Mastering Real Estate Investing - Academic Edition

A Comprehensive, University-Level Course in Real Estate Investing and Finance

Academic-grade curriculum in commercial real estate investment analysis and real estate finance

This self-paced video course brings rigorous college-level instruction to students. Frank Gallinelli developed and taught this material over more than a decade as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Columbia University's Master of Science in Real Estate Development program.

Special academic pricing — available to students by instructor referral

Professors / Instructors: Learn about faculty adoption and request complimentary evaluation access. Your institution incurs no cost—students purchase access directly, like a textbook. Questions? Email education@realdata.com

Students: If your instructor gave you a special link or discount code, use that to enroll at the student price.

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Why Professors Recommend This Course

“Frank’s course is a great resource, and provides a solid foundation for students to feel confident and prepared the day the program starts… The course is thoughtfully structured in many smaller manageable units, so you can click into it even when you have eight minutes between meetings.”

— Jessica Stockton King, Senior Associate Director, Academic Affairs, Columbia University, MSRED Program

Professors have found that the course complements their own instruction by:

• Giving students exposure to industry-standard practices and metrics.

• Reinforcing classroom lectures with practical, case-based examples.

• Providing a flexible, modular format that students can review anytime, anywhere.

• Offering a certificate of completion that students can share on LinkedIn in support of their career path.

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What Students Will Learn

Students gain fluency in the techniques, metrics, and language of real estate investing and finance, preparing them for internships, entry-level roles, and entrepreneurial ventures.

Key topics include:

• The Four Basic Returns

• Real Estate Pro Formas & Discounted Cash Flow Analysis

• Valuation, Financing, and Underwriting

• Time Value of Money

• Case Studies: Apartment, Mixed-Use, Triple-Net, Retail, Single Family, Self-Storage, and more

• Partnerships, Development, and Value-Add Investments

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Course Components

• 68 video lessons (including eight case studies)

• 14 quizzes to self-check understanding

• 28 practice problem sets with answer keys

• 7 Excel worksheets for hands-on analysis

• 4 supplemental articles

• Certificate of completion for students’ professional profiles

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Student Outcomes

By completing this course, students will be able to:

• Estimate current market value and interpret return metrics.

• Evaluate whether a property meets long-term investment goals.

• Understand how lenders think — and what they require.

• Recognize the risks in marginal deals.

• Structure partnerships and development projects with confidence.

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Who Benefits Most

• Undergraduate and graduate students in real estate, finance, or business.

• Interns and early-career professionals seeking a stronger analytical foundation.

• Entrepreneurial students preparing to launch investment ventures.

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What Industry Professionals Say

“…an outstanding course for all real estate professionals! The course is thorough, clear, concise, and professionally delivered. The case studies are particularly valuable as Frank Gallinelli walks you through the thought process of an investor making high-level decisions.”

— Brad Trauth, Investor/Developer, Trauth Property Group

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A Turnkey Resource for Instructors

Adopting Mastering Real Estate Investing allows you to:

• Supplement your syllabus with a structured, field-tested resource.

• Give students ongoing access beyond the semester.

• Confidently offer high-quality content without additional cost to your institution.

Students purchase at an academic discount, with no cost to the university.

Scroll below to the course curriculum to preview several lessons.


Course Curriculum


  MODULE 1 — Foundations of Real Estate Investment
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  MODULE 2 — Income Capitalization and Operating Performance
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  MODULE 3 — Real Estate Pro Forma Analysis
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  MODULE 4 — Time Value of Money and Discounted Cash Flow
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  MODULE 5 — Real Estate Financing Calculations
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  MODULE 6 — Measures of Financial Return
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  MODULE 7 — Internal Rate of Return & Advanced Metrics
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  Case Studies
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  MODULE 8 — Case Study: Investment in an Apartment Building
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  MODULE 9 — Case Study: Investment in a Mixed Use Property
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  MODULE 10 — Case Study: Investment in a Triple-Net Lease Property
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  MODULE 11 — Case Study: Investment in a Strip Shopping Center
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  MODULE 12 — BONUS Case Study: Single-Family Rental
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  The Case Studies — An Epilogue
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  MODULE 13 — Real Estate Partnerships & Waterfalls
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  MODULE 14 — Real Estate Development Analysis
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  MODULE 15 — Value-Add Investment Strategies
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  MODULE 16 — Blend and Extend Strategies
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  MODULE 17 — Lease vs. Buy Analysis
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  MODULE 18 — Self-Storage Facilities
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  Brief survey -- please share your thoughts
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  Acknowledgements and Subtitles
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Your Instructor


Frank Gallinelli
Frank Gallinelli
Frank Gallinelli is the author of the best-selling guide What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... and founded RealData Software. A Yale University graduate with an advanced degree in education, he taught as Adjunct Assistant Professor in Columbia University's Master of Science in Real Estate Development program for over a decade. He created this course to give students the same rigorous analytical foundation he provided to his Columbia students, combining practical techniques with over 40 years of industry experience in real estate investment and financial modeling


What are our students saying about this course?

"Frank's course is a great resource, and provides a solid foundation for students to feel confident and prepared the day the program starts. I've even had graduate students decide to purchase it closer to the end of their studies, so they can use it as an occasional refresher, especially if they decide to go down a more entrepreneurial path. Frank is so organized and adept at explaining things, and the course is thoughtfully structured in many smaller manageable units, so you can click into it even when you have eight minutes between meetings."

Jessica Stockton King, Senior Associate Director, Academic Affairs
Columbia University, Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) Program

"Thank you, Frank, for developing such a concise, comprehensive, and practical real estate investment course!... You have really helped me learn the language of real estate investment, how to thoughtfully analyze a project and ultimately how to realize value!"
— Michael Cates 3/24/2023

“The course taught the most important concepts that I need to know in my early stage of learning real estate finance. The instructor has a keen talent for explaining the initially mind-boggling concepts in a painless way through easy-to-understand language and examples. I recommend this course to anyone who has any interest in the real estate field."

— Erica Lee

Professor Gallinelli has the magic to make complicated concepts easy to understand. ... I feel much more confident to analyze a property based on all the available information and to make informed decisions with limited information.

— Christina Chao

I found the course to be the perfect complement to your book. I appreciated the fact that each video is short which allows the user to digest the material in a simple fashion. I also like the fact that you incorporated a quiz to test my knowledge of each concept. All in all it was really what I was hoping for and I have way more confidence today when analyzing income properties than I did before the course.
—John Cameli

"The Real Data Intro to Real Estate Investment Analysis is an outstanding course for all real estate professionals! The course is thorough, clear, concise, and professionally delivered. The content is very relevant to actual real life real estate investing. The case studies are particularly valuable as Frank Gallinelli walks you through the thought process of an investor when making high level decisions. I highly recommend this course to anyone working in fields related to real estate and especially for those looking to invest themselves."

Brad Trauth
Owner/Investor/Developer/REALTOR
Trauth Property Group

“...your wonderful ability to teach this material has made this a thoroughly rewarding and efficient education in Real Estate Deal Analysis. I am incredibly satisfied with the online course as well as the RealData Pro software… More personally, I really want to thank you for the confidence your education has given me…” — I-Yeh

A helpful, insightful, and well-structured course that can take you from newbie to capable investor in relatively short order. Complex concepts are well explained and well illustrated with examples.

I felt this course was extremely useful for my start of multi-family apt investment. I had Frank's book, but this course was perfect for me. I have full confidence my ability to analyze different properties.

This is an AWESOME course. ... I believe if I can master the thought process as well as the the tools and techniques, I will have a competitive edge in making, presenting and operating all property classes. Thank you for your time hard work and due diligence putting this course together. It is everything you're not told at the seminars.

I felt that this course has properly formed me to make informed, calculated and intelligent decisions in regards to my future real estate investment portfolio. You're the man Frank! I will highly recommend this course to anyone interested in the real estate investment world.

“Dear Mr. Gallinelli, thanks so much for explaining the hierarchy of a pro forma for an income producing property in a very simple way. Your skill to translate investment concepts in a clear fashion to real estate investors is outstanding” --Maibi Rojas

“…thank you for your relentless passion to make sure your student succeeds. I am passionate about learning and I appreciate you so much for this.” -- Ola Ibiwoye

“Thanks. These are the best courses ever!” Ken Vance

Great course - especially for a beginner commercial investor like me.

The case studies were very very helpful to better understand the lesson in not only mathematically/numbers, but also conceptually and how a certain situation goes by in real life.

Your skill to translate investment concepts in a clear fashion to real estate investors is outstanding.

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
Do I need to have a knowledge of finance in order to benefit from this course?
<p> We make no assumptions about your prior background or experience. The course will start with the basics, and from there it will move gradually into topics of greater depth. </p>
Your syllabus shows a lot of metrics and calculations. Do I need to be a math whiz?
<p> Not at all. You'll find the math to be surprisingly simple, and I take special care to explain it clearly, with plenty of examples. Real estate investing is all about the numbers, and success comes to those who understand how the numbers work and what they mean. </p>
How long is the course?
<p> The course includes more than 60 videos -- and growing. Don't worry about falling asleep, because each video is about 7 to 18 minutes long. You can watch each lesson as many times as you like to master its content. You will be able to access additional video lessons as they are added. </p>
Is the course just the videos?
<p> No. For lessons that focus on metrics or calculations, we provide a good number of practice problems and answers. We also include several spreadsheet templates that you can use to make many of the calculations and perform some of the analyses discussed in the course. We also provide quizzes so you can test your understanding of the material you've studied. </p>
Can I watch the course videos on my mobile device?
Yes! You can watch the course videos on your smartphone or tablet.

"The course taught the most important concepts that I need to know in my early stage of learning real estate finance. The instructor has a keen talent for explaining the initially mind-boggling concepts in a painless way through easy-to-understand language and examples. I recommend this course to anyone who has any interest in the real estate field."

—Erica Lee

Professor Gallinelli has the magic to make complicated concepts easy to understand. ... I feel much more confident to analyze a property based on all the available information and to make informed decisions with limited information.

—Christina Chao

I found the course to be the perfect complement to your book. I appreciated the fact that each video is short which allows the user to digest the material in a simple fashion. I also like the fact that you incorporated a quiz to test my knowledge of each concept. All in all it was really what I was hoping for and I have way more confidence today when analyzing income properties than I did before the course.

—John Cameli

Get started now!