Course Overview 7570a

Babson College
The F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business

Welcome to:
BASICS OF REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
(RES7570a) Fall 2001
Professors Larry Isaacson and Paul Messina
Course Information
Go To Syllabus
Link to icampus
(to Babson Library)

In this Course (RES7570a) we will focus on the role of the "Project Manager" -- the manager responsible for the strategy, tactics and implementation -- including the day-to-day management -- of a real estate project. We will cover such topics as:

Identifying and Assessing Opportunity
Planning the Project
Projecting the Economics
Approaching Lenders and Partners
Managing the Project

This course will meet the first half of the semester on Monday evenings, However, there will be a special field trip on one Saturday Morning. See Syllabus. There is a lot to prepare for each class, and a lot to hand in at and after each class. The purpose of this memo is to help clarify what is expected of you.

1. Course Materials.

You will need to purchase the course packet, and the Safdie book.

The syllabus, together with assignment sheet for each class, is available on the Net and on the K drive. Both will be updated as the course proceeds. To meet the needs of speakers and to respond to current events, the schedule may change as we go. I

2. Preparation for Class.

You are expected to come to each class fully prepared, with draft exercises done and ready to hand in. Please prepare for the is class by reading the background materials, preparing the cases, and participating in the discussuion and voting on the course web-site. To prepare for class case discussions please:

Analyze the situations.
Make financial projections for them as requested in the assignment for that class.
Take a position on the issues in the case and be prepared to support it.
Participating in the web-based discussions of the cases.

Your projections and/or memos will be handed in, as DRAFTS. In class you will learn more about these situations and about techniques of analysis that are relevant. Then you will generally have a chance to REVISE your positions and financial projections before submitting the FINAL version after the next weekend – usually 9 days after the class. This is the procedure we will follow with most assignments. See individual class assignment sheets for details.

3. The Course Web-Site

We will use the course web-site http://faculty.babson.edu/isaacson/ and icampus to give you information and assignments and to carry on discussions and voting. We may also ask you to submit some home-work that way -- as it avoids the need to keep track of a lot of paper. We will provide instructions on how to use it as we go along -- but most students find it pretty intuitive.

4. Office Hours.

Given the special schedule of this course. regular office hours do not make much sense. Please feel free to call, fax, or e-mail at any (reasonable) time and leave a clear, concise message, asking your question, and we will try to get a message back to you fast.

4. Contact Information

Larry TEL: (o) 617-239-4254 (h) 617-864-5379
LI FAX: (o) 617-239-5020 (h) 617-576-2854

We hope you will find the course stimulating and useful and are looking forward to working with you.

Larry Isaacson & Paul Messina