Phone:   602-285-1433     Toll Free     866-585-1433

A Practical Guide to Commercial Real Estate Development & Investment

Program Syllabus

Program objective: To provide the student with actual tools and understanding of the steps to successful commercial real estate development and investment, and pitfalls to avoid. 

Instructor: Stuart Rider, seasoned 25+-year veteran, and SUCCESSFUL developer. Mr. Rider has developed office buildings, anchored retail centers, a Power Center, and many freestanding end user buildings, including "build to suit". His projects are in New England, the Atlantic coast, the Pacific coast states, the Caribbean, and here in the Southwest. He is willing to explain, in detail, each step of the development process.

I.                    Introduction and Overview Real estate as an alternative investment. Investment types, advantages and disadvantages of each. Basic criteria for site selection, steps for feasibility analysis, resources needed, entitlements and permits, pre-leasing, financing, contracts, leases, design and construction, management, operations, and sale. 3 hours General CE credit.

II.                  Land Purchase Agreement Statute of Frauds. Minimum requirements to be enforceable. Use of attorneys, Recourse, Default. Contingencies. Representations. Use of escrow. Clarity and mutual understanding. 3 hours contract law.

III.        Site Selection and Title Relationship of site to investment objectives: speculation, short-term cash, or creation of income investment. Specifics of "location". Physical condition analysis, zoning and entitlements. Land acquisition and entitlement process. Decision-making. 3 hours General, CE credit.

      IV.               Ownership Legal Entities Relationship of ownership structure to risk-reward and investment objectives and
                  strategies. Fiduciary to stakeholders. Use of tax shelter. Sources of equity financing - "partners". Duties to
                  investors. Control issues. 1 hour of Agency and 2 hours of Real Estate legal issues CE credit.

      V.        Cost Control Minimizing monetary risk to equity investors. Accounting and reports. Records for auditing.
                  Incorporating other professionals as members of the team. Use of design build team to control costs. "Value
                  engineering". Construction cost control. Management cost control. 1 contract law, 2 hours General CE credit.

      VI.       Financial Analysis Simple form for site selection step. Documentation required for loans - disclosure and risk
                 reduction for lender and investors. Complex analysis for mixed use, master planned communities, and
                 subdivisions. Market income estimates. Cost estimates. Information sources. 3 hours General CE credit.

      VII.      Commercial Lease Office, industrial and retail uses. Full service, " gross", net and triple net lease structures.
                  Parts of a lease: business terms, boilerplate, and exhibits. 3 hours Contract law.

      VIII.            Project Design Types of office buildings. Floor planning, site plans, tenant mix and building design. Types of
                  structures and construction methods, how site costs should be calculated, tenant improvements and the market.
                  3 hours General CE credit.

      IX.       Documentation Land purchase agreement. Ownership documents. Development agreements, and zoning
                 documents. Lease and financing documents. Construction documents. 1 hours contract law, 1-hour real estate
                 legal issues, and 1-hour professional standards.

Call 602-285-1433 for dates and locations.