John W. Reilly

Real Estate Educator and Attorney

John, a real estate educator and attorney, is one of the foremost writers of real estate materials, which include 10 books, and numerous articles. His national best seller, “The Language of Real Estate” is in its eighth edition, selling over 150,000 copies and published by Dearborn Publishing.

In 1995 John and Saul Klein founded the Real Estate Electronic Publishing Company (REEPCO) dba Realtown and Internet Crusade. John moved to San Diego in 2000 to devote his full efforts to real estate electronic publishing with a focus on the development and moderation of NAR’s online e-PRO Technology Certification Program which processed more than 65,000 REALTORS. From early 2011 until the fall of 2014 John was employed by Yardi Systems, Inc during the time Yardi acquired Realtown and integrated the world-class Realtown eLearning platform into Yardi’s software training systems. John returned to Hawaii in 2019 where he currently resides with family and continues to consult on real estate tech projects and publish with The Data Advocate.

Background Information

  • Born and raised in Ossining, New York
  • Married to Patty, three children, four grandsons
  • State of Hawaii resident 

Business address:  RealTown, Inc
John@RealTown.com

Educational Background

Ossining High School, Ossining, New York
High School Diploma 1959

Hamilton College, Clinton, New York
B.A. 1963

Fordham Law School, New York City, New York
J.D. 1966

Real Estate Related Experience
  • 1966-1971
    Judge Advocate’s General’s Corps, U.S. Army, Captain, Legal Assistance Officer, Real Estate Officer at Oakland Army Base.
  • 1971-1973
    General Counsel for two Hawaii based real estate developers;

    Hadley Properties, developer of the AMFAC Center; and General Hawaiian Corporation.

  • 1973-February 1975
    Vice-President, Stapleton/Reilly Associates, Inc.

    Real estate development consulting and real estate education.

  • March 1975 to Dec 2000
    Attorney specializing in real estate law; author; and real estate educator.

    Educational Consultant to Hawaii Real Estate Commission.
    Agency consultant to Hawaii Real Estate Commission and National Association of Real Estate License Law Officials.
    National consultant on real estate testing to American College Testing (ACT) and Applied Measurement Professionals (AMP).
    Consultant to Hawaii State Housing Finance & Development Corporation to write consumer leasehold disclosure information booklets.
    Consultant to Coronet Films to develop video on agency disclosure.

  • January 2001 to present
    Co-founder of Real Estate Electronic Publishing Company, dba InternetCrusade and RealTown.

    Co-creator of the National Association of REALTORS’ online E-PRO Technology Certification Program Sept 2001 to Dec 2010.
    February 2011 Director RealTown (acquired by Yardi Systems, Inc). Online publishing of list servs and discussion forums for the real estate industry (REALTalk, AETalk, MLSInformation, etc). Oversee the development and deployment of the state of the art Yardi eLearning platform for client and internal training.

Teaching Experience
  • Adjunct Professor, University of HawaiiLaw School, Real Property Transactions.
    Since 1973, licensed real estate instructor for salesperson and broker courses. Have taught over 15,000 students.
  • Organized and coordinated courses for private continuing education programs comprised of advanced courses in real estate law, finance, investments and sales.
  • Lecturer for various Hawaii Association of Realtors education programs.
  • Instructor, University of Hawaii Small Business Management Program, “Advanced Real Estate Contract Law.”
  • Lectured to Hawaii Association of Legal Secretaries on real estate practice.
  • Lectured on Agency, on Agreements of Sale, and on Leasehold Disclosure to numerous real estate brokerage companies.
  • Instructor in GRI program for Hawaii Association of Realtors, “Real Estate Contract Law.”
  • Lecturer to Hawaii Institute for Continuing Legal Education.
Books Written on Real Estate
  • The Language of Real Estate in Hawaii, self-published October 1975.
  • Principles and Practices of Hawaiian Real Estate, co-author with Paige B. Vitousek, Trade Publishing, Honolulu, Hawaii, 12th Edition, 1991.
  • The Language of Real Estate, 1977, 7th Edition, Kaplan Publishing
  • Real Estate Technology Guide, 2004, co-author with Saul Klein, Mike Barnett, Dearborn Financial Publishing
  • Hawaii Conveyance Manual, co-author for Hawaii Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 1983.
  • Questions and Answers to Pass the Real Estate Exam, Real Estate Education Company, 1983, 4th Edition, 1993.
  • Agency Relationships in Real Estate, Real Estate Education Company, 2nd Edition, 1994.
  • Agency Relationships in California, Real Estate Education Company, 1987.
  • Agency Disclosure:  The Complete Office Policy Guide, REVEI, 1988.
  • Consensual Dual Agency, co-author, 1993.
  • Texas Real Estate Agency, Real Estate Education Company, co-author, 1994.
  • Who Represents Who?, REVEI, 1988
    Hawaii Commercial Real Estate Manual, contributing author, HICLE, 1988.
Professional Affiliations
  • Member of the Federal Bar and the Bars of
  • Hawaii, New York and California
  • Member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association. Past Chairman of Sub-Committee on Dual Agency/Buyer Brokerage
  • Licensed real estate broker in California and Hawaii
  • Member of Hawaii Association of Realtors and their Forms Committee and Governmental Affairs Committee
  • Director of Real Estate Educators Association (REEA) and Past President (1990).
  • Director of the Aloha Chapter of REEA.
  • Holder of DREI designation, Designated Real Estate Instructor (REEA).
  • Awarded the National Real Estate Educator of the Year by REEA. Nominated for NAR National Real Estate Educator of the Year by the Hawaii Association of Realtors for 1989 & 1990.

Testimonials

John Reilly is a wealth of knowledge and information about all things to do with real estate. He is on the cutting edge of ourlinkedin.com industry, as one of the creators of the e-PRO course. John’s knowledge and style make it easy to listen to anything he has to say.

Melanie Mclane

Speaker and Trainer, McLane Solutions

John in the News

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