Quiet yet not so quiet

The global recession has pretty much killed anyone from attempting an enbloc, and anyone still trying their luck is seriously revealing to their own estate, and to everyone else, just how selfish they are, simply because they NEED to sell, rather than wait for the RIGHT time to sell.

It's been so long since I last posted, that I forgot my password to my blog and that blogger has changed some of its features lol. Still, there are some very hardworking enbloc bloggers around. Hope 4 Stayer's still chugging along, and the blogger at Tampines Court has taken this lull period to reflect on their own experiences. They have started a series of VERY GOOD blog posts on the various pitfalls of enbloc sales. Do start reading from here, and I believe they'll still continue with their excellent posts ranging from the problems with MCs being in SCs, to EOGMs etc. Please do go read them.

I will in the next post put up an email which interest me but because I was overseas, didn't really have much time to think about it. Be right there :)

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Tags: tampines court, collective sale, collective sales, condo, en bloc, en-bloc, en-bloc sale, enbloc, enbloc sale, singapore

Enbloc Wars: A New HOPE - www.hope4stayers.com

One of the major disadvantages of being a minority owner or someone who is against enbloc sales (a stayer), and which the pro-sales people use to their greatest advantage, is the fact that often such owners are isolated from the processes within their estate, as well as other estates.

After all, the Sales Committee has the advantage of a professional consultancy in the form of marketing agents with plenty of experience in enbloc sales, as well as enbloc lawyers. Stayers, often in fear of retribution from neighbours, live in the shadows and are afraid of voicing their opposition. Sales Committees everywhere know this fact, and use it to their benefit. A marketing agent once told us (in my estate) that there are 3 groups of people in any enbloc estate - the pro-sales, the fencesitters, and the die-hard no-sale stayers. For the last group, information blackout is crucial - the less they know, the less problems they'll pose to the sale. Marketing agents concentrate on working the fencesitters and pushing them towards signing the CSA, but leave the stayers out of the loop. It's an unfortunately legal loophole, but they use it to ensure there are minimal problems. It's a time-tested technique used by most authoritarian governments and dictatorships.

Over the months, we've seen stayers gather within their estates to put up a resistance to their own sales. Some, such as Bayshore Park, are well organised. Others struggle to get their own groups off the ground. Yet other estates have stayers who WISH they could form a group but do not know how to. Some have used this blog and many other anti-enbloc blogs to connect with others in their estates, or learn more about the processes. But on the whole, it's been hard work for many, to mobilise a group, to keep themselves updated on what works, what doesn't.

In recent months, a group of stayers, FROM A NUMBER OF ESTATES, have started to gather together online. From (at last count) 11 estates, these stayers have decided to pool their resources to provide their collective experiences and knowledge to others who hope to stop their own enbloc sales, or at least keep their sales committees straight and above board.

So from now on, any owner who feels concerned about their own enbloc sale, need not be alone anymore. They have the shared wisdom of at least 11 estates who are in the same boat, struggling with enbloc battles. The group - Hope4stayers (www.hope4stayers.com) - aims to:

1. share with selected invited subsidiary proprietors (SPs) of some estates our en bloc experiences and let each other know what is happening in our respective condos;
2. disseminate information on the en bloc process, current legislation and other related policies to enlighten, educate and provide advice to SPs who are facing en bloc attempts in their condos and who are not aware of what the laws provide for;
3. provide a morale booster for Stayers to deal with the dreadful hammer of the enbloc syndrome. (from their website)
   

Please do visit their site, and if you are facing problems with your own enbloc sale and you are a stayer, do contact them. They are well organised, knowledgeable people, most if not all of them professionals in their working lives, who have decided to devote their personal time, resources and efforts to helping other stayers in other estates.

The Hope people are volunteers, and they do not ask for any professional consultancy fees, unlike marketing agents. They are good people, and are genuinely passionate about helping stayers out there.

Give them a call if you are a stayer. Left in the dark. Left out of the loop of your enbloc sale. Need help and seek others who can help you.

www.hope4stayers.com

You can read their Straits Times Forum letter below, which was a response to Jessica Cheam's article (blogged here):


Straits Times Forum Online
12 June 2008
En bloc blues? There's hope, says support group

WE REFER to the report, 'En bloc sales bring out the worst in Singaporeans' (June 1) by Ms Jessica Cheam.

We are a group of concerned friends who love Singapore and the estates in which we live. While we welcome progress, we also cherish the old and familiar.

Our cityscape has improved enormously in the past decades, thanks to the vision of Singaporeans and its leaders.

But for our communities to forge together in good-neighbourliness, roots to grow deeper and future generations to see Singapore as home, we need to preserve our homes. We need to retain the kampung spirit that binds us.

The recent spate of attempts in en bloc sales have impacted us in a way that is counter-productive to our nesting instincts and identity as a gracious society.

We need to stop perpetuating these negative experiences. We want to be free from the constant worry of losing our homes to those who see them as mere financial tools for increasing wealth.

In this spirit of proud home ownership and community living, we have formed an online community called Hope for Stayers (www.hope4stayers.com) where we share our experiences and educate others on the whole process of an en bloc sale.

As 'stayers', we hope that we can contribute to the ethos and values needed to enable Singapore to evolve into a truly first-class progressive nation, where the term 'prosperity' reflects more than dollars and cents.

Lastly, we agree with Ms Cheam's view that it would be prudent to consider a requirement for an 80 or 90 per cent quorum for an extraordinary general meeting to decide whether to push for en bloc sale. This is consistent with the current 80 or 90 per cent requirement for an en bloc sale to succeed.

This would establish whether an estate has such support from the very outset. The current system of 30 per cent quorum encourages a possible abuse of MCST funds in repeated and wasteful attempts at the en bloc 'lottery' and results in the depletion of funds meant primarily to maintain the estate.

We also hope that the entire en bloc sale process is tightened in such a way that it reflects and acknowledges the need for fair play and the deep-rooted sentiment that we have for our homes.

Dai Qiujin
(This letter carries 12 other names)

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Tags: hope4stayers, www.hope4stayers.com, hope, collective sale, collective sales, condo, en bloc, en-bloc, en-bloc sale, enbloc, enbloc sale, singapore, property

Clementi Park and Ocean Park Anti-Enbloc Blogs

Two new anti-enbloc blogs have appeared.

Owners of Clementi Park estate who are not keen to participate in the enbloc process have started up their impressive website as well as getting a mention in the ST Forum (reproduced on condosingapore here). You can visit the Clementi Park website here (http://www.saveclementipark.com/).

Owners of Ocean Park over on the East have set up another blog as well, which was recently updated. You can visit that here (http://www.oceanparksingapore.blogspot.com/). This is different from Ocean Park Anti-Enbloccers (although both bloggers are in communication).

Good luck to both estates in fighting the enbloc madness!

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Tags: Enbloccing Singapore, Enblocing Singapore, Enblocking Singapore, collective sale, collective sales, condo, en bloc, en-bloc, en-bloc sale, enbloc, enbloc sale

Will New Law Make Poison Pen Letters a Thing of the Past?

I just saw this flyer sent out to owners at Tampines Court, written by someone who views him/herself as a majority owner. You can view the flyer at the Tampines Court blog (here). I'm disheartened by the distinct element of threat included in the flyer.

The very idea of dividing an estate up into two camps is built right into the enbloc protocol. So long as there's an arbitrary 80/20 (or 90/10) requirement for majority/minority consent in a 10 yr+ estate (another arbitrary number), the estate will invariably be split into two, often opposing, camps. The difference in the past and now is that the minority group is getting more vocal, present, more organised and importantly, more knowledgeable in the facts surrounding enbloc sales and their rights.

Will the new Law make such poison pen letters a thing of the past? Not likely at all. Until the government begins to address the social and psychological impact of urban renewal, rather than the procedural and legal aspects, the ugly side of enbloc sales will continue to exist.

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Tags: enbloc poison pen letter, tampines court, collective sale, collective sales, condo, en bloc, en-bloc, en-bloc sale, enbloc, enbloc sale, property, singapore

Anti-enbloc Blog - Ocean Park

Typically, people unhappy with the collective sale of their homes are people who have been staying there for a while - what I call owner-occupiers. But even potential owner-occupiers can be unhappy with the enbloc sale of their homes.

An owner who has never stayed in her 'retirement home' is mighty upset that her estate is now up for enbloc sale. She owns a unit in Ocean Park at East Coast Road. Built in 1983 with 298 units, the freehold district 15 estate is joining the enbloc madness that is now occupying the East Side of Singapore (ie Laguna Park, Lagoon View, Mandarin Gardens, Neptune Court, Bayshore Park etc). Prices there, like most 'enbloc potential' flats, have shot right up - from $1071 (caveat lodged May 07) to $1200-$1400 asking price on the market for units there.

Good luck to the anti-enbloccers of Ocean Park. The blog can be found here. I've added a link to in on the Links section on the right side.

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Tags: Ocean Park, east coast park, ocean park anti-enbloccers, collective sale, collective sales, condo, en bloc, en-bloc, en-bloc sale, enbloc, enbloc sale, property, singapore, real estate

Bayshore Park Blog on En-Bloc & Deposit Interests

En bloc madness has hit the east. A look at the latest postings on this thread in an expat forum shows how the thread has been hijacked by locals who are largely there hoping to obtain tips and hence jump onto the en bloc bandwagon (rather than the original thread's purpose of informing expats on which estates are going en bloc).

Neptune Court, Laguna Park, Mandarin Gardens, Bayshore Park, Lagoon View, Fernwood Towers - all massive estates on the east side and if the discussion on the thread is anything to go by, each of these estates are hoping to go enbloc or going to go en-bloc. Of course, until the news is officially publicised in the newspapers, take such information with a major pinch of salt. Nevertheless, the inevitability of the enbloc craze means that it's only a matter of time before the Easterners start the frenzy there. I won't even imagine how many owners are going to be cash-rich and property-poor if all of them succeed.

In the midst, another en bloc blog has appeared - Bayshore Park - which is proactive and begun obtaining signatures from owners to block the enbloc. They have apparently received over 20% which means that fierce resistance is due upon them.

And there's been a recent furore over a matter of fine print in the Collective Sale Agreement (CSA) - the issue of what happens to the interest gained from the deposits that developers hand over to the lawyers. The Law Society's stand is clear - "As a matter of law, if there is no agreement otherwise amongst buyer, seller and stakeholder, the interest earned on the stake belongs to the stakeholder". Imagine, a deposit of $50 million generates (easily) $500,000 interest which can go to the lawyers if they are unscrupulous enough not to include clauses in the CSA that ensures the interest goes to the owners. The CondoForum contains the newspaper articles on this matter so do read that up but in short - make sure what happens to the interest gained when the sums are placed somewhere, is explicitly mentioned in the CSA.

Just updated the Enbloc list, which is getting longer and longer.

Tags: Bayshore Park, Neptune Court, Laguna Park, Mandarin Gardens, singapore, real estate, property, enbloc sale, enbloc, en-bloc sale, en-bloc, en bloc, condo, collective sales, collective sale, Enblocking Singapore

Money or Memories?

In a strike of the hammer (metaphorically), over 600 residents from Farrer Court, some of whom I know and some who have lamented the loss of their flats, are now going into a mad frenzy to find replacement homes. With each getting over $2m for their ex-HUDC flat, it's no wonder other ex-HUDC estates are now getting very active in forming sales committees, pushing for signature collection, attempting to privatise etc all to cash in the enbloc fever before the temperature abates due to possible worries of bubble bursting and/or government intervention. Some have already said that the recent news that plot ratios will remain largely the same (curbing rampant speculation that the government will increase plot ratios to house the additional 2m influx of migrants, and subsequently boost redevelopment agendas) is an early sign that the governmental panadol is going to cool the enbloc fever.

Add to this, more legalistic confusion arises. One estate that has been collecting signatures and received tenders, found out that they had exceeded their 1 year limit. No names mentioned, but the fact is ALL estates hoping to go down the enbloc road have precisely 1 year from the date of 1st signature on the CSA to acquire the 80% or 90% consensus, and then up to 1 year to submit the application to STB. Given that this estate has received bids, but not reached the 80% required to execute the CSA, and has exceeded the time limit, what happens now? Will the developers' bids be nullified and another round of CSA (which surely must happen) occur, but maybe this time with the RP raised, given that it was a value from a year or even 2 ago? Is this a form of cold feet or active 'resistance' to an unfavourable CSA?

And of course, Horizon Towers (you can read about this in the condosingapore forum) is undergoing a yoyo battle over when the mediation for STB is; current date set would exceed legal deadlines which may cause the enbloc deal to fall through. Heavyweight lawyers are hired and guns are on the ready to go off.

Pearlbank Apartment is under threat again, and with the neighbouring MRT land being redeveloped, there's even more pressure to tear down a modern icon of Singapore's past. You can read the International Herald Tribune piece on Pearlbank here.

Finally, a fantastic piece from Prof Linda Lim of U of Michigan which can be read here. Reflecting on the state of collective sales in Singapore, and the tension between place-based sentimentality and economic and urban renewal justification, she has these to say when her mother's flat was en bloc'd :-

Witnessing my mother's experience made me realise that 'retirement at home' is no longer an option for me.

As an economist and business professor whose thinking is rooted in market logic and financial rationality, I do not always agree with policies and financial actions which may be rational only in a particular institutional and collective cultural context. Singapore's current en bloc fever is a prime example of economic irrationality on all sides.

But regardless of the economic considerations and outcomes, one thing is for sure - the destruction of so many homes not only pollutes the environment and tightens short-term housing supply, but also could cause excess supply and loss of property values in the longer term.

It also destroys the sense of home itself, which is much more than an economic phenomenon. As a friend contemplating an en bloc sale says: 'I am torn. It will make me rich and give me financial freedom...But it will also take away my children's memories.'

Money or memories? Perhaps only a romantic expatriate like myself - with values rooted in the Singapore of the 1960s when we were a new nation, and who has eschewed an economically rational decision when it has meant surrendering the ephemeral identification with home that citizenship brings - will choose memories.

I have met Linda when she was in Singapore June 2006 for an Institute of South East Asian Studies talk titled "Singapore: Place or Nation - The Implications for Economy, State and Identity". If the resistance to enblocs (however small, but still about 10-20% of all who are subjected) is anything to go by, there are some owners (Singaporeans and otherwise) who have a strong affiliation to place and treasure the fact that homes are places of security and places of attachment. Geographyer Tuan Yi Fu said it eloquently, when he points to the difference place has for the young and old:-

Place can acquire deep meaning for the adult through the steady accretion of sentiment over the years. Every piece of heirloom furniture, or even a stain on the wall, tells a story. The child not only has a short past, but his eyes more than the adult's are on the present and the immediate future. His vitality for doing things and exploring space is not suited to the reflective pause and backward glance that make places seem saturated with significance. ... Yet adults, particularly educated adults, have no difficulty associating inanimate objects with moods. Young children, so imaginative in their own spheres of action, may look matter-of-factly on places that to adults are haunted by memories (Tuan 1977: 33)*

Are we a generation of adults or youths, able or unable to understand the significance of place over the 'present and the immediate future'? What is the government saying of citizens when they allow the systematic destruction of places that for many are viewed as homes, and not sound investments? Can any blame be cast on Singaporeans, with little sense of place, if they become 'quitters' and pragmatically choose to emigrate? Memories. I choose that anytime. But in current enbloc atmosphere, I go against the majority and am deemed anti-democratic and anti-Singaporean.

How ironic.

ps. Transcript taking longer than usual. Need to get excerpts transcribed! In the meantime, Enbloc List has been updated. Apologies for the delay.
* Tuan, Y.F. (1977). Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

[Error on permitted time corrected, with thanks to Pariah's comments]

Tags: Tuan Yi Fu, Linda Lim, Place, collective sale, collective sales, condo, en bloc, en-bloc, en-bloc sale, enbloc, enbloc sale, property, real estate, singapore

More Anti-Enbloc Blogs, En Bloc Blues & 2nd Public Consultation

Quite a few items to report this week...

Firstly, several blogs have popped up. It's great to see that civil society and activism is strong and vibrant in Singapore, especially since minority owners have barely any space to voice their concerns and dissent.

Dairy Farm Estate at Upper Bukit Timah has started the en-bloc process, and a group of conscientious owners has set up a blog on their estate, to discuss the prospects of selling their homes collectively. You can find the blog here. Tampines Court has also started an anti-enbloc blog, which they said is better late than never! You can find the Tampines Court blog here. And there's another general anti-enbloc blog started by M Goei. You can find her blog here. (I have updated their addresses on my links page as well.)

Secondly, if you haven't read it yet, the Straits Times have done an excellent SEVEN page spread on the flip side of en bloc sales, which they titled "En Bloc Blues". You can find the articles in the CondoSingapore Forum (Many thanks to Mr Funny for putting these up for readers) as well as sites such as sghousing. Thanks must go to the reporters Joyce Teo, Fiona Chan and Keith Lin who contacted many of us and for putting up a balanced view of en blocs. The various articles are available here (titled "En bloc blues", "Riding the en bloc wave", "Many forced to downgrade..", "This is my home..").

Thirdly, the Ministry of Law has started a second round of public consultation. In response to the 100 over feedback from the public (presumably largely from minority owners and dissenters) from their first public consultation, MinLaw has now started to solicit feedback from the pro-sales folks - property consultants and law firms. Information available here.

Finally, some forums have new discussions on en bloc sales over at Stomp and ChannelNewsAsia. I have likewise updated the En Bloc List (will try to do that on weekends when possible). In the following week, I hope to share an analysis/deconstruction of a transcript and minutes of an EOGM where it is blatantly obvious that majority owners will do anything to force the minority owners into a very uncomfortable spot for their holding out on the sale (and hence the majority's profits).

Tags: En Bloc Blues, Anti-Enbloc, Anti-En bloc, collective sale, property, enbloc sale, enbloc, en-bloc sale, en-bloc, en bloc, condo, collective sales, real estate, 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