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REAL
ESTATE 101
What you need to know about real
estate.....
The following constitutes a suggestive list of
knowledge and content which a SELF-LEARNER would like to consider
acquiring. Nonetheless, this DOES NOT substitute the
need for more structured and formal real estate education and is provided
for reference only:
- Understanding the Various Aspects of the Real
Estate Industry
= when people say they are in "real
estate", most people will assume they are real estate brokers or
agents. Naturally, real estate marketing, sales and leasing are just a
few of the aspects of real estate. There are other aspects such as real
estate development, investment, asset management, property management,
building maintenance, and so on, and these in turn lead to various roles
and professionals e.g. real estate developers, investors, analysts,
surveyors, architects, engineers, town planners, bankers, lawyers and so
on. In short, the various real estate
activities, processes, and the people involved.
- Real Estate Law
: real estate is a
"bundle of rights" e.g.
the right to enter/exit, the right to use, the right to rent out, the
right to sell and so on. Without them, real estate may not be worth
much. This also involves the study of law relevant to real estate in
principle e.g. law of contracts, law of torts and the like, and rules
and regulations specific to a market or place.
- Real Estate Finance
: financing is
crucial to real estate, not just for major developers, but the smallest
home owners. This involves the identification of various financing
sources, differentiation of capital products, the application of various
assessment methodologies and valuation techniques, and the
effects of finance on the profitability of real estate.
- Real Estate Markets and their Analysis
:
this involves the study of various analytical techniques, from macro to
micro and the application of relevant mathematical and statistical tools
to assess the impact of the many economic,
social, and political factors having an influence on real estate.
- Architecture and Building Construction
:
real estate is NOT JUST "bricks and mortar" but is in a way
"crystallized" by it. Knowing the basics of design and
construction helps in realizing the best
possible potential of real estate.
- Business Management and Organization Structure
:
real estate involves resources including capital (money), human
(in-house staff, consultants etc), equipment (e.g. tower crane),
material (e.g. bricks), and so on. How to organize their effort and
manage their input is crucial for achieving a
successful investment or project.
- Internet, IT and the Website
: These
are here to stay, so do learn something about them. When a certain
competence (in using them) is reached, operational
efficiency will be achieved. Needless to say, knowing how to
operate a computer and the common software such as Word and Excel is a
must.
- Town/Urban Planning
: this always
has a bearing on real estate, especially in real estate development, for
it affects, for better or for worse, a
property's usage, scale, massing, and value.
- Real Estate Marketing
: not everyone
is suited to become a real estate broker or agent, but knowing the
basics of marketing helps in understanding
consumer (e.g. home buyer) or user (e.g. office tenant), the
transaction processes and procedures, and the use of professional
promotion and advertisement. Also, how to plan, organize and manage a
marketing campaign (macro-level) and how to deal with individual
prospects (micro level) are 2 of the important aspects as well.
- History
: it does not matter whether
it is world history, Chinese history, classic history, modern history,
military history, civic history and so on. As long as it is history,
it's fine. Why? History is a record of human achievements and follies.
Studying it gives a better understanding of
humans (people). Real Estate has a lot to do with people.
You may wish to visit our
Useful
Websites section for links to related universities and
professional bodies.
The following book-links are provided for further
exploration and convenience only and do not imply on agreement with the
views or content contained in these items. The list is by no means
comprehensive and readers/visitors are welcomed to offer their advice or
recommendation on other selections.
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