Personal statement: self-presentation and reflection

Personal Statement

L. Jones

Real estate is an exciting, complex, and demanding field of study. Although many work in real estate, to undertake its study as a discipline requires a real love for the industry. That, I have in spades. However, like anyone who truly enjoys a particular area of study, my previous experience in the industry has only fueled my desire to learn more. It is through my admittance and completion of the Master's of Real Estate program that I hope to reach that goal.

My most recent experience in real estate was a position that I held from July, 2001, to February, 2004. During these years I worked as an analyst and acquisitions specialist for J&T Development in Denver, Colorado. My favorite thing about work there was being able to be a part of an impressive array of products and services -- including community management as well as interaction with a broad network of financing partnerships.

Specifically, my acquisitions experience enabled me to participate in placing over 65 million in assets under contract and closing $40 million in assets over a 30-month period. Further, I performed in-depth research and evaluation of housing markets through identification of employment and economic conditions, trend analysis and trade profiling, valuation of potential acquisitions, four-year proformas, capital expenditure summaries and capitalization rate analyses.

The most interesting aspects of my work included applying my knowledge (which I hope to expand) of projected tax implications, zoning compliance issues, and possible environmental risk. Additionally, I actively assisted in contract negotiations, coordinated the due diligence process, as well as evaluated potential acquisitions of distressed platforms thorough financial statement analysis and restructuring scenarios.

One of the interesting things I found during my work experience was the complex methods and interpersonal skills that are required in maintaining efficient relationships with owners, brokers, and developers, and this, too, is something I hope to learn more about in the Master's program.

My work at J&T also gave me extensive operations experience, including acting as a Senior Analyst in the company's $100 million recapitalization transaction, developing and implementing ancillary revenue initiatives to increase overall funds from operations.