DRAFT

THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

REAL ESTATE and SOCIETY

BUS 135a

Spring 2016

Monday & Wednesday 5pm – 6:20pm

Linda StollerOffice Location:TBD

Email: ffice Hours:1pm- 2:30pm M/W

Phone: 617-733-2144and by appointment

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 regulations 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. In addition, we will study affordable and senior housing.

LEARNING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Know the terminology used in the real estate industry: develop familiarity with the terms used in development, financing, leasing and valuation of income property

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 including the income approach, market approach, and sales approach with emphasis on the discounted cash flow analysis

Explore societal challenges and opportunities: including affordable housing, senior housing, green/LEED buildings, and the government role in encouraging these goals

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Attendance and Participation

Class attendance is required and students are expected to arrive at class prepared to discuss the day’s topics. For a number of classes, a case is assigned. It is critical to the learning process that each student come prepared to discuss the case and their solutions in detail. Students are expected to use name cards at every session.

Academic Honesty

You are expected to be honest in all of your academic work. Please consult Brandeis University Rights and Responsibilities for 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 University 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

Students will be graded on their class participation, written assignments described below, mid-term exam, and final exam. The assignments are a mixture of individual and team assignments. Assignments will be posted on LATTE approximately one week before the assignment is due. Unless otherwise indicated on LATTE, students are allowed to discuss assignments with classmates. However, written assignments should be solely the work of the individual or the group as indicated on LATTE.

Written Assignments*30%

Midterm Exam20%

Final Exam30%

Class Participation**20%

*Written Assignments will be posted on LATTE approximately 1 week before they are due

**You are expected to attend each class and to arrive prior to the start time. If you know that you will miss a class, please contact me ahead of time. Attendance will be taken. If you attend class but do not contribute to class discussion or ask thoughtful questions you will receive a participation grade of C+. Meaningful participation will improve your participation grade.

Course Materials

I have created an eBook on the McGraw Hill Create website. To purchase this book (which is a required text for the course) follow the instructions below:

  1. Go to:
  2. Select the eBook via the following ISBN number:9781308732251
  3. You can also access the eBook by searching under your instructor’s name – Linda Stoller. Confirm that the title and course number are correct: Real Estate and Society, BUS 135a.
  4. Add the book to your cart and pay using a credit card. The book costs approximately $80.

The eBook above consists of selected chapters from Real Estate Principles: A Value Approach, Fourth Edition by David Ling and Wayne Archer. ISBN 978-0-07-304621-1. NOTE: You may find this entire text available used in either the 3rd or 4th edition for less than the eBook. Feel free to choose to purchase in this manner.

In addition, this course utilizes readings and cases from the Harvard Business Publishing. You will need to establish an account in order to purchase the required materials, if you do not already have one. Please access the site here look for Real Estate and Society – Spring 2016.

Harvard Business Publishing materials are in .pdf format and should be viewed with Adobe Reader which is available free at You will have immediate access to Harvard Business Online upon placing the order. For subsequent access, you will be required to logon, so please save your account settings.

NOTE: This material is copyright protected, so each student MUST purchase their own course pack and sharing the material from HBS Publishing is expressly prohibited.

CLASS SCHEDULE - Subject to Change at Professor's Discretion

All page references refer to the consecutive page numbers in the eBook – Chapter numbers are from the 4th edition hard copy

Session / Date / Day / Topics/Chapters / Reading / Assignments (due the next class)
1 / 1/13 / W / Introduction – The Nature of Real Estate / Ch 1
(p 1 – 19) / See LATTE
1/18 / NO CLASS – Martin Luther King Day
2 / 1/20 / W / Legal Foundations of Value / CH 2
(p 20 – 46) / See LATTE
3 / 1/25 / M / Legal Foundations of Value / Ch 3, Ch 13
(p 47 – 110) / Ch 13 Study Question 8 (p 109-110)
4 / 1/27 / W / Government Controls and the Regulatory Environment / Ch 4
(p 111 – 140) / Ch 4 Study Questions 4 (p 139)
5 / 2/1 / M / CASE - Pickney Street / HBS Pkg / See LATTE
6 / 2/3 / W / Capital - Residential / Ch 11
(p 140-173) / See LATTE
7 / 2/8 / M / GUEST SPEAKER –
Alan Schlesinger / See LATTE / See LATTE
8 / 2/10 / W / Capital Sources and Structures - Commercial / Ch 17
(P 175-202)
2/15 –
2/19 / NO CLASSES – MIDTERM BREAK
9 / 2/22 / M / Introduction to Mortgage Debt – Mortgage Types and Calculations / Ch 15
(p 203 – 223) / See LATTE
10 / 2/24 / W / Mortgage Debt Continued – Commercial Mortgages / Ch 16
(p 224 – 248)
11 / 2/29 / M / Valuation Introduction – Market Determinants of Value / Ch 5, CH 6
(p 249 – 278) (p 279-308)
12 / 3/2 / W / GUEST SPEAKER –
ItaloVisco
13 / 3/7 / M / MIDTERM EXAM –CASE -Millegan Creek Apartments / HBS Packet / See LATTE
14 / 3/9 / W / Valuation / Ch 7
(p 310-340)
15 / 3/14 / M / Valuation / Ch 8
(p 341–366)
16 / 3/16 / W / Investment Decisions / Ch 19
(p 367-387)
17 / 3/21 / M / CASE - Angus Cartwright / HBS Packet / See LATTE
18 / 3/23 / W / Marketing and Brokerage / Ch 12
(p 388-422)
3/28 / M / NO CLASS – MARCH RECESS
19 / 3/30 / W / CASE - Steel Street / HBS Packet
20 / 4/4 / M / Affordable Housing / HBS Packet
21 / 4/6 / W / GUEST SPEAKER - TBD
22 / 4/11 / M / Green Building / HBS Packet
23 / 4/13 / W / Overview of Senior Housing in the US / HBS Packet
24 / 4/18 / M / CASE - Toward Golden Pond / HBS Packet
25 / 4/20 / W / TBD
4/25 –
4/27 / NO CLASSES – SPRING RECESS
26 / 5/2 / M / GUEST SPEAKER –
Michael Stoller
FINAL / EXAM- / CASE – TO BE ANNOUNCED / HBS Packet