Whtwhale
Sophomore Member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2017
- Professional Status
- Certified General Appraiser
- State
- Montana
Just passed the test on the 1st outing last weekend. I want to thank everyone here who offered suggestions on how to study as I was in the dark with even where to start. I would like to share some insight on this process,
First some background. Due to the unique way licensing works I needed to fly across the country to take this test at a PSI testing center. I was tired, two connecting flights and poor sleep for two days put me in a terrible state to take this test. This is how I did it.
1. I studied the Practice Examination Questions for Real Estate Appraisers from AI like it was my job for 4 weeks at least 4-6 hours a day 7 days a week. (Yes my production took a nosedive) I did every question in that book and taught myself anything I didn't Know. This book was by far and away the best study prep for the Certified General Exam. The questions look and feel like what is on the exam.
2. Learnappraising.com is not good. Maybe 10 years ago before they changed the exam but it's no longer relevant. There is old information here (summary report vs. restricted use, USPAP Standards and Rules changed etc.) Don't waste your time/money. I spent roughly a week doing learnappraising and it didn't help at all.
3. Using the HP12-C has to become 2nd nature. If your fiddling around with this museum piece during the test your going to have a bad time. I don't use it for work and it has no place on my desk but you will need to know it cold for this test. Math is very heavy so you must memorize the formulas then dump them onto a piece of paper once the test has begun. If I didn't do this I wouldn't have remembered squat by the end of the exam.
4. Cash flow questions with reversions will be featured extensively on this test. I had at least 8 cash flow questions as well as calculating adjustments based on favorable mortgage financing. I made an excel sheet to handle these so I had 0 knowledge how to do with the HP12-C before studying. Learn them.
5. The narrative questions were not bad. There weren't a lot of unfair questions (which one of these is not, misleading answers etc.) If you brush up with the AI exam question book you'll be ok. Just make sure you real the whole question, no stupid mistakes.
6. Get yourself prepared for a long exam. Take SEVERAL practice exams using random questions from the AI exam book. Get your butt/brain geared for six hours of strenuous/continuous work. You don't want to see if you can concentrate for six hours straight the first time you take test. I completed all the questions with an hour an a half remaining and then spent the next hour and 15 minutes going through the questions I had flagged. With PSI testing centers you can flag questions for review later. This was also a help as I just flagged the tough stuff for later and took my time.
If you have any questions feel free to send me a PM.
First some background. Due to the unique way licensing works I needed to fly across the country to take this test at a PSI testing center. I was tired, two connecting flights and poor sleep for two days put me in a terrible state to take this test. This is how I did it.
1. I studied the Practice Examination Questions for Real Estate Appraisers from AI like it was my job for 4 weeks at least 4-6 hours a day 7 days a week. (Yes my production took a nosedive) I did every question in that book and taught myself anything I didn't Know. This book was by far and away the best study prep for the Certified General Exam. The questions look and feel like what is on the exam.
2. Learnappraising.com is not good. Maybe 10 years ago before they changed the exam but it's no longer relevant. There is old information here (summary report vs. restricted use, USPAP Standards and Rules changed etc.) Don't waste your time/money. I spent roughly a week doing learnappraising and it didn't help at all.
3. Using the HP12-C has to become 2nd nature. If your fiddling around with this museum piece during the test your going to have a bad time. I don't use it for work and it has no place on my desk but you will need to know it cold for this test. Math is very heavy so you must memorize the formulas then dump them onto a piece of paper once the test has begun. If I didn't do this I wouldn't have remembered squat by the end of the exam.
4. Cash flow questions with reversions will be featured extensively on this test. I had at least 8 cash flow questions as well as calculating adjustments based on favorable mortgage financing. I made an excel sheet to handle these so I had 0 knowledge how to do with the HP12-C before studying. Learn them.
5. The narrative questions were not bad. There weren't a lot of unfair questions (which one of these is not, misleading answers etc.) If you brush up with the AI exam question book you'll be ok. Just make sure you real the whole question, no stupid mistakes.
6. Get yourself prepared for a long exam. Take SEVERAL practice exams using random questions from the AI exam book. Get your butt/brain geared for six hours of strenuous/continuous work. You don't want to see if you can concentrate for six hours straight the first time you take test. I completed all the questions with an hour an a half remaining and then spent the next hour and 15 minutes going through the questions I had flagged. With PSI testing centers you can flag questions for review later. This was also a help as I just flagged the tough stuff for later and took my time.
If you have any questions feel free to send me a PM.
