Frank Gallinelli's RealData Blog

e-Learning Portal for Commercial Real Estate Launches Thursday, May 16

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:25:56 -0700

As many of you know, I teach real estate investment analysis in the Master of Science in Real Estate Development program at Columbia University. About a year ago I agreed to teach a similar course at a new online school dedicated exclusively to commercial real estate: Homburg Academy.

During the past several months I've been busy recording lectures for Homburg's academic program. The more I've worked with these folks, the more impressed I've become with their professionalism and their commitment to providing quality education for our industry.

On May 16, they are launching an online e-learning portal as an extension of the Academy; the courses in this portal will be available to the public, on-demand. The launch will stream live, online.

I'm very honored that they've chosen my course as one they are including in the launch. My course is a series of ten, one-hour lectures on real estate investment analysis, where I teach basic real estate finance as it applies to income-producing property. I cover due diligence, time value of money, discounted cash flow analysis, pro-forma creation and interpretation, income capitalization, financing, as well as metrics such as IRR, DCR and NPV. I also present three case studies where I demonstrate the analysis of different property types.

Attached below is a copy of Homburg's announcement; I encourage you to check them out. Here also are some promo links distributed by Homburg where you can sign up for their live streaming launch of the the portal, and enter to win some free courses:

"Get your VIP code and sign-up at http://bit.ly/ZKitwO

Enter to Win $1000 in free courses at http://bit.ly/15ZM6D1"

Frank Gallinelli
President, RealData, Inc.

P.S. Have you checked out the new Version 17 of Real Estate Investment Analysis, Pro Edition? Software with 30 years of enhancements.

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from Homburg Academy release:

Real Estate Investment Courses Enter the E-Learning Revolution!

Homburg Academy, an online university specialized in commercial real estate, will launch its proprietary e-learning portal on 16 May. This is an extension of the university's efforts to provide accessible, affordable real estate education entirely online.

The portal will provide real estate investors and students with 24/7 worldwide access to the entire body of Homburg Academy's online course materials and video lectures. These courses encompass a wide range of pertinent and interconnected subjects in real estate accounting, appraisal, capital markets, finance, investment analysis, management, risk and portfolio management - to name a few.

Homburg Academy’s current faculty includes 70 of the world's top real estate professors and professionals in 13 countries – numbers that will continue to grow as new online programs and courses are launched in the coming months. Faculty members include such renowned experts as Frank Gallinelli, author of the bestselling guide, What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know about Cash Flow (McGraw-Hill, 2004), and Mastering Real Estate Investment: Examples, Metrics And Case Studies.

Each course contains 10 hours of lecture presentation. They are professionally produced by a team of course designers and multimedia editors to make viewing engaging and interesting. E-learning specialists have optimized each course to maximize knowledge and understanding. Each hour is broken down into easily digestible segments of 15 minutes, followed by a self-assessment quiz. There is also a discussion forum that is open to everyone taking that course to encourage discussion.

By providing easy access to courses by real estate industry's most qualified experts, the Homburg On-Demand portal ensures that real estate investors can enrich their knowledge base with the highest quality courses available, by leading experts, giving them an edge in today's competitive global marketplace.

Join the launch event! The Homburg On-Demand launch will stream live on the internet on May 16th at 2 PM (Atlantic Standard Time). Anyone interested may sign up for the live broadcast through Homburg Academy's On-Demand sign-up page at: http://www.homburgacademy.org/ondemand/launch/index.html

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April 1: Our Sales Prevention Initiative

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:39:17 -0700

April 1, 2013, For Immediate Release

RealData Announces New Sales Prevention Initiative

In an attempt to stem the inexorable tide of its growing popularity, RealData announced today the formation of a new Sales Prevention Department within the company.

"Quite simply, it is time for us to take the bull by the tail," said company founder and President Frank Gallinelli. We can't allow these sales increases to go unchecked, so we have assembled a new mismanagement team to deal with the problem. Once we get sales under control, we believe we can go from there to put an end to productivity once and for all." more--->

Do you have a real estate website or blog?

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:52:17 -0800

Do you have a real estate website or blog? RealData Software has a new affiliate program where you can earn some meaningful commission income.

RealData has offered financial analysis software used by investors, developers, brokers, appraisers, lenders, accountants and many others for more than 30 years. We've stood the test of time and have always been fortunate to gain a good deal of our business from customer referrals.

You can now earn referral commissions by introducing our software to your online visitors.

You can do this if you have a website, blog or newsletter that focuses on real estate, investing or finance. You don't have stock any inventory, process any credit cards or ship any boxes. Simply join our affiliate program. We'll give you a link with a personal affiliate code and even provide graphics and sample text you can use. Use that personal code and when your website visitors or your blog or newsletter readers click through to buy our products, you earn a commission.

To find out more about participating in our affiliate program please read the FAQ page on realdata.com. Then sign up here. We look forward to working with you.

Frank Gallinelli

President, RealData, inc.

My ebook for real estate investors is now free on Kindle and iTunes

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 10:38:42 -0700

My new ebook. "10 Commandments for Real Estate Investors," is currently available free.

You can get it for the Kindle here: amzn.to/Tew29K If you don't have a Kindle, you can download their free desktop reader.

It's also available for iPhone and iPad via itunes at bit.ly/OuuRhN

Here's the blurb from Amazon:

Real estate investing can be an excellent way to build wealth, but it can also be a snare for those who lack preparation, planning, and realistic expectations. In this brief but insightful series of essays, Frank Gallinelli, the author of the best-selling "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow…" guides you through some investment principles you can live by. From cautionary tales about the process of due diligence and the hazards of self-styled "experts," to discussion of identifying your investment objectives, Gallinelli helps you focus on best practices.

Frank Gallinelli is founder and President of RealData, Inc, one of the real estate industry's leading investment software firms. He also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor of finance in Columbia University's Master of Science in Real Estate Development program, where he teaches real estate investment analysis.

6-Part Video Series on Mixed-Use Investment Analysis

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 08:53:12 -0800

As you may know, I spend much of my time teaching and writing about real estate investment analysis. Much of it is the basic theory and math, but in my grad-school classes I try also to include what I believe is more of a practical approach -- call it "applied finance" if you will.

In that spirit, I've just released a 6-part video series demonstrating a step by step financial analysis of a mixed-use real estate investment.

It starts the way a typical investor might, with a very basic back-of-the-envelope approach, and then moves on to more detailed looks at revenue, expenses, cash flows, metrics and potential partnership structure.

You can get more info about these videos and a link to the first session (free) at http://www.realdata.com/mixeduse You can also download a pdf copy of the case study used in the videos at http://www.realdata.com/files/urbancenter.pdf

The first session is free, and if you decide you would like access to the rest, use this promo code for a $10 discount: 2012video6

New for 2012: Real Estate Investment Analysis, Version 16

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:12:04 -0800

Thirty years of development time, and of listening carefully to what to our customers want. All this comes together now in the latest version of our most popular and powerful software app for real estate investors: Real Estate Investment Analysis, Version 16

What’s New in Version 16?

The Decision Maker
The centerpiece of v16 is a new module called “The Decision Maker.” Here is how it works: Enter data about the property — revenue, expenses, financing, etc. — as you normally would. Then go to the new module. The top half of the page will display 12-18 of your key assumptions, like those shown here:

snippet 1 from Decision Maker

You can now toggle any or all of your assumptions up or down with the arrows, while watching the effect of each change as it displays instantly on the bottom half of the page.

There you’ll see more than a dozen key metrics, such as cash flow and IRR. These will update in response to your clicking the arrows to raise or lower any of the basic assumptions; the data will display going out 20 years.

snippet 2 from Decision Maker

For example, toggle the purchase price or the cap rate up and down, and watch the effect on your IRR. Toggle the mortgage interest rate, watch the impact on your cash flow. What better way to decide how — or if — you can make this deal work. Hence the name: Decision Maker
Detailed Capital Improvements
Many users have asked to be able to provide a detailed break-out of anticipated expenditures for capital improvements. Here it is. You can now choose to fill out a complete year-by-year schedule of improvements, or simply enter an annual total.

Detailed Closing Costs
Likewise, the ability to itemize acquisition closing costs has been another common request. You now have two options: itemize or enter a single amount.

Improved Reports
We really do pay attention when users call and say things like, “Why doesn’t the partnership presentation show cash-on-cash return?” We keep track of those requests, and you’ll find several now implemented in v16.

Import Data from Your Version 15 Analyses
Here’s a big one: If you’re upgrading from v15 to v16 you can run a special function that will read all of the user entries from an analysis you did in v15 and transfer that information into the new version. That’s no small trick, but our super-smart programmers did it.

Upgrade from Version 15

If you’re currently a registered user of v15, keep your eye out for an email from us with an offer to upgrade at a nominal cost.

Frank Gallinelli to Speak at BiggerPockets Real Estate Investing Summit and Expo, March 23-24, 2012

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:22:49 -0800

BiggerPockets -- an 85,000-member community of real estate investors -- is having its first Real Estate Investing Summit in Denver, March 2012, and has invited Frank Gallinelli as a featured speaker. Frank is the founder of RealData Software and the author of What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... and Mastering Real Estate Investment. He will speak on, "Real Estate Investment Analysis, Methods and Mindset -- What to Know, What to Do."

According to BP founder Josh Dorkin, "BiggerPockets is planning on having dozens of expert investors, commentators and educators speak to an audience that is expected to include hundreds of attendees from around the country. Through lectures, roundtables, and other session formats, the event will cover topics including rehabbing, landlording, investing in notes & mortgages, real estate financing & capital raising, commercial investing, and much more."

You can sign up to attend by following this link. Hope to see you there.

The RealData Dispatch, Oct 2011 issue available

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:32:51 -0700

Our Oct 2011 newsletter, The RealData Dispatch, is available now, with new educational content for real estate investors and special offers: bit.ly/t0SZZI subscribe @ bit.ly/d3UXOK

New Article... "For Real Estate Investors: A Lesson in Clarity"

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:55:41 -0700

Recently, I was conducting the last class in my course on real estate investment analysis that I teach in Columbia’s MSRED program. I had assigned my 55 students a series of case studies (much like those in my book, Mastering Real Estate Investment) and told them to build financial pro forms and discuss the reasoning behind their analyses. After reading and commenting on all those analyses, I felt there was one overarching theme on which I wanted to focus my final remarks to the troops: The theme was “clarity.”

Trying to reduce a course to a single word might seem unrealistic (because it is), but I really had more than one angle on the notion of clarity in mind. Even combined, those notions would not replace the real content of a course in investment analysis, but they might express some essential principles that are sine qua non — “without which, nothing” — for investors. ...

Read the rest of the artiicle here.

Frank Gallinelli

www.realdata.com

You’re Invited: Value Hound Academy’s Webcast Interview with RealData Founder, Frank Gallinelli

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 08:46:46 -0700

I want to invite you to a webcast interview that will be broadcast Wednesday Sept. 14, 2011 at 11AM PST (2 PM EST).

The folks at Value Hound Academy asked me to discuss my insights into analyzing real estate deals:
– how to be a “financial detective” when examining a seller’s representations
– the biggest mistakes investors make when analyzing deals
– critical items folks overlook in renovation projects
– and lots more

Crunching numbers is critical to your success as a real estate investor, so do sign up to hear this webcast. It’s free. http://www.valuehoundacademy.com/public/337.cfm

RealData's real estate investment analysis software now available for 30-day license

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:57:21 -0700

Just need to work though a single real estate investment deal, or compare a couple of properties so you can select the one that meets your criteria?

If that's your situation, then we have big news: Starting today, you can get a cost-effective 30-day license to use RealData's Real Estate Investment Analysis software, Pro Edition -- the one that's been our most popular for almost 30 years.

Kinda like renting a Lamborghini for a one-month road trip. Lots of horsepower, no sticker shock.

Get the scoop at http://www.realdata.com/p/reia/reia_30.html

>70,000 copies -- "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow..."

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 15:59:31 -0700

ok -- so maybe the fact that I keep track of stuff like this reveals a little touch of vanity, or a lack of humility, or both. But please remember, I'm strictly a by-the-numbers real estate investment guy, so tracking and analyzing data like this is hard-wired into my DNA.

As of 12/31/2010 my book, "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... And 36 Other Key Financial Measures" has sold more than 70,000 copies. So apparently I'm not the only person on the planet who believes that you need to run the numbers before you put your money on the table.

If you were one of those 70,000 readers, I want to say thank you; and I certainly hope you found the material there to be worthwhile. Was there something you considered especially helpful, or something about which you wanted to learn more?

Speaking of more (and never missing an opportunity for further self-promotion), please check out my sequel, "Mastering Real Estate Investment."

Thanks again.

Frank G.

RealData on Facebook -- Download an Investment Tool, On Us!

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:44:21 -0700

Social media is everywhere, and now RealData is in the game.

Visit us at http://www.facebook.com/realdata

What's in it for you?

Plenty, we hope. When you "like" us today on our brand new Facebook page you'll be able to download a valuable software tool, free. In coming weeks and months, you'll find free admission to webinars, special promo codes, ebooks, other educational materials, and more. But only on our Facebook page.

What's in it for us?

You'll be happy to know that we didn't suddenly go soft in the head. We're offering these perks to our Facebook fans because there are benefits to us as well. Social media is the most efficient and immediate way to let you know about special promotions we're having; about new products and enhancements to our current products; and about upcoming webinars and other educational events and resources.

It's also a great way for us to network with our customers and colleagues, and with readers of my books -- and for them to network with each other. I even welcome my former Columbia grad students from the past decade to join in the conversation.

So please accept our invitation...

go to http://facebook.com/realdata and click the "like" button at the top of the page. Then enter your name and email address and respond to the "opt-in" permission. You'll be taken to a page where you can download this valuable tool (i.e., one that we charge for on our website) free. Fair warning: we're offering this freebie for a short while only.

And if that's not enough...

then follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/fgallinelli or on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/frankgallinelli

Wherever you might care to join us, please take a moment to tell us: What resources or content can we provide that will help you become a more successful real estate investor?

New Macintosh releases of RealData real estate software

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:10:58 -0800

In addition to providing our PC software for real estate investors and developers, we've supported the Macintosh with Excel-based products since the Mac first came out in 1984.

But a few years ago, Microsoft threw us a real curve when they dropped VBA macro functionality from Excel 2008 for the Mac. As you may know, it's those complex macros (which you can't see) that make our software really hum. So our Mac users had to settle for Excel 2004 to run our software.

Thankfully, Microsoft has seen the light and restored VBA in their new Excel 2011; and we wasted not a moment getting to work re-writing our products to make good use of the new Excel. You'll now be able to use the latest versions of RealData software, like the REIA Professional and Express Editions, on your Mac.

We're glad to be back offering the latest and best of our software for our loyal Mac customers.

Help Us to Help Toys for Tots

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 23:06:01 -0800

The bad economy -- and particularly the unemployment crisis -- have taken a real toll on many American families. During the holidays, it's especially tough on families with children. Recently I was delivering a toy to a local charity, thinking about the smile that I hoped would come over that child's face, and wishing I could multiply that smile many times over. Grandpas have a tendency to get like that.

My plan is very modest, and won't cure the world's financial ills, but I hope you will help: I will take 50% of the proceeds of our December 7, 8, and 9 RealData software sales and send that money to the charity run by the U.S. Marines, "Toys for Tots."

So, if you were thinking about buying one of our programs next week or next month or next quarter, I urge you to do it instead during these three days -- December 7-9. You'll get the powerful software you need, and we'll send "Toys for Tots" half of what you paid us. You'll be helping yourself make better investment decisions with our software, but perhaps equally important I believe you'll help us do something good for a worthy cause -- and maybe together we can put smiles on a lot of kids' faces.

Thank you, and wishing you peace during this holiday season and beyond,

Frank Gallinelli

President, RealData, Inc.
www.realdata.com

New ebook: Real Estate Project Feasibility

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:07:45 -0800

I've just released a brief new ebook, "Real Estate Project Feasibility: What's Behind Doors #1 and #2?"

It discusses the two classic methods of deciding whether the development of a particular income-producing property appears feasible: the "front-door" and "back-door" approaches.

In the first case, you have a site looking for a use; in the second, a use looking for a site. You'll see how to run the numbers to determine how much rental income is necessary to support a project at a given cost, or how to find the maximum project cost you can afford if you expect a given rental income.

The prudent real estate developer should examine one or both of these scenarios when deciding if a planned project makes economic sense.

It's available for Amazon's Kindle ebook reader, or --- you can read it on your PC or your mac.

for real estate investors: Modified Internal Rate of Return -- How it Works

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:06:51 -0700

We've been fielding a number of questions lately about how MIRR really works, and what "safe rate" and "reinvestment rate" mean.

So, if you invest in income property -- or anything else, for that matter -- here is a concise discussion that I hope you'll find helpful.

Frank Gallinelli

Real estate finance and investment education

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:42:59 -0700

A number of colleges and universities have been using our Real Estate Investment Analysis software and other materials for instructional purposes in their classes on real estate finance and investment (as have I at Columbia). The "Express Edition" has been especially popular for academic use because it is more compact and not as detailed as our Professional Edition.

Some instructors have told us that "Express" would be even more valuable in the classroom if it could calculate after-tax cash flows, sale proceeds and IRR, like its big brother, the Pro Edition. And so... we have just released Version 2 of REIA, Express Edition, which does just that. You can get detailed information about this software on our web site at http://www.realdata.com/p/express/

Please note that we have an academic version available for classroom use. The academic version can be used by students for six months and is available for a nominal per-copy fee. In addition, many instructors also use my books to provide sample problems and case studies. http://bit.ly/wyrle

If you would like to find out more about academic use of this or any RealData product, please send a support ticket to http://bit.ly/cMTQhz

Frank Gallinelli

New v3 Comparative Lease Analysis software

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 10:06:32 -0700

In recent months, many of our customers have asked us to add more functionality to RealData's comparative lease software. Whether you're acting as landlord or tenant, leasing agent or tenant rep, the current economy demands that you fully understand the financial implications of the deal you're working on -- and that makes this software especially timely.

In particular, with many businesses feeling the need to trim back the size of their operations, quite a few have asked for the ability to evaluate the consequences of subletting their space. So, we've been working diligently to meet these needs and have just released Version 3 of CLA.

Here's some of what you can do with CLA v3:

Project up to ten years of leasing revenue and costs.
Simultaneously compare as many as six different leases, or six alternative scenarios for a single lease.
Make projections that include base rent, CPIs, and pass-throughs.
Estimate your expected tenant improvements, build-out allowances, free rent period, moving costs/relocation allowance and more.
Account for the time value of money with PV calculations appllied to the effective rent.
Use new Sublease functionality to weigh the revenue you might collect from a subtenant against your obligations under your current lease.
Use international currency symbols and metric measures, add photos and company logos to your reports, and much more.

Get an overview of the program (with screen shots and sample reports) as well as a detailed list of features.

Frank Gallinelli

realdata.com

Educational content for real estate investors

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:58:50 -0700

We've just sent out the August, 2010 edition of the RealData Dispatch, our more-or-less monthly newsletter to almost 9,000 real estate investors and developers who subscribe. If you're not currently signed up to receive it, I invite you to view this edition online and to subscribe (free).

This issue is devoted almost entirely to educational content. We have new articles, including "5 More Rules of Thumb for Real Estate Investors," some video clips on due diligence and APOD, and a promo to receive a signed copy of my most recent book, "Mastering Real Estate Investment."

Investor education is a big part of our mission, and we believe it fits right in with our "day job," which is to provide analysis software to help you make sense of your income-property investments and development projects. I invite you to take a look at http://www.realdata.com.

Frank Gallinelli

"Recovering from the Housing and Financial Crisis" -- (article from Fed Reserve's John Duca)

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 10:38:46 -0700

Federal Reserve V.P. and senior policy advisor John Duca has just published an an exceptionally lucid article that discusses the four key “shocks” suffered by the U.S. economy during the financial crisis: As he states quite succinctly, “Home construction plunged, wealth fell, credit standards tightened and financial markets seized up.”

He discusses the relationship between home construction and GDP, housing’s wealth effect, and the availability of credit; and concludes with a balanced assessment of what may lie ahead for both the U.S. and global economies. He cites indicators that point to recovery, but tempers those with a discussion of the downside risks that remain.

There are enough stats and charts here to satisfy number crunchers like me, but the prose is clear and readable enough to stand on its own.

I think this is material that anyone in real estate, construction or mortgage finance should read, so we have posted it on our “Learn” page at www.realdata.com

While you're on our Learn page, check out the other articles and videos we have there -- all dedicated to real estate investor and developer education (and all free). We feel very strongly about the need to promote investor education and financial literacy in general, so we hope you find this content valuable.

And whether you're a novice or a seasoned investor, I urge you also to examine the analysis and presentation software as well as the real estate calculator we offer. Demos are available for most.

Educational Videos for Real Estate Investors -- Due Diligence; Terminiology and APOD

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:38:34 -0700

I will be posting several video excerpts from classes I recently taught in Connecticut. These classes focused on financial analysis of income-producing property.

In the first segment, I discuss some of the preliminary steps that every real estate investor should take when evaluating a potential income property purchase:

Understanding Real Estate Investments: Due Diligence

In the second video I discuss some essential real estate investment terminology, then show how those terms are used to build the real estate equivalent of a Profit and Loss Statement: the Annual Property Operating Data (APOD) form.

Real Estate Investing Terminology and the APOD Form

Please remember that you can learn more about these topics and find tools to help you with your investment and development analysis at realdata.com

Macintosh Users: New Real Estate Software Releases for Investors and Developers

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Wed, 12 May 2010 08:58:29 -0700

Our programmers at RealData have been very busy recently, working to bring you the latest release of our products for Excel on the Mac.

You can now purchase REIA Professional v15, REIA Express, and Commercial / Industrial Development with the same features that you would find in our Windows releases. For those of you not familiar with us, we've been providing applications to analyze real estate investments and development projects since 1982. These new offerings bring our Mac products up to speed with their Windows counterparts.

Please note that at this time, these products will run on Excel 2004 for Mac only. That's because our applications are not mere spreadsheets -- they use thousands of lines of VBA programming code -- that's what gives them their power and ease of use. But Microsoft dropped support for VBA in Excel 2008. Not surprisingly, they were taken to task for removing this key feature, so important to users and developers.

The good news, however, is that Excel 2004 works just fine and you can use it to run our programs. Moreover, it has been widely reported that Microsoft will restore VBA when it releases Office for Mac 2011 later this year.

You can get detailed info about each app by clicking on the links above.

Continuing Ed.: Is an Investment Class Right for You?

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:53:07 -0800

From time to time I teach a series of continuing education classes for Connecticut brokers and agents. The courses are entitled "Understanding Real Estate Investments" -- there is a Level 1 (introductory) and Level 2 (intermediate), each for 3 credit hours as electives. I'll be doing so again from late March to mid-May, 2010.

Something I often hear is, "Oh, I'm a residential agent so I guess that's not for me." Of course I have just the opposite in mind. The residential agent or broker is the ideal candidate for these classes.

To explain why, I'd like to share a few observations I make to my students before I get into the meat and potatoes of my classes' subject matter: What are these courses about? Why do I teach them? And, why should you even care?

What are the courses about?

In the first class, I talk about how an investment property differs from a single-family personal residence. In particular, I discuss how the approach to value is different. I review some of the specialized vocabulary of investing and I talk about how you go about projecting your cash flow. I focus a good deal on a topic that almost everyone should understand better than they do: the time value of money.

In my intermediate class I cover financing and underwriting for investment property. I also discuss how to use various rate of return metrics like present value and IRR to judge how well you're doing (or not) and I spend some time actually analyzing a property to show how you might identify the good, the questionable, and the real deal-killers.

Why do I teach this?

I've been in the real estate software business for nearly 30 years and have dealt with a lot of investors and developers in that time. Most, as you might expect, have been quite knowledgeable, including many that I would describe either as seasoned veterans or remarkably astute beginners.

But then there are the other folks. They are the ones who have charged ahead boldly, sometimes armed with millions of dollars of other people's money (i.e., money from partners, not just banks) and entirely unencumbered by much understanding of the financial dynamics of the deal they're trying to put together. It has been my encounters with such would-be investors that launched me on my mission to attempt to promote financial literacy, in particular among real estate investors. I began that mission innocently enough by writing some articles, then a few books; then on to teaching real estate finance at Columbia and now to continuing ed in Connecticut.

Why do you care?

Back to my original thesis: You are a residential agent or broker and I'm urging you to learn just a little about cash flows and cap rates and rates of return. Why? I think there are at least two good reasons: one professional, the other personal.

In a previous life (think early Carter administration), I was both a residential and commercial sales manager. I lived right on the DMZ that separates those two specialties. In general, specialization is a good thing -- I don't recommend visiting your dentist for by-pass surgery -- but in real estate brokerage it can lead to a kind of entrenched sales-prevention mindset.

Most if not all investors live in houses or condos of some sort, so sooner or later almost every investor will do business with a residential agent. If you are that agent and you understand the financial basics of investing, you can accomplish several worthwhile objectives.

* You can burnish your personal credibility as a real estate professional; you understand not just your residential client/propspect's lifestyle goals but also his or her business goals. That becomes clear when you discuss both residential and investment real estate intelligently.

* If that person ypu encounter is also a propect for a commercial listing or sale, you can refer the prospect to the appropriate commercial specialist without your having to drop off the radar. You are knowledgable enough to deserve at least a seat at the table, and you can keep on eye open to be sure your referral is being handled well.

Finally, on the personal level, why shouldn't you participate in real estate investing? Property is your business. You already know a great deal about neighborhoods, local employment trends, sources of financing from your residential activity. Add to that an understanding of how to parse the data from potential rental property investments and you've written the resume of a successful investor.

To get the details about my upcoming classes -- dates and times, locations -- and to enroll, go to our website at http://www.realdata.com/ce

Commercial Real Estate Financing: What to Do Now (RealData Dispatch)

Frank Gallinelli (RealData, Inc.) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:37:40 -0800

If you’re trying to finance or refinance a piece of commercial real estate, then we urge you to check out this new article: "Commercial Real Estate Financing: What to Do Now"

We interviewed George Blackburne of C-loans to ask him what investors should be doing in today’s market to secure that commercial loan, and he provided what we thought were some very interesting answers. Go to the “Learn” page of our website. You'll find it at the top of "Current Articles."

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