Fundamentals of Real Estate Finance for Non-Financial Professionals Course

Fundamentals of Real Estate Finance for Non-Financial Professionals

Future dates TBA, Fall 2024
6 - 8:00 p.m. MST

In the commercial real estate industry, the ability to understand, interpret and react to the information contained in a company's financial statements, finance policies, rates of return or tenant's financial statements can provide you with insights to position you way ahead of the competition. This course features financial concepts, standards, practices, and controls to ensure you are charting the path for growth and development as a knowledgeable industry professional. Knowing how financial information is derived and used will increase confidence in your ability to communicate effectively with company leadership, tenants, owners, and investors. This course will be taught online by six commercial industry professionals from across the country, all nationally known and all with over 20 years teaching their areas of expertise to commercial real estate audiences.

Those who should attend are University students and real estate professionals whose primary job responsibilities are outside of the finance discipline but have implications for project decisions, corporate structure, asset management, strategic planning, valuation, and property or portfolio performance measurement.

Module Schedule:

Finance and Accounting Principles
Taught by Jack Nugent, CRRP

*Please note that this module is 30 minutes longer than the other modules*

In the first hour, we will help you develop a basic understanding of commercial real estate accounting and finance principles. Gain an understanding of the accounting cycle and accounting transactions specific to the commercial real estate industry. Know how to cut through the jargon to translate financial data into meaningful decisions. This module will provide confidence and an increased ability to communicate effectively with tenants, supervisors, peers and competitors.

In the second hour, you’ll be able to increase your ability to analyze, interpret and react to information contained in a company’s financial statement or tenant’s financial statement. Learn the impact that different transactions have on a company’s financial statements. Build confidence in reading and understanding financial statements. Gain a general understanding of basic financial terminology used in commercial real estate. Develop knowledge of landlord financial concepts in understanding commercial real estate operations and valuation. This skill defines the difference between being behind the curve and charting the path for growth and development.

Effective Leadership in Finance: The Business Plan (Part I of II)
Taught by Norine A. Bowen, CRX, CSM

Attain hands-on knowledge of how financial professionals communicate with other disciplines to make the overall enterprise more valuable. Appreciate the role of the operating budget and strategic business plan for the asset, as guidelines to create strong short, medium and long-term operating plans. Participants will learn both effective and ineffective internal controls, as well as how to evaluate ideal operations benchmarking ratios. Have an ability to ask questions with a focus on the financial angle of options available. Be able to describe the framework of a business plan for a commercial real estate asset. Develop confidence by participating in the discussion of the planning process.

A Financial Approach to Property Management in Commercial Real Estate (Part II of II)
Taught by Ronald J. Becker, CRX, CSM

This module will give you an overview of a financial approach to property management employed in the various sectors in commercial real estate today. We will discuss: capital projects; the inclusion of ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) measures for financing and increased ROI (Return on Investment); evaluation of tenant leases for recoup of expenditure; the budget process: Office CAM (Common Area Maintenance) concepts, including loss factors for net pro rata; managing reimbursables; property management and distribution of oversight; energy efficiency initiatives; rooftop efficiencies with paybacks; HVAC replacements.

Financing Real Estate Transactions
Taught by Tom Dwyer

This module will explore the process of evaluating, investing, and financing real estate transactions. The class will start with a review of why investors acquire commercial real estate, including the tools, such as pro forma and investment analyses, used to determine whether to proceed with an investment. The course will also review the debt and equity capital stack with a focus on the sources of equity and the types and structures of debt available to investors for permanent, bridge, construction financing. Also addressed, will be the factors investors evaluate when proceeding with a transaction. The transaction process will also be discussed, beginning with the identification of an investment opportunity through to Letter of Intent (LOI), purchase agreement (PSA), due diligence, and closing.

CRE Leading – How Vision, Objectives, the Pro-Forma and Lease Language Impact Value
Taught by Jeff Kreshek, CPM, CCIM, CSM, CLS, MBA, MRED

This module will dive deep into CRE Leasing and how the Pro-Forma sets the standard for managing the leasing process to achieve the vision and financial objectives while managing the negotiation steps. From the LOI (Letter of Intent) to the mark-ups of changes to lease language. Value may be impacted both directly and indirectly.

Participants will understand how vision to achieving the pro-forma objectives can impact NOI (Net Operating Income) and value. Changes to standard lease language can cause many unintended consequences even when a requested change appears non-financial. Identify the key clauses of a lease that impacts value.

Analyzing Lease Data and Store Performance to Manage CRE Assets
Taught by Kenneth S. Lamy, CRRP, CRX

Take a hands-on look at key operating activities such as lease and sales reports that measure occupancy, productivity, and revenue, while learning the basics of a tenant’s business. Explore how planning, monitoring, and measuring are drivers on how value is created and reported to ownership.

Receive a refresher on the basics of a tenant’s financial metrics and calculations. Analyze a lease and summarize key clauses that impact net operating income. Apply the principles of basic analysis of rent, sales and operating expense components. Identify and utilize the variables included to calculate various financial statement ratios of a tenant. Identify the characteristics that drive net operating income growth and value.

Understanding Rates of Return – Making Investment Decisions
Taught by Brad Hutensky

The final module focuses on the objective and subjective tools a thoughtful investor employs to make sound real estate investment decisions including: understanding risk and reward, calculating and evaluating different measures of return and the time value of money.

Key Takeaways from the course:

Gain a general understanding of key financial and accounting concepts and terminology
Develop knowledge of the landlord's perspective of real estate operations and valuation
Analyze financial reports and statements to interpret data and inform strategic decisions
Evaluate financial risks and opportunities in your porfolio
Practice implications of lease language, valuation techniques and acquisitions using business scenarios and case analysis

Faculty List

Jack Nugent, CRRP

Instructor
Director
Meridian Realty Consultants, Inc.
Alpharetta, GA

Jack Nugent has been in the commercial real estate industry since 1987. He is a director for Meridian Realty Consultants, Inc. where his major focuses are on due diligence, lease audit & review, property transitioning, and property management consulting. He has previously served as CFO for GrandMarc student housing, controller for Faison & Associates of Atlanta, Director of Lease Accounting for DeBartolo Properties Management and principal at Lashner, Rush & Associates. Mr. Nugent has worked within the organizations of many of the leading owners and managers of commercial real estate in the country on long-term consulting assignments, providing expert testimony on CAM and industry standard practice related issues. He has served on the board of directors of the Atlanta Chapter of NAREC and was previously Financial Management Committee Chairperson for NAREC for the national organization. He is a graduate of Temple University with a degree in accounting and is a certified public accountant. He is a member of the faculty of The International Council of Shopping Center’s (ICSC) University of Shopping Centers School of Operations and Marketing, its Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Shopping Center Professionals Program and the China Institute for Retail Real Estate Education (CIRREE). He also serves as Chairman of the Development Authority for the City of Alpharetta.

Norine A. Bowen, CRX, CSM

Instructor
Regional Vice-President – Property Management
Direct Retail Partners
Dallas, TX

Norine Bowen, CRX, CSM has over 25 years of experience of driving revenue growth and profitability for retail and mixed-use assets across the U.S. Her primary responsibilities include oversight of the onsite operations and enhancement of investments.

Norine has a unique and extensive background in property management, operations, leasing, retail sales, merchandising and multi-store management. Prior to joining Direct Partners she worked with firms including The MGHerring Group, Westfield Corporation, The Taubman Company, The Disney Stores, Banana Republic, and DLC Management Corporation. She is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and holds both the CRX and CSM designations. She is a licensed real estate broker in the State of Texas and received her BA in Design & Industry from San Francisco State University.

Ronald J. Becker, CRX, CSM

Instructor
Senior Vice President of Operations & Sustainability
Brandywine Realty
Philadelphia, PA

Ronald J. Becker, CRX, CSM, Senior Vice President of Operations & Sustainability joined Brandywine Realty Trust in August of 2019. In his role Ron oversees all aspects of operations and property management for the firm providing tactical leadership and strategy to the building operators and management teams. In addition, Ron has taken over leadership of Brandywine’s continued commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance platform including best practice implementation in each of the segmented sectors.

Mr. Becker was most recently the Vice President of National Operations & Sustainability for Federal Realty Investment Trust based in Rockville, MD where he oversaw all aspects of operations for the national portfolio including Federal’s ESG program and multiple solar photovoltaic system investments. Prior to that he was the assistant vice president of property management for Cedar Realty Trust as wellas working for a number of niche and boutique companies such as Pennsylvania based WP Realty, Inc.

Mr. Becker is a 27-year industry veteran whose career has ranged from the management and leasing of retail, office and flex-space throughout the US to the acquisition of commercial assets in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest for a Boise, ID based 1031 syndicator.

Mr. Becker is a Certified Real Estate Executive (CRX), a Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM) and recently achieved certification as a Fitwel Ambassador. He has published articles for Management- Marketing-Leasing Today and has taught at ICSC University at the Wharton School of Business as well asat the John T. Riordan School of Professional Development in Arizona. Mr. Becker graduated from Adelphi University with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Tom Dwyer

Instructor
Founder and Principal
Long Gates Associates, LLC
Columbia, MD

Tom Dwyer is Founder and Principal of Long Gate Associates, LLC, a commercial real estate, and capital markets advisory, asset management, and receivership services firm. He is also the Director of Receivership Services for Transwestern and is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland’s Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development.

Before founding Long Gate Associates, Tom was a Managing Director at CW Capital where he was a member of the management team that oversaw the company’s Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) portfolio as it grew from $1B to $23B in assets. He led the company’s REO platform, which consisted of a 500 property, $10 billion nationwide portfolio and 50-member asset management team.

Prior to CW Capital, Tom was a Senior Vice President at Allied Capital Corporation where he started and managed the company’s REO platform. Before joining Allied, he was a loan underwriter at CRIIMI MAE and GMAC-RFC. While at GMAC-RFC, he was also a loan officer for the company’s bridge loan program. In addition, Mr. Dwyer formerly held positions in acquisitions, market analysis, and property management.

Tom is on the Council of Advisors at the University of Maryland’s Colvin Institute of Real Estate of Development and has guest lectured at Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, and American Universities. He has also spoken on panels and roundtables for ULI, ICSC, NAIOP, and Bisnow.

He has a Master of Science in Real Estate, from The Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Planning, from the University of Maryland.

Jeff Kreshek

Instructor
Senior Vice President
West Coast Leasing
Los Angeles, CA

As Senior Vice President – West Coast Leasing, Jeff Kreshek oversees the day to day leasing activities of the West Coast Portfolio for Federal Realty Trust. Primary responsibilities include sourcing new retailer relationships, negotiating all leases and lease related documents, and overseeing and directing third party real estate professionals. Prior to joining Federal Realty, Jeff was the Principal in charge of Leasing for The CIM Group. As a member of the senior staff, Jeff was responsible for formulating the leasing strategy on CIM’s commercial portfolio of approximately twelve million square feet. Prior to joining The CIM Group, Jeff was the Vice President of Development and Operations for Regent Properties, Inc. As a member of the Regent Properties team, Jeff was responsible for managing the entitlement process for all of Regent’s new developments as well as managing all of the operating assets of Regent Properties, Inc.

Prior to joining Regent, Jeff formed and operated Vision Property Management, Inc., a full-service real estate development, leasing and management company. Jeff has been involved in leasing, entitlements, property and asset management for the past 23 years, with an emphasis on redeveloping and repositioning underperforming and functionally obsolete assets. Jeff received his undergraduate degree in Real Estate Finance, his Masters of Business Administration and his Masters of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. In addition, Jeff holds the Certified Leasing Specialist (CLS), Certified Property Manager (CPM), Senior Certified Shopping Center Manager (SCSM), Certified Commercial Investment Manager (CCIM) designations, and retains his position as Adjunct Faculty at the University of Southern California, teaching Retail Development in the Masters of Real Estate Development program.

Kenneth S. Lamy, CRRP, CRX

Course Director
Instructor
Founder, President and CEO
The LAMY Group/DataPoint International
New Orleans, LA

Kenneth S. Lamy, CRRP, CRX is Founder, President and CEO of The LAMY Group and DataPoint International, a New Orleans-area based data, analytics and benchmarking company that created EXETER™ Retail DataHub, a cloud-based retail real estate sales, lease and data management platform.

Mr. Lamy has 35 plus years of deep experience in the Retail CRE industry and considered a global subject matter expert on retail leases, including rent, sales analysis, lease language, revenue/data verification, lease administration, tenant sales audits, analytics, benchmarking, restaurant consulting, financial analysis and compliance/specialty examinations. Mr. Lamy is a trusted adviser to clients including private and public companies and REITs that own or manage thousands of properties, including 1.5Billion plus SQ. FT. of GLA.

A highly engaged ICSC member over 35 years, Lamy is a recipient of ICSC’s prestigious Global Trustee Distinguished Service Award; attained two of ICSC’s highest credential designations: Certified Retail Real Estate Professional (CRRP), and Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX) and serves as Co-chair of the global CRRP Admissions and Governing Committee. He is an ICSC Ambassador, multiple leadership roles including task forces, Co-Chair ICSC New Retail Lease Model Study Task Force, past state director, government relations chair, featured speaker at conferences including ICSC Las Vegas, U.S. Law Conference, judge, ICSC North Carolina International Case Competition, ICSC Foundation mentor, and faculty of various ICSC schools.

Mr. Lamy has published and contributed to numerous articles, blogs and technical books internationally. Board member, volunteer, and speaker roles: National Association of Real Estate Companies (NAREC), Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), Urban Land Institute (ULI), and National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT).

Mr. Lamy is a graduate of Tulane University, Freeman School of Business (MBA), St. Edward’s University (Magna Cum Laude), and Holy Cross High School (New Orleans). He has served on various Boards (Trustee / Regent /Director) of secondary and higher education institutions and non-profit organizations over the years. He and his wife, Sharon live in metro New Orleans and have two grown children.

Brad Hutensky

Instructor
Founder and CEO
Hutensky Capital Partners
Hartford, CT

Brad M. Hutensky is the Founder and CEO of Hutensky Capital Partners, a fund manager that invests in value-add retail real estate in major U.S. markets on behalf of endowments, foundations and pension funds. He is also President of The Hutensky Group, a full-service commercial real estate company based in Hartford, CT.

Brad has extensive experience in the acquisition, management, leasing, redevelopment, financing, and disposition of shopping centers and has been involved in more than 160 retail projects throughout the country since joining The Hutensky Group in 1989.

Brad continues to be an active volunteer for the International Council of Shopping Centers and served as the 53rd Worldwide Chairman from 2012-13. He has served on the Board of Trustees of ICSC, its Executive Board, and as Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee.

He has also been active in the Urban Land Institute as a Governing Trustee and as Chairman of the Retail Development Council (Blue flight). He has spoken worldwide on various retail real estate topics and has also served on the board of a number of community and professional organizations.

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Fundamentals of Real Estate Finance for Non-Financial Professionals Course

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