Certified General Appraiser study plan

Build a one-page formula sheet covering the income approach: direct capitalization, gross income multiplier, and yield capitalization with sinking-fund and Inwood/ Hoskold factors, and derive each formula once from first principles.

Work through at least 15 income-approach calculation problems (NOI reconstruction, cap-rate derivation from comparables, operating-expense ratio adjustments) and log every arithmetic error in an error journal.

Reconstruct a full reconstructed operating statement from a hypothetical rent roll, separating potential gross income, vacancy and collection loss, and fixed, variable, and reserves for replacement expenses.

Explain in writing when direct capitalization is defensible versus when a discounted cash flow or yield capitalization is required, citing the role of lease terms, income volatility, and property type.

Define the three approaches to value and state for each the property characteristics and data types that make it most reliable.

Solve at least 12 sales-comparison problems involving adjustments for financing terms, conditions of sale, market conditions (time), location, and physical characteristics, including paired-sales analysis and dollar-versus-percentage adjustment sequencing.

Derive and apply the cost approach from raw data: reproduction versus replacement cost new, physical deterioration (curable and incurable, short- and long-lived), functional and external obsolescence, and land value via allocation, extraction, and abstraction.

Compute depreciation by both age-life and breakdown methods on the same hypothetical improvement and reconcile the two results in writing.

Practice reconciling value indications from all three approaches and articulate the weighting rationale in a short narrative.

Identify which approach is most probative for special-purpose, new-construction, and leasehold-interest assignments.

Delineate a primary market area and a competitive property set for a hypothetical assignment, naming the data sources (public records, MLS-type data, census, local planning documents) you would use for each.

Perform a supply-and-demand analysis: quantify absorption, vacancy, and rent trends over a stated period and project a rent and occupancy forecast with explicit assumptions.

Analyze the four tests of highest and best use (legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible, maximally productive) for an as-vacant and an as-improved scenario and document the reasoning for each test.

Distinguish market rent from contract rent and explain how each enters a DCF and a direct-capitalization model.

Diagnose whether a proposed use fails the financially-feasible test by computing a residual land value or a required rent threshold.

Map the structure of the current USPAP edition: definitions, preamble, rules, and standards, and state which standards govern a complete appraisal versus a restricted-use appraisal versus an appraisal review.

Explain the requirements of the competency rule, the jurisdictional exception rule, and the record-keeping rule, and describe a scenario in which each would be triggered.

Draft a compliant scope-of-work section for a hypothetical assignment, naming the research, verification, and analysis performed and the extent of the property inspection.

Distinguish an extraordinary assumption from a hypothetical condition and write one example of each that would be acceptable in a lending assignment.

State the reporting requirements that apply to each of the two written appraisal report options and identify which elements are mandatory in both.

Apply the ethics rule to at least six short scenarios (contingent fees, advocacy, disclosure of prior services, compensation tied to a target value) and write the correct disposition for each with the governing rule cited.

Analyze the appraisal-review process: identify the reviewer's obligations, the difference between an appraisal review and an appraisal, and how to handle a review when the reviewer lacks the competency for the property type.

Draft the certification, limiting conditions, and assumptions and limiting conditions for a hypothetical report, verifying each statement is truthful for the assignment as performed.

Explain the appraiser's obligations when asked to sign a report prepared substantially by another person, and when a value conclusion is revised under client pressure.

Identify the elements of an engagement letter that reduce risk and align with the record-keeping and scope-of-work requirements.

Write a full narrative-style report for a hypothetical income property that includes the identification of the problem, scope of work, market and HBU analysis, all three approaches, reconciliation, and a signed certification.

Convert the same assignment into a restricted-use report and document precisely what changes in content, disclosure, and intended-user reliance.

Build a data-collection plan for a general (non-residential) property, naming the sources for zoning, flood, environmental, and title information and how each affects the analysis.

Explain the appraiser's obligations regarding property inspection, the level of inspection appropriate for the assignment, and how to disclose an inspection that was limited or not performed.

Review a sample report for internal consistency: check that the value conclusion matches the approaches, that the effective date and report date are correct, and that all extraordinary assumptions are disclosed.

Build and run a five-year discounted cash flow model on the hypothetical income property, including lease rollover, market rent growth, capital reserves, and a reversion, and sensitivity-test the discount rate and terminal cap rate.

Reconcile the DCF result against a direct-capitalization indication and explain the source of any divergence in writing.

Apply a leasehold or leased-fee analysis to a property with below-market contract rents, and quantify the leasehold value.

Revisit the highest-and-best-use conclusion using the DCF results and state whether the conclusion changes and why.

Compute and interpret the key ratios (debt coverage, operating expense ratio, break-even occupancy) and explain how each informs the feasibility test.

Take two full-length timed practice exams under exam conditions and score each by domain, recording every missed item and its root cause.

Re-drill the weakest two domains identified by the practice exams, reworking at least 20 missed or uncertain items until each is solved correctly without notes.

Recite from memory the reporting requirements for each report option and the ethics and competency rules, and verify each against the current USPAP edition.

Re-review the formula sheet and error journal from weeks 1 through 7, correcting any formula or definition that was wrong.

Write a one-page exam-day plan covering time allocation per question, the strategy for calculation items, and the handling of questions where the answer is uncertain.