REAL ESTATE FUNDAMENTALS
BUS 235f
Fall 2018 2017 (First Module)
Meets 6:30pm – 9:20pm each Thursday from 9/13 – 10/18
Location: TBD
Shaw Lupton, Adjunct Professor
Office hours on request[1]
DRAFT – SUBJECT TO CHANGE
OVERVIEW
This course serves as an introduction to the real estate industry, touching on valuation, financing and operations of income producing properties as well as some societal issues related to the ownership, financing, and regulation of real estate. Using lectures, case studies, and guest speakers, we will explore the largest asset class in the world. We will learn industry terminology, review determinants of value, and discuss the regulatory and legal environment of real estate.
LEARNING GOALS & OUTCOMES
Recognize and evaluate the determinants of value: Individual property characteristics, market conditions (i.e., supply and demand), capital market influences, and public policy effects
Be familiar with the legal and regulatory environment for real estate: Property rights and limitations, regulatory concerns, and contracts related to real estate such as leases and purchase contracts
Understand the sources of capital and capital structure of real estate acquisition: Including the amount, cost, and other market terms for debt
Estimate the value of income producing properties: Understand the factors that impact real estate value including design, markets (including capital markets), public policy, and the financial methods used in valuation (including the income approach, the market approach, and the sales approach, with an emphasis on discounted cash flow analysis)
Understand the roles and responsibilities of the “players” in the real estate marketplace
PREREQUISITE: FIN 212a (may be taken concurrently with this course)
AGENDA
Study guides and/or assignments for each class will be posted on LATTE
Assignments listed below appear on their DUE DATE. Written assignments should be submitted via LATTE. See “Expectations” for additional instructions.
MATERIALS
The total expected outlay on materials required specifically for this course is about $60
HBS Cases & Notes
There are six HBS cases and seven HBS notes you will need to buy at a total cost of approximately $55. I have established the following course pack with Harvard Business School (HBS) Publishing; look for Real Estate Fundamentals:
If you have not registered with Harvard Business Online, you will be required to do so. Electronic course materials are in Portable Document Format (PDF) and should be viewed with Adobe Reader, available for free at Students can access PDF files of course materials via a link on Harvard Business Online for six months from the date of purchase. You will have immediate access to the materials upon placing your order; for subsequent access, you must login to I hope you find this a convenient way to access your course materials. For technical assistance, please view the Quick Tips section or contact HBS Publishing at 1-800-810-8858 or 617-783-7700, from 8am-6pm. They can also be reached at .
Textbook
Students will also be required to purchase THE FIRST CHAPTER ONLY from Real Estate Principles: A Value Approach, Fourth Edition by David Ling and Wayne Archer. To purchase the eBook from the publisher, follow these steps:
- Go to
- Search for ISBN 9781308890166
- Add to cart (Price should be about $5 – if it is much more, you may have selected the full edition, which you do not need. Try searching again for the ISBN in the previous step.)
EXPECTATIONS
Attendance and Participation
Class attendance is required. Class participation is critical; to ensure an effective process, students are expected to use name cards at every session.
Academic Honesty
Academic honesty: You are expected to be honest in all of your academic work. Please consult Brandeis University Rights and Responsibilitiesfor all policies and procedures related to academic integrity. Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIn.com software to verify originality. Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity. Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades and/or suspension from the university. Citation and research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides.
Disabilities
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately. Please keep in mind that reasonable accommodations are not provided retroactively.
Grading
Grading will be based on students’ class participation, written assignments, and final team presentation:
CONTRIBUTIONS TO CLASS DISCUSSION40%
You are expected to attend every class. Attendance will be taken and unexcused absences will result in a reduction in your class participation grade. Please do NOT schedule interviews during class time, nor should you commit yourself to outside internships or club activities that conflict with your class responsibilities. Excellent attendance, with no class participation, results in a class participation grade of C+. If you ask good questions and offer interesting comments, you can earn a higher grade. I will randomly call on students to encourage broad class participation, so be prepared!
THREE (3) WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS30%
Students will submit two written assignments from the Financial Analysis Workbook, to be completed individually. Student teams will also submit one written response to a set of questions about the research topic to be addressed in their final presentation (see below). Each written assignment will be worth 10% toward your final grade. Please submit all written assignments on LATTE, with the file naming convention “Last First_#” (i.e. “Lupton Shaw_1”, “Lupton Shaw_2”, etc.)
ONE (1) FINAL TEAM PRESENTATION30%
Student teams will present on a real estate-related research topic, to be assigned midway through the class. Previous topics have included REITs, brownfield development, property sector investment strategies, a local market evaluation, or an approved topic submitted in advance of the deadline for submitting the outline.
[1] I am happy to meet with you. Since I am a part-time adjunct and also work as a consultant in downtown Boston, I will not hold regular office hours. Therefore, please e-mail me if you would like to arrange a time to meet.