Introduction to Real Estate Investment, Development and Finance

What I liked most is the course’s ability to explain everything from basic property financial principles through to development finance appraisals in a very logical step by step process.

I attended the RICS Real Estate Finance & Investment course delivered by Maria. Being new to the real estate sector, I was looking for a course that will provide me with the tools, skills and insight I need to get me up to speed with my responsibilities. This course met my objectives and Maria’s delivery method aided it. I enjoyed her method of delivery, using illustrations you can relate to and then relating these to the topics discussed. She made the course very engaging and interactive, which made it one of the best courses I have attended to date. Thank you Maria, Cambridge Finance and RICS for putting this course together and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the world of Real Estate Finance & Investment as it provides you with the tools, skills and insight regardless of your background and experience in the sector.

The set up of the course was brilliantly done. Maria is fun and engaging in herself and makes real estate financial modelling as fun as it can be. The way the course is structured is logical and builds from the basics.

The examples and case studies in the course and being able to interact with different experienced professionals attending the course was very helpful. Also the new excel functions were very interesting.”

Maria’s teaching style is engaging and easy to follow along. I also like the fact Maria shares her past experience of the investment world, where relevant to the course. That was invaluable and wouldn’t be learned in a book.

Attending the Real Estate Development Financial Modelling Course was the best decision I’ve ever made. Maria was very helpful and super thorough. Every single thing I learned on the course I am applying to my job everyday.

I really like the structured approach Maria has to financial modelling which helped demystify the modelling practices that I was introduced to on the job. And with this course it was building on the complexities especially in the Value Add Strategies course where you able to successfully model complex scenarios.

The content was excellent…very on point in terms of what I wanted to learn. The course gives you an overall view of property development and investments so that you’re able to look at things in the round, I am now due to develop my own line of boutique hotels and this course really helped gain a better understanding around commercial Real Estate.

I would recommend this course to anybody as it was well structured and extremely logical. We covered a lot of information over the two days but the handout accompanying the course is a great refresher. Being able to work our equivalent yields quickly and efficiently “has changed my life”

I attended the RICS Real Estate Finance & Investment course delivered by Maria. Being new to the real estate sector, I was looking for a course that will provide me with the tools, skills and insight I need to get me up to speed with my responsibilities. This course met my objectives and Maria’s delivery method aided it. I enjoyed her method of delivery, using illustrations you can relate to and then relating these to the topics discussed. She made the course very engaging and interactive, which made it one of the best courses I have attended to date. Thank you Maria, Cambridge Finance and RICS for putting this course together and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the world of Real Estate Finance & Investment as it provides you with the tools, skills and insight regardless of your background and experience in the sector.

The course is excellently structured and has taken me to the next level in terms of content. The examples discussed are very practical and can be easily applied to my daily tasks. Well worth it!

Thanks for the great introduction and inspiring use cases. The course really broadened my perspective on AI and the tasks it can level. I appreciated the high-level approach, unlike other courses that focus on flashy tricks. The deep dive into LLM capabilities and, even more importantly, limitations was especially valuable. It was also great to see prompt engineering get the attention it deserves.

This insightful course provided me with a comprehensive understanding of how AI will transform research and analysis within the commercial real estate industry. Niko and his team effectively demonstrated practical applications of AI that were easy to follow and which I have been able to immediately integrate into my working practices.

Thank you for the excellent and enjoyable course. Despite the time zone difference in Singapore, the sessions flew by (a good sign!). There are many applications for my work, and I’m excited to put the lessons into practice.

I highly recommend this thoroughly enjoyable short course. Through engaging examples of everyday tasks the instructors demonstrate the ‹practical application of generative Al for real estate. A must attend course for any professional who wants to harness this technology for their business.

The course was an invaluable primer on Al, tailored very specifically to the needs of real estate professionals and researchers. The instructors delivered the course in a clear, approachable style that is highly conducive to learning in teams with where a wide spectrum of existing skills and understanding exists. It is a thoroughly enjoyable and insightful programme.

A fascinating and practical course for anyone in a real estate role looking to accelerate their work using generative AI.

I absolutely enjoyed the class. Very useful information and I particularly enjoyed the items you were excited to demonstrate. That was super helpful. I would have loved to see more of your examples. Your explanation and approach to prompting was excellent!! Really useful.

I took the Cambridge Finance Modelling Courses in 2020 and completed the RICS Certificate in Financial Modelling. I found the course material, lecture content and quality of lecturing to be of high quality. In particular, I was impressed by the extensive industry knowledge in the lectures.

Maria is very professional and incredibly patient to work with. Her teaching approach is based on extensive technical knowledge and practical experience. I admire her willingness to try out new ways of course delivery (incl. inviting industry experts; hands on case studies) which is very innovative and has proven very successful too. Her interpersonal skills in particular encouraged me to progress in areas that other real estate sector professionals may not have been so successful with. Maria is personable and passionate which is evident in her approach, as is her commitment to her clients and client confidentiality.I am very happy to recommend Maria to anyone who is keen to explore real estate finance training and would encourage them to invest in their professional development with Cambridge Real Estate Finance.

Yesterday I took part in the first online Cambridge Finance’s – Real Estate Finance & Investment Course which was a great to be involved in. The course was a good introduction to the real estate industry, as well as a refresher if you already have CRE experience. From an experienced real estate background, the course was a great recap. The powerpoint presentation was very clear and easy to understand. Maria was engaging with all participants and we were able to have discussion like we were in a conference room and all questions answered. There was insight from Maria’s experience and professional participate that put the theories into real life scenarios. I would definitely recommend the course for anyone that wants to learn more about the industry. Thanks Maria!

Maria Wiedner is a specialist real estate finance advisor and financial modelling expert. She has considerable experience working with investors, developers and the public sector advising on financial viability, investment underwriting and financial due diligence. Maria is a uniquely qualified trainer and instructor, given her expertise in the highly quantitative fields of property derivatives, renewable energy and listed Real Estate Investment Trusts analysis. She also has a phenomenal academic grounding in real estate finance from University of Cambridge and she has a professional qualification as a CFA Charterholder and is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Maria is an internationally recognised authority, speaker and thought-leader on the organisational benefits of best practice financial modelling and diversity in real estate. Having attended Cambridge Finance real estate modelling courses, I can personally attest to Maria’s vast knowledge and expertise. As a tutor she focuses on teaching you the principles so you understand the fundamental concepts required to solve financial formulas before going on to build truly impressive formulas in excel. There is a solver for any scenario you may wish to explore, when assessing development viability and financing. Maria also manages to inject a little humour into the weighty world of real estate modelling and finance. She also provides post course support to her current and past students with the Mastermind Club. Real life case studios are discussed and spreadsheets created in real time. An excellent way to continue to hone skills, recall, use formulas and apply logic and problem solving. I highly recommend Maria and Cambridge Finance Financial Modelling Courses to you. Her courses leave students better equipped and are well worth the investment and time.

In January 2024, I attended the 7-day Certificate Course on Real Estate Development and Value Add Investments Financial Modelling. Despite having a background in Real Estate, and over 11 years in the industry, the course proved to be exceptionally valuable. In addition to the refresher on real estate as an asset class, the course delved into the principles of real estate investment and development, with a particular emphasis on financial modelling. As someone who is self-taught in excel, I feel far more confident to run more complex cashflows and model various debt and equity structures whilst ensuring my spreadsheets remain “simple and elegant”. The model templates have proven to be useful only a few days after finishing the course! Maria demonstrates an impressive breadth of knowledge and experience in the financial sector, with the theoretical principles enhanced by her practical insight which brought the class to life. Attending the in-person sessions was a highlight as the diverse mix of the group brought together individuals with varied experiences across the financial sectors, providing a collaborative learning environment which enhanced the experience. P.S. just used my new skills to run a development cashflow for a couple of houses I am looking to build! So much better than the cashflows I have presented in the past.

Maria was extremely knowledgeable, skilled and patient. She delivered the course with enthusiasm which made the experience highly enjoyable, as well as informative. Maria made me feel relaxed and created a comfortable environment for the students to freely ask questions. Maria inspired me to appreciate the value of Excel! I had completely underestimated its ability!

The structure perfectly helped to demystify some of the terminology used in investment decisions and I now have a significantly better understanding of some more complex excel functions. Excellent, clear teaching from Maria.

Cambridge Finance provided an excellent course to our team of developers, business and implementation analysts. The idea was to equip them with real estate finance knowledge and financial modelling skills, so that they could fully understand our customers’ needs and their work environment. This very worthwhile training delivered on this requirement and improved our team’s performance.

A very worthwhile course for real estate finance modellers of all levels, from beginners to those looking to refine their skills. Maria was very thorough and diligent in her explanation, taking us through the basic principles of building a cash flow in Excel to refining our inputs and detailed variables. A great course and highly recommended to anyone looking to enhance their excel and real estate modelling skills. I will definitely be coming back for the advanced course.

Maria was able to bring my general understanding of real estate finance to a higher level by creating a bespoke one-on-one excel modelling session to suit my specific needs.   She was extremely accommodating and managed to cover a lot of ground in just one day without compromising on quality. Her ability to convey some difficult concepts with ease as well as her friendly demeanour made a relatively dry topic a pleasure to learn.

Excellent real estate financial modelling teacher, Maria was really helpful explaining multiple techniques with various difficulties and was always keen to answer follow up emails and various questions. Definitely going back next year for an advanced course!

Many thanks for your dedication. The course is excellent but your commitment to it makes the difference! Thank you for that!

Maria was one of the best workshop leaders I have had. Engaging, understanding of different skill sets and encouraging others to have input. A very skilled professional, who is able to put complex financial concepts into an easily understandable way. I can’t recommend enough!

The course was very useful in breaking down what appears to be a very complex area of finance into simpler chunks that were a lot easier to understand and digest.

I have made the big move to Capital Markets and am absolutely loving it. Your training helped me a huge amount to secure my dream job, so thank you so much!

I approached Cambridge Finance to get better at excel from both a cost management perspective and because I am an investor myself. The course was very informative; the excel shortcuts were useful and will allow me to be a professional at excel – not to mention show off to my colleagues.

Efficient pre course administration, the course was really good, exactly focused on what I was looking for. The only thing I would have liked would have been the specific modelling of a European property which is what I typically look at. I appreciate that the audience is mainly UK based so that is probably not practical but something to think about.

Maria was friendly, engaging and knowledgeable on the subject matter and was able to convey quite difficult concepts in digestible ways with good tips. Ricardo was also a great teacher. Great sense of calmness and patience. Was good to go back to the fundamentals of certain economic / valuation concepts. The debt modelling is fundamental to what I do so was really useful.

Had the pleasure of attending Maria’s RE Investment and Financial Modelling course. Maria’s vast insight and experience on the subject matter and approachability made what is an intense 2 day module a joy to participate in. Thanks Maria!

Covers a wide range of topics, and gives a great overview and introduction to the subject matter. Both Maria and Morag were excellent

It’s been a fantastic learning experience on the Real Estate Financial Modelling course. Over 5 days, I was immersed in a dynamic learning adventure that allowed me to glean valuable insights from global real estate experts. Each module was thoughtfully curated, seamlessly blending insights from experts and practitioners.

Barens Capital was looking for a fully integrated real estate investment & development financial modelling course which would heavily focus on practical aspects of our business. After attending Maria’s course i am positively impressed with her professional and focused attitude , which has helped our team to refine and improve internal deal analysis and underwriting processes. I would highly recommend Maria and Cambridge finance to firms and professionals looking to get their real estate financial modelling skills to a professional level.

Maria proved invaluable when we were looking to improve our excel model. She quickly grasped what we were looking to achieve and delivered it efficiently. She was always quick to respond to queries and patient in dealing with them. She went beyond the scope of her instruction many times, and I would thoroughly recommend her services.

I just wanted to say a big thank you for guiding me through the Cash Flow Modelling Course. You were absolutely fantastic and pitched the pace and delivery perfectly. You also linked everything very well with the practical side of operating in the property market to give the models more meaning. I am going to need to keep practicing my formulas, but already feel I have a much better understanding of how to create a model and how to give the inputs and outputs meaning.

The Real Estate Finance Modelling course has a highly intuitive approach that gets to the bottom of finance concepts and helps you translate it in effective models for your day to day work in real estate

I attended a course given by Cambridge Real estate finance in March 2020. The course was very well structured, had just the right level of challenging course material, and it was well tailored to my needs and to the needs of the other participants. Unlike other real estate finance and modelling courses which I’ve taken, the course was based on the very latest Excel modelling functions, which led to the creation of streamlined and easy to explain models. I had the good fortune to attend this course just before the COVID-19 situation erupted in London. Recently I had to do a number of valuations of different types of property, retail, residential development, as well as an industrial park. I was able to apply the concepts, modelling experience and rational thinking which I had learned in the course to the practical application of this real-life modelling and valuation work, validating the quality and authenticity of the Cambridge RE Finance work.

The Real Estate Investment & Financial Modelling course was great. I learned a lot, and see that I can develop a whole new area of work for myself going forward. Maria has a great teaching style, informal, practical and facilitative.

I decided that being a competent financial modeller was essential for understanding the deep mechanics of real estate as well as positioning me for the next stage of my career. Having been impressed with the entry-level investment course, I did a number of advanced courses to develop my skills across the capital stack and risk curve for professional and entrepreneurial endeavours. Maria is very knowledgeable of both financial modelling and wider industry practice, delivering the courses in a practical and patient manner. I would strongly recommend Cambridge Finance if you are looking to develop your technical ability beyond the traditional software packages used in the Surveying industry. Investing in yourself pays the biggest dividends.

You (Maria) were able to break down the process of developing a model from scratch and bringing the connection of that through property

Mrs. Maria Wiedner is a professional, efficient, and inspirational teacher who cares for her students and focuses on their understandability of any topic she presents. She applies creative teaching skills and builds her chemistry with her students in the class; this helped us to be easily engaged with the topics of the learning material and mainly Financial Modeling material. Such a subject needs specific teaching methods and special care for the students who don’t have a finance background, we believe Mrs. Wiedner applied these methods perfectly, succeeded in delivering the knowledge to us in a short period, and kept us motivated to learn more about it. We would always be grateful for her and her efforts, and we wish her all the best in her future.

I attended the 5-day RICS Certificate in Real Estate Financial Modelling course in January 2020 for two reasons:to provide me with the practical skills to excel within my current job role and;
to provide me with the experience and knowledge required for my APC course
This course has certainly ticked both boxes!

I studied Property Finance & Investment with Maria, this has been largely beneficial to way I conduct my work Not only have I assumed a far broader understanding for investment modelling in Real Estate, but also other asset classes. I will most certainly be continuing my studies with her in the future and would recommend learning through the finance guru that she is to anyone looking to enhance their knowledge on investment types and models.

I recently attended the real estate modelling courses taught by Maria. The courses were very well-structured, comprehensive and thorough. The courses gave me necessary and practical skills to prepare for the interviews of real estate finance roles. Maria is also very patient and knowledgable. She would discuss several real case studies during the classes and this can help the students to understand more the market. Maria’s courses are ideal for anyone who wants to improve their knowledge and financial modelling skills in real estate.

I have attended the RICS programme in real estate investment and finance modelling for 5 days in London Oct 2019 and it was the best personal development investment I have had. Maria is a wealth of knowledge, experience and insight, Maria was able to put multi financial models and tools into professional understandable methods delivered equally to all attendees from deferent business backgrounds.

The course is excellent. Climate change can be an overwhelming subject and the course helped me structure my thinking to approach the issues, and bring those insights into my professional work. The partnership between Cambridge Real Estate and Climate Risk Services provided a wide perspective and facilitated great class discussion.

Very useful and relative. I can imagine applying everything I learned to improve the quality of my work. Maria did a really good job. The only thing I would suggest is to try to make it a bit more dynamic. Sometimes the long silences after a question just felt a bit too long. This of course depends very much on the participants, but maybe the teacher needs to address that more straightforwardly and, to either encourage more participation or move on faster. Having said that, I really appreciated the fact that Maria always took her time to answer questions and try to give everyone a fair chance of not falling behind.

Maria has a real passion for real estate finance and her teaching style is very helpful and easy going. Doing and European real estate investment and financial modelling training course with her in Cambridge Finance school is really value for money and timing spent. It is a good way to extend your real estate finance and financial modelling knowledge by using case studies and with the aid of Excel as calculation tool. It is a friendly way to review and enhance the best practices in financial modelling by getting simple tips to work faster and also avoid errors and present your models in a persuasive way. Besides building your cash flow from scratch is an excellent way to reinforce the former knowledge and enhance it by using case studies.

I attended Maria’s Cambridge Finance financial modelling course and loved it from the beginning to end. Maria was hilarious, informative and had a wealth of experience and strong financial literacy. Would recommend Maria to anyone who is looking to build on their financial modelling and excel skills – whether a complete novice or a highly-skilled professional. Maria broke down the concepts in a way that was easy to understand for all levels and professional backgrounds.

I attended a course on property valuation and financial modeling run by Maria. She was an extremely knowledgeable and professional trainer. She was also very patient, friendly and approachable when we asked her questions, taking time to explain and make sure we all fully understood the concepts. I also appreciated the fact that her tuition was very hands-on, with lots of practice creating our own models in Excel. I would highly recommend Maria to anyone considering doing a property-related valuation or financial modelling course.

I could not recommend the Real Estate Financial Modelling course enough! I did the 5 day course which covered everything from basic financial modelling to the more advanced side of development and debt structures. The course was something I used to help elevate my own position when looking for a new job, I could see the value in the content of the course and it has helped me improve my own confidence in my career too!

Overall, Maria delivered a fantastic course that I will recommend to my colleagues and industry friends.

The single most valuable thing learned on the course: Most important and critical part of the whole Financial planning world is the planning process and that is the one where I personally would spend the least amount of time.

It’s been the most real estate tailored specific training I have undertaken.

Maria conducted an excellent training course for us on advanced Real Estate Development Modelling. The lockdown interrupted the course, and Maria managed the problems with the distance training with ease. She also provided support following the course when applying the principles into specific project. I would definitely recommend Maria if you have any training needs on financial modelling for you or your team.

I wanted to thank you Maria for the course which I attended in January. The content was highly relevant and it is safe to say that my financial modelling skills have improved considerably. In fact, I was able to build new models for acquisition in order to replace and improve our previous ones. Internally the use of the new models was endorsed and as a company we feel confident that the decision to send me to your course in London was the right one. I also made sure to recommend you internally and have asked everyone to consider your courses should they wish to pursue further training in this area. The course also allowed me to come up with own solutions around modelling issues myself.

The course was very structured and it covered a lot from valuations to techniques to debt and equity to cash flows. It’s also very practical

I feel that I would be able and confident to open an excel and start with a blank sheet…it (the course) really helps me understand the models better.

I would like to express my gratitude and best wishes for our mentor and instructor, Maria Wiedner, for her incredible dedication and patience throughout this course.

Because of the course, that’s given me a lot faster route into being able to work with those (models) as well on my own.

I would recommend the Certificate in Real Estate Financial Modelling to anybody with limited modelling experience looking to make rapid improvements in a short time frame. Especially for professionals at analyst level who are looking to improve their real estate financial literacy, this course is a must. With no modelling exposure in my day-to-day role and having previously tried out various online modelling courses, the value in this course, for me, was moving from limited to comprehensive knowledge in one weeks worth of classes. The course walks you logically through investment appraisal, capital structure and debt, and development financing and the opportunity to ask questions saves a lot of time and helps develop a deep understanding.”

It has given me confidence in understanding the steps taken by my investment team. I won’t be afraid of their models anymore.

I have attended the programme in Real Estate Financial Modelling for 5 days and I was highly impressed about how knowledgeable Maria is about Finance, Excel and all Real Estate principles. It has been an intensive and fruitful learning experience that has provided me with the necessary tools to create financial models. Would highly recommend Maria.

Maria is a great teacher when it comes to financial modelling in a practical and informative way – I certainly learnt not only new things with Excel but also on real estate financing; I shall be calling upon her help with my financial models in a new venture soon!