REFM is the premier financial modeling solutions provider for Excel-based financial spreadsheet models, financial modeling training, and financial modeling consulting for real estate transactions of all types.
REFM provides its customers with the advanced financial modeling knowledge, tools and skills they need to successfully model their transactions and present them with confidence internally and to potential partners, lenders and investors. REFM's educational training is offered through digital Video Tutorials, Live Group Training seminars, and through the Urban Land Institute. REFM also provides Private Consulting Services.
Based in Arlington, VA, REFM was founded by Bruce Kirsch in 2009. Mr. Kirsch is a recognized expert in and top instructor of Microsoft Excel-based financial modeling for real estate transactions. Through REFM, Kirsch has trained both new and experienced real estate professionals in financial modeling from a wide variety of real estate businesses, organizations and institutions, including private equity, development, brokerage, trade groups and government.
In addition, REFM has given on-campus real estate financial modeling training sessions to Undergraduate, Masters and MBA students from top schools including The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania School of Design, Harvard Business School, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Sloan, Georgetown University, Cornell University, University of Chicago and George Washington University.
REFM is a member of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association.
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Bruce Kirsch began his real estate career at CB Richard Ellis, where he marketed high-rise New York City office buildings for re-development in the top-producing Midtown Manhattan Investment Properties Institutional Group. After CBRE, Kirsch was recruited to be the Director of Acquisitions at Washington, DC-based Metropolis Development Company, a cutting edge local developer of urban infill design-forward residential lofts. While at Metropolis, Kirsch sourced, analyzed and negotiated the acquisition of three privately-owned District of Columbia sites to support the development of 500,000 SF of mixed-use condominium, multi-family and retail product.
After leaving Metropolis, Kirsch engaged in his own urban and suburban condominium and single family detached housing ventures. Kirsch was then selected as one of the two executives to run New York City-based developer and consultant The Clarett Group's Washington, DC business.
While at The Clarett Group, named one of New York City’s most important real estate development companies by Crain's New York Business, Kirsch was responsible for analyzing and making urban and suburban site acquisition recommendations for development of trophy-level office, condominium, multi-family and age-restricted multi-family properties in the greater Washington metropolitan area. In addition, Kirsch had significant day to day project management responsibilities for the entitlement, financing and marketing of the company’s existing Washington, DC metropolitan area development portfolio. Kirsch was additionally involved in the marketing and implementation of The Clarett Group’s consulting business.
Mr. Kirsch holds an MBA in Real Estate from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Kahn/Washington Real Estate Investment Trust Award for academic excellence. Kirsch started teaching on real estate topics while at Wharton as the Wharton MBA Real Estate Club’s Co-Vice President of Education. Kirsch was also a member of the Wharton team that won 1st Place at the National Real Estate Finance Challenge case competition.
Prior to Wharton, Bruce performed quantitative equity research on the technology sector at The Capital Group Companies, the manager of the American Funds, the largest family of mutual funds in the United States.
Mr. Kirsch is a Faculty member in real estate at the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies. Mr. Kirsch graduated with a BA in Communication from Stanford University, and he is a member of the Urban Land Institute.
Bulkeley Banks develops REFM financial models and oversees marketing efforts. Mr. Banks also instructs webinars for REFM. He holds a Masters in Professional Studies in Real Estate from Georgetown University, where he served as the Finance Co-Chair on the Student Advisory Board in Real Estate. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Banks worked at the University of Chicago’s Evolution and Ecology Lab analyzing genetic variation in botany. He also holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago, where he was awarded the Herman S. Dunlap Scholarship.
Ehud Mouchly is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Policy, Planning, and Development (SPPD) where he teaches Advanced Real Estate and Financial Modeling in the Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) program.
Mr. Mouchly is also the owner of READI, LLC (Real Estate Asset Development & Investments). He has more than 30 years of experience in development, redevelopment and financing of sustainable infill projects, mixed-use development (MXD) projects, master planned communities (MPC), workforce housing communities and employer-assisted housing projects. He was previously Vice President and General Manager of UniDev, LLC’s West Coast Office, focusing on the design, development, financing, and management of workforce housing communities. Earlier, Mouchly worked with SunCal Companies as a member of the master planned communities’ acquisition, entitlements and start-up team; General Manager of Anaverde (formerly City Ranch), KB-Home’s 2,000-acre, 5,000-unit in Palmdale, CA; Principal and Co-Developer of a 160-acre commercial MXD in San Joaquin County, CA; managing director in the Real Estate Group of Price Waterhouse; founder and president of a national real estate consulting company; developer/builder of residential and retirement communities.
Mouchly has served as chairman and vice chairman of several flights of the Community Development Council (CDC) of the ULI, vice chairman of the ULI Program Committee, a ULI council counselor, and member of the ULI-LA District Council Executive Committee. He is a member of the California Redevelopment Association (CRA), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), former fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and member of Lambda Alpha International. He has served as an expert witness in U.S. district and state superior courts. He is an occasional author and frequent speaker on real estate matters in the U.S. and overseas. Mouchly holds master’s degree and certification as Ph.D. candidate (“all but dissertation”) in economics and Middle East studies from Columbia University.
