Struggling with a Case Study on Argus
Would any of you fine CRE analysts be willing to take a look at a ARGUS DCF case study I'm working on and see why I'm not matching up with the Argus book answer? I would really appreciate your help.
[{"id": "d92p110", "text": "What's the property type?", "replies": [{"id": "d92p70u", "text": "If you remember the material, it was the cherry creek asset. It's a 6 story office space.  Having issues with matching up the revenues on my cash flow report and schedule of base revenue with the ones provided in the material.", "replies": [{"id": "d92pm3z", "text": "I'm not familiar with the Argus book you're referring to. I occasionally poke around this sub, and since I use Argus daily, I thought I'd try and help. There's various reasons why your revenues aren't matching, but I can't really help without seeing the model. \n\n\n", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d94il8o", "text": "Sorry, I may be late to the party. Happy to take a look at the argus study for you.", "replies": [{"id": "d94j435", "text": "Thank you!! I really need the help, just took the DCF exam yesterday and got a 69% and I needed a 70% to pass...", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "d94j4ye", "text": "Do you mind if I send it to you via email?", "replies": [{"id": "d94ri93", "text": "Sure, send me what you've got and any supporting materials. Also include what it is you're trying to tie out.\n\nMy email is lupitcher32@yahoo.com", "replies": [{"id": "d94tnvc", "text": "Thank you, I'll send it over tomorrow morning pst. ", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d9ab5ac", "text": "Link to the Cherry Creek Argus file is on this page: http://astudentoftherealestategame.com/argus-certification-exam-what-to-expect-and-how-to-prepare/\n\nOP if you haven't gotten an answer back yet I can take a look with you.", "replies": [{"id": "d9aboro", "text": "I found that one too, but because of the restrictions on the educational license I had on the software it wouldn't let me open that file. I was able to get a copy from calling up argus though. I passed the second time with a 91%! Thank you for the offer of help. Now all that's left is to prepare for an interview to be a RE analyst.", "replies": [{"id": "d9ac0rn", "text": "Good luck. It's a worthwhile job and it looks like you're taking the right approach.\n\nGet those excel skills up and make sure you understand lease terminology. Options, reimbursement type (FSG, NNN, CAM pools, etc), floor plates, rentable vs usable... knowing anything at all about operating expenses and capital costs helps as well (how long does a roof last? range on $/sf for replacement? What's a wet seal? Major components of an HVAC system? What's an elevator mod and how often are they completed?) All of that is helpful in modeling and understanding a model.\n\nSome of that is deeper but even knowing that those are questions and not yet having the answers is better than getting caught flat footed.", "replies": [{"id": "d9acxfl", "text": "Thanks, I appreciate it, luckily I am familiar with at least some of those terms. I am lacking in the excel department, but I'm hoping that my progress working towards a CFA designation may bolster my credibility at least somewhat, but who knows. Any other advice you would recommend?", "replies": [{"id": "d9adqlr", "text": "I've never met an analyst with a CFA designation - that's much more popular in IB than in CRE.\n\nIf I was you I'd pivot to bolstering my excel skills pronto. \n\nThis article: http://astudentoftherealestategame.com/real-estate-financial-modeling/\n\n...is a good starting point. You can also just do general excel training online in addition to what is referenced there. That's something I highly recommend if you're not a daily user of excel already.\n\nSomething like this: https://www.udemy.com/thebestexcel/\n\nOther specific training that I've done before are below:\n\nhttp://uli.org/programs/education/pro-forma-fundamentals-certificate/\n\nhttps://ccim.personifycloud.com/PersonifyEbusiness/Events/CCIMEventsCalendar/CCIMMeetingDetails.aspx?productId=112287089\n\nhttps://ccim.personifycloud.com/PersonifyEbusiness/Events/CCIMEventsCalendar/CCIMMeetingDetails.aspx?productId=108869391\n\nExcel is the most important tool for a CRE analyst. No two ways about it. Every Argus model eventually finds its way into an excel model that you'll be required to populate, update, and troubleshoot.\n\nBeyond that reporting is almost entirely in excel and just generally conveying your ideas or working out issues (e.g. who in the asset is below market and by how much? how much in place rent do we have in each year of our hold/analysis against prospective rent? what's the lease expiration schedule by year and let's look at that visually with a chart...)\n\nExcel &gt; everything.\n\nGet familiar, learn how to move around quickly and what your shortcuts are (ctrl+pg down or up changes tabs... ctrl+c copies and alt+e+s+v pastes the values only... ctrl+right arrow moves you to the last active cell on your right... etc). I'm miles better now than I was when I started as an analyst, so don't expect perfection. But you'll want to be comfortable and project that comfort to prospective employers.", "replies": [{"id": "d9af42l", "text": "This is a lot of really good information, I think the best starting point for me would be to try that udemy course to at least sharpen my skills and then go from there.", "replies": [{"id": "d9ag1qe", "text": "Agreed. It may be all you need, though familiarizing yourself with a model that you could dump Argus cash flow into would be useful.", "replies": [], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]