I will be migrating this site to "Blackboard" over the next week to 10 days.  I apologize in advance that this is not done yet, but I am attending the training class on Monday June 9th.

Course Objectives:

Although the first image that may come to mind when I mention “real estate” is the broker who helps you sell your house, in fact real estate deals with nearly every aspect of the land and buildings in which we work and live.  In this class you will learn about how the key economic and legal characteristics of real estate interact with your business and personal affairs on a daily basis.  This knowledge will serve you well regardless of your ultimate career goals.  Even more, I hope you will discover how exciting and fun real estate can be. 

Required Text and Materials

Floyd, Charles F. and Marcus T. Allen.  Real Estate Principles, 7^th edition.  Dearborn Real Estate Education, 2002. 

Although most of the “book-knowledge” you will need for this course can be found in this text, the course goal is to provide a much more “hands-on” learning experience.  I may also assign articles from popular newspapers and magazines as we discuss different real estate topics.  In addition, I encourage you to bring your own real estate questions, and issues to class for us to discuss.  These questions may be inspired by articles you have read or by your own personal experiences. 

You will also need a good financial calculator for this course.  I recommend the TI BA II Plus, because it is the financial calculator most commonly used for other business courses in FREDS.  But any good financial calculator that can calculate NPVs and IRRs with irregular cash flows will be fine.  Learn how to use your calculator!!!  During the exams, you should not expect me to show you how to use it or adjust its settings.  As I use the HP 12 C, and am not proficient in the use of the TI BA II Plus.

Prerequisites

Junior standing or instructor approval.  This is an upper-division course, and I expect each of you to take responsibility for your own learning.  A great deal of study material is available on the class web site.  If you work through that material diligently, you will do well in the course.  

Grading

Grades for this course will be calculated using the following weights: 

            Three exams                                                                                    25% each
            Assignments and class participation                                       25%

The format for the exams will be multiple choice, true-false, and short answer/essay questions. 

In addition to the exams, we will have a number of interactive assignments and class discussions as we go through the semester.  Not only will you learn more if you actively participate in these activities, it will also make the class more fun.  Thus, 25 percent of your class grade will be based on your homework assignments and in-class exercises.  

Late assignments will be penalized as follows:  Assignments turned in by the following class period will be assessed a 10 percentage point penalty.  This penalty increases by 10 percentage points each weekday thereafter.  Thus, a homework assignment that was due on Monday and is turned in to me on Wednesday will have its score reduced by 20 percentage points.  Recognizing that emergencies can arise, I will allow you to drop your lowest assignment score during the semester.  In addition, extra credit assignments will be available that will allow you to replace your score on up to two additional assignments.

Contacting Me

I encourage you to contact me at any time if you have questions or concerns about any aspect of this course.  You may by phone any time 8-5 M-F.  Although I do not promise that I will be able to speak with you immediately, please leave a voice mail. 

The best way to reach me, is via e-mail (dlewis@weigandomega.com), or (dal2@cox.net ).  In addition, I will often conduct class correspondence via e-mail, so you should check your e-mail several times a week, preferably daily.  I will usually respond to my e-mail immediately when I am in the office, and within a day or two in any event (unless I am out of town).  In addition, you may always send me anonymous comments using the course feedback form on the class web site.

When I e-mail you, I will use your official University e-mail address.  Thus, each of you should configure your University account so that you can access it using your preferred e-mail service.  You can do this on Shocker One Stop, where I also encourage you to update your official phone listing so that I can reach you by phone if necessary. 

You are responsible for any material I distribute to the class via e-mail or on the class web site.  

Plagiarism and Academic Honesty

It should not come as a surprise to you that I expect each of you to do your own work.  I will prosecute violations of academic honesty vigorously.  Anyone caught cheating or turning in work that is not his or her own will be subject to punishment ranging from a zero on the exam/assignment to failing the course to expulsion from the University.

Schedule

The following course schedule should be considered tentative, and will likely change depending on our pace through the semester. 

Always check the course web site for the latest information about assignments, course scheduling, and other news.  The information posted on the web site will constitute the final authority in the event of conflicting information.

Week	Date	Topic	Assignments
Why Study Real Estate?
1	June 9	Course overview	Chapter 1
What is Real Estate?
	June 9	Land, real estate, and real property Real property rights	Chapter 2, pp. 12-25
2	June 9	Real property rights, cont. Legal property descriptions	Chapter 2, pp. 25-40
	June 9	Legal property descriptions, cont.
What Limits How You Use Real Estate?
3	June 11	Liens, easements, restrictive covenants, and other private restrictions on ownership	Chapter 3
	June 11	Private ownership restrictions, cont. Property taxes and specials	Chapter 4, 60-64
4	June 16	Zoning codes and other public restrictions on ownership	Chapter 4, 64-88
	June 16	Zoning codes, cont.
5	June 18	Characterizing real estate markets
What Gives Real Estate Value?
	June 18	Characterizing real estate markets	Chapter 8
6	June 18	Exam #1 (Material Through Zoning Codes)
	June 23	Business location decisions	Chapter 18
7	June 23	Real estate valuation and appraisal	Chapter 11
8	June 25	Auction simulation
How Do Urban Areas Develop?
	June 30	Urban and regional economics	Chapter 9
9	June 30	Site selection exercise
10	July 2	Urban growth and development	Chapter 17
	July 2	Urban planning and “suburban sprawl”
11	July 7	Sprawl, cont.
	July 7	Exam #2
How Do You Finance Real Estate?
12	July 9	Mortgages and mortgage markets	Chapter 13
	July 9	Mortgage mechanics	Chapter 15
13	July 14	Mortgages, cont.
How Do You Invest in Real Estate?
	July 14	Real estate investment fundamentals	Chapter 16
14	July 16	Guest lecture – TBA
	July 16	Real estate investment, cont. Property management	Chapter 12
15	July 21	Property management, cont. Landlord-tenant relationships	Chapter 5, pp. 98-109
How Do You Buy Real Estate?
	July 23	Real estate agency and sales contracts	Chapter 10 Chapter 6
16	July 28	Deeds, title assurance, and closing	Chapter 5, pp. 90-98 Chapter 7
	July 28	Home purchase decisions	Chapter 20
17	July 30	Final exam 7:00-10:00 p.m.