General Course Descriptions for Terms: real estate


732 - Real Estate Transactions I



771 - Sel. Topics Estate Planning: Financial Planning & Asset Management

This is a class about asset management. We will discuss the history of the stock, bond, real estate, and commodities markets in detail. We will pull back the veil on alternative investments and learn how hedge funds work. We will discuss the costs and benefits of private equity, venture capital, and angel investing. Long before Thanksgiving break, you will be able to dazzle friends and family with your knowledge of Modern Portfolio Theory and the relative merits of active versus passive investing. Second, this is a class about financial planning. Attorneys often become their clients’ single most trusted - and only unbiased - source of answers about their finances. You need to understand debt, insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, annuities, and taxes so that you can help your clients make decisions that are entirely in their own best interest. What’s the difference between a Roth IRA and a SPIA? How do I figure out what kind of life insurance to buy? How are capital gains taxed in a GST? By Thanksgiving, you will know. Third, this is a class about money. Yes, money… ducats, scratch, lucre, macks, bills, bones, bread, bucks, chips, clams, coin, dough, frogskins, greenbacks, gold, gravy, loot, lucre, milk, moola, pesos, roll, salary, silver, shillings, shrapnel, treasure, wad, wage, wealth, wherewithal… Call it what you will, but we’re going to talk about it. In the financial world: Who makes what? How did they make it? How is it taxed? And did they earn it? If you find this repulsive, we apologize in advance. But wait until you start the optional readings on Wall Street culture from Tom Wolfe and Michael Lewis to be really appalled. To understand the motivations of market players, you need to understand how investment managers and financial advisors are compensated. Period. (Incidentally, this is NOT an area of particular interest to us. It’s just so “in your face” in the financial world that it’s impossible to ignore.)



830 - Land Use Controls

Limitations imposed upon the use of privately owned land by the court-made law of nuisance, by private covenant, and by public action; master plan, official map, subdivision regulation, zoning, and urban redevelopment. This course will attempt to demystify the legal system by providing an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the operation and functioning of the legal system and its impact on planning. The course will provide a brief historical overview of the operation of law within a federalist form of government and provide students with an appreciation of the behaviors and structures of the different units of government available to bring about sound planning outcomes. The course will introduce students to the basic legal principles governing the areas of local government, real estate, contract, planning, zoning, environmental, administrative, and constitutional law. The course will explore the role of planners and lawyers within this system. While the course is primarily focused on the legal system in the United States, students will be exposed to foreign legal systems for comparative purposes.



838 - Real Estate Transactions II

Law of real estate finance, planning, and development including tax and organizational aspects. Learning Outcomes: 1. Acquire an understanding of the various and numerous legal agreements associated with real estate investing, especially purchase and sale agreements and leases. 2. Understand the legal aspects of real estate financing, particularly with regard to real estate loan documentation (loan agreements, mortgages, guarantees, etc.) 3. Develop a basic understanding of zoning process and the documentation of real estate entitlements, including tax increment financing and tax credits.



928 - SP Land Law: Commercial Property Development

Creating industrial real estate, office space, shopping centers, and hotel/recreation facilities, including strategy, market and feasibility analysis, site planning/design, capital cost analysis, construction, and financial structuring. Emphasis on case studies and project analysis.



950 - Lawyering Skills Course: Estate Planning & Real Estate