Real Estate Finance and Investment
Learn the core concepts and specialized skills needed to evaluate income-producing properties, assess financing options, calculate investment returns, and ultimately, make informed real estate investment decisions. This includes the property income statement, leases, financial analysis, Excel modeling, valuation, capitalization rates, direct capitalization, discounted cash flow analysis, debt finance, private equity and investment analysis, and more. Students may take courses without seeking the full certificate.
View and Register for Real Estate Finance and Investment Courses
The Professional Certificate in Real Estate Finance and Investment credential is issued to students who successfully complete five 6-week courses.
Required Courses
Real Estate Financial Analysis I REFI-0010
SUMMER 2024
Sec. 1: Online (self-paced). Jun. 11-Jul. 16 (6 sessions). Nihalani
FALL 2024
Sec. 1: Online (self-paced). Sep. 17-Oct. 22 (6 sessions). Nihalani
Sec. 2: Online (self-paced). Nov. 5-Dec. 10 (6 sessions). Selvaggio
Acquire the essential skills to build a property operating statement, determine net operating income (NOI) and apply capitalization rates to a single-year’s NOI to estimate property value. Topics include real estate investment principles; foundations of real estate valuation; lease types; market rent vs contract rent; useable and rentable area; load factor; potential gross income (PGI); vacancy and collection loss; miscellaneous income; effective gross income (EGI); fixed and variable operating expenses (OE); capital expenditures (CAPX); net operating income (NOI); overall or going-in capitalization rates; direct capitalization and income multipliers. This course uses MS Excel software.
Real Estate Financial Analysis II REFI-0020
SUMMER 2024
Sec. 1: Online (self-paced). Jun. 11-Jul. 16 (6 sessions). Nihalani
FALL 2024
Sec. 1: Online (self-paced). Sep. 17-Oct. 22 (6 sessions). Selvaggio
Sec. 2: Online (self-paced). Nov. 5-Dec. 10 (6 sessions). Nihalani
Advance from a single-year property operating statement to a multi-year cash flow forecast, generally referred to as a pro forma income statement, and estimate property value based on a series of cash flows over the duration of the hold along with proceeds from sale. Topics covered include time value of money (TVM); discounting; present value (PV); compounding; future value (FV); net present value (NPV); internal rates of return (IRR); lease escalations; effective rent; expense stops; yield capitalization; discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis; discount rates; cash-on-cash return; reversion; terminal capitalization rates or going-out cap rates; residual or terminal value; net proceeds from sale; selling expenses; debt service; before-tax-cash-flow (BTCF); levered and unlevered returns; income tax; after-tax-cash-flow (ATCF); depreciation and capital gains. This course uses MS Excel software.
Real Estate Finance: Mortgage Debt REFI-0030
SUMMER 2024
Sec. 1: Online (self-paced). Jun. 11-Jul. 16 (6 sessions). Todorovic
FALL 2024
Sec. 1: Online (self-paced). Sep. 17-Oct. 22 (6 sessions). Sharon
Mortgage debt financing is a key component of most commercial real estate (CRE) decisions. Whether to increase equity returns, retain equity in order to acquire additional assets, gain tax benefits or to simply make up for a lack of equity capital, the use of leverage is common practice in most CRE transactions. As such, it is imperative that real estate professionals learn the principles of debt financing and how to develop a presentable financing request for the acquisition, development and construction (ADC) of income-producing properties. Topics include sources of capital; permanent debt financing for the acquisition of multifamily, office, retail, and industrial properties; commercial mortgage instruments and notes; underwriting; subject property description; operating income and expenses; sponsorship profile; credit analysis; property valuation; sizing the loan; refinance risk; loan request; lender’s term sheet; second mortgages; and mezzanine and interim loans.
Real Estate Finance: Private Equity REFI-0040
SUMMER 2024
Sec. 1: Online (self-paced). Jun. 11-Jul. 16 (6 sessions). Hovsepian
FALL 2024
Sec. 1: Online (self-paced). Nov. 5-Dec. 10 (6 sessions). Hovsepian
As with mortgage debt financing, private equity (PE) is usually a key component of most commercial real estate transactions. Explore the sources of PE, from groups of wealthy investors to larger, institutional entities. Learn their respective motivations, private structures, counterparties/stakeholders, funds and life cycle. Analyze the capital stack of a private structure. Topics include fund strategies; private equity investment vehicles; joint ventures; j-curve; waterfalls; governance issues; risk and return; alignment of interests; and documentation.
Real Estate Investment Decision Analysis REFI-0050
SUMMER 2024
Sec. 1: Online (self-paced). Jun. 11-Jul. 16 (6 sessions). Todorovic
FALL 2024
Sec. 1: Online (self-paced). Nov. 5-Dec. 10 (6 sessions). Todorovic
Learn how to effectively evaluate the potential of a real estate investment through the combined application of concepts covered in the previous real estate finance and investment courses. Topics include forms of ownership and deal structures; valuation techniques and income and expense analysis; the capital stack and structured finance; and sizing debt based on various lender parameters and construction lending. Detailed case studies bring together learned concepts through a systematic analysis of project data used to make prudent investment decisions. Students will also be introduced to additional concepts of preferred returns and discounted cash flow analysis.
Transfer Credit Policy
Students who have recently completed comparable non-degree courses at an accredited two- or four-year college or university with a grade of B or higher may request approval to apply those courses towards the completion of a professional certificate at the Fordham Real Estate Institute. Students are encouraged to seek approval from the program director prior to the start of their first course at Fordham. With prior approval, students may transfer up to one course toward a five-course professional certificate at the Fordham Real Estate Institute.
Students may enroll in individual courses at the Fordham Real Estate Institute without pursuing a certificate.