Final grades posted to Blackboard

Please note that final course grades, final exam grades, and quiz grades (the simple average of your top four of six quizzes) have been posted to Blackboard.

Thank you and have a wonderful holiday!

Quiz 5 and 6

Quizzes 5 and 6 have been posted to BlackBoard.  Please see the post below for information on the final exam.

Final Exam Reminder

The final exam is on Thursday, December 17th from 5:45 to 7:45 PM.  The final exam will cover chapters 17 through 26.  The format will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer, and calculation problems.

Quiz 4 Grades

Quiz 4 grades have been posted to BlackBoard.

BlackBoard Updated

Exam 2 scores have been updated on BlackBoard.  Also, please ignore any "points" information on BlackBoard.  You final course grade is calculated according to the formula in the syllabus.  I just use BlackBoard to report your percentage grades.

Online Assignment for Thursday, November 5th

The following is an online assignment for Thursday, November 5th. I will be in San Francisco attending the Urban Land Institute/UrbanPlan annual meetings and we will not meet formally for class.  In lieu of class, please complete the following on-line assignments (the links below are found on our class website).

Assignment 1: Please complete the cost approach problems from the "Other Materials for Appraisal" pdf.

           Other Materials for Appraisal (.pdf)

After trying the problems, please proceed to the clip below for the solutions.

           Video/Audio Clip for Appraisal Crossword Puzzle and Other Materials for Appraisal (1 hour, 27 minutes)

           Cost Approach Problems Solutions (.pdf)

Assignment 2: Please complete the case study below.  Bring your solution to next class, we will go over the solution together.
           Video/Audio Clip for the Case of the Botched Appraisal Instructions (15 minutes)

           Case of the Botched Appraisal Instructions
                    Original Appraisal
                    Worksheet

Optional assignment: View the review clips posted for the final exam coving the cost approach, income approach, and final reconciliation.

Cost Approach Video/Audio Clip (38 min)

Building Cost Estimation Video/Audio Clip (29 min)

Income Approach Part 1 Audio/Video Clip (wmv file right click and save to desktop to download)

Income Approach Part 2 Audio/Video Clip (wmv file right click and save to desktop to download)

Income Approach Part 3 Audio/Video Clip (wmv file right click and save to desktop to download)

Income Approach Part 4 Audio/Video Clip (wmv file right click and save to desktop to download)

Income Approach Part 5 Audio/Video Clip (wmv file right click and save to desktop to download)

Final Reconciliation  Video/Audio Clip (27 min)

Exam 2 Results

Exam 2 scores and exam descriptive statistics have been posted to BlackBoard.  We will review Exam 2 during the first 10-minutes of Tuesday's class.

Chapter 16 Notes Posted

The link to the Chapter 16 class notes has been fixed.  Don't forget, Chapter 16 is on Exam 2.

Exam 2 Reminder

Exam 2 is this Thursday and will cover chapters 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16.  Please note that Chapter 16 was left off the syllabus under the Exam 2 material.  The format will be primarily multiple-choice.

Just a heads up, the final exam will be primarily short-answer and calculation problems with some multiple-choice.  (I like to mix it up a bit.)

Exam 2 Review Audio/Video Clips Posted to Class Website

I have posted 3.5-hours of audio/video clips to help you with the exam 2 material: market analysis, highest & best use, sales comparison approach, and site valuation.  Links to these audio/video clips have been posted on our class website.

Quiz 3 Scores

Quiz 3 scores have been posted to BlackBoard.

Quiz 2 Grades

Quiz 2 grades have been posted to BlackBoard.

Notes Posted on FIN 181 Website

If you visit the class website (click here), you will now find the class notes posted.  Please download these PowerPoint (ppt) files and print them out.  Please save paper and print 2 or 3 to a page (see me if you have any trouble with the printing options).

Please note that I will bring today's notes on Chapter 9 Market Analysis to class for you.

Exam 1 Grades Posted to BlackBoard

Please check your BlackBoard account for your Exam 1 grade.

FIN 181 Valuation Blog Post Extra Credit Option

This is entirely at your option but I will give all FIN 181 students an opportunity to score 0, 1, 2 or 3 (the max being reserved for very high quality research pieces) percentage points on your final class grade.  The extra credit assignment is to research a real estate valuation topic and author an original post on our class blog www.fin181.blogspot.com.

This optional assignment is a research paper, not an opinion or thought piece, and you must cite all your work (and, of course, absolutely no plagiarism).  The number of points you receive will depend upon the quality of your blog post (including the amount of research, organization, writing, and, yes, spelling and grammar).   [I have given 0 points for half hearted attempts.  Don't attempt this option unless you are serious about posting good work on the Internet.  Anyone will be able to access your post including fellow students, faculty, family, and prospective employers!]

This option is open to individuals (no groups for this one).  For samples of past student blog posts, please visit www.gazarian.info.  Examples of appropriate topics include the follow:

• valuation of water rights
• valuation of special use properties
• valuation issues in agricultural land
• valuation of 'green' features
• valuation ethics
• valuation based indexes (such as NCREIF, IPD)
  
• valuation and issue in the secondary mortgage market
• mass valuation techniques
  
• and many, many others...

You are welcome to discuss your general topic idea with me before/after class or via e-mail.  I will also grant you posting rights to the class blog.  Exceptional posts will also be posted to www.gazarian.info.

DEADLINE FOR ALL POSTS: December 6th, but ideally I would like to have the posts spread out over the course of the semester.  For any credit consideration, the post must be made on or before December 6, 2009.

Appraisal Exam 1 this Tuesday

Exam 1 is this Tuesday.  The exam will cover chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and part of 11.  The exam format is multiple-choice and short answer/essay style questions.

Quiz 1 Score Posted on BlackBoard

Quiz 1 scores (in %) have been posted to BlackBoard.  Let me know tomorrow in class if you have any trouble accessing your grade.

Quizzes

Don't forget about the quizzes. If we will get 5 or 6 quizzes in during this semester, we will need to have an unannounced quiz soon.

Books Should be at Bookstore

A couple students mentioned last week that the textbook and workbook were available at the campus bookstore.