RP Course Library


Please find the library of RP courses offered by ASA. 

In addition to the list below, ASA also partners with McKissock to offer an array of real property courses to include OnDemand USPAP courses, QE courses, and CE courses by state.

If you are a chapter looking to provide local education, view a listing of RP courses available for you.

Course Description

This 3-day course offers real estate appraisers an introduction to the basics of appraising real estate properties with a business component also known as "Going Concerns". Examples of such properties include single-location, free-standing, real estate-based operations such as fueling stations/convenience-stores/car washes, senior housing, and lodging properties.

This introductory course identifies the differences between performing a business appraisal and appraising real estate with a business component emphasizing the Going Concern Valuation when the primary value is the real estate. The course will also cover the fundamentals of reviewing financial statements with a focus on profit and loss statements. Emphasis will be placed on learning how to normalize these statements, how to recognize when the assignment goes beyond the real estate appraiser's expertise, and when it is appropriate to contract with a business appraiser (or a machinery and equipment appraiser) to assist. Additionally, students will be introduced to the basics of valuing the personal property (FF&E and M&E) used in the operation of the property types covered in this course.

Through the use of case studies, students will obtain an overview and basic understanding on how these particular property types are appraised. All three approaches to valuation will be presented; however more attention will be given to the Income Approach, and the Sales Comparison Approach. The appraisers' obligations to USPAP, FDIC, OCC, and the SBA are also highlighted.

Student Note: The material, curriculum, and instruction methods used in this course are designed at the introductory level. This course teaches real estate appraisers how to appraise the "Going Concern"; it does not teach real estate appraisers how to appraise a business or the business component of a Going Concern.

Instructional Methods

Class lecture and case study reviews.

Course Audience

It is assumed that course attendees already have a comprehensive understanding of how to appraise complex commercial real estate as well as experience in developing income statements.

Course Description

This three-day course with a 3-hour exam at the start of day 4 introduces appraisers, assessors and attorneys to the concept of allocating the various components of what has come to be known as a real property going concern.   Examples of RPGCs include car washes, fueling station/c-store, lodging properties, wedding or event centers, food processing facilities, commercial nurseries, equestrian centers, etc.  The list of potential real property going concerns for which appraisal services can be requested can be very long.

The defining concept is that the RPGC valuation process addresses the entirety of the property, M&E, and its business operation.  The assignments require support for the allocation of value to the tangible real estate and machinery & equipment (MTS) components as well as any business or entrepreneurial value associated with the intangible components.

It is a thorough, hands-on learning experience designed to provide the knowledge and understanding when to, and when not to, properly allocate/segregate the value components both from a real estate appraiser as well as from a business and MTS valuers perspective.  The course will exam when to employ the assist from a business appraiser or a machinery & equipment appraiser. Additionally, it presents allocation requirements as required by lending institutions and how to analyze their effect on value as required by USPAP.

There is no required order to completing these two courses. This course will address the following:

  • Explore the characteristics that define a real property going concern.
  • Consider an RPGC assignment from the real property appraiser’s perspective, as well as a business valuator’s or machinery and equipment appraiser (MTS) perspective;
  • Recognize their obligations to current laws, USPAP, and other regulations including understanding ASA BV standards;
  • Distinguish the differences between the valuation of the ownership entity (business) and the RPGC owned by that entity;
  • Be introduced to valuing small businesses and cover all three approaches with the current methodologies used by business appraisers;
  • Review the literature and differing ideas on this important topic and explore sources of data to be relied upon in the RPGC valuation analysis;
  • Addressing the lender client request for the market value of “just” the real estate.

Instructional Methods

Methods include lectures, discussions and individual/group exercises and assignments.

Course Audience

This course is for students who have a basic understanding of how to appraise complex commercial real estate such as fueling station/c-store, car washes, lodging properties, nursing/assisted living facilities, etc.

Additional Information

  • Participants will be required to read chapters prior to each class day.
  • Throughout the course, students will apply various methods and techniques to case studies dealing with appraising a going concern.
  • The course concludes with a four (3) hour exam.
  • A financial calculator and knowledge of how to use it is required for the course.
  • Appraisers are expected to have the requisite experience in commercial real estate appraising.
  • The course was developed from the book Going Concern Valuations for Real Estate Appraisers, Lenders, Assessors, and Eminent Domain Professionals© written by L. Deane Wilson, MA, ASA and Robin G. Wilson, MAI.
  • This course does not qualify participants as business appraisers and does not teach business valuation in a formal manner.
  • This course does teach how to allocate/segregate the various components inexorably connected to the real estate.