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Is it difficult to pass RES Exam?
The RES Exam is notoriously challenging. Less than 50% of candidates pass RES Exam in their first seating. And the worst part is that RES exam question change frequently due to changing CEA guidelines.
RES exam papers can be tricky, that’s why I have compiled the most important questions that are likely to appear to increase your odds of passing the paper on your first try.
If this is your new attempt on the exam, no worries. This article plans to clear some doubts and shine some light on questions aspiring realtors often fail to pick up.
What you need to know about the RES exam
Before I dive into the questions, students must first understand why the RES exam is challenging and what objective CEA wants to achieve.
By setting a high standard paper with challenging questions, CEA aims to improve the proficiency of property agents in the field.
The RES exam question created in the RES exam paper isn’t to teach aspiring property agents how to sell a property. Rather, it’s learning how to give the proper advice to buyers.
Therefore, your approach to the exam paper should not be as an agent, but rather as a consultant giving formal advice.
When taking the RES exam, there are three levels of understanding you need to know. They are:
Memorising
Understanding
Applying
Most students are trained to memorise or understand the question. However, they do not practice applying the skill in “real-life scenarios”, and the exam question is heavily based on such cases.
If you are looking to pass the RES exam, you MUST apply these three levels to every question.
Here are the Top 5 TOUGH Questions in the RES Exam
To answer all your questions, we will be going through the 3 steps learning process; which is memorising, understanding, and learning how to apply in real life. To get RES exam questions and answers free, do contact me here.
Question One: Understand the Relation between Landlord and Tenant
There are a lot of scenarios that can go around between the landlord and tenant relationship. The questions would usually be phrased in a way that the agent needs to be the middle man and settle the dispute before it escalates.
While there are 101 ways to argue, typically, the answers to resolve the conflict remain the same. If you can identify:
The background story (any actions they have done before the agreement)
Who is responsible (see if anyone has breech the contract)
What are actions needed to be taken (based action on the protocol)
Once you can identify this three-step action, the landlord and tenant question shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Question Two: ABSD Calculation
Always read the news!
While you will not be tested on Government policy changes that were announced or implemented within a month before the RES examination. it is good to keep track of the current property market.
Examiners typically like to ask questions that are related to the news so reading the news and keeping up to date is critical.
Right now, the ABSD has increased especially for foreigners, jumping the ABSD rates from 30% to 60%.
With this information, examiners LOVE to ask questions that talk about “If Buyer A wants Botanic EC and can only get his money by May 2023, how much does he need to pay in ABSD considering he is a foreigner.”
While the question might seem fairly straightforward, students that are not kept up to date with new ABSD might be shocked by how the examiner phrases the questions.
The key takeaway is: ALWAYS keep in mind buyers' profile and timing when it comes to questions related to ABSD.
Question Three: Grasping the Basic Land Law Concept
Similar to understanding the relationship between tenant and landlord. Having the grasp to differentiate and understand Singapore land is crucial when it comes to negotiation.
Students must understand:
What are the different types of property and how are they classified under
Who has the “right of way”
Question Four: Understanding all the laws needed for the RES
MUST MEMORISE!
The entire RES paper has plenty of laws to memorise. The best way to get all this information into your head is by drawing mind maps.
A great way my students learn to memorise information is by piling everything into a mind map and breaking down all the information they understand on the back of their heads into another piece of paper.
By breaking down into simple terms and also being able to explain the full definition of the law, the student was able to correctly understand what the law requires.
Another way you can memorise the law is by going through exam papers. By retaking the paper more than twice, you force yourself to memorise what type of question examiners are likely to ask or rephrase.
Question Five: How to safely transact a property
The entire RES exam paper is specifically trying to teach you this section. If you can’t grasp the concept of how to properly transact a property, it’s hard to pass paper two.
Get help!
Given that there are many examples and scenarios being played out when it comes to the transaction of property, having someone working in the real estate industry guiding you could be beneficial.
Find yourself a study buddy or a mentor to guide you with questions that you aren’t quite sure of. This way, it can speed up your learning curve.
Need Help?
The RES exams can be a tough nut to crack especially if you are working on it alone.
In Navis, we have a Telegram group to help aspiring real estate agents like you pass the RES exam.
Make an appointment with me to discuss further on how we can help you pass the RES exam!
Related Readings
About Vivian Chong
Vivian joined the real estate industry in 2002. Having been in the real estate business for more than 2 decades, she knows the rewards and challenges that a real estate agent face.
While the real estate career offers lucrative income and flexible work hours, it also presents many challenges - financial insecurity as we do not have basic pay, time management as we juggle work, children and family all at one time.
Only those who have walked the same journey will understand.
Vivian would now like to pay it forward by mentoring fellow agents, especially women who want to build a real estate career.
It is her vision to see women achieving their dreams, and live their lives with purpose and passion through a successful real estate career.
Connect with Vivian at 98577714 to embark on this journey.