An independent RES exam study resource — not a Government website and not affiliated with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).Find My OrderHow to identify official CEA sources
Browse Papers
Home / Free RES questions / Mortgages nature and priority
← All mortgages nature and priority questions

The mortgagor is the borrower, who grants the security and stays the registered proprietor

A worked RES examination question on mortgages nature and priority, from our Paper 1 bank — with the rule it turns on, and why each of the four options is right or wrong.

Paper 1Lesson 3Mortgages nature and priorityFree — no sign-up

The question

Mr Devan borrows $500,000 from a bank to complete the purchase of his flat and signs the bank's mortgage over it; he remains the registered proprietor throughout. A colleague tells him that, because the bank is the one "doing the mortgaging", it must be the bank that grants the security and Mr Devan who could sell up if things went wrong. Mr Devan asks his agent, as between the two of them, who actually grants the security and who may enforce it should the loan fall into arrears.

Which statement is correct?

  1. A. Mr Devan both grants the security and may enforce it, being owner throughout.
  2. B. The bank grants the security and Mr Devan may enforce it on default.
  3. C. The bank both grants and enforces the security, holding it until repaid.
  4. D. Mr Devan grants the security and the bank enforces it on his default.

The answer, and why

Answer: D

The rule. The mortgagor is the borrower, who grants the security and stays the registered proprietor. The mortgagee is the lender, who receives the security and may enforce it — by sale — only on default.

Why D is correct. Mr Devan, the borrower, grants the mortgage; the bank, the lender, is the one who may enforce it if he falls into arrears.

The other options.

  • B inverts the two — the very error the colleague makes in the stem, reasoning that the bank is "doing the mortgaging".
  • A and C put both roles on one party, the borrower or the lender.

Exam note. The party doing the mortgaging is the one giving the security, not the one taking it. Enforcement runs the other way — it is the lender's remedy on default.

More on Mortgages nature and priority

Read all Mortgages nature and priority questions on one page →

Want a full paper instead of one question?

The free half-paper is 20 questions with a Section B case study, explained to this same depth. The paid sets are ten full 80-question papers across Paper 1 and Paper 2, every figure checked against the current IRAS, CEA, HDB, URA and SLA position.

Free 20-question paperThe papers in PDF

Looking for past-year papers? CEA doesn't publish them — here's what it does publish.

Independent study material. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Council for Estate Agencies. No pass guarantee — for study use only.