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The Real Estate Equity Waterfall Modeling Master Class (Udemy.com)

The Complete Guide To Building Dynamic Real Estate Equity Waterfall Models From Scratch In Microsoft Excel

Created by: Justin Kivel

Last updated August 2026

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What you will learn

  • How to create a dynamic, institutional-quality real estate equity waterfall model from scratch in Excel
  • What real estate equity waterfalls are and how these structures work in practice
  • How preferred returns and promoted interest impact cash flows between partners
  • How JV equity partnerships are typically formed in the commercial real estate industry

How it compares

Against the other 75 rated Udemy courses in Real Estate on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.8 out of 5higher than 80% of them
  • Reviews2,443#9 of 76 by number of reviews
  • Length2.7 hoursshorter than 69% of them
  • Last updatedAugust 2026more recently than 68% of them

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Course Description

Welcome to The Real Estate Equity Waterfall Modeling Master Class!

In this course, you'll learn exactly what a real estate equity waterfall structure is, and we'll walk step by step together through how to build out a dynamic, multi-tier real estate equity waterfall model from scratch in Excel.

If you don't know me already, my name is Justin Kivel, and throughout my career, I've worked on over $1.5 billion of closed commercial real estate transactions on behalf of some of the top real estate investment, brokerage, and lending firms in the world, and I've also taught tens of thousands of students real estate financial modeling and analysis through the Break Into CRE platform.

This course was designed to be a practical, easy-to-follow guide to understanding what real estate equity waterfalls are, how these structures work in practice, and how to build these models from scratch in Excel.

So in this course, we'll start with the basics of real estate equity waterfall structures, covering topics like JV equity partnerships, preferred returns, and promoted interest.

And from there, we'll actually apply these concepts to building out an entire real estate equity waterfall model from scratch in Excel, and by the end of this class, you'll have a complete, institutional-quality real estate equity waterfall model that you've built alongside me.

This course is a perfect fit for anyone trying to break into real estate private equity, or anyone starting their own real estate investment or development firm and looking to raise capital from equity partners to fund their transactions.

Here's what some of our students have had to say:

★★★★★ "I've tried other real estate financial modeling classes, and they tended to be too general (even where they had some hands-on Excel exercises). Justin hit just the right balance between the big picture and the nuts and bolts of building the worksheet, and, therefore, truly understanding it."

★★★★★"Clear and straightforward. Wow! Amazed at this curriculum. He has made something super difficult easy and he explains it super clear. Its like meeting a super cool private equity guy spend the time to show you step by step. He can make your career!"

★★★★★"This course is highly recommended for individuals wanting to learn about equity waterfall modeling. It's obvious that the instructor understands this topic very well and he presents it in a very simplified manner. The process of creating the model from scratch and having the instructor walk you through it on a step-by-step basis really solidified my understanding of this material. Excellent course!"

★★★★★"Highly detailed and informative. Great for analyst who are just getting started. It's like taking an MBA level course!"

★★★★★"This is a phenomenal course as are Justin's other courses. I am a commercial real estate professional working as an analyst at a 'Big Four' broker and have found all these courses to be invaluable, particularly if you are concerned about the technical test for job interviews."

If you're ready to get started building out your equity waterfall model with me, I'd love to have you in the class - go ahead and click that "Buy Now" button, and I'll see you on the inside of the course!

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Instructor Details

Justin Kivel

Master real estate financial modeling, advance your career, and earn more money.

If you’re an aspiring real estate investment professional looking to break into the real estate investment field, or a current real estate professional looking to advance your career and increase your compensation, you’re in the right place.

My name is Justin Kivel, and I’m a real estate investment professional with a love for teaching. Throughout my career, I’ve worked on over $1.5 billion of closed acquisitions across multifamily, retail, office, and mixed-use properties. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in real estate investing and have spent almost a decade in the industry across private equity, finance, and brokerage roles.

Unfortunately, most of what I know today I had to learn on the job. Although great courses exist on Microsoft Excel and financial modeling, I couldn’t find a resource that was specifically tailored toward real estate investment professionals that would actually walk me through exactly what I needed to know to succeed in the real estate investment industry.

These courses are that resource.

After dozens of phone calls and coffee meetings with college students and aspiring real estate investment professionals, I realized that most people were asking exactly what I was asking when I was in their shoes.

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Reviews

4.8

2,443 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Mansi Thakkar on 9/27/2026

This was a great course that really allowed me to understand conceptually how a waterfall works. I wish we could've skipped thru repeating the excel shortcuts every time and focused on just the waterfall, since I think some other courses cover excel shortcuts & whatnot. It kind of distracted from the flow a little bit. But overall the course was great.

By Brandon Jones on 2/13/2025

I've purchased the majority of Justin Kivel's material. There's almost no other material in the marketplace that compares. I have also purchased some Break Into CRE material, which is also good, but I prefer Justin's explanations over anything else. He explains every detail in a very methodolgical way, and these courses have extensive Q&A sections with a deep variety of historical questions and responses.

By Vincent Tran on 6/29/2022

The course was excellent. The instructor explained the model very well and made it easy to understand. I worked in the performance group of a major private equity firm, and I calculated and presented the fund performance using the cash flows. However, I never understood how the cash flows were calculated based on the preferred rate and hurdles. I have learned greatly and thank you!

By Mariel Arias on 11/14/2020

Justin does such a great job explaining complex topics in easy to understand ways! I have taken several of his courses and they never disappoint! So much value for the price!

By Carissa Rose Brown on 10/27/2020

Valuable information, excellent teacher.

By Steven Lyon on 10/20/2020

Excellent step-by-step process in building this model - very well presented

By Keith Gozon on 10/20/2020

Justin never fails to amaze me

By Elie Moshe on 10/20/2020

Great instructor. It was fun and interesting and very insightful! Highly recommended!

By Tams Seres on 10/19/2020

Great course! I have been in CRE for 8 years, but this was a real eye opener. Wish I had learned about this 5 years ago. The material is first class and Justin really teaches you in a straightforward understandable way

By Albani V on 10/2/2020

Thank you! Very helpful course.

By Ross Crombie on 9/26/2020

I have just completed the RE Equity Waterfall modeling master class and the RE Financial modeling Bootcamp course which I really enjoyed. I'm moving on to the Advanced RE Financial modeling course next. I am currently doing a degree in business, majoring in finance and property, and finding this voluntary learning really beneficial. Justin does a great job of sharing his knowledge in a simple and easy to understand way, so looking forward to doing another course.

By Petar Elieff on 9/23/2020

best ever

Showing 12 of 180 reviews

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Overall Score : 96 / 100