Legal Questions on Condominium Purchase and Property Fraud Case

Part 1: Short Questions

Part 1: Short Questions (25 marks)

Answer all the questions. Substantiate your answers with case law and/or the appropriate statutory provisions.

You are a paralegal in a law firm and your firm is acting for Mr. Thomas Lee in his purchase of a condominium unit at 133 Tanjong Katong Road #05-01 Sunshine Meadows Singapore 575246. He has some questions about the purchase of his condominium unit. Your boss has asked you to draft replies to the questions.

1. After the exercise of the Option to Purchase, you informed Mr. Thomas Lee that you had registered a caveat on his behalf. Explain to Mr. Lee the purpose of registering a caveat on the property. (5 marks)

2. Mr. Thomas Lee has applied for a bank loan to finance the purchase of his condominium unit. He thinks that once he signs the Mortgage in favour of the bank, the bank will own the condominium unit. Explain why Mr. Lee is wrong in his thinking and inform Mr. Lee of his rights and obligations regarding the property.  (5 marks)

3. Mr. Thomas Lee is concerned as his employer’s business is not doing well. He wants to know what would happen if he got retrenched and is not able to keep up with the repayments. What are the rights of the mortgagee against Mr. Lee?

Part 2: Hypothetical Problem (15 marks)

4. Madam Rose Ong, is the owner of an old house, No. 66 Rambutan Road, Singapore. The property has been in her family for many generations and she has every intention for it to stay in her family. Madam Ong took a holiday to Beijing and she met Liu Ye, a very friendly tour guide. When Liu Ye told Madam Ong that his dream is to visit Singapore, Madam Ong invited him to return to Singapore with her. Liu Ye was very impressed by how large Madam Ong’s property is and was even more impressed when he found out that the property is unencumbered. Liu Ye became very attentive to Madam Ong’s needs and began to earn her confidence. He prepared an Instrument of Transfer and informed Madam Ong that the Transfer is a document that she has to sign as a surety for his extended stay in Singapore. Being of poor sight,
Madam Ong took his word and signed the Transfer.

Liu Ye then quickly registered the Transfer and the property was transferred to his name. Two months later, he sold the property to Mr. Alvin Chin. One day, Madam Ong was looking through her safe deposit box and realized that the title deed to her property was missing. She lodged a police report and when the police questioned Liu Ye he confessed to his crime. Madam Ong is furious when she learnt of the sale to Alvin Chin. She wants to claim the property back from Alvin, arguing that she is not aware of what she had signed when she signed the Transfer. Advise Alvin whether he has a good title and whether Madam Ong can claim the house from him. In answering this question, you must address the following issues:

(a) What is the effect of Liu Ye registering the Transfer in his favour? (5 marks)
(b) Is there fraud involved? Who is the party(s) involved in the fraud? (2 marks)
(c) Where does Alvin derive his title from and does it matter that the Transfer is a forged document? Why? (6 marks)
(d) In conclusion, does Alvin have a good title?