REFM Private Lessons
Hi guys - has anyone taken private lessons from REFM? I am thinking of shelling over $4.2K to buy their Platinum package which includes 10 private lessons, three different self-study modules, $1K in credits towards different models they have created and other nominal benefits. My background is I am a first year AM analyst at a well-regarded buyside owner/operator. I am looking to be the best I can be at building/evaluating financial models and feel that this investment could take me to the next level. The link is below:
https://www.getrefm.com/training-and-certificatio…
If you have taken their classes or have any insight, please let me know if you think this is worth the time and $ investment. Thanks!
Seems like a huge waste of money IMO. If you're set on doing this, I would look for a friend or two to split the lessons with. It'll reduce the cost and have a group of peers that you can bounce modeling questions off of going forward.
Not worth it. He just walks you through his models without explaining the logic behind the more complicated formulas.
A better option is to reverse engineer a few models. Adventures in CRE has a bunch of good models you can hack apart. Get out a notebook and retrace everything until you know exactly what's going on and why. Then go build a model from scratch for a random OM you find online.
Roger Staiger does a pretty good job of walking someone through the basics and he teaches good habits, so it's worth looking at his stuff if you're new.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of how REFM models. Bruce is super smart but his models are not the most elegant/practical. There are better resources out there if you search around.
There's no shortcut to becoming great at modeling deals in Excel. There's no substitute for lots of practice and lots of iterating on previous models as new issues arise. But first and foremost, you have to have a good understanding of real estate finance and how to conceptualize the deal.
Agreed. Spencer is the best. Reverse engineering his practical and easily applicable waterfalls.
Seems like using Adventures in CRE to retrace models is a great way to get started. Do you think this is the best way to understand the underlying finance behind models as well? Thus far, I have found that the complexity of the models I am using at work has made it quite difficult to fully understand what is going.
What part of the model are you stuck on?
Look, this will take time, but this is by far the best approach. Make a second copy of the model you use at work, so you can play with it. Then hit the hotkey, Ctrl + ` simultaneously, and you will be able to see the formulas in each cell. Print it out, and use it to guide you through the model. In order to understand the math behind everything, get your calculator involved and do it on paper. Also trace formulas to see how the inputs are correlated.
This isn't a fun process, but it is like eating your vegetables - just got to do it.
4k for the packaged isnt worth it imo. buy a modeling book off amazon for 35$ and get to it. I went through the one by Roger Staiger and it was pretty good, not perfect
How long did it take you to go through it? Interested in looking into some new resources myself.
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