Passed Argus Exam

theBEEGEES:

Can you go into more detail about what study materials/prep you used?

I went through the practice exams (10 practice quizzes in about 3 days, ~1.5 hours each) Took the practice exam once (Last week) Went through each of the 5 models 3 times each (noted my mistakes and time). I went from 40 minutes and a few mistakes to

GoldmanBallSachs:

Hey, in a previous thread you mentioned that this was the program you had purchased. http://www.argussoftware.com/en/education/universityprogram/files/Unive… That price was for students but an essentially identical program is also available for non-students (for 2x the price unfortunately, fml). Anyway, I was just wondering if you found that to suffice in terms of preparation for the exam or if you ended up needing anything additional? On the other end of the spectrum, did you perhaps find that it overly prepared you (something I feel like ppl have alluded to) and that you may have been able to pass by just fooling around with the program a little first (saving hundreds of $s in the process)? thanks

Haha, the high price is unfortunate.

Luckily, I didn't have to purchase anything other than what I mentioned earlier. 10 E-learning books and the training manual.

There are two parts of the exam, the second part involves building a model. The training manual has 5 different case studies that get progressively harder. As far as being overlay prepared, this is what ppl may be referring to. The models I have completed in the prep material were very detailed. The model in the exam could have been done with much less preparation.

There are some questions pulled directly from the practice material. I definitely have extensive knowledge of the program now. Perhaps much more than I need.

There are some calculations questions that you may be able to answer, but then there are questions that may stump you.

My personal thoughts -- The exam is setup so that you have to purchase the material! In total there may be 35% of the exam that may be pulled from the material/ only found in the material/ requires knowledge of the material/software. So even if you fool around with the program and try your luck without purchasing the material, you may score a 65 instead of 70, which is just short of passing. Had you purchased the material, there may be a few questions that your subconscious would have picked up that would have put you over the top.

econcomputingCRE:

As some people on here know, I have a pretty inside scoop on this process and may be able to help answer any questions anyone may have.

Huertaat, you might want to chat with econcomputingCRE.

Do you know if you will be targeting brokerage or ownership?

I'm interest in learning Argus as well...Previously in 3rd party leasing brokerage w/ some retail acquisitions, and would like to familiarize myself. Any resources for a first timer?

It is sort of hard to get your hands on a real OM because most brokerages only send packages to known companies/originators/acquisitions people after they sign confidentiality agreements. This is so that they can track who has the owner's information (most owners are a bit sensitive about that). Those same confidentiality agreements keep people from sending you a package if you aren't attached to their firm in some way.

The Argus certified training class has some simple models that you can go through which is helpful because it gives you the answers to show you what should be displayed in the reports. And then you can play around with the model from there.

If your school has any real estate classes, check the curriculum (especially the masters level courses) and see if becoming ARGUS certified is a part of a class requirement. If it is, most likely that class schedules for an ARGUS trainer to come in for 3 days to teach the class during the semester. Contact the professor and see if he/she will let you pay the fee for the class and sit in on it. ARGUS gives a huge discount for the certified class to the universities. I think they charge 300 per person if you take it through the university, but it is closer to like 1500 if you take it through them at one of their set classes around the country.

Also, that way, you can also become "Argus Certified" (there is a test, but you have to take the Argus class first to qualify).

I've found that getting emailed OM's on properties listed by CBRE and such are easy to get. I'm an established broker but routinely find them for friends at their house to show them marketing packages. But lease details are very generic.

I took Argus at University of SD here in San Diego. Professor Tu is widely respected and so is their MSRE program. For the $700 I had him spend two long days with me and maybe 12 others. We got several case studies that are sitting next to me now. Additionally, you get Argus for 7 or 8 months having enrolled in the USD program. I have it till Dec of this year.

Something to really consider...DCF is going away. Yes it's huge now but Argus has flat out said that their future is with Argus Enterprise (AE). They said they will make updates, tech support and licensing expensive for DCF users in order to get them to switch. Additionally, once the large institutional players start using AE (and they are) it will pretty much make all of us switch. USD is only teaching AE at this team.

Depending on what city you are in there are inexpensive options for intensive Argus training. As an example Baruch College in NYC has a 2 week, 2-days a week after work class that provides most skills you will need from Argus DCF. A lot of finance professionals take these, so could be some very good networking too.

I've received just one package from a broker in AE, but he had a DCF version already done because he already knew that very few have AE (or very few use it).

My guess is that my institutional is going to wait as long as possible to switch because retraining the 400 people at my shop on AE is going to be a nightmare. Also, DCF is integrated into our main computer system, so if they have to pay to re-write code, they are going to wait until forced. As an example of how resistant to change my institutional is, we are currently switching from XP to Win 7, which is only happening because Microsoft is making us. The bulk of people moved last year, but there are still a bunch of people on XP (one of my machines is still XP because one of my programs is XP only) and we are just paying the millions they are charging us to let it happen the way we want it to go.

huertaat:

tbux22:

Just passed the Argus exam.

Officially certified after $500 in study materials, countless practice models, and 2 - 75 minute exams.

Great learning experience Useful tool Value add to the firm since I am the only person who knows how to use the software.

If you have any specific questions about exam, I can try to answer them.

I have the exact same Argus study package as you. I am halfway through the e-learning modules and am planning on taking the exam by the end of next week. Can you tell me if the exam questions are much different than the questions at the end of each chapter and each e-learning module?

Huertaat, Good luck with the exam next week.

There are some questions from the elearning material. Make sure you know your formula's to calculate whatever will be asked. (Retail sales w.breakpoint, stabilized NOI, direct cap, gross up, renewal probability, etc.)

Have you studied the advanced guide as well and worked through the case studies?

The book will have all the case studies. They have been the same case studies for the past 3 years.

1. If you have never navigated the software, watch this series of training videos on Youtube: Google "Property Pro Agrus Training" (WSO wouldn't let me post links)
2. Get the free trial version: Google "argus free trial"
3. Do case study.
4. Repeat step 3.

http://argus-valuation-dcf.software.informer.com/15.0/

This is the first link that comes up after Googling "Argus free trial." Can anyone confirm if this link has worked for them since it is not the official website?

That site linked me to argussoftware.com, and from there all I could do was fill out a request form and wait for an Argus rep to contact me about the free trial. Hoping that's the right move

Raj58 - the test was surprisingly simple and I honestly think I aced it after watching that tutorial. you're the best

Argus isn't tough - you will catch on easily.

GoldmanBallSachs:

This is a pretty specific question but i figure heres as good a place as any to ask it since there's a couple ppl familiar with the process. In the university certification guide thats broken down into 3 days, under "day 3" pretty much the whole lesson is in reference to 3 files (2 ARGUS and 1 excel). Do you guys know where those files are? Im lost, because even if I found them, the trial version doesn't allow you to upload files so it would still be pointless.

I already e-mailed support btw, but being Fri. I prob wont get a response till Mon and I was really hoping to put this to bed over the weekend. If any1 knows, thanks.

Do you know the name of the files? The student version has some pre-loaded files that come with the software. And you're right, from what I know you are very limited with the trial version. You probably would not be able to access the files.

The excel file is associated with exporting or more than likely importing. The process of importing excel data into Argus wasn't on the test I took.

Having Argus experience is of utmost importance if you want to get a job as an analyst. I understand that it is a case of “chicken and the egg” because you need to have Argus experience to be an analyst but you get Argus experience only by analyzing deals. There are companies that offer workshops that you can take (Realogic in the Midwest, REFM on the east coast) but I got my real first taste with the software in my RE graduate program. I bring this up because technically, Argus is not difficult to master. It is all data entry. The thing employers really want you to know is how to correctly abstract a lease into the program and how do you arrive at those economic projections like inflation. Playing around with the software can help. The certification is still new and I have not seen it on many resumes yet so the jury is still out on it.

hey i ve taken it, study those MC questions and you should do fine on the MC portion. Go through ALL case examples and models in the book that's the only way you'll learn, not through the Videos. I took it last week and didn't pass by a point. I'd say it's fairly difficult due to the modeling part of the test. One simple mistake will through your answers all off. Somehwat of a time constraint as well. I finished with 5 min left.

Hi wbsgn12, mind if you let me know what is the discount code you used to check out? I am currently a student and would like to buy the package too.

I earned one when I was in a Masters in Real Estate program. I received a student discount b/c it was only around a grand (i think). It's a pretty thorough certification, but if your confident in your abilities with Argus, its not worth $5,000.

Firms just want to know you can use it

What REValuation said. Unless you can purchase for a discount and pay no more than $500 is it worth it. Realistically it is for college students to say they have heard of the program. The course gives you a broad overview of the complete software, but in terms of how the program is actually utilized, the real world is way different.

I got all the manuals a while back when I was starting out.

I think that it is kind of stupid considering the cost, and the fact that if you got certified...and took my firm's Argus test, you would get smoked. The only way to get really good at Argus is on the job.

From what I understand (I've been reading about the RE industry for a while, but am by no means an expert, so take this with a grain of salt) is that even knowing what Argus is as a potential intern, especially from a school without an RE program like that at Wharton, earns you brownie points. It also seems like Argus, like Bloomberg, is a powerful tool, and the parts you'd need to use on the job may be different than the parts you'd need to know for a certification. Good luck, whatever you decide!

I've just completed the certification online and found it very useful in getting employers attention... It'll cost you $1100 all up for 10 hours of online tutorials, a thorough practice exam and one crack at the 2.5 hour certification exam (extra $40 odd dollars if you fail it the first time round).

Although prospective employers were interested in the certification, very few of them actually knew what the certification process was about and none had any idea of what it involved. Basically, they just want to know that you're familiar with the program and an expensive certificate proves that you're not bluffing... Not too much anyway.

Did I learn anything from it? Well... It is fairly thorough but the content doesn't give you 'on the job skills'. What it did give me was the ability to confidently talk about the program and navigate my way around the program - once you know where everything is it really isn't a difficult program (as you may have gathered from other threads).

Hope that helps!

It's not that Argus is hard to figure out for someone who kicks ass in Excel - it's that Argus is weird and you would definitely need to at least play with it first. I know absolutely nothing about the test, but I wouldn't be surprised if it covered the obscure, unnecessary features of Argus that a lot of us aren't even aware of.

What are you looking for, specifically?

I would think if you show him how to run through creating a rent roll, using a few different reimbursement methods, etc. he'll be good to go if it's an entry-level position.

years ago i had access to some case studies where the student is given the raw info and their final results are compared with a model created by a pro. you could do this yourself. just an idea.

Yeah if it is basic...I can build my own case study for him. I can't imagine that it would be a hard test. I just hope they don't hit him with retail breakpoints and all that fun stuff.

Give him an offering memorandum, some global assumptions, and tell him to build you a model. That's how I trained my analyst. Works like a charm.