Commercial REALTORS need to know how to make important financial calculations that impact their real estate transactions. The Hewlett Packard HP-10BII is one of the standard financial calculators in the commercial real estate industry today. In addition to learning the financial functions of this calculator, the student will learn basic and essential commercial real estate financial analysis concepts.

This course is a six-hour introduction to the basic concepts of commercial real estate that any practitioner must learn and know in order to achieve success. The course is divided into two three-hour segments. Part one of the course covers (i) the various commercial real estate property types as well as the types of commercial real estate transactions that an agent may occur, (ii) who owns commercial real estate, and why do they own it and (iii) the various types of lease structures that exist in the industry. Part two of the course covers the economics of commercial real estate leases, (ii) investment real estate concepts and (iii) the characteristics of the various commercial real estate property types. Upon completion of this course of the student will have the very basic skill sets necessary to enter into the field of commercial real estate.

This six-hour course provides the real estate professional with the skills that they need to perform a basic investment analysis of a commercial real estate investment. The course explains in detail:

With the training provided by this course real estate professionals will be better equipped to understand and analyze the real estate investment opportunities that they are confronted with in their practice whether those transactions are for their clients/customers or whether they are for their own account.

This six-hour course provides the real estate professional with the basic skills that they need to understand the arena of commercial real estate leasing. The course explains in detail:

With the training provided by this course real estate professionals will be better equipped to navigate the arena of commercial real estate leasing and capture potential commercial real estate leasing opportunities that may be presented to them.

Of all the investment opportunities in the commercial real estate risk/reward universe, ground leases are the safest of all of those opportunities. Unfortunately, there is a very limited amount of training on the fundamentals of ground lease investing. Commercial REALTORS need to know about the opportunities that exist in this arena and how to capitalize on those opportunities. This three-hour course will provide a solid foundation of knowledge for the participants which will allow them to navigate this practice area.

This course explores how cost segregation can assist commercial real estate investors in increasing the return and the value of their commercial real estate investment property. Cost segregation is the process of identifying tangible personal property assets that are grouped with real property assets. Cost segregation segregates those tangible personal assets for tax reporting purposes. The cost segregation process identifies a real property’s tangible personal property components as well as its land improvements as defined under the federal tax code so that these items can be depreciated at a more rapid rate than would otherwise would be permitted under normal straight line cost recovery regulations. The objective of a cost segregation study is to increase the cash flow from buildings, purchased properties, renovations and leasehold improvements by accelerating depreciation expense deductions and taking those tax deductions earlier in the holding period than otherwise would occur with straight line cost recovery. This course guides the commercial real estate investor, and the real estate agent/broker who may be advising them, in understanding how the cost segregation process works and how to take advantage of all of the benefits that are offered through cost segregation.

Selling an investment property for a large profit is the objective of every real estate investor. However, in order to maximize the profit from an investment sale the investor needs to minimize the capital gains tax paid upon the sale. An installment sale of the property under §453 of the internal revenue code is one strategy to minimize the taxes paid while at the same time allowing the seller to obtain their targeted sales price. In an installment sale, the seller serves as the transaction’s “private banker”. This means that the terms of the loan (e.g., the rate of interest, the amount of the purchaser’s equity contribution, the debt service coverage ratio, the amortization period, etc.) can be mutually agreed upon by the seller and purchaser without regard to the stricter standards that may be prevalent during the high interest rate and low liquidity phase of the credit cycle.

While an installment sale can be part of a strategic sales campaign, it is imperative that the real estate professional be fully apprised of the challenges and potential tax issues that exist. This three-hour course will explore (i) the strategies that can be used to maximize the benefits provided by the installment sale tax provision, (ii) the rewards that flow from an installment sale and (iii) the potential risks that are associated with the use of an installment sale. Every real estate investor and real estate professional will want to have a clear understanding of this investment tool so that they can limit the taxes paid upon sale and achieve the goal of tax-efficient real estate investing.

Commercial real estate professionals are required to engage in a wide range of negotiations involving leases, sales transactions and other similar activities. Unfortunately, these professionals often (i) utilize a zero-sum game approach to their negotiation and (ii) focus on a singular position in their negotiation in an effort to negotiate an acceptable agreement. These professionals frequently use hardball and manipulative strategies and tactics in their negotiations that can damage the long-term relationships of the parties involved. Rather than focusing on this traditional approach to negotiation, commercial real estate practitioners are now finding it much wiser to engage in a collaborative form of negotiation that focuses upon the interests of the parties involved and how those interests may be satisfied through creative and collaborative negotiation. This more sophisticated method of negotiation takes the real estate professional out of the “highball/lowball” negotiation game that is normally played. The benefit of doing this is a smoother and less stressful negotiation as well as the greater likelihood of attaining a mutually acceptable and enduring agreement. Through the use of a combination of (i) instructor lecture, (ii) student role-play and (iii) case study analysis, the student will learn (i) the basic strategies of anchoring, reservation point and BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement), (ii) to distinguish between distributive and integrative negotiation, (iii) the integrative negotiation process, (iv) obtaining and tracking critical negotiation information and (v) how to use creativity to expand the “negotiation pie” and capture some of the “slices of that expanded pie.” This is a six-hour course.

We cannot forecast the future – the future is unknowable. However, the fact that we cannot forecast the future does not mean that we cannot know where we are at any point in time in the real estate cycle and just where we might be going. By knowing where we are in the real estate cycle and what that implies for the future we can get as close as possible to knowing the future without being able to forecast it. Real estate market cycles are inevitable notwithstanding the fact that on occasion the upside or downside of a cycle continues for an extended period of time. While these extended periods of upside euphoria and downside pessimism may make people falsely believe that the traditional cyclical pattern has been cancelled or eliminated, the reality is that the real estate cycle continues unabated.

In this three-hour course the four phases of the real estate market cycle are explained as well as the impact of each phase of the market cycle on (i) market rents, (ii) market vacancy levels and (iii) market valuations. Additionally, the course explores how the credit market cycle impacts the real estate market cycle. Strategies are identified for investing in each of the four phases of the real estate market cycle. Ultimately, the student will understand the importance of knowing where we are in the real estate market cycle and how to effectively address the major issues that arise during the four phases of the cycle.