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Real Estate Financial Modeling Accelerator (Updated July 2025)

Before launching the Accelerator program, Michael and I received countless emails requesting a more structured, step-by-step real estate financial modeling training program. Over the years, we've covered hundreds of real estate modeling…
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Create Dynamic Sub-Property Type Drop-Down Menus in Excel

A few years ago, I created a tutorial on building smart drop-down menus in Excel using dynamic named ranges and data validation lists. This offered a great way to have drop-down menus in your model that could be easily changed by the user to…
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Watch Me Build Data Tables For Real Estate Sensitivity Analysis

This is a 3 part mini-series on using data tables in Excel to perform real estate sensitivity analysis. In this series, I'll walk you through how to build both one-variable and two-variable data tables in parts 1 and 2. And in Part 3, I'll walk…
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Watch Me Build A Construction Draw Schedule (Updated Jan 2020)

In the following video, I record my screen and narrative my steps as I build a basic construction draw schedule. I've also included the template and completed worksheets from this Watch Me Build exercise. Are you an Accelerator member? See…
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Watch Me Expand the Home Construction Pro Forma

I'm regularly asked to expand my single family home construction pro forma to analyze the construction of more than one home. I've contemplated adding that functionality to the model, but it is such a custom task that no template could really…
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The A.CRE Undergraduate Real Estate Series

Spencer and I are excited to introduce the A.CRE Undergraduate Real Estate Series. Much like our series on top MBA in Real Estate and Masters in Real Estate programs, this series on Real Estate Undergraduate programs will provide our readers…
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Roll Up Your Monthly Cash Flow Line Items Into Annual Periods Using Only One Formula For The Whole Sheet

While building out my hotel development model (currently underway), I decided to take a break and record a video about how I roll up the monthly cash flow line items on my Monthly Cash Flow sheet into annual cash flow line items on a separate…
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Graduate Real Estate Series: MIT MSRED

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) program is an eleven (or 16) month graduate program in real estate offered through MIT's Center for Real Estate. Espousing MIT's motto: Mens et…
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Tutorials For The Hotel Valuation Model (Updated 07.23.19)

Welcome to the A.CRE Hotel Valuation Model's Tutorial Page. On this page you will find all the tutorials for the A.CRE Hotel Valuation model in Excel. There is a lot to learn within this model and over time, I'd like to show you both how to…
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Using the OFFSET Function in Real Estate Financial Modeling

In a previous post, I showed you how to use the OFFSET function to create dynamic lists in Excel. As you become more comfortable using this function in real estate financial modeling, you'll find that it has almost infinite applications when…
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A.CRE 101 – Create Smart Drop-Down Menus in Real Estate Modeling

One Excel feature real estate financial modeling professionals use often is the data validation list. Where data validation is a method of limiting the possible inputs of a cell, the data validation list limits those inputs to a pre-defined…
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Deep Dive: Understanding Acquisitions: The Letter of Intent (LOI)

The Letter of Intent - Legal Issues The letter of intent is a critical document that is written up at the beginning of a potential real estate transaction between either a prospective buyer and seller or a prospective tenant and landlord.…
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Graduate Real Estate Series: Columbia University MS.RED (Updated 2.2.2019)

The Columbia University Master of Science of Real Estate Development (MS.RED) program is an intensive, three term (one year) graduate program in real estate offered through Columbia University's highly ranked Graduate School of Architecture,…
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Excel-Based Restaurant Selection Tool for the Overly Indecisive

We're celebrating some much deserved time off from work, and so what better way to spend the time than to make a completely unnecessary (but fun!) Excel model. I call this the indispensable Excel tool for the overly indecisive, and it's basically…
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Hotel Proforma Basics – Hotel Cash Flow Projection

Hotels are a unique asset in the commercial real estate world and are underwritten differently as a result. Probably the most obvious difference is the duration of the 'lease term' of the tenant, which is usually daily to weekly. Another major…