Real-estate financial modeling · self-paced course
Build an IB-grade REIT model
in 3 days.
Master the techniques I-bankers, PE-analysts and equity researchers use to model REITs on the job — against a real listed European REIT’s actual annual report.
- Cleaning published financials
- 3-statement projections
- FFO bridge
- Fair-value adjustments
- Equity-method JVs
- Iterative interest expense
14-day refund window · Verifiable certificate (Pro) · Self-paced, no live cohorts
Alumni have studied or worked at
- London Business School
- IREBS / University of Regensburg
- Henley Business School
- Lloyds Commercial Banking
- Cohen & Steers
- Green Street
The first time a senior hands you
a half-built REIT model.
Friday afternoon. You open the file. The first sheet has 27 named ranges, three circular references, a footnote in row 412 referencing “the new IFRS treatment,” and a hardcoded €1.5 billion in cell K84 that you can’t trace.
You’re a junior on the REIT desk. You’ve done a 3-statement model before — for a manufacturer, a software company, a generic corporate. You know what FCFF looks like. You can build a debt schedule.
But this is different. The P&L starts with revenue from leases. There’s a line called “fair-value adjustment on investment property” that flips the operating income figure by €200 million. The cash-flow statement has a “Funds From Operations” subtotal that doesn’t tie to net income. And nobody is going to walk you through it.
What generalist courses leave out
The mechanics where REIT
analysts actually get stuck.
The dominant online financial-modeling courses are built around a manufacturer, a tech company, or a stylized “Acme Corp.” Real estate gets a chapter, or gets skipped. These are the line items they miss — the ones we teach by construction.
The FFO bridge
How REITs report operating performance — and why net income alone is misleading. The bridge from net income to FFO, the non-cash adjustments that drive it, and the mistakes that break REIT-to-REIT comparisons.
Investment property at fair value
Why the balance sheet flips €200M when the appraisal report lands, why this is non-cash, and how it flows through the P&L.
JVs under the equity method
A REIT typically owns 30% of a vehicle that owns 100% of an asset. The model-in-a-model approach — build the standalone vehicle, then bring the parent’s share back via the equity method.
The iterative cash-and-debt schedule
A circular reference between revolver draws and interest expense. You enable iterative calculation in Excel and build the “excess-cash switch” that toggles repayment behaviour cleanly.
Reconciling the fair-value adjustment
Why operating income flips when the appraisal lands, why analysts strip the gain out, and how to model the underlying rental yield as the real driver instead.
Prior to taking this course I had taken a week-long financial modelling course with one of the biggest financial trainers in the City. For a company that regard themselves as the industry leaders, they left out what I now know to be crucial and imperative tools and techniques to creating a reliable and accurate financial model… I cannot suggest this course enough.
Outcomes
By the end, you can:
Open a REIT’s annual report on Monday and start modeling. Not “understand the basics” — actually build the working file: feed in revenue from leases, drop in the fair-value adjustment, link the JV vehicle to the parent.
Bridge net income to FFO from disclosure footnotes. Not just define it — find the inputs in the published accounts and reconcile to the company’s own reported FFO figure.
Construct a cash-and-debt schedule that handles circularity. Revolver draws → interest → cash → repayments, with iterative calculation enabled and the “excess-cash switch” wired correctly — the same architecture transaction models use on the desk.
Treat a JV with the model-in-a-model approach. Build the standalone vehicle, then bring the parent’s share back via the equity method — the way buy-side and IB analysts actually do it.
Walk a senior through your model with the right vocabulary. Non-cash adjustments. Non-recurring items. The excess-cash switch. The IP revaluation. You’ll know which figure to point at and what to call it.
The curriculum
Four modules.
One real European REIT.
The same 3-statement modeling fundamentals any generalist program covers — taught alongside the REIT-specific divergences in the same lessons, against Alstria, a listed German REIT with multi-billion-euro office assets.
-
01
Financial Statement Analysis
Reading the three statements as a modeler — with a sub-section on cleaning published financials as a judgement skill. Which non-cash and non-recurring items to strip out and why. The work an analyst does before any projection.
-
02
The P&L
Building the projected income statement from Alstria’s actual revenue lines. Lease revenue, operating expenses, the fair-value adjustment, FFO subtotal.
-
03
The Balance Sheet
Investment property at fair value, capex, working capital, equity. The JV “model-in-a-model” treatment.
-
04
The Cash Flow Statement
Cash from operations, investing, financing. The iterative cash-and-debt schedule with the excess-cash switch — enabling Excel’s iterative calculation, breaking the circular reference cleanly.
How it’s taught
Built to teach by construction.
By construction, not narration.
Each lesson builds the model line by line. You see the cell, the formula, the result. Then you build it yourself — and the file tells you whether you got it right.
From real disclosures, not stylized examples.
The case study is Alstria’s actual annual report. Real footnotes, real fair-value adjustments, real JV vehicles. Not “Acme Corp.”
On camera, not just narrated.
The instructor is visible. Multiple alumni describe it as “feels like a live class rather than a standard online recording.”
Self-paced, by design.
No live cohorts. No weekly Zooms. The structure is the curriculum and the exercises — not a calendar.
In their own words
What alumni said.
I would highly recommend the program for prospective new entrants to the industry as well as experienced analysts seeking to refresh their knowledge before interviewing. Some aspects, such as modeling the debt schedule, are maybe even going beyond the scope of an introductory course.
The course offered direct insights into how Financial Analysts in the Real Estate industry think and model… The on-the-job training with concrete annual reports of “real” companies made the course especially worthwhile.
A great online course to gain hands-on expertise for finance, structured to suit finance novices, but also with in-depth knowledge for advanced pros. Integration of Excel exercises for immediate learning transfer.
Honest fit
Who this is built for.
Honesty about fit beats a wider net. Three buyer types take the course and finish it. Three don’t.
You’ll get value if you’re…
- A junior analyst on (or recruiting into) a REIT-coverage equity research, RE PE, REIT investing, or RE IB desk
- An MBA RE concentrator preparing for an internship or full-time recruiting
- A mid-career analyst pivoting from generic corporate finance into REIT or RE coverage
- Already comfortable with the three financial statements — and want the line-by-line REIT mechanics
This isn’t right if you…
- Want a generalist modeling course covering tech, manufacturing, or services
- Have never opened a financial statement — take an introductory accounting refresher first; this is intermediate, not zero-to-one
- Want live cohorts, weekly Zooms, or instructor 1:1 calls — by design, this is self-paced only
Pricing
Two tiers. Same course.
The difference is access duration and the certificate.
One-time. 12-month course access.
- Full course — 34 lessons, 5 Excel exercises
- Downloadable models and exercise files
- 12 months of access from enrollment
- Email support
One-time. Lifetime access + verifiable certificate.
- Everything in Basic
- Lifetime access — including future revisions
- Verifiable Certificate of Completion via Accredible
- Add-to-LinkedIn one-click integration
- Priority email support
14-day refund window with up to 25% course completion. After 25% completion, the course is non-refundable. All prices in EUR; VAT applied at checkout where applicable. The Certificate of Completion is not a regulated qualification.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Who is this course for?
Junior equity-research analysts on REIT-coverage desks, RE PE associates, IB juniors in real-estate coverage groups, MBA students concentrating in real estate, and corporate-finance teams at REIT operators. Also a strong refresher for senior analysts who learned generic financial modeling years ago and now need RE-specific competence.
If you’ve never opened a financial statement, take an introductory accounting refresher first — this course is intermediate, not zero-to-one.
Do I need prior accounting or finance experience?
Basic familiarity with the three financial statements helps. You don’t need to be an expert — Module 1 reviews the conventions you’ll use, working from a real published P&L, so you’ll re-learn what you’ve forgotten as you go.
How long does the course take?
Roughly 8–10 hours of video lessons plus 15–20 hours of Excel practice (Pro-tier students also take the final exam). The course is self-paced — clear it in a focused weekend, or spread it across evenings; both work.
What software do I need?
Microsoft Excel (desktop, Windows or Mac) — version 2016 or newer recommended. Excel for Web has limitations for iterative calculation, which is required for the cash-and-debt schedule. Desktop Excel is preferred.
What’s the difference between Basic and Pro?
Basic (€490) is the full course with 12-month access. Final exam + verifiable Certificate of Completion are Pro-tier only.
Pro (€690) adds lifetime access and a verifiable Certificate issued via Accredible with one-click “Add to LinkedIn” integration. Pro also includes priority email support.
Is the certificate accredited?
The Certificate of Completion is not a regulated qualification. It does not carry CFA, CPA, or any government-recognized accreditation. It is a course-completion credential verifiable via Accredible.
Ready to build the model.
The course page has what’s covered, what isn’t, the pricing, the refund policy, and the on-camera teaching style. Or preview the course for free.
14-day refund window · Self-paced, no cohorts · Built around a real European REIT