The Board Game Monopoly™ My Intro to Real Estate

Pass "GO" and collect $200! The shiny race car. The dog. The houses and hotels. The railroad. The banker and the money! My favorite childhood board game came full circle with a career in real estate.

A Real Estate Learning Experience with Play Money

One of my fondest childhood memories is my obsession of playing the board game Monopoly™ with family and friends. I wanted to play for hours, and I'd almost always win! I loved winning then and still do.

The Players and Rules of Real Estate

The original real estate board game was introduced by Parker Brothers in the US in 1935. Over the years and numerous iterations, the basic rules of the iconic game of real estate have remained the same. The bank initially holds the deeds to the properties. Players begin with a predetermined amount of paper "play" money in various denominations, along with a dedicated shiny, weighted game piece, representing his or her tour around the board. (As a boy, I was always partial to the terrier, or the sports car, as my token.) Each player takes a turn rolling the dice, to advance their token piece through the game.

As players land on vacant property (not owned by another player) they have the opportunity to buy it from the bank, and collect the "deed." Yet, when landing on a property that's owned by one of the other players, the "tenant" has to pay rent to the "landlord." Land owners can erect houses and hotels to their properties along the way, to increase property values and rental income; improving their property's "highest and best use" so to speak. I loved buying up the railroads. And as a Tarheel native, I always rushed to buy the North Carolina property, even though I quickly learned that Boardwalk and Park Place (the dark blue property set) yielded higher returns on investment.

A game of chance, there are some fun payouts along the way, as well as some unexpected distractions, expenses, and penalties ... taxes, utilities, even the possibility of a stint in jail!

Winning

The object of the game is to amass as much property and money as possible, being ever so mindful not to overspend, avoiding bankruptcy. In the end, the player with the most property and cash wins!

I learned a lot of real estate fundamentals playing Monopoly™ as a young boy. Some of those same principles of real property, investing, tenancy, taxes, and expenses, are just as relevant in today's real estate market, as when the game was introduced over 85 years ago. And yes, the "game of real estate" sparked my adulthood interest in real property, that ultimately led to my current career as a real estate broker. Luckily, the real estate portion of the game stuck with me, and I'm not rolling the dice as a gambler in Vegas!

Hasbro Toys of RI currently owns the Parker Brothers moniker, and is the exclusive distributor of Monopoly™. Dust off your original edition, or choose from a variety of new ones... and take a stroll down memory lane. Introduce a child or younger adult to the business known as real estate. Think of me when playing, and have FUN!

P.S. Call me when you're ready to play the "grown up" version of the game.

About the Author: Troy Grimes is the Owner / Broker-in-Charge of Troy Grimes Realty, an agency specializing in brokerage services for re-sale and new construction homes in the greater Raleigh, NC area. For more info visit https://www.showandsellraleighhomes.com