NAA CAPS study plan

Map the property operations lifecycle (leasing, turn, maintenance, vendor management) and write a one-page flow of how each stage affects occupancy and net operating income

Define the key operational metrics you must be able to calculate and interpret: occupancy, physical vs economic occupancy, turnover rate, days-to-lease, renewal conversion, and work-order response time

Build a formula sheet linking each operational metric to its financial consequence so you can move between operations and budget language

Draft 15 original practice questions on property operations and self-score them, logging every miss with the underlying concept

Compare property management agreement structures (fee basis, incentive fees, owner approvals, reporting obligations) and list the clauses that shift risk between owner and manager

Evaluate portfolio-level decisions: hold vs sell, repositioning, capital allocation across properties, and how portfolio mix changes risk exposure

Practice reading a rent roll and a delinquency/collections summary and state three operational actions each supports

Write short answers to five scenario prompts on underperforming assets, each identifying the operational lever and the measurable outcome

Construct a full operating budget from a rent roll and expense assumptions, separating controllable from non-controllable expenses

Calculate and interpret NOI, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, debt service coverage ratio, and operating expense ratio, showing each formula step by step

Build a variance analysis template that decomposes budget-to-actual gaps into occupancy, rate, and expense drivers

Complete 10 original calculation problems under timed conditions and correct every arithmetic or conceptual error

Model a simple cash flow projection over three years including capital reserves, debt service, and net cash flow after financing

Explain how a capital expenditure decision is evaluated across payback, return on investment, and impact on asset value

Interpret a property's financial statements well enough to explain a decline in NOI to an owner in plain language

Take a 25-question mixed practice set on financial analysis and review every missed item against source material

Diagnose the stages of team development and match supervisory approach to each stage with concrete behaviors

Draft a structured onboarding plan for a new leasing or maintenance hire covering first 30, 60, and 90 days with checkpoints

Write three behavior-based interview questions for a property role and define what a strong versus weak answer looks like

Outline a performance improvement conversation using a documented, measurable, and legally defensible framework

Apply core employment law concepts to property management scenarios: discrimination, harassment, retaliation, accommodation requests, and wage and hour basics

Design a fair housing compliance checklist for leasing and maintenance interactions, including reasonable accommodation handling

Identify workplace safety and risk-control obligations for on-site staff and vendors, and describe how to document an incident

Practice five short scenario responses that combine a leadership decision with a compliance constraint

Identify and rank property-level risks across physical, financial, legal, and environmental categories, and assign a mitigation owner to each

Explain insurance coverage types relevant to rental property (property, general liability, umbrella, workers' compensation) and where gaps commonly appear

Describe the owner's reporting and fiduciary obligations, including reserve handling and approval thresholds

Analyze a vendor or service contract for indemnification, insurance requirements, and termination terms, and note three red flags

Complete a full-length timed practice exam under realistic conditions and record domain-level scores

Re-teach your three weakest concepts from scratch in writing, then re-test them with fresh self-written questions

Review every missed question across all eight weeks and confirm each error traces to a corrected understanding

Build a one-page final review sheet of formulas, compliance triggers, and leadership frameworks for exam-day recall