While everyone has different methods, let me share mine with you. But first, let’s get the eligibility and costings out so you have a good idea on the costs, and time commitment.
And what does it cost you.
First up, if you’re local you probably have lots of skillsfuture funds that are unused. Even if you don’t want to take the exam and be a real estate salesperson (RES), it’s something that is still very useful for the average consumer. Most of us will by now have about $1000 skillsfuture credits for use. Not sure about what you have? Login with your singpass to check! at https://www.myskillsfuture.gov.sg/content/portal/en/index.html
As of 2022
- Course fees: Most providers charge between $650 to $788, some offer buddy discounts for their off peak courses. The top rated schools from those around me are RCN & Hastor, both of which offer zoom classes. Personally I am from Hastor and taught by Mdm Celeste and Mr. Daryl Ou.
not all schools are equal. I’ve friends who studied at other providers only to show me their lecture notes and how disorganized. Madam Celeste notes are chockful of graphics and comic strips and role play so you can enforce your learning. The EXAM is notoriously difficult, so the lecturer, how it is delivered and taught and the quality of the lecture material is paramount. Please read reviews online while choosing a provider.
Personally I took the express course which took about 2 weeks to complete. Some intakes take 2.5 weeks to complete depending on the lecturer schedules. At Hastor however the course lecture notes are hard copy binder files and not electronic. At RCN they are electronic.
- Madam Celeste RES assessment books: I wouldn’t have passed without these. They cost $38 a book https://www.celeste.com.sg/books for those who do not mind second hand books, you can try to source them from carousell. I sold my 2 second hand books for $60, be sure to ask when the book was last updated or which version and edition it is as it is updated quite regularly. Do not wait for your course to end and then buy, please buy it on the on set so it can reinforce your learning. It is sometimes out of stock. It took me more than a month to go thru the 2 books so i would advice to start as early as you can. Give it 2-3 months and do the book 3-4 times! Ensure you can score about 80% by the end of the 3rd time. It is very normal to only get maybe 40-50% right on your first attempt, so don’t be disheartened.
- If you are starved for time, optimize by re-doing only the tricky+wrong questions a few times over. I didn’t have time to complete it 3 times so I focused on the ones i got wrong.
- Attend the free revisions by the various Estate Agents! I highly recommend the one ran by thomas of ERA, it’s about 6hrs over 2 days. Ensure you study before hand as it’s a revision, aimed at helping you remember frequently tested concepts and not to teach you from scratch.
- Read your lecture notes with understanding and not trying to memorize. Memorizing doesn’t quite cut it / help because the exam is a paper that is testing your understanding and it is often written in a rather confusing way, please expect paper1 to use legal terms, and what seems to be a play on english as well.
- Read outsite of your lecture notes often. You will need to do extra reading on CPF, HDB, MND, on ALL CEA circulars as well as handbooks, similarly you will need to readup on JTC, URA, INLIS, SPIO, and more , note that development charge and development premium are now called Land Betterment. Read things like land acquisition, Advertising Licensing System ALS, BMSMA too.
- Have study buddies, engage your classmates in discussion so you can both teach each other, and make sure your understanding is correct. If all else fails, contact your lecturer to double confirm.
- I didn’t practise this but many did, mindmaps and notes can be useful in helping you remember. Use colors! Colors are proven to help you remember better.
- Keep positive, the passing rate seems to be 20-30%, it is not uncommon to hear people taking 4 years to pass the exam . Don’t lose heart, the journey just like in sales is a long one, when you feel burn out, take some time off to recharge, eat your favourite meal, have a snack, go out for a breather, exercise.
THE EXAM
Upon completing your course, you are given 2 years to pass your RES exam. Sometimes one needs to retake the course to continue sitting for exams [assuming they don’t pass in 2yrs].
The RES Exam comprises 2 papers, which costs $417.30 (inclusive of GST)
If you passed just one, you can retake just a single paper called a modular seating at $235.40 (inclusive of GST).
As of 2022, the exam will be administered by NTUC Learning Hub, https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/res-exam
EXAM FORMAT
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes for each paper [150mins]
Format: Both Paper 1 and Paper 2 are of the same format
- Section A: 50 MCQs (50 marks)
- Section B: 15 MCQs with reference to 1 or 2 case studies (30 marks)
- Section C: 10 Fill-in-the-blank short answer questions (20 marks)
ADVICE
Start your paper from the back, at section C.
Allocate your 150mins as such
Section C: 20mins [25max]
Section B: 30mins
Section A: 90mins
Remainder: 10mins use it for checking!
Some students did not have a gameplan nor watch the clock while attempting the paper and did not finish on time. All questions are precious, please do not leave it blank, any attempt might score you an additional precious point. Paper1 is harder to complete on time, Paper2 most students complete early.
NTUC UTAP
The ntuc membership cost $117 per annum, however with that you can claim around $208.65 out of your $417 exam fees to help offset the course. That gives you savings of about $91, better than nothing! If your exam is in february, you only need to start your Utap membership in february itself.
AFTER THE EXAM
you are have to join a licensed Estate Agency such as Propnex, ERA, Huttons etc to be able to carry out property sales . If you have time ahead research on this earlier, ask about their team managers, leaders, find the team that is able to groom top rookies and base it off your guts as well .
Once you’ve picked a team and an agency these is what you might expect in terms of cost , however for years 2021, 2022 often these are subsidized completely. Unless you leave the agency within 2 years, you may have to pay back these cost.
- RES Registration Fee: $230 (annual CEA fee) + $53.50 = $283.50
- Professional Indemnity Insurance: $139
- Admin fee (levied by agency) for ID Tag: $20
- Namecards: You can print your own or order from the EA. Typically namecards are $18-24 a box of 500pcs ah bras basah. However I’m not sure how much the EA charges for direct prints.
- Photoshoot: Either a lowcost of $35 at Pictureme, at times its complimentary, to maybe $350 for The makeover inc
START UP COST FOR LEAD GENERATION
The typical free/affordable lead generation are door knocking/cold calling. However this requires training before your attempts. Other tools include IG, Tiktok and Facebook and things like branding videos or more.
Typically home tour videos cost an average of $400 and up, not including the ad cost which one typically might need $200. Other things include websites, flyers, magnets, microsites for new launches, funnels.
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES
Services you probably require are agent accounts at propertyguru, these cost $980 and upwards. You also need tools like sqfoot, ecoprop, SRX, and more and those are mostly payable.