ARM (IREM) study plan
ARM · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 8 hours per week
Residential Property Management Operations & Financial Management and Budgeting
Map the residential management lifecycle - owner relations, resident relations, reporting, and compliance touchpoints - into a single flow diagram
Build a working chart of accounts and classify 30 common residential transactions into the correct line items
Compute occupancy rate, delinquency rate, and collection rate from a supplied sample rent roll
Draft the table of contents and data requirements for a monthly owner reporting packet
Your checkpoint
A one-page lifecycle map plus a 30-line transaction classification sheet scored at 90% or better against an answer key
Residential Property Management Operations & Financial Management and Budgeting
Calculate NOI, operating expense ratio, and cash flow from a sample monthly operating statement
Construct a 12-month operating budget with written assumptions for every income and expense line
Reconcile a rent roll to a bank deposit summary and explain every variance
Write step-by-step procedures for move-in, move-out, and security deposit disposition that comply with typical state timelines
Your checkpoint
A 12-month budget workbook with an assumptions tab, a variance column, and a one-page reconciliation memo
Financial Management and Budgeting & Maintenance and Risk Management
Perform a budget-versus-actual variance analysis and write three specific corrective recommendations
Identify at least ten physical and liability risk exposures on a residential property and map each to an insurance coverage or control
Build a 12-month preventive maintenance calendar organized by season and system
Outline an emergency response protocol covering fire, flood, and loss of a major building system
Your checkpoint
A variance report with corrective actions plus a risk register of ten exposures, each mapped to a named coverage or control
Maintenance and Risk Management & Residential Property Management Operations
Assemble a vendor selection and contract oversight checklist covering scope, insurance, and performance review
Sequence a five-year capital replacement schedule with estimated costs and funding sources
Document a monthly safety and compliance inspection routine with a sign-off form
Analyze a maintenance work-order workflow and identify two cycle-time bottlenecks
Your checkpoint
A timed 40-question practice set covering Domains 1, 3, and 4, scored at 75% or better with every missed item logged
Leasing and Marketing & Human Resources and Ethics
Build a marketing plan for a 200-unit community that allocates a fixed budget across at least four channels
Calculate cost per lead and cost per lease from sample traffic and application data
Draft a fair housing compliant advertisement and a written screening criteria document
Write a resident retention plan with three measurable touchpoints in the lease term
Your checkpoint
A marketing plan with channel budget, projected cost per lease, and a compliance-checked ad and screening criteria set
Leasing and Marketing & Human Resources and Ethics
Compare a set of screening criteria against fair housing rules and flag every risky provision
Outline an HR file structure and a hiring workflow from requisition through onboarding
Evaluate three ethics scenarios - owner pressure on a lease decision, a vendor gift, and a resident confidentiality request - using a written decision framework
Draft a leasing conversation guide with responses to five common objections
Your checkpoint
An ethics case brief on the three scenarios, each with a recommended action and the governing principle cited
Residential Property Management Operations & Leasing and Marketing & Financial Management and Budgeting & Maintenance and Risk Management & Human Resources and Ethics
Consolidate every missed practice item into a single error log and re-answer each one correctly
Produce a one-page summary of the ten highest-yield concepts for each domain
Re-test the two lowest-scoring domains with fresh practice sets and compare scores
Recite the key formulas - occupancy, delinquency, NOI, expense ratio, cost per lease - from memory without notes
Your checkpoint
Five one-page domain summaries plus a fully cleared error log with re-test scores recorded
Residential Property Management Operations & Leasing and Marketing & Financial Management and Budgeting & Maintenance and Risk Management & Human Resources and Ethics
Complete two full-length timed practice exams under simulated test conditions
Review every missed item within 24 hours and write the correct reasoning in one sentence
Drill the weakest two domains until practice scores hold at 80% or better
Assemble a final one-page formula and definitions sheet for last-day review
Your checkpoint
Two completed timed exams scored at 80% or better with a final weak-area punch list
Milestones
Week 2: Score 75% or better on a 20-question quiz covering Domains 1 and 3, and submit a budget workbook whose income and expense lines tie to the sample rent roll
Week 4: Score 75% or better on the 40-question timed set for Domains 1, 3, and 4, with a risk register and capital schedule complete
Week 6: Score 75% or better on a 20-question quiz covering Domains 2 and 5, with the ethics case brief and marketing plan finished
Week 7: All five domain summaries written, error log cleared with every item re-answered correctly, and no domain scoring below 70% on a fresh practice set
Week 8: Both full-length timed exams completed at 80% or better overall, with no single domain below 75%