Appraisers' Free Forum

**Jim Plante** · Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:13 pm Post subject: AI's new General courses

Just got back from General Appraiser Income Approach, part I. Part II happens in a couple of weeks.

Now, about four years ago, I took Cap 310: Introduction to income capitalization. It was like trying to drink from a 2" fire hose. Six days, forty hours, and a four-hour test--a murderous rate of instruction. About two years later, I took Cap 510: Advanced Income Capitalization. Again, they offer information through a 2" fire hose at high pressure. The exam after that course is the only test I have ever failed in my life. (Well, I did skip Cap 320, though.)

These new courses are still fast-paced. The days are full- 8:30 to 5:00. But they're integrating instruction into the courses which teach you to use the HP12C (still the favored calculator) but they teach you how to get the answers you need for income capitalization. The time-honored "Six Functions of a Dollar" are no longer with us. It is now "Six functions of One." Reason: AI sold their courses overseas, where dollars are not the unit of currency.

When looking for a sinking fund factor, which of the TVM keys do you push for the answer? Which of them do you load? With what information? What sign? How do you check to see whether you put 30 years in the i register or the n register? Did you remember to multiply/divide by 12 for monthly amortization? They now cover these essentials in the course material. It makes the substance of the courses a lot easier to understand, and the weird calculator a lot easier to use. I'm actually starting to like the damned thing--and I've cussed it viciously for the last five years at least.

These courses are still like trying to drink from a garden hose going full blast, but at least the information stream doesn't knock your molars loose any more. And at the end of the four-day course, you're definitely ready to lay it aside for a while, but you don't need a hole bored into your skull to relieve the pressure.
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Jim Plante