The Real Estate Game: The Intelligent Guide To Decisionmaking And Investment [Hardcover]

William J. Poorvu (Author), Jeffrey L. Cruikshank (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 1999

The Real Estate Game is a comprehensive guide to successful real estate investment from one of the masters in the field. Drawing upon four decades of experience developing, owning, and managing properties and on almost thirty years of teaching at the Harvard Business School, William J. Poorvu offers an insider's perspective on how to make smart decisions about real estate.

The real estate "game" is played by people, and it's the stories of real people that make Poorvu's introduction to the industry colorful and interesting. The reader meets players ranging from real estate moguls to small-scale developers to individual investors in exotic investment instruments. Their stories evolve throughout the book and illustrate how these people -- with all their complicated needs, talents, and motives -- fit into the larger process and context.

In clear and nontechnical language, Poorvu explains how variables -- players, properties, capital markets, and the external environment -- come together to influence the shape and outcome of a real estate deal. He explains the time frame for different kinds of real estate investments and walks the reader through the key "periods of play" in the real estate game: concept, commitment, development, operation, reward, and reinvestment.

The Real Estate Game introduces a simple but powerful "back-of-the-envelope" technique for analyzing the financial implications of a potential deal. Using this tool and others, Poorvu shows readers how to use direct investments, syndicates, and REITs to get into the real estate game across a broad range of property types: residential, office, hotel, industrial, and retail.

Offering unique insight into the ways that developers and investors can create value, The Real Estate Game is both a perfect introduction for the novice and an invaluable overview for the experienced professional.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Real estate is as much about people as it is about property, and, after location, success in real estate depends upon understanding the motives of those who play the game, because many critical decisions revolve around what real estate people think, how they act and why. The Real Estate Game, by William J. Poorvu and Jeffrey L. Cruikshank, is a clear, comprehensive overview illustrated with real-life experiences about individual investors, small developers, and moguls. Poorvu has developed and managed real estate and taught real estate investing at the Harvard Business School for over 35 years. This book is drawn from his course, and is designed to help investors make the right decisions derived from the right assumptions and to provide an insider's perspective on how to spot risks and develop strategies that provide protection and adequate investment returns.

The book uses the analogy of a game to illustrate some of the intricate and unpredictable interactions in real estate deals, and it lays out the rules of the game, including identification of the key players and periods of play: concept, commitment, development, operation, reward, and reinvestment. Readers are taught to be "value investors," ready to buy at the right price at the right time, because the best opportunities come from buying at a discount-to-replacement cost. The value investor must be prepared to sell at the right juncture, and must not be compelled to be in the game when conditions make the game not worth playing.

The case studies that run through the book show how to evaluate, develop, and operate all kinds of real estate investments from the points of view of all involved in the process. There's an extensive appendix covering the different property types, and the authors' "back-of-the-envelope" method for analyzing the financial implications of a potential deal is probably worth the book's weight in gold. --Scott Harrison

From Booklist

Poorvu is a Boston real-estate developer who teaches an elective course in real estate at the Harvard Business School. Like his earlier collection of case studies, The Real Estate Challenge (1996), this new book comprises course material. To emphasize the competitive aspects of real estate, Poorvu compares the business to a game. With an informal style, he outlines the components that determine the rules of this game: capital markets, the players, properties, and the external environment. After explaining the basic financial analyses necessary to make decisions, Poorvu contrasts four ways to invest in real estate: buying property directly, investing in private syndications, multiproperty funds, and public real-estate securities. He also compares the more challenging development phase of real estate with the nuts-and-bolts aspects of the operations phase. Finally, he recommends how and when to "harvest" or recoup value that has been added to a deal. Grounded in theory and practice, Poorvu's advice stands out in a category filled with superficial, get-rich-quick guides. David Rouse

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (September 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068485550X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684855509
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,070 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Business & Investing > Real Estate > Investments
  • #97 in Books > Business & Investing > Investing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For Anyone interested in Real Estate, January 14, 2000

By 

thomasoneill, realtor (Greater Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Real Estate Game: The Intelligent Guide To Decisionmaking And Investment (Hardcover)

The Real Estate Game is well written, using simple easy to understand terms. It's a must read for the professional, the amateur, the investor and anyone else thinking of buying and selling either commercial or residential property. Most enjoyable is the view of the real estate process from all angles. You get to see how all those involved, the buyer, seller, contractor, manager, attorney and lender fit into the picture. The real life examples and case studies help explain what can be very complicated situations. As primarily a residential realtor I gained new insight into the commercial end of the field. It always amazes me how the entrepreneurs in real estate often took great chances on a hunch that what were bargain basement deals would eventually turn into gems. The stories about these men and women are particularly fascinating. The authors, Poorvu and Cruikshank, offer a world of advice and first-hand knowledge to anyone involved in any way in Real estate. This should be required reading for all brokers, realtors and advisors to anyone getting into the real estate game.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wisdom & Cunning, May 9, 2000

By 

Neil H. Shah - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Real Estate Game: The Intelligent Guide To Decisionmaking And Investment (Hardcover)

Prof. Poorvu shares a career's worth of development, investment, and advisory experience with his readers. I have read many books on real estate, but none have been as concise, savvy, and empowering as this one. Its reliance on 'back of the envelope' financial analysis and a more qualitative examination of the underlying cyclicality of real estate leaves the reader feeling surprisingly wise and shrewd upon completion. Rather than offering checklists, templates, and other tools like other books on the topic, this one cuts to the heart of the matter leaving readers w. a more complete understanding of real estate fundamentals.

I am fortunate to have had Prof. Poorvu in the classroom at HBS, but I think that all interested readers will share my sentiments upon completion of the book.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different from the pack!!, March 10, 2001

By 

"thunder65" (California and Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Real Estate Game: The Intelligent Guide To Decisionmaking And Investment (Hardcover)

Most books on Real Estate are very similar in content. Some stand out, as this one does. This is more for the person that is involved in the industry and wants to further their career/hobby. I found it very intersting and very insightful. These authors are very experienced in the commercial side of real estate. I highly recommend this book for those that are in the biz, and not just readers looking for a motivational push. I have a large library on this topic and this is the only review I have ever written. I own and run a Real Estate investment company.