Rerum Cognoscere Causas
Cognoscere Ventures is an expertise-based social venture including two divisions: Consulting and Knowledge/Communities. We focus on the intersection of real estate, venture capital, communities/place making.
Our mission is to build a community of like-minded smart, business savvy people who want to do good. We are passionate about building connection, promoting diversity and inclusion for the "underestimated".
Our company name – Cognoscere – has been inspired by the Latin motto “rerum cognoscere causas”.
Translated this means “to know the cause of things”.
It is based on the belief that a true and deep understanding of how and why things work will give birth to objective, original and independent thought.
The Intelligent Real Estate Investor
This is a short course that teaches you to think strategically as a real estate investor. The course draws upon principles of economics, real estate development, finance and valuation techniques. It will inspire you to look at real estate differently at a high level in order to spot trends and identify cycles. This is quite a short course that touches quite many technical topics so it does not deep dive into many technical aspects but teach you to think holistically and strategically as a real estate investor or developer. You will learn about real estate as an asset class in a macro economic context, urban economics and land use, demand and supply analysis, real estate cycle, development processes and risk, conducting financial feasibility analysis, real estate finance principles, valuation methodologies and more. This course is a lot more than a technical course since there are already many courses teaching the technical aspects of real estate finance and investment. Real estate finance and investment is a very technical topic that can take years to learn. What this course aims to teach is to dissect the underlying principles of real estate finance, investment and valuation. For example, rather than simply teaching the formulas to value real estate assets, the course deep dives into the underlying economic principles behind the formula, the thought process of behind the appraisal methodology. One of the core topics of the course is the property market cycle, the relationship between property and economic cycle and what indicators to look for when analysing property cycle. Rather than looking at the surface of each event, the course inspires you to dig deep into why things are the way they are- e.g the course answers questions such as why property prices in overheated market such as London remain sticky and developers refuse to reduce prices even when all the evidence point towards a market downturn. The course teaches you to be an insightful, deep, strategic thinker and intelligent investor.
Premium Real Estate Financial Modelling
The Premium Real Estate Financial Modelling course developed by Cognoscere Real Estate is a comprehensive self-study guide covering all aspects of real estate financial modelling.
A complete financial model based on a hypothetical mixed-use development from conception to completion, i.e. from land acquisition, development, construction to point of completion, onto post development (buy/hold), and finally, exit.
The model includes both residential and commercial elements so students can learn how to value both types of assets. The study model has been designed to encompass all common real estate deal elements, in doing so, it provides all the tools needed for building models based on almost any type of real-world deal. Multiple construction phases, different debt facilities are also included so students can learn about various financing options.
A detailed written guide covering everything shown in the example model. All formulas and structures contained in the model are fully explained in simple, easy to understand language. The guide also provides detailed insights on the reasoning behind building financial models in the way shown, how real estate deals are structured, modelling best practices, formatting and more.
