (SPs) MUST submit a 'requisition' to the Management Council to initiate an EOGM. Now this has to be done formally in writing, to the MC's secretary.
  
• This group of SPs must comprise at least 20% of the total share values of the development. This approximates to 20% of your total no of owners (Schedule 14(1)(a)). Now this is possible if the SC and friends can get together to create the requisition but say in a development of 100 units, you need about 20 people to initiate the EOGM. In reality, that is often not easy or they don't even bother with this.
  
• Any business conducted in any general meeting (including the EOGM) must be held by the MC, not the SC. The SC can be there, but the chairperson of the MC must be present (or his/her proxy). So if an SC organises an EOGM (not an owner's meeting) which they need to ratify themselves, but the MC is not there, this is illegal.
• The EOGM must be held 6 weeks after the requisition is received by the secretary. (Schedule 14(1)).
• The EOGM needs a quorum or any business discussed there (including agreeing to begin the en-bloc sale, ratifying the SC etc) are not legal. The quorum is at least SPs who hold 30% of the aggregate share values of the development (Schedule 3(2)(a)). Again, this translates roughly to 30% of all owners must be at the EOGM. We're not talking cousins, friends, curious bystanders, girlfriends etc, but 30% of the share holders of the development.
  

In effect, any EOGM that does not conform to the above would be illegal. Which means any SCs that are ratified at EOGMs, any voting to agree to sell the development, all these are illegal if the procedures above are not only adhered to, but carefully logged down. How many EOGMs have you been to, where attendance is taken, names/ICs/share values noted, to gather the 30% requirement?

I've heard of cases where SCs formed by themselves, created by self-interested owners, who then invite marketing agents to come to present to owners, without the say so of the development's MC. Unfortunately, under the current laws, this is allowed. This completely excludes the need of any pro-tem SC to discuss matters with the other owners; they can choose whichever agents and lawyers they like AND THEN conduct an owners' meeting or EOGM to let owners know this is what they've done, now thank them for their hard work. In fact, most agents will tell pro-tem SCs to do that - the less interaction with owners, the more effective the sale process can be, since less information to owners = less chance of issues or contention arising from the sale. That's why most owners complain of a lack of transparency.

But that doesn't mean that if any SC decides to hold an EOGM, they can bend the rules. There are rules to adhere to, and now you know something that can be used at the first EOGM, to make sure the SC cowboys don't come charging guns ablazing. This is Singapore - there's a long red tape to stick to, and by golly, if they are so eager to sell and sell, they need to do it properly! In triplicates! Like obedient citizens!

Singapore Statutes, EOGM, Quorum, Management Council, sales committee, en-bloc committee, collective sale, collective sales, condo, en-bloc, en-bloc sale, enbloc, enbloc sale, property, real estate, singapore

Fight the Future - Communication Channels for the Minority

What can be done, for the minority owners? What happens if you're in the tail end of the inevitable steamroller called the en-bloc sale in your development, and you can't do anything about it.

Or can you?

There are communication channels, particularly to the newspapers and more importantly, to the government even the opposition, where you can voice your concerns about en-bloc sales. But why should the government care, you say.

Firstly, they should be concerned about the ethics of the whole process, especially since built into the conditions for rejecting an en-bloc sale, is the notion of 'good faith' and 'at arm's length'. The Select Committee's original recommendation to Parliament on 19th April 1999 on this matter points to the ethical imperative:

..the [Strata Title] Board will have power to refuse an order for sale only on the grounds that [1] the purchase price which a minority owner will receive is less than the price he paid for his unit, including all allowable deductions; [2] the purchase price a minority owner receives is not sufficient for him to discharge the encumbrances (ie mortgages and charges) on his unit; [3] the minority owner is forced to be part of a joint venture agreement with the developer; or [4] the sale is not in good faith and at arm’s length considering the factors … that the Board will review a case (regardless of whether there is an objection) to see whether on the face of the application it is satisfied that the transaction is in good faith and at arm’s length, after taking into account the sale proceeds, method of distributing the sale proceeds and the relationship of the purchaser to any of the unit owners. It will also ensure that the sale and purchase agreement does not require a minority owner to be part of a joint venture agreement with the developer of the land …

The last condition (4) refers to the ethics of the sale - the need for it to be done not only in good faith but at arm's length. You need to impress on the government that there are serious ethical issues with the way en-bloc sales are done now - Sales Committee's conflict of interest (Myth #2), ownership issue (Myth #3), arbitrariness of 10 year definition (Myth #5). There are also serious consequences of the aftermath of an unsuccessful en-bloc sale - place becoming rundown due to the SC/MC conflict of interest (Myth #2), enmity among neighbours if the SC lets known who are the minority.

Secondly, the government should be worried about the 20% or more minority group, MOST IF NOT ALL of which are (in all likelihood) Singaporean owners, people who do not wish to sell and do not wish to move from their home. An en-bloc sale can be traumatic to many of these minority owners, and it is likely to be manifested during election time (for those constituencies with elections!) in negative ways for the prevailing political party. Unhappiness with the government doing nothing about the en-bloc sale, not even reassessing it or putting restrictions on the sale to curb it, may well provide the impetus for citizens to vote less rationally.

It is ironic that the last person to ask about en-bloc sale was Mr Chiam See Tong in Nov 2006.

So what are the communication channels?

1. Your Member of Parliament. Contact them via email or via Meet-The-People sessions. You can find your MP here. The list of constituencies is here. If enough people bring up this issue to them, even they'll get worried. Then again, you might be affecting their future potential en-bloc properties!
   
2. Feedback Unit. They have a portal Reaching Everyone for Active Citizenry @Home (REACH.. doh) here.
   
3. The opposition party who would love to bring up these issues in Parliament. Useful if you feel your MP has condos involved in en-blocs too (or is in a law firm that deals with en-blocs!). Chiam See Tong's party is here and there's Workers' Party too. No, seriously.
   
4. Straits Times Forum here. The Today newspaper ran en-bloc forum letters for a while but the audience for Today is significantly different from the more mainstream ST.

Good luck and let's hope there will be change for a better future.

Tags: en-bloc forum, Enblocing Singapore, collective sale, real estate, property, enbloc sale, enbloc, en-bloc sale, en-bloc, condo, collective sales, singapore

Guerilla Tactics or All's Fair in Love, War and Money

I've been approached by a friend who has just started going through enbloc hell. His family stays in District 10, in a property that while more than 20 years old, has just been upgraded - spanking new corridors, stairs, lifts, updated the exteriors (not just paint but a subtle redesign that I thought made the blockish original design really nice). And now it appears the pro-tem Sales Committee have already gone ahead and hired the marketing agent. So here are some tips on what to do, what to say at the various presentations or owners' meetings.

Let's start with the principles first.

Target Groups: There are two large groups that you need to consider. (1) The 'Owners' who stay in the property for a significant number of years such that they have social attachments and interests in the area (eg conveniences, network of friends, community). (2) The 'Investors' who don't stay in the property, do not have social attachments, typically rent the unit out, and nowadays hoping for the enbloc windfall.

Overall Tactics: (a) To question the legality of the enbloc process (b) To systematically question, criticise, probe the enbloc process so that there are doubts in owners' and investors' minds (c) To appeal to the greediness of investors

NOTE: These 'tactics' are non-violent, non-intrusive, and in fact, works purely on the psychological and legal front of the target groups. In fact, a professional marketing agency will know most of these tactics and be prepared for them. That does not stop you from questioning them or extending these ideas here.

Tools: (a) Reserve Price (b) The Future (c) Social Attachment (d) Legal Conditions to Stop an Enbloc Sale (financial loss, fairplay, good faith).

In general, the idea is this. For owners, the tactic is to appeal to their social attachment to the place and to question the reserve price (is it high enough, does it reflect the true value, ie the best value your property can gain for you). For investors, the tactic is to appeal to their greediness (can you get a better value if you wait), and to draw attention to the bullish future (which fortunately for Singapore, is very good for the property market, with no sign of bubble bursting).

So here are the things you need to do, to raise, or get into the mindset of your 'subsidiary proprietors' ('SP') (ie those who own units in your property):-

Homework - This is important. Knowledge is power as they say:

• Learn what you can about en-bloc or collective sales. Read the Strata Title Board information on the requirements of an en-bloc sale here. The Institute of Estate Agents has a good FAQ on it as well here. Take note in particular the conditions that can deter an enbloc sale from becoming a reality.
• Learn about your area. Use the URA's Land Sales and Property Market website to find information about recent sales for your property, your surrounding properties, and your district in general. You can also use Redas's eProperty website to find historical sale values for your development, surrounding properties etc (they have information from 2000 to 2004). You can compile the information from these website to find highest values, average per square foot prices, rate of increase for your property value etc. The Singapore Expat's Property website has information on the age of the property and the no. of units which is useful too.
  
• Learn from your 'opponent'. Visit your marketing agent's website, find out what enblocs they might be involved in or were successful in the past. Some consultancies and marketing agencies have quarterly property market reports (eg Knight Frank has reports here, Cushman & Wakefield here, Colliers International here, Coldwell Banker here). These give good insights into the future of the property market, and is useful to agents who argue that it's better to sell now than later (when their own firm's reports indicate otherwise!).
• Read the papers. There's plenty of information on the property market, on collective sales in the Money section of the Straits Times. The Skyscraper forum thread on enbloc sales (link to the right or here) is likewise useful although you may have to wade through some banter between investors. The CondoSingapore Forum lists all the en blocs that have been sold, and is ongoing here.
  
• And for the experts, you can check out the Master Plan 2003 here, information about Development Charge here, the Statutes that govern the collective sale process here (click on L for "Land Titles (Strata) Act" and go to Part VA).
  

Tactics/Queries towards Sales Committee:

• Is the committee legitimate? Has it been ratified in an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting? Otherwise, as in another enbloc, two sales committee emerged and contested against one another.
• Is the Sales Committee the same as the Management Committee (See Myth #2 post)? You do not want the people in charge of looking after your property to be the same people who is trying their damnest best to get rid of it.
• Did they poll the SPs prior to any public meeting, to determine the level of interest in the enbloc? If they did, what percentage showed an interest? Insist on an exact figure and that this can be audited if necessary. The figure should be at least 80% to make it comparable to the enbloc requirement for sale. Make sure to distinguish between people who said Yes they'd like to sell, Maybe depending on price, and No they will never sell no matter what the price.
• Query the legal fees for the hired solicitors. Some law firms insist on an initial downpayment, some don't. Some require that each SP pays a sum towards disbursements, which means even if you disagree with the enbloc, you must pay the lawyers. Most of such conditions are vetted by the Sales Committee so you'll need to make sure these are thoroughly verified, that you as the SP are not taken for a ride by an eager Sales Committee.
• If your development was recently renovated, query the Sales Committee (which indirectly will query the Management Committee) on why sell now when things are fairly updated? In fact, why waste that money spent on upgrading the property if it could've meant lower maintenance funds? Inversely, if your place is getting rundown, query when did the management/sales committee first find out about the potential for enbloc. This may have bearing on unethical behaviour in not managing the property and letting it deteriorate. Management committees can be brought to court over the mismanagement of funds and property, after all.
  

Tactics/Queries towards Marketing Agents

• What is the selected method of distribution for the sale proceeds? Most common is the 50/50 method: 50% share value and 50% strata floor area. But this neglects other factors such as floor level and facing side, which at the original time of purchase, may have made a difference (eg it is not uncommon to have a higher sale price for those units at higher floors). Query why this is not taken into consideration and it is unfair to those at higher floors who'd then receive less of the total proceeds if based on 50/50.
  
• Alternatively, ask why other methods of distribution are not utilised, eg including general valuation.
• Query about financial loss. Most agents will have on hand the purchase price of every SP in the property, so that they can ascertain what should be the minimum reserve price (RP) to set to prevent financial loss. Some agents will structure the RP such that all owners need to take a portion of their proceeds towards a common fund to subsidise the financial loss SPs (esp if the RP is valued such that it will include financial loss cases). You need to find out how many people will suffer from financial loss from the RP offered, how many SPs are close to the financial loss margin. The latter is useful in judging how many people are on the borderline in terms of deciding to sell the units (because they will have little to nothing to gain for the enbloc sale).
• Query about recent and potential enblocs in your area. Most agents will base the RP on the latest enbloc value in your area, and will match that. Ask them what are the potential enblocs in the area. You want this information for later on (see below). Of course, if your value is lower than the latest enbloc value, insist on knowing why this is the case. After all, developers are after your LAND and not property; you can be the oldest kid in the block (look at Eng Lok Mansion) but if the land is prime or super-prime, that's all that matters.
• Compare the RP they've set for your property against (a) recent purchases in your area (using the URA website data) (b) new properties in your area. Are you getting a RP which will generate a sale price for you individually that is comparable to current property market rates, or are you being shortchanged? Some marketing agents will deliberately set a lower RP to obtain a fast enbloc sale so you will need to do your homework (above) and argue for a higher RP if necessary. Some agents will point out that a clause is included in the Collective Sale Agreement (CSA) which will allow the Sales Committee (SC) to increase the RP if market conditions improve so you need not worry. However, take note that this is to push people to sign the CSA early. Remember - once you've signed it, you cannot retract your signature; it is a binding contract. That means IF the SC or Agents choose NOT to increase the RP even with improved market conditions, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it once you've signed on the dotted line. And this is very possible, depending on how 'panicky' the SC can be, and how fast the agent wants to sell your property. For example, estate X in Dist 10 sold for $850 in a tender; if it had waited a month later, where estate Y in Dist 10 nearby sold for $1100, it might have been able to match and better this. But the SC and agent were worried that the market will burst, so they did not revise their RP. So let this be known publicly - that the clause in the CSA is NO GUARANTEE that a SC will increase the RP accordingly.
  
• Ask why is it that you are first in your area for enbloc (if you ARE the first)? Why not wait for other enblocs to be successful and then you can benchmark yourselves against them? Case in point - Holland Hill Mansion was recently successfully sold en-bloc for $750 psf ppr and that has radically jacked up the RP of ongoing enbloc sales in the area (Spanish Village, Farrer Court, Hollandia, Holland Crest, Holland Hill Lodge etc). Ask the marketing agent to check if neighbouring properties plan to go enbloc.
  
• Query if they are the best marketing agent for your property. What is their success rate for enblocs, what failures, how many have they done so far etc. Cast doubt on the professionalism of the agency or their effectiveness in pushing a sale through. Ask them publicly what tactics will they use for owners who are hesitant to sign up, how aggressive are they in collecting signatures.
  
• If you have a neighbouring condominium that looks like it's in a ready state to go enbloc (older than 10 years, starting to look run down), ask the agents why can't your property combine with theirs. This has happened in successful enblocs in the past.

Tactics/Queries towards Owner SPs:

• Most owners have a social attachment to their home and neighbouring areas. Some have stayed there all their lives or a substantial length of time, and have developed friendships with neighbours, shops, clinics, and have a strong familiarity with the area etc. More often than not, this group is the lynchpin in whether your sale goes through or not. If you have at least 50% of your property full of owners, people who stay there, these people are less likely to agree to the enbloc unless the RP is really substantial. You want to work on this group the most.
• Point out during owners' meeting or other public meetings, why should owners sell their property when the amount they'll get (and this will almost be true in most cases) from the enbloc sale will NOT be sufficient for them to buy a new property in the same area. Agents will say that it IS possible to buy a property, albeit not a new one, in the area but counter that by saying that there's no guarantee that the older property will not go enbloc in the near future and then the same frustration will occur to the owner again. Hit the agents (and the SPs in the meeting) with data from your findings on recent sales of new properties to show how the RP will not be sufficient to match the rapidly increasing private property market. Not without a substantial topping up if owners choose to stay in the same area, or they just have to move somewhere else, typically into a lesser district.
  
• Ask the agents why can't they arrange with potential developers a unit-for-unit exchange. This is actually called a "collective exchange" and has been done in the past. Paterson Lodge (brokered by Knight Frank) and Pinetree Condo (Balmoral Rd, brokered by Jones Lang LaSalle) have been successful in doing this. The collective exchange is very appealing for SPs because they get a new unit in the same location, so owners do not lose their social attachment to their homes.

Tactics/Queries towards Investor SPs:

• This group really doesn't need your attention as they are already set on selling their units. The crucial issue is when are they willing to sell. You need to appeal to the sense of greed on this.
• Point to the property market reports (links are above) which indicate a bullish market. Point to CDL's CEO Kwek Leng Beng saying that the high end developments will hit $3000 psf this year, and that the mid level developments ($800-$1300) will move up this year as well. A delay on the enbloc may be more profitable given such conditions.
• Plus the substantial increase in foreign investment in properties in Singapore will push the local investors, escalating property prices, which will bring a premium to prime land sites. Despite developers having a near full land bank, prime land now has gained in demand substantially.
  
• Throw in the Integrated Resorts, excellent forecasts on the Singapore Economy, and Kwek Leng Beng saying that (a) the bubble won't burst in the near future (b) government is fast in reacting to crisis which prevents a major burst, and you're talking rational dollars and sense that now may not be the best time to sign that Collective Sale Agreement.
  

Hopefully the above will help anyone in need of advice on enbloc dilemmas. The biggest threat are the "serial enbloccers", SPs who own units in your property who have done enblocs in the past or are going through them now. They have the most experience (besides agents) and can be very aggressive in pushing for the sale to go through. I can only give one advice for this small group of people - CAPITAL GAINS TAX. This tax was implemented in 1996 to curb rampant speculation in the real estate market and removed in early 2000s. As serial enbloccers are people who hunt for potential enbloc properties, buy them up, and then either join the Sales Committee to push for the sale, or do so by other means. They typically hope to gain within 1-2 yrs of buying the old property. The capital gains tax, previously implemented, will impose a hefty tax on those who wish to sell their property unless 3 yrs of purchasing it. Write to your GRC, your local MP, tell them how you and many others like you are being systematically evicted by greedy investors and serial enbloccers. Remind them (esp those MPs in prime districts) that soon their district will be filled with foreigners rather than locals, since only the very rich Singaporeans can afford to buy new properties there, and the middle-class Singaporeans have to move elsewhere to stay.

Long post but I hope this is useful to the minority in enbloc sales.

Tags: en-bloc tactics, en-bloc sales, enbloc, collective sale, Singapore