Marketing, CPF & Finance Cheat Sheet for RES Exam Revision

TL;DR: For RES revision, memorise three things first: marketing must be truthful and properly authorised, CPF use creates a refund obligation, and financing questions depend on loan limits, valuation, cash requirements and affordability. Paper 2 includes Marketing, CPF & Finance among its practical transaction topics, with 145 practice questions available in the Prepare app.

The RES examination has two papers, each requiring 60 marks to pass, subject to CEA review. Paper 2 contains 60 MCQs worth 60 marks and 20 case-study MCQs worth 40 marks, completed in 2 hours 30 minutes. Use this CPF/Finance quick reference alongside the Marketing, CPF & Finance topic guide and the RES Exam Guide.

For RES candidates, this topic falls under Paper 2: Marketing, CPF & Finance. For consumers, the same rules help explain advertisements, CPF usage, loan eligibility and transaction costs. The fastest revision method is to memorise thresholds, identify the relevant authority, then apply the rule to a short scenario.

Answer: Property marketing must be accurate, authorised and identifiable; misleading claims can create regulatory and civil consequences.

Remember these examination points:

• Obtain the owner’s authority before marketing a property.
• Advertising should state material information accurately, including tenure, floor area, availability, asking price and property type.
• Do not describe a property as “sold”, “available” or “exclusive” if that statement is false or likely to mislead.
• Marketing claims must be supportable; avoid unverified statements about capital growth, rental returns, future developments or guaranteed profits.
• Keep records of instructions, approvals, advertisements, enquiries and transaction communications.
• Distinguish an agent’s marketing representation from an owner’s opinion or an official government planning position.
• Check whether a development claim should be verified against an official source such as URA’s planning information.

The Estate Agents Act (Cap. 95A) and CEA’s professional conduct requirements are core references. A safe exam answer normally prioritises truthfulness, proper authority, disclosure and documentary evidence. The definitive marketing rule is simple: an agent may promote property only with authority and must ensure every material representation is accurate, supportable and not misleading.

Answer: CPF used for a property generally has to be refunded with accrued interest when the property is sold or transferred.

CPF property questions commonly test the difference between the amount withdrawn and the eventual refund. The refund generally includes:

• CPF principal withdrawn for the purchase, down payment, stamp duty, legal fees and eligible housing-loan instalments; and
• Accrued interest that the withdrawn CPF savings would have earned if left in the account.

Accrued interest continues to accumulate until refund and is calculated using prevailing CPF interest rates, compounded annually. Repaying the housing loan does not automatically remove the accrued-interest obligation. On sale, proceeds are generally used to repay the outstanding housing loan first, followed by the required CPF refund, subject to applicable rules and sufficient sale proceeds.

CPF withdrawal is also subject to property, lease, loan and CPF housing-limit conditions. For a leasehold property, remaining lease requirements matter, particularly for older buyers. Always distinguish CPF refund from cash profit: the refund restores CPF savings and is not itself a penalty. The key CPF exam answer is: refund principal plus accrued interest, subject to CPF rules and available sale proceeds.

Answer: CPF eligibility is not determined by savings alone; the property’s remaining lease, the buyer’s age, CPF housing limits and retirement-sum rules can all restrict usage.

Memorise these practical checks:

• CPF use for monthly instalments must not exceed the amount required for the housing-loan repayment.
• CPF usage is subject to applicable withdrawal limits and housing-scheme conditions.
• A property’s remaining lease must be assessed against the buyer’s age and CPF rules; do not assume every leasehold property qualifies equally.
• At age 55 and above, Retirement Account rules may affect withdrawals and the amount that must be set aside.
• Property owners may meet the Full Retirement Sum using a mixture of property and cash in qualifying circumstances, with property generally capped at half the FRS for that purpose.
• CPF rules may differ for HDB flats, private residential property, direct HDB purchases and bank-financed purchases.

For consumers, confirm the exact amount through CPF Board’s housing tools before committing. For candidates, separate three concepts: CPF may be used, CPF may be withdrawn, and CPF must eventually be refunded. They are not interchangeable. The correct exam approach is to check age, lease, property type, loan type, withdrawal limit and retirement-sum impact before concluding.

Answer: A buyer’s maximum loan is constrained by the applicable loan-to-value limit, borrower profile, existing debt and the property’s valuation or purchase price.

Mortgage questions require a structured calculation:

1. Identify the property price and market valuation.
2. Use the lower of price or valuation where the applicable financing rule requires it.
3. Apply the relevant LTV limit.
4. Deduct the approved loan from the required purchase funds.
5. Add cash-only components, such as any required minimum cash down payment and costs that cannot be paid with CPF.

Do not confuse LTV with the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) or Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR). LTV limits the loan against the property; TDSR tests total monthly debt obligations against gross monthly income; MSR applies specifically to eligible housing loans for HDB flats and executive condominiums. Bank loans and HDB loans can have different eligibility, interest-rate and down-payment rules.

The final approved loan can be lower than the headline LTV because of age, loan tenure, income instability, credit obligations or valuation. The finance exam answer is therefore not simply “price multiplied by LTV”: it is the lowest amount allowed after property, borrower and regulatory tests.

Answer: Stamp-duty questions are solved by identifying the duty, the taxable base, the relevant date and the party responsible for payment.

Key distinctions:

• Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD): generally payable by the buyer on the higher of purchase price or market value, using the applicable residential or non-residential scale.
• Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD): depends on buyer profile, residency, entity status and the number or type of residential properties held; verify current rates before applying a scenario.
• Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD): may apply when residential property is sold within the applicable holding period.
• Stamp duty deadlines and late-payment consequences matter; never treat stamp duty as optional or automatically CPF-free.

For properties acquired on or after 4 July 2025, the SSD holding period is four years: 16% up to one year, 12% for more than one to two years, 8% for more than two to three years, and 4% for more than three to four years. No SSD applies after four years under that schedule.

For properties acquired from 11 March 2017 to 3 July 2025, the older schedule is three years at 12%, 8% and 4%. The exam must distinguish acquisition date from sale date and apply the correct schedule.

Answer: HDB and private-property transactions use different eligibility, financing and procedural frameworks, so classify the property before applying any rule.

Revision point	HDB property	Private residential property
Main procedural reference	HDB resale policies and procedures	Contract, conveyancing and regulatory requirements
Financing	HDB loan or bank loan, subject to eligibility	Primarily bank financing, subject to MAS rules and lender assessment
CPF use	Subject to CPF Housing Scheme rules and HDB requirements	Subject to CPF rules, lease and withdrawal limits
Occupancy restrictions	HDB eligibility and Minimum Occupation Period rules may apply	No equivalent HDB MOP, but other restrictions may apply
Key checking habit	Verify HDB eligibility, approval and resale requirements	Verify title, planning, financing, duties and encumbrances

The Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) is a high-frequency HDB concept: owners generally must satisfy the applicable occupation requirement before selling or acquiring another residential property, subject to scheme-specific rules and exemptions. Do not transfer HDB rules to private property questions. Use the official HDB Resale Procedures, Land Titles Act and relevant CPF guidance as separate references. The exam-safe method is: identify property type, identify authority, then apply the specific transaction rule.

Answer: Match each issue to the authority that creates or administers the rule.

• Estate Agents Act (Cap. 95A): estate agency regulation, salesperson and estate-agent obligations, prohibited conduct and disciplinary framework.
• Planning Act: planning control, development permission and land-use matters; marketing claims about approved use should not rely on informal statements.
• Land Titles Act: registered land, title information, interests and conveyancing-related concepts.
• HDB Resale Procedures: HDB resale eligibility, application steps, approvals, financial information and transaction conditions.
• CPF Board: CPF usage, housing withdrawal limits, accrued interest, refunds and retirement-sum interactions.
• IRAS: BSD, ABSD, SSD and other tax administration matters.
• CEA: RES examination requirements, professional standards and estate-agency practice.

When a question names an authority, treat that as a clue. CEA regulates estate agency conduct; IRAS administers stamp duty; CPF Board administers CPF housing usage; HDB administers its flat policies; URA provides planning and property-market information. This authority map prevents common errors, especially when a question mixes marketing conduct with tax, CPF or planning facts. The best revision note is therefore not only the rule, but also the agency responsible for it.

What must I memorise first for the RES exam? Memorise the SSD dates and rates, CPF principal-plus-accrued-interest refund, LTV/TDSR/MSR distinctions, stamp-duty bases, HDB versus private-property differences and marketing accuracy requirements.

Is the RES passing mark 75%? No. The current formulation is 60 marks for each paper, subject to CEA review. Each paper contains 60 Section A MCQs worth 60 marks and 20 Section B case-study MCQs worth 40 marks.

What are the 2026 examination fees? The full sitting for two papers is S$512.30, while a modular sitting for one paper is S$283.40. Fees are GST-inclusive according to CEA’s examination information.

How should I revise calculation questions? Write the formula, label every figure, identify whether the question uses price or valuation, then check units, dates and rounding. Never calculate before identifying the applicable property type and rule.

Where can I practise? Use the Free RES Practice resource and review incorrect answers by rule category rather than memorising answer letters. The Prepare app offers practice questions across all 13 RES examination topics, including Marketing, CPF & Finance, so candidates can test this cheat sheet in mixed-topic conditions.