461. Beauty in veterinary medicine

"You didn't reply to my sms," the pet shop lady said. "So, I phoned your surgery and made an appointment for vaccination and micro-chipping."

"I was taking the real estate examination," I replied. "In any case, there is a vet available for you."

"Is she pretty?" she asked. "I did not see her as I sent my staff to your surgery. She has a sweet voice as she was the one answering my phone call."

We had known each other for years through my extension visits to her pet shops. She had agonised over competition from one Mediacorps starlet. "Don't worry," I said. "The starlet is famous but you are as good looking as her." Well, she got her man and that was what counted in love. I asked to attend her baby's first month and she invited me. Still I was much surprised by her question about whether my associate vet is eye candy or not.

"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," I said. "In my real estate class (my REA exams were in May 25, 26, 27, 2011), there were said to be four pretty ones according to one classmate. Another one said it was the girl with hair on her shoulders. Another said the thin one who could have been an air stewardess. Another who came to class with a different handbag every time.

Looks are still important in veterinary medicine and human medicine. We inherit our looks but we can make first impressions count. Once I went to a Development Bank of Singapore-appointed lawyer to sign some legal documents. The young lady lawyer in the HDB Hub office was wearing sandals to meet me. Was that good first impressions? I don't think so.

Once, my receptionist James and my assistant Mr Saw wore slippers while at work on a Saturday, knowing that I would not be on duty. I reprimanded them as my associate vet on duty did not think it was a big deal.

Many young adult professionals, in my observations of two young vets, seem to think that they can wear sandals to work since they are the boss in the practice. Their assistants and interns adopt similar footwear. It is time to change such mindset as "branding" of a corporation and positioning in the minds of the consumer are now much more important in this highly competitive world.

A vet may be a good one but if he or she can't be bothered to present a good first impressions, there evokes a doubt in some clients as to whether he or she can be meticulous in veterinary surgery.

460. Cryptorchidsim in a poodle - unstable isoflurane anaesthesia

"Anaesthesia for a young dog is very safe," I told the mother and young adult daughter as the mum spoke about the dog dying on the operating table. "No young normal dogs should die on the operating table unless they have some heart defects or allergies or the vet has some mistakes in his procedures. A complete blood test ought to be done but this is optional as I give the owners a choice since there will be a charge of $150 payable. Young normal dogs usually are OK without the need of a blood test."

The mother said: "My dog's blood test could not be taken by another vet. I would like to get a blood test done."

This poodle had cryptorchidism. It is a rare condition in which the testicles do not descend into the scrotum. They were present as two large lumps of 1.5 x 1.0 cm below the skin, some distance from the scrotum and to the side of the penis. These undescended testicles have a high likelihood to become cancerous and so it was wise of the owner to get them removed since the male poodle would not be used for breeding.

On May 30, 2011, the dog came in for surgery. The mum was waiting in the reception room till the dog got operated. "Please go home," I said. "I prefer to have peace of mind, without the owner sitting outside waiting for the surgery to be completed." The maid of another owner whose cat came in for removal of claws (scratched her expensive furniture and her boy's face for the last 2 years) was also sitting on the chair, waiting.

I find that it is best that owners go home first as surgeries and anaesthesia need full attention, without the owners being around to enquire the status. Distracting staff and the vet.

The poodle was sedated with xylazine 0.2 ml IM. My assistant Mr Min who replaced the experienced Mr Saw (who had worked for 3 years with me) needed much coaching as regards monitoring of anaesthesia.

This poodle seemed to have difficulty in being fully anaesthesized. At one time, his tongue was bright red and dry. I stopped the gas and let the dog stabilise to a normal pink tongue colour.

"The dog stops breathing," he commented as I was about to operate. "I get the respiratory stimulant injection."

"By the time the injection is drawn out from the bottle and given, it will be too late," I said to Mr Min. He had never encountered respiratory emergencies before in his past years of work with vets in Malaysia and Myanmar.

I just disconnected the tube, cardiac massage 3 times, blew in air into the lungs. Repeated another 5 times. The dog started to breathe. This dog had difficulty in being anaesthesized by isoflurane. The vet must know what to do.

1. Re-stabilise by giving isoflurane by mask if coughing reflexes occur and the dog is getting up. Pull out the tube and use mask to knock down the dog, at 5% isoflurane dose for around 2 minutes, to effect. Monitor eyelids, eyeball rotation and observe the breathing rate and tongue colour.
2. Intubate
3. Isoflurane at 3%.
4. Be patient. Don't use 5% if possible.

The dog was neutered. Dental scaling done after that. I syringe the wax off the ear canal esp. the left ear. Went home to a happy mother and child without problems.

Around 1% of dogs will have this anaesthetic instability problem As to the cause, it is hard to say.

459. Z-Plasty Surgery

"More than 2 months had passed," I said. "It will take a very long time for the wound to heal using daily nursing care and bandaging," I advised a gentleman who did not want to bring the dog back to the factory as the factory space is greasy and oily.

This dog was not under my case and so I did not interfere with the management. Sometimes, the owner has given specific instructions or wishes to impose his or her own instructions on how to manage the dog bite wounds owing to economic considerations. This was not my case as I would have done a Z-plasty if the owner could permit it, at the start of the laceration injury.

Still, I am very concerned about this dog's welfare since his wound is in a high tension area and has not granulated after two months. As each vet treats a case differently according to his or her judgment and the owner's financial consideration, it is hard for the vet sometimes to derive an excellent outcome.

Two months have passed, yet the dog bite laceration wound has not closed. A Z-plasty performed at the beginning may or may not be effective and would be more costly. Still, I would strongly advise the Z-plasty at the start. Due to the high tension and mobile area of the front leg, some thoughts on how to execute the "Z" mark needs to be done.

SURGICAL APPROACH 1.
The image above shows one approach to get the "Z" suture pattern.

SURGICAL APPROACH 2.
Another approach is briefly as follows. Consider the wound as a vertical line. Midpoint between the vertical line as a reference guide, use the marker pen to put a "cross (X)" e.g. 5 inches horizontally to the right edge of X. Repeat the procedure horizontally to the left side of the left edge of X.

Make a skin incision from X downwards, to the bottom of the vertical line for the right side, creating a triangular flap. For the left side, make a skin incision from X upwards, creating a triangular flap. When viewed from the front, the cuts look like an "N" unlike the first approach.

Then rotate the two flaps. The final suture pattern will be a horizontal line. In theory, it is easy. In practice, it is difficult and so, daily nursing and cleaning could be the option.

Chemical cauterisation using KMnO4 now may be the most cost-effective solution. The dog can't be kept in the factory for a few months till the granulation tissue takes effect and the dog does not lick the wound.
ECONOMICS
2 months had passed. I advise that the wound by cauterised chemically as it would be relatively costly to do the Z-plasty without a guarantee that the wound will heal normally. This is because the location of the wound is in a high tension mobile skin area.

At the end of the day, much depends on the economics and the recommendation of the vet. Many older owners in the heartland practices, in my opinion, are not too keen on surgery and anaesthesia, due to the higher costs involved and a no-guarantee of successful outcome as in this case. But sometimes, it is penny wise, pound foolish. A younger sophisticated generation may have a different mindset. Still owner education as the illustration in my images will be useful. So far, no practising vet has produced veterinary medical illustrations of common surgeries or that I cannot find a handy book. The medical doctors do have some books on specific parts of the anatomy e.g. piles surgery. I guess there is no income incentive to produce such a book which could also be expensive to buy. However, the internet does help a lot to produce surgery educational videos and illustrations.

458. My White Knights In Shining Armour

Photo caption: MY WHITE KNIGHTS IN SHINING ARMOUR
Two muscled young men are hired by the King to protect The Damsel In Distress from the Park's Tulip Monster. The monster is 100 feet tall and has exploding biceps and triceps. It lurks inside the tulips of the Araluen Botanic Park in Perth, Australia

Photography Tips

1. Bright sunlight at around 10 am - 11 am always makes the picture vibrant.
2. Focus on the eyes (spectacles) on the young man on the right.
3. As the parties are moving, you need to have steady hands. Use a camera with an image stabiliser.
4. Wait till the 3 parties walk into the path illuminated by the sunlight and click.      
5. Continuous shooting mode is best but this one was captured with one click.
6. Zoom close so that there will be no distraction from cars.
7. The pectoral muscles of the young men. 

There is the DL-Timberland nature photography contest
Theme of the contest: "Outdoors: Where Relationships Are Made"

To qualify, the participants must include the idea of relationships into their photo composition and caption, whether their shot is of a landscape, wild animal or a close-up of a plant. The winner gets $1,000 cash, $1,000 in Timberland vouchers for its latest Earthkeepers line of outdoor gear plus an Olympus Pen E-PL1 camera kit.

If any of the 3 contest winners is a DL Facebook fan, the winner will receive an extra $500 in cash plus $500 in Timberland vouchers.

Check out details in www.timberland.com.sg/photo. Contest starts May 18, 2011 and ends on midnight of June 30, 2011.

This picture may fit the theme. It is outdoors. Associated with nature (Araluen Botanic Park, Perth). Relationships are made when the family bond in visiting the Araluen Botanic Park in Perth during the season when thousands of tulips bloom.

There seems to be something missing. Where are the tulips? I doubt this photo will make it to the top 3, but who knows?

Readers who love reading English Romance Novels and King Arthur may appreciate why I name the picture "My White Knights In Shining Armour"

457. Tips for passing the CEA REA examinations

May 28, 2011 4.45am

8 hours after my Paper 3 Examination - Real Estate Agency Practice and Regulations (around 30 candidates, mostly from my class). The day before, Paper 2 - Real Estate Assets and Markets (over 100 candidates). Paper 1 - Legal Famework of Real Estate (around 30 candidates).

I would like to share my REA Examination experiences which may be useful to some readers.

1. There are two examinations for almost all people wanting to be approved to work in the real estate in Singapore. One is called RES which is said to be simpler (for salesperson) and one is called REA (3 papers must be passed aone sitting).

2. The Council For Estate Agencies (CEA) has powers to impose a fine of at least $75,000 any illegal housing agent (now called 'salespersons") or agency owners (which now must have a CEA-approved KEO - Key Executive Officer).

3. Profile of the REA examination candidate. Said to be more mature persons (over 30 years of age). I had supper with 7 classmates till almost mid-night at McDonald's yesterday and I believe they are representative of the applicants.

3.1. Chinese. 5 men (4 married, 1 being a single over 35 years old), 2 women (married). I shall call them M1 (single), M2,M3,M4,M5 & W1,W2.

3.2. Working in the real estate agency for at least 3 years and has 30 transactions to qualify as a KEO - 3/7. Of the 3 people, 2/3 are given provisional REA licences till Dec 31, 2011 and are required to pass the REA exam to be licensed. These are M4, M5(myself) and W1.

M5(myself) and W1 failed to renew our annual housing agency licence issued by the IRAS because the IRAS had implemented an equivalent policy of "caveat emptor". In caveat emptor = "buyer beware" (examination question in paper 3), the buyer is responsible for what he buys. Since our faults were not due only to not renewing the licence yearly, CEA requires us to pass the REA examinations by Dec 31, 2011 or else thrown to the wolves.
1/3 is a partner in his realty firm (2 partners). His partner is CEA approved KEO. CEA demands that he sit for the REA examination. I call him M3.

DETAILS OF THE 7 PEOPLE DURING SUPPER

lst person - M1 - Late 40s. A single man with a face full of stresses is in the sunset industry of chemical trading agent as a one-man-operation. The internet has considerably reduced his business as clients can source direct. He was advised by the lady to take the REA examination. Now he discovers that he still needs 3 years and 30 transactions even if he passes the REA exam. However, the REA qualification is valid only for 2 years. That means he can't be the KEO, in theory since he needs to work in the real estate legally managing a team of salespersons for 3 years. He can't practise as a realtor unless he sits for the CES exam to become qualified as a salesperson under the Estate Agency Act 2010. Therefore, he was given incorrect advice (his classmates tell him about vicarious liability for the owner of the training agency and sue to get back his money!).

2nd person - M2 - mid 30s, is a marketing communications consultant and lecturer who sells boats as a sideline.

3rd person - M3 - mid 50s, the partner in the realty firm given the provisional REA licence.

4th person - M4 - mid 30s, is in the fund-management industry. Extrovert with an idea of forming a consortium amongst us to do something.
5th person - M5 - myself - over the hill at 60. A director of a realty firm given the provisional REA licence practising as a veterinarian.

6th person - W1 - slim, petite, fair complexion, friendly and assured. Closely cropped hair-style. Given the provisional REA licence. Now working from home, being granted by the HDB promptly, a Home Office licence. The married woman now has his home office (approved by the HDB, address changed notified to the CEA within 14 days). "Did you install the smoke detector in the ceiling (not practical in the HDB flat) and buy the fire-extinguisher?" I asked as I had studied this topic for the exam. She did. "The smoke detector is the portable type," she said. "Some of the government the policies are rather silly. I need to buy a 2-kg fire extingisher. My office is just my study table in the living room."

7th person - W2 - confident, friendly impression, motherly. A salesperson for a realty firm with 3,000 salespersons. Manages 2 salespersons.

Thanks to the CEA, I get to know more about my classmates and their aspirations. All 7 drive, except for M1. I gave him a lift home for the past 2 nights to Tampines as it was already 10 pm after the exam and he was really stressed out. Even the office girl invigilating part-time in the school noted his demeanour and told me.

FEARED EXAMINATION QUESTION ON HDB LOAN IN PAPER 2.

I asked my 6 classmates who had attempted the exam and what was the answer for the amount of monthly mortgage payments? My answer was $447 or some figure around $447. Two of my other classmates (not the 6 during supper) had mentioned around $800 and $1,000 respectively.

M1 said he had miscalculated as he had deducted the $30,000 CPF housing grant, forgetting that the Buyer (a couple) in the exam question was buying a new HDB BTO flat for the first time. When you buy new HDB flats, you don't get the CPF housing grant. Only when you buy a resale HDB flat in the open market and a new Executive Condo (managed by the HDB after construction by a private developer and therefore EC are not HDB flats). So many confusions. M1 had around 10 minutes to answer. I had around 15 minutes. The question was for 30 minutes and worth 20 marks. Once you deduct $30,000 from the quantum of loan, you are in deep trouble. My advice is to do at least 50 of such calculations at home for different scenarios and schemes of HDB housing loans but we never did.

The question is as follows, if I can still recall.

Couple earning $6,000
Got a new HDB BTO flat at $350,000.
Given a concessionary loan. 2.6% interest for 30 years at monthly rest
Used CPF to pay the 1.5% stamp fees and legal fees during booking.
After 2 years, they get the keys to their flat.
They have $68,000 in the CPF.

1. What is the amount of downpayment during booking?
I wrote 5% of the purchase price. This is the tricky part since HDB borrowers are given 90% of the purchase price or valuation whichever is lower and the valuation price is not stated. I did not qualify that purchase price is assumed to be valuation.

2. What is the amount of to be paid when the keys are collected.
I wrote 5% of the purchase price on collection of keys. Am I correct? I had little time to think as I had 5 minutes left. If keys are collected, sales is completed. Therefore the amount to be paid should be the balance in cash. It would be more detailed calculation. Should I state amount less $5,000 option fees, less CPF $68,000, less paid stamp and legal fees?

I had no time to think as the next parts were how much is the monthly mortgage and how much is the CPF used to service the monthly payments.

To figure out the monthly mortgage, with no past practices, I used 2.6% X HDB loan approved ($350,000 - stamp & legal fees - CPF $68,000) x 30 years divided by 360 months and arrived at around $400/month. This is the time-taking part since I had never done this calculation during my 70 hours of lectures and my lecturer had not thought of making us do such calculations too. Who would have thought that the examiner would test us on how to calculate the monthly mortgage payments?

How about the payment of the first 5% at booking and another 5% at the collection of keys? I did not include these 10% inside the above calculation to deduct from the $350,000. So, I might have got the wrong answer. What is interest at monthly rest? Is this a red herring?

So, it may be wiser not to attempt such a question. But I had no choice as this was the 5th question which I thought I had some chances of getting 10/20 marks. Now, it seems I may be getting correct answers for the 5% during booking and 5% during key collection. That may be 4/20 marks. So, never attempt such questions unless you are in active work in the HDB sales.

As for the amount of CPF the couple will pay monthly to service the loan, I did not know how to calculate. There was something I remember having read (Mr Mah Bow Tan's example of a sale of a 4-room HDB flat in the Straits Times had given the 23% but I did not recall. He did mention about the 5% for booking and key collection as under the "staggered payment scheme" - not lectured.

According to M1, it should be 23% of the couple's income of $6,000.
In conclusion, this type of question can be killers. Therefore, don't attempt it if you have a choice since you can get zero marks if you miscalculate as in the case of M1 who had deducted $30,000 as the CPF housing grant which is never given to buyers of NEW HDB flat!

456. CPF's Minimum Sum Scheme - poorly presently to members of the public

I am studying the CPF Minimun Sum Scheme for those retiring after 55 years old for my REA examination today and looked up the CPF Board's example. Certainly it is extremely confusing as the CPF education does NOT tell how it gets the $61,500. I figure out after a long time. If the exam question comes out today, I may be able to get correct answer.

Here is my sharing of knowledge to future candidates of REA and RES. See below and go to the CPF website (Minimun Sum Scheme).

My e-mail to the CPF is as follows:

Thank you. I really need the reply to Question 1 regarding the Minimum Sum where the co-owner's CPF usage is $40,000 immediately for my exam today!

The query is reproduced as follows:




1. Minimum Sum calculation example in your website. There are 3 tables but the first table shows $61,500 pledge amount up to maximum limit. I CANNOT FIGURE how you get this figure. Please ensure that you don't waste the time of the public by not revealing how you get the figure as I took over 10 minutes and still can't figure out.
2. Can retirement account for those over 554 years old be used to pay up housing loan?

The calculation from your CPF website is as follows:

HDB Valuation $300,000
Less outstanding loan $150,000
RESIDUAL VALUE $150,000
Co-owner's CPF usage is $40,000 which is <50% of the RESIDUAL VALUE. With the other 2 tables, you use RESIDUAL VALUE - Co-owner's CPF usuage. That is easy to understand. If I use the same formula, I should get $110,000. However, you state that the owner can pledge the property up to the maximum limit of $61,500. Where you get this figure is really a mystery. As a CPF education website, you should be careful and helpful.

Assume Minimum Sum after 55 years is $123,000. Is there some figures I had not factored in? Is it 50% of $123,000? If so, please say so! That figure comes to $61,500. Don't make the reader go round in circles by showing the side calculation as we can't understand many of your CPF and HDB's complex formulas, esp. those payment or co-payment or in this case, not allowed to pay, involving 50% of some figures NOT being achieved!

IN SHORT, the answer should be as follows:

If the co-owner's CPF usuage ($40,000 in this case) is less than 50% of the RESIDUAL VALUE ($150,000/2 = $75,000), THEN HE CAN PLEDGE HIS PROPERTY up to the maximum limit of 50% of the MINIMUN SUM (stated as $123,000 IN A CPF TABLE FOR JULY 1 2010 in CPF website). This is equal to $61,500.

Therefore, for a student taking examination under high stress, he gets zero marks if he uses the formula RESIDUAL VALUE - co-owner's CPF usuage AS THIS amounts to $110,000.

However, if the co-owner's CPF usuage is $80,000 (using same $300,000 valuation price, but now the outstanding loan is $200,000. This means the RESIDUAL VALUE IS $300,000 - $200,000 = $100,000).

In this scenario, the owner can pledge his property up to the maximum limit of $20,000 (shown in CPF website, table 2 where RESIDUAL VALUE - Co-owner's CPF usage or $100,000 -$80,000 = $20,000). This is because the CPF usuage is more than 50% of the RESIDUAL VALUE.
There if you give the answer as $20,000, you can full marks. But you get zero marks if you have got the first part incorrect. That means you just pass your examination if there are 2 parts. If there is only one part and you do the first part, and give the answer as $75,000, you may even fail the question as the correct answer is $61,500 (50% of $123,000)!

How many of the readers can understand what I am writing about?

There is another Real Estate Finance and Analysis - CPF Approved Housing Scheme - called AHWL. This involves 120% of Valuation Limit, current minimun sum of $123,000 (of which the cash component is $61,500). I better not attempt even to study this topic as it is even more complex! However it is part of the syllabus.

455. Cats and rodents in the neighourhood. Legal remedies?

May 26, 2011. 4.30 am
10 hours after sitting for the Real Estate Agency (REA) May 2011 Examination
lst Paper Legal Framework of Real Estate

Around 20 candidates sat for this exam. I estimated that at least 10 of my classmates did not attempt. CEA had mandated that all 3 papers must be passed at one sitting. I had paid $1,400 for the course of over 70 hours and spent countless hours studying. I had to choose 5 out of 8 questions at 20 marks/question. It was more like an examination for law students rather than real estate salespersons and key executive officers.

I knew I would fail 3/8 questions as they were not fully covered during lectures. So, I had no choice. Of the 5, I had difficulty in answering at least 1 regarding noise nuisance scenarios (Question 1).

Question 1 - one section. Cats, rodents, smoke in the open-air restaurant affected the neighbourhood. What are the legal remedies? It is a real life scenario encountered in Singapore.

My answer briefly - I forgot to mention that the cats were stray cats. Legal remedies? Take out civil suit - law of tort - personal health affected. Public health. Call in the regulatory authorities to enforce regulations? What regulations I could not say. Call in the AVA (Agri-Food Veterinary Authority for rodent control - I forgot to write about the control of stray cats which is under some AVA's regulation - is rodent control under the AVA or NEA?), the NEA (National Environmental Agency - smoke pollution). Public likely to be health affected (rodents) but what is the legal remedy?

In the same question, the other section asked about legal remedies for a condo's floodlights and noise affect a resident's sleep. One resident had a nervous breakdown. Another question asked about cafe with noisy customers and music. I think I would fail this question as I could not state the laws properly. Mainly civil suit and injunction. Not good enough.

Question 2.
A sale of a condo vacated since 1 January 2009 has been concluded. I represented Seller who works in Shanghai. What are my 2 duties as her housing agent? What 2 advices to her about her tax liabilities? What 2 concessions she would get? What would I advise the Buyer?

Answer: Briefly agent's two duty of care are:
1. Ensure that the contract is valid (offer and acceptance). I would go to Shanghai or send by Fedex/UPS registered letter for Seller to sign the Sales and Purchase Agreement if she had not signed, since she was not in Singapore. I had earlier met a realtor friend who just did that for a China Buyer who had paid for the Singapore property and he flew to Guangzhou to get him to sign the Sales & Purchase Agreement and then gave back to the Singapore lawyer. But is this answer acceptable since the "sales was concluded". This is the tricky part of the question.

2. 2nd duty. To act honestly in the interest of the Seller. That meant not receiving secret commissions from the Buyer by telling the Seller that she had got a purchase price which was lower due to my being corrupted. This does not seem to be a good answer. To account for monies received? But her lawyers are handling her case and all payments. Should have mentioned Approved banks now receive the conveyance money, not lawyers. No time to think.

3. Two tax liabilities of Seller.

Property tax of 10% for non-owner occupied condo. Had she paid? Her lawyers would take care of that. IRAS would have imposed penalties or put a charge on her condo or sold it off if she had not paid property tax. I forgot to mention IRAS putting an encumbrance of a charge on property tax on the title for owners not paying property tax. This might give me some marks.

Sellers' Stamp Duty (16,12,8,4% of transaction price for the respective 1, 2, 3 and 4 years after purchase). But her SSD depended on which year she had purchased the condo. Since the condo was vacated in 1 Jan 2009, it would be 3rd-4th year assuming she bought in 1 Jan 2009 and it is May 2011 now. So, SSD should be 8%. If she bought in 1 Jan 2006 (i.e. at least 5 years earlier), I said the SSD would be the normal 3% of sales price + $5,400. Quite a tricky question. Fortunately I remember my 16, 12, 8 and 4% figures). My classmate wrote about Goods and Service Tax as being one of the tax liabilities after striking out his SSD answer. But I told him that sales of residential properties are not subject to GST. Or is it if the Seller is a GST taxable person as he assumed her to be one?

Her two concessions. I could only think of one. Get a refund of property tax since her condo was vacant for 2 years. If she had tried to get a tenant but failed to do so while asking for reasonable rentals. Lodge an application with the IRAS within 30 days of the sales and purchase agreement being completed? No. It should be after one year of vacancy.

Annual value concession? No rental for 2 years. Therefore annual value should be lower. Apply to the IRAS for review. I doubt this is the correct answer for the 2nd concession. Income tax?

Question 3. Land Acquisition Act. What was the main legal issue and had it been resolved? This was the question I had no choice but to pick it up since this was the 5th question I could answer. However I had not studied the 4 occasions (years when new amendments were introduced, according to my classmate when the government introduced measures to resolve the unhappiness of the acquired property owners being paid below market value for their properties. I could remember reading in the newspapers about the unhappiness some 20 years ago and so I said the main legal issue was being paid below market value. Was it resolved? Well, I could not specify the year (1970?) when the government agreed to pay market rates for properties acquired since I did not read the notes and my lecturer did not go show in his lecture slides this historical aspect. But all facts are in his notes and I just did not read this part!

Who were the 4 "interested persons" as regards the Land Acquisition Act? My classmate said they were the owner, landlord and tenant. Well, I wrote they were the HDB, JTC, National Heritage Board and SLA. How about NEA, AVA (fish farms)? The real person who set the question of "interested person" was not kind. I believed that my lecturer did not lecture on "interested persons".

Question 4.
Two sisters inherited a bungalow. Built a 3-storey dwelling (what is a dwelling - strata-titled apartment which I forgot to assume). Both got married. The Singapore Citizen sister died in a car accident. The other sister in the USA who had renounced her citizenship claimed that the house now belongs to her. The dead sister's husband said that his wife had said everything she owned would be his.

So, what are 2 legal claims and what are 2 legal defences? One could go crazy trying to answer this question just to pass.

Was the new dwelling registered with the Land Titles Deed? Only a registered title can be produced in court as evidence of an interest in property. Was there a will? Did the Singaporean sister died testate or intestate (you need to use such legal terms to score a mark or two)?

Would her will over-ride the joint-tenancy (assuming the two sisters are joint-tenants with the survivor taking all shares)? I said it would not as I had read somewhere.

Was the ownership of the new 3-storey dwelling a tenant-in-common with both sisters owning shares? 50:50? Or unequal shares. I had no time to ruminate on legal aspects of unequal shares.

In any case, the "foreigner" sister (she had given up Singapore citizen and recent laws made her on the same status as foreigner) would inherit her shares only. She had to dispose of her shares in 2 years (it could be 5 years) or face harsh penalties since foreigners are not allowed to own landed properties (Residential Property Act).

Question 5.
What is an "indefeasible" of title and what 2 occasions when the Registrar of Titles would not permit registration of a title as being indefeasible or some closely related question.
I could answer this question and did explain the "mirror" and "curtain" aspect. Also there is the state guarantee but forgot to mention that the plaintiff would be compensated from an insurance fund if the Registrar of Titles made an error during registration causing him losses.

What is certificate of title? More questions. It would be tough to pass this examination. I hope to get 50% but passing does not mean one gets licensed and so, much depends on Paper 2 and 3 scores.

"Did anyone take the examination question paper?" one young man asked my group of 5 candidates who were smoking. We did not. Life is getting harder and harder for housing agents who are now supposed to be giving legal advice when they are supposed to refer clients to the lawyers to do so to avoid misrepresentations and estoppels (topic of estoppels studied hard but no luck).