JR DeLisle: Fundamentals of Real Estate

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Fundamentals of Real Estate:

A Behavioral Approach

I took my first real estate course at the University of Wisconsin from the late James A. Graaskamp, first my mentor and later my friend, in 1969. Since that time I have moved back and forth from the professional and academic sides of the industry. While somewhat unusual, this dual career path has helped keep my humble and modest. As I tried to excel at either side, I realized that I couldn't achieve the success I wanted by staying in one camp vs. the other. That is, the academic side seemed too removed from what was happening on the street, while the street side seemed too focused on doing deals.

Over the past decade, I have tried to close the gap between the academic and professional sides of the industry by teaching, writing and speaking. While I believe those efforts have helped, my contributions have been limited in terms of scope. The desire to expand my reach was one of the factors behind this website. In the same vein, I have decided to shift gears in my efforts to help advance the discipline and am in the process of writing a book entitled "Fundamentals of Sustainable Real Estate: A Behavioral Approach."I am making drafts of the chapters available on this page in hopes of getting feedback and/or suggestions from a select number of academic and professional colleagues. Hopefully we can find the right balance between theory and practice and make a contribution to both the academy and the profession.

As one trained in marketing I realize it is important that books be customized for intended audiences. In this case, my targeted audience is fairly broad; it is interdisciplinary reflecting the nature of the real estate discipline; and, it spans both the professional and academic sides of the industry. As you review the materials, you will note I am taking a hybrid approach, covering the the breadth of the industry but not at the expense of the depth of discussion. I begin with an introduction to critical thinking skills which I think is an essential perspective that is necessary to allow us to approach the complex challenges we face as a disicplinar and help us make more informed and sustainable real estate decisions.

Registration Details

Real Estate Process: Fall 2010

Course Listing: URBDP 552: Real Estate Process

I will be using variations of this text in my upcoming Real Estate Process course at the University of Washington.

When: Tuesday/Thursday 3:30-5:20 pm

Where: Gould Hall, Room 332.

Feasibility Overview

If you are interested in learning more about how I approach the "site in search of a use" feasibility problem, click on "An Introduction to Feasibility Analysis." This is an annotated lecture I gave to students enrolled in the Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) program at Arizona State University on February 10, 2010. It presents an overview of the feasibility process and contains hyperlinks to more detailed tutorials as well as examples of how my students have approached the problem in previous Real Estate Process courses.

Fundamentals of Real Estate: A Behavioral Approach

Copyright Notice. This is still in the draft phase and thus is a "work in process." I guess the same can be said about me and are all contemporary real estaters who are trying to continuously learn and position ourselves to help advance the discipline.

(c) JRDeLisle; these materials are subject to copyright and should not be used without explicit permission of author and appropriate acknowledgement. If you have questions, please Contact Me. The files are available in PDF formats; they are open for editing and commenting. The red titles below are hyperlinks to the full text; chapters are in draft mode.

Part 1: The Real Estate Discipline