Article - How to Ace your RES Exam Paper 1 (Competency Units 1 to 3)
Based on my engagement with students sitting for their RES exams (both Paper 1 and Paper 2), it seems that a higher percentage of students do not pass their Paper 1. A fair percentage of students required more than one sitting to pass Paper 1. Hence, I thought it would be a useful and relevant article to discern between the topics covered between both Papers, and then suggest (humbly) some tips which might help you to overcome Paper 1.
#1 – The Key Difference between Paper 1 and Paper 2
The key different is clearly articulate between the title of both papers. Paper 1 deals with the Basic Real Estate Concept and Law, and is heavily geared towards understanding the terminologies and concepts related to real estate as well as the real estate industry. On the other hand, Paper 2 relates to the Real Estate Salespersons Practice and Regulations, and while covering 4 units, is somewhat anchoring on practical knowledge.
In short: Paper 1 is generally more technical while Paper 2 is generally more practical.
Paper 1 deals with the government view of real estate industry (macro), the terms of real estate as defined by law (micro), and then the legal view of the real estate industry (the brokers). You must first under this three-way relationship between CU01, 02 and 03.
In short: Paper 1 is generally more technical while Paper 2 is generally more practical.
Paper 1 deals with the government view of real estate industry (macro), the terms of real estate as defined by law (micro), and then the legal view of the real estate industry (the brokers). You must first under this three-way relationship between CU01, 02 and 03.
#2 – CU01: Real Estate Industry Overview
Do not let the subject heading lead you to the wrong direction! It is not really just about the industry. Many concepts and terminologies are covered in this first competency unit. You will have to understand, first and foremost, the government agencies that deal with real estate and their policies from a macro-perspective. This includes obviously the URA, and its concept plan and master plan. I would recommend going to URA’s website (www.ura.gov.sg) and read up from both a public and a professional point of view. URA has revamped their website, and there are many nuggets of information that could appear in the exam. Do you know what the designated landed housing plan is? Or what is development control? All these details are featured in URA’s website. From a macro perspective, you will then have to zoom into a micro perspective, to understand that various types of properties and how they are categorized. There are numbers and terms to remember as well, so make sure you remember them by hard. For example, what is the difference between a Terrace House I and a Terrace House II? Remember not only to cover the residential properties but also the commercial as well as industrial property segments. CU01 also deals with the real estate industry; hence you will need to have a fair idea of everything related to an estate agency. The choice website here to refer to would be CEA’s website. I won’t have to share its URL, would I? If you think you have mastered CU01, I would challenge you to try 100Questions (www.100Qns.com) RES Fill-in-the-Blanks CU01. Instead of 100 questions, you will have 50 questions to test how well you have remembered the essential terms from CU01. Remember, CU01, is the Singapore government’s view of real estate and the real estate market.
#3 – CU02: Basic Concepts of Real Estate
Competency Unit 2 continues off naturally where CU01 left off. If CU01 deals with the government’s perspective of the real estate industry and the characteristics of the real estate market from a macro view, then CU02 zooms into the nitty gritty terms relating to real estate. This is probably the most technical part of the entire Paper 1 (and Paper 2, for that matter). Why is this so? You will first have to understand that real estate originated from the concept of a “land law”, which means that every real estate term that you are learning came from an ancient land or property law that deals with the rights to use, alienate or exclude others from land, as part of a country’s jurisdiction. In other colonized lands, there would be indigenous land rights, but fortunately in Singapore’s case this is not so. Nevertheless, there are still many terms that you will not only have to remember, but also the meaning behind these terms – ranging from definitions of land, real property, fixture, fitting, interests in land, tenure, grant of rights, leases, co-ownership, so on and so forth. Will mastering the terms ensure that you pass Paper 1? Not really. Understand the term by remembering them is just the first part of solving the puzzle. You will not only need to understand the various terminologies and definitions, but also understand how they might be applied in context with one another, or relative to one another.
Confused? I give a simple example, and one commonly-featured question. In 2.7, we deal with co-ownership of land in terms of joint tenancy and tenancy-in-common. Are you very clear about the differences between both in different situations? A property held by 2 or more persons as joint tenants means that upon the death of one joint owner, his interest in the property is taken over by the surviving owner(s). A joint owner may not will away his interest in the property to others in his Will. Property held by 2 or more persons as tenants in common means that each owner has a specified or distinct share or proportion in the property. For example, such share could be on an equal basis (50%-50%) or 70% - 30% basis etc. Each owner may be able to dispose his share in the property either by sale or under his Will. Upon one owner's death, the surviving co-owner(s) do(es) not take over the deceased's interest in the property as is in the case of joint tenancy. His share passes under his will or in accordance with the law of intestacy, as the case may be.
To summarize, CU02 is the universal legal view of real estate and real estate terms, as well as other related legal areas related to real estate (e.g. mortgages, trusts, interests, etc).
Confused? I give a simple example, and one commonly-featured question. In 2.7, we deal with co-ownership of land in terms of joint tenancy and tenancy-in-common. Are you very clear about the differences between both in different situations? A property held by 2 or more persons as joint tenants means that upon the death of one joint owner, his interest in the property is taken over by the surviving owner(s). A joint owner may not will away his interest in the property to others in his Will. Property held by 2 or more persons as tenants in common means that each owner has a specified or distinct share or proportion in the property. For example, such share could be on an equal basis (50%-50%) or 70% - 30% basis etc. Each owner may be able to dispose his share in the property either by sale or under his Will. Upon one owner's death, the surviving co-owner(s) do(es) not take over the deceased's interest in the property as is in the case of joint tenancy. His share passes under his will or in accordance with the law of intestacy, as the case may be.
To summarize, CU02 is the universal legal view of real estate and real estate terms, as well as other related legal areas related to real estate (e.g. mortgages, trusts, interests, etc).
#4 – CU03: Laws Governing Estate Agency Practice and Real Estate Transactions.
Hence, after you are now clearer with the macro and micro perspective of the real estate, the next natural step is to understand the laws governing the Estate Agency Practice, which is the primary reason to you taking this exam. This is still a very technical topic (and very legal as well), as it deals with the laws of contract, or what makes a contract, and how a contract can be terminated. Personally, this is my favorite competency unit, as what you learn from this unit is universal – you can apply this not only to real estate but also to any other areas of doing business, as long as you will need to craft an agreement.
In a gist, CU03 deals with contract law, but ends off relating back to CU01’s government view, as it includes the various legislation and acts.
In a gist, CU03 deals with contract law, but ends off relating back to CU01’s government view, as it includes the various legislation and acts.
#5 – Best Practices for Paper 1 and what to watch out for?
Moving on to the next step, you must realize that the questions that appear in the RES exam might not necessarily be a straightforward question of what a term is. Even when we have covered in CU03 that a contract is only legally binding with the following five factors:
This does not mean that the MCQ would be a straightforward one. The question might manifest in the form of a scenario that tests your full understanding on contract law. I can think of a simple scenario question right now:
Q: You are a salesperson representing the landlord of a Paterson Link unit. Mr Truman has a valid employment pass and will be working in the finance sector. He found an ideal place at Paterson Link and then submitted a LOI with the good faith deposit through you on 1 October to the landlord with a three-day validity. The landlord would like to find another tenant with a higher rent, but would also like to keep his options open. On 6 October, the landlord decided to proceed with Mr Truman, but Mr Truman has found another better place and hence requests for his cheque to be returned since the landlord did not accept his LOI by 4 October. However, the landlord banked in the cheque on 6 October as an indication of acceptance and insists that he will not refund Mr Truman. What would be your actions?
While I could generate 4 possible options for you to choose from, you might now realise that you would probably be implicated in this process. This is because, while the LOI is not a part of a contract (since it is an Invitation to Treat from Mr Truman to the landlord (another term to note)), and hence no legal binding relations have been formed, it is the duty of the landlord (via you) to reply Mr Truman with an indication of interest on 4 October. Specifically, you, as the landlord’s agent must check with the landlord on his interest by 4 October, and then give a clear indication back to Mr Truman by 4 October.
Many other variations around contract law can manifest in the questions, and bear in mind that this is just related to contract law. There are still other scenarios that you can be questioned, hence you have to understand not only the terms but the underlying applications of these terms. Then you will be able to master Paper 1.
Q: You are a salesperson representing the landlord of a Paterson Link unit. Mr Truman has a valid employment pass and will be working in the finance sector. He found an ideal place at Paterson Link and then submitted a LOI with the good faith deposit through you on 1 October to the landlord with a three-day validity. The landlord would like to find another tenant with a higher rent, but would also like to keep his options open. On 6 October, the landlord decided to proceed with Mr Truman, but Mr Truman has found another better place and hence requests for his cheque to be returned since the landlord did not accept his LOI by 4 October. However, the landlord banked in the cheque on 6 October as an indication of acceptance and insists that he will not refund Mr Truman. What would be your actions?
While I could generate 4 possible options for you to choose from, you might now realise that you would probably be implicated in this process. This is because, while the LOI is not a part of a contract (since it is an Invitation to Treat from Mr Truman to the landlord (another term to note)), and hence no legal binding relations have been formed, it is the duty of the landlord (via you) to reply Mr Truman with an indication of interest on 4 October. Specifically, you, as the landlord’s agent must check with the landlord on his interest by 4 October, and then give a clear indication back to Mr Truman by 4 October.
Many other variations around contract law can manifest in the questions, and bear in mind that this is just related to contract law. There are still other scenarios that you can be questioned, hence you have to understand not only the terms but the underlying applications of these terms. Then you will be able to master Paper 1.
#6 – Final Recommendations
So you have read and re-read the syllabus topics over and over again. Are you prepared? My personally suggested is to test yourself first, your knowledge of the CU01/CU02/CU03 terms by trying the Fill-in-the-blank exams at 100Questions. If you are able to get a 70% passing rate, then my next suggestion is to try the RES Exam volumes, which I have found to be highly scenario based. While they might not necessary be the same as the questions that might appear in the RES Exam, it is probably the closest that you could get to achieve the highest level of confidence in aceing your paper. The scenarios are also useful in giving your practical considerations on how to conduct yourself as a worth and professional salesperson in the future. All the best!
(The Author is a trainer with a real estate agency in Singapore and have been invited by 100Questions to guest-write this article)
(The Author is a trainer with a real estate agency in Singapore and have been invited by 100Questions to guest-write this article)
