Real Estate Finance and Investment
Online Program
Understand the foundations of strategic property investing to make more informed decisions and avoid common pitfalls.
6 weeks, excluding 1 week orientation.
7–9 hours of self-paced learning per week, entirely online.
Email: northwesternkellogg@getsmarter.com
Call: +1 847 440 3906
About This Program
Throughout market shocks, recessions, and a global pandemic, real estate has remained a popular investment avenue. However, real estate investing is also fraught with pitfalls, and many working in the industry still don’t feel fully equipped to face up to its challenges — or reap its rewards. A solid grounding in the principles and processes of real estate investment can be the deciding factor in whether a particular project proves to be a minefield or a goldmine.
The Real Estate Finance and Investment online program from Kellogg Executive Education at Northwestern University gives you this foundation. Over six weeks, you’ll develop your knowledge of the key concepts and analytical methods essential for making strategic real estate investment and financing decisions. You’ll unpack every process involved in acquiring an income-generating property, from determining whether a given investment opportunity holds value by forecasting its cash flow, to exploring financing options and examining the impact that taxation may have on returns. Guided by experts, you’ll also learn to identify and avoid the most common investment mistakes and risks, and consolidate your learnings with a number of relevant, real-world case studies. Walk away with a practical set of tools for confident and informed decision-making, and a certificate of completion from the Kellogg School of Management, a leading business school.1
1U.S. News (Nd). Accessed August 23, 2021.
What This Program Covers
This program systematically unpacks the key concepts and methods involved in making informed real estate investment and financing decisions. It starts with an in-depth examination of leases as a means of creating value, and an analysis of the methods used to determine whether an investment opportunity has merit. You’ll also learn how to forecast the expected cash flow from an investment property, before investigating various financing options available to real estate investors. Next, you’ll explore the impact of taxation on investment returns (using the U.S. as an example) before finally establishing your own decision-making framework for identifying risks and avoiding common investment mistakes. Each module concludes with a relevant case study, helping you consolidate your learnings, apply theory to practice, and approach your real-world investment journey with confidence.
A Powerful Collaboration
The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is collaborating with GetSmarter to create a best-in-class online education experience: from the design of programs that deliver verifiable competencies, to the personalized, people-mediated support learners receive.
About Kellogg Executive Education
Kellogg Executive Education empowers business leaders to foster growth in themselves, their teams and their organizations. Our renowned faculty, consisting of the world’s best researchers, educators and practitioners, provide practical insight that participants can apply as soon as they return to work. Providing a collaborative, immersive environment for our executive development programs, we serve a variety of businesses and executives from a myriad of industries and geographies.
About GetSmarter
GetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, partners with the world's leading universities and institutions to select, design, and deliver premium online short courses with a data-driven focus on learning gain.
Technology meets academic rigor in GetSmarter’s people-mediated model, which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are certified by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.aGetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, partners with the world's leading universities and institutions to select, design, and deliver premium online short courses with a data-driven focus on learning gain.
Technology meets academic rigor in GetSmarter’s people-mediated model, which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are certified by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.
As a student, you will also gain unlimited access to 2U’s Career Engagement Network at no extra cost. This platform will provide you with valuable career resources and events to support your professional journey. You can look forward to benefits including rich content, career templates, webinars, workshops, career fairs, networking events, panel discussions, and exclusive recruitment opportunities to connect you with potential employers.*
*Some of these events may be virtual due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
What You’ll Learn
You’ll be welcomed to the program and begin connecting with fellow students, while exploring the navigation and tools of your online Campus. Be alerted to key milestones in the learning path, and review how your results will be calculated and distributed.
You’ll be required to complete your student profile, and submit a digital copy of your passport/identity document.
Please note that module titles and their contents are subject to change during program development.
Discover how leases create value for real estate investors.
- Discuss the components of a lease that give insight into whether or not a property is a good investment opportunity
- Demonstrate an understanding of the cash flow and non-cash flow components of a lease
- Calculate the metrics used to compare leases
- Analyze leasing concepts in a real-world setting
Discover the methods used to calculate the value of a real estate investment opportunity.
- Discuss the factors that can impact the success of a real estate investment
- Demonstrate an understanding of how real estate investors forecast property cash flows
- Use the discounted cash flow method to determine the value of an investment property
- Reflect on how an accurate property valuation facilitates investment decisions in the real world
Explore the impact of debt finance on real estate investments.
- Discuss the reasons real estate investors may use debt to finance their investments
- Examine the features of an investment property mortgage, calculate the repayments to the lender, and determine the expected return on investor equity
- Analyze a property's creditworthiness from the perspective of a lender
- Evaluate the interaction of property and loan characteristics to make a financing decision in the real world
Explore equity partnerships as a means to finance a real estate investment.
- Discuss the reasons equity partnerships commonly appear in real estate investments
- Determine the roles played by both general partners and limited partners in a real estate joint venture
- Explore a private equity waterfall to allocate equity cash flow to the appropriate partner
- Reflect on the interplay among property performance, deal structure, and the performance of each partner's equity in the real world
Determine the impact of taxation on a real estate investment.
- Discuss the role of taxes in the interaction between real estate investors and the government
- Determine how the income generated and potential price appreciation of assets creates a tax burden
- Explore the mechanisms available to defer capital gains taxation
- Reflect on how taxes reduce realized investment returns in the real world
Discover how to incorporate real estate finance and investment analysis into your decision-making process.
- Discuss the need for a holistic framework to analyze real estate investment opportunities
- Examine business plans and structuring considerations for active real estate investors
- Evaluate ways to avoid common real estate investment mistakes
- Present the merits of different real estate investment opportunities
Who Should Take This Program
- Any professional interested in real estate investment who is seeking to deepen their strategic understanding will benefit from this program
- Senior executives and investors who already have some experience in the real estate industry will gain the knowledge to inform their decisions and avoid common mistakes. These may include CEOs, CFOs, founders, managing partners, and directors who need to stay on top of industry trends if their organization is to remain competitive
- Professionals such as analysts, associates, advisers, consultants, and asset or general managers will also benefit from a solid grounding in the financing and investing techniques needed to successfully fulfill their roles and future-proof their careers. Both those looking to gain skills for personal investment management and those interested in advancing their knowledge for professional reasons will find significant value in this program
This Program Is for You if You Want To:
Deepen Your Knowledge
Develop a solid foundational understanding of the intricacies of property valuation and financing techniques.
Make Better Decisions
Gain the expertise to execute bolder investment decisions, identify key risks, and avoid common mistakes.
Invest With Confidence
Turn theory into practice with in-depth case studies designed to prepare you for navigating real-world scenarios.
About the Certificate
Get recognized for your knowledge when you earn an official digital certificate of completion from the Kellogg School of Management — and use it to set yourself apart as a strategic real estate investor.
Assessment is continuous and based on a series of practical assignments completed online. In order to be issued with a certificate, you’ll need to meet the requirements outlined in the program handbook. The handbook will be made available to you as soon as you begin the program.
Your certificate will be issued in your legal name and sent to you digitally upon successful completion of the program, as per the stipulated requirements.
Who You’ll Learn From
This subject matter expert from the Kellogg School of Management guides the program design and appears in a number of program videos, along with a variety of industry professionals.
Your Academic Director
Craig Furfine
Clinical Professor of Finance and Associate Chair of the Finance Department, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
Professor Furfine teaches corporate finance and various other courses on real estate finance. He is the author of Practical Finance for Property Investment, a book designed for investors and students interested in learning what finance theory implies about property investment. He received a PhD in economics from Stanford University. Professor Furfine has published in scholarly journals including the Review of Corporate Finance Studies, the Journal of Business, the Journal of Monetary Economics and the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking. He currently serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking and treasurer of the Midwest Finance Association. Prior to joining the Kellogg School faculty, he was an economic adviser in the economic research department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He previously served as a senior economist at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland where he contributed to the revision of international bank capital standards.
How You’ll Learn
Every program is broken down into manageable, weekly modules, designed to accelerate your learning process through diverse learning activities:
- Work through your downloadable and online instructional material
- Interact with your peers and learning facilitators through weekly class-wide forums and reviewed small group discussions
- Enjoy a wide range of interactive content, including video lectures, infographics, live polls, and more
- Investigate rich, real-world case studies
- Apply what you learn each week to quizzes and ongoing project submissions, culminating in a deeper understanding of strategic real estate investment
Your Success Team
GetSmarter, with whom Kellogg School of Management is collaborating to deliver this online program, provides a personalized approach to online education that ensures you’re supported throughout your learning journey.
Head Facilitator
A subject expert who’ll guide you through content-related challenges.
Success Adviser
Your one-on-one support available during university hours (8a.m.–5p.m. CDT) to resolve technical and administrative challenges.
Global Success Team
Available 24/7 to solve your tech-related and administrative queries and concerns.
Technical Requirements
Basic Requirements
In order to complete this program, you’ll need a current email account and access to a computer and the internet, as well as a PDF Reader. You may need to view Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and read and create documents in Microsoft Word or Excel.
Browser Requirements
We recommend that you use Google Chrome as your internet browser when accessing the Online Campus. Although this is not a requirement, we have found that this browser performs best for ease of access to program material. This browser can be downloaded here.
Additional Requirements
Certain programs may require additional software and resources. These additional software and resource requirements will be communicated to you upon registration and/or at the beginning of the program. Please note that Google, Vimeo, and YouTube may be used in our program delivery, and if these services are blocked in your jurisdiction, you may have difficulty in accessing program content. Please check with an Enrollment Adviser before registering for this program if you have any concerns about this affecting your experience with the Online Campus.
