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real estate financial modeling courses

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Real Estate Financial Modeling Accelerator (Updated June 2024)

Prior to launching the Accelerator program, Michael and I fielded email after email requesting a more structured real estate financial modeling training program on the site. Over the years, we've covered hundreds of real estate modeling…
Loan Debt Yield Calculation
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How to Use Debt Yield to Calculate Loan Amount (Updated July 2024)

In our glossary of commercial real estate terms, we recently answered the question: what is debt yield? As a follow up to that entry, I thought I’d expand on the concept of debt yield by showing you how lenders use debt yield to come up with…
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Understanding Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Investments

In this article, we explore Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) investments, a key component in the affordable housing sector. Established to encourage private investment, the LIHTC program offers tax credits to developers for creating and…
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Underwriting a Tenant with Private Credit (Updated June 2024)

Recently, we had an Accelerator member ask a question about how to accurately determine a credit rating and spec income discount rate for a private tenant in a single tenant net lease deal. While the scenario specifically involved a medical…
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Quick Thoughts on Evaluating Real Estate Investments Without Opening Excel

In our industry (commercial real estate), the ability to quickly evaluate investment opportunities is crucial for staying competitive. I know I've found in my professional career, that having a clear framework for evaluating - and then either…
after-tax cash flow analysis
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Forecasting After-Tax Cash Flow in Real Estate Analysis (Updated May 2024)

When modeling real estate investments, industry practice is generally to stop at before-tax cash flow, rather than after-tax cash flow. And this makes sense in most instances. No two owners of real estate have the exact same tax situation and…
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Using Geometric Mean (or CAGR) as an Alternative to IRR (Updated May 2024)

The internal rate of return (IRR) and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) are both metrics used to analyze investment returns. They're both commonly used in commercial real estate financial modeling, but what's the difference? When should you…
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Terminology Guide for Build-to-Rent Investment

We recently released a Build-to-Rent (BTR) Development model to help students and developers better analyze this emerging investment type in commercial real estate. As we explored this type of analysis, it became clear that terminology is often…
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Modeling a Property Tax Abatement in Real Estate (Updated Jan 2024)

We often field questions about how to model property tax abatements. It's a concept we cover in our the 'Advanced Modeling - Property and Portfolio' endorsement in our Accelerator real estate financial modeling training program and something…
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Limitations of IRR When Evaluating Real Estate Investments

The internal rate of return is one of the most commonly used return metrics to analyze real estate investment opportunities. Simply put, the IRR is the anticipated, project-determined discount rate an investor is expected to earn over the life…
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LBO vs CRE Acquisition Models and Using LBO Structure to Acquire CRE

In the world of investment and finance, models play an integral role in guiding decision-making processes, evaluating risk, and forecasting returns. Two such influential models are the Leveraged Buyout (LBO) Model and the Commercial Real Estate…
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Introducing Weighted Equity Multiple: An Alternative for Dynamic CRE Investments

Across a 22+ year career in the industry, I've encountered a range of complex scenarios that traditional metrics sometimes struggle to accurately capture. A case in point that has been top of mind for me recently is a weakness in the Equity…
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Exploring Optionality in Commercial Real Estate (Written by AI)

The term "optionality" may evoke thoughts of financial derivatives, stock options, or complex trading strategies. However, in the context of commercial real estate, optionality is a far more nuanced and potent concept. Simply put, optionality…
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Calculate Residual Land Value in Excel (Updated Jul 2023)

Here's the scenario. You're a real estate developer. You spot a prime parcel of land that would be perfect for your real estate project. So you approach the owner of the land about selling and she says, "Okay, bring me an offer." How much do…
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The A.CRE Method for Doing Cap Rate Math in Your Head

In this post, I'd like to share a method that, with a little practice, will enable you to quickly do cap rate math in your head; whether it’s quickly figuring out what the sale or purchase price would be of a property based on the NOI and…
a shopping center with robust sales and low occupancy cost
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Tenant Sales and Occupancy Cost in Retail Underwriting (UPDATED JUNE 2022)

When underwriting a retail investment, rollover risk is an incredibly important consideration. You, as a prospective debt or equity investor in the property, need to understand how secure the cash flows you're buying are; or in other words,…