Follow Us on Social Media

email icon rss icon linked.in icon google plus icon twitter icon facebook icon
The BiggerPockets Blog

Archive of Loretta Steele

Loretta Steele is a computer instructor at Moreno Valley College, in Southern California and a licensed real estate broker. Her focus is in the investment analysis of multifamily properties using computer applications, such as Microsoft Excel. She has instructed others in computer applications for over 10 years.

Loretta has written 11 articles for The BiggerPockets Blog.


Real Estate Technology

Advantages of Excel’s Undo, Repeat and AutoRecover Timesavers

by Loretta Steele May 15, 2013
Thumbnail image for Advantages of Excel’s Undo, Repeat and AutoRecover Timesavers

I have previously presented topics and features of Excel dealing with; Queries Linking and Embedding What if assumptions Worksheet viewing options Excel Tables Functions Charting Formatting In this post I will be covering some features that will help while working anywhere within Excel.  These techniques will hopefully save you some time or could make Excel [...]

6 Read the full article →
Real Estate Technology

Excel Can Do Queries – A Step by Step Guide

by Loretta Steele May 8, 2013
Thumbnail image for Excel Can Do Queries – A Step by Step Guide

Spending time online searching for information is a common task today.  Need to find information on how things work or recent developments in weight loss products, going online is usually the answer.  Who hasn’t heard the phrase; “Google it…”? It seems that we can find anything on the web.  It has become a great resource [...]

2 Read the full article →
Technology & Social Media

Excel Plays Well With Others Through Linking and Embedding

by Loretta Steele May 1, 2013
Thumbnail image for Excel Plays Well With Others Through Linking and Embedding

Excel is one member of a family of applications called Microsoft Office.  The more common MS Office applications with their focus are; Access – tracking and managing databases OneNote – organizing, find and share notes and information PowerPoint – presentations, slide shows, meetings and web pages Publisher – publications and marketing materials Word – create [...]

4 Read the full article →
Real Estate Deal Analysis & Advice

What If? A Big Question Tailored for Excel

by Loretta Steele April 25, 2013
Thumbnail image for What If? A Big Question Tailored for Excel

One of the main reasons Excel is such a valuable tool in investing, deals with the question of “What If”.  What if I increase rents or decrease operating expenses, what would happen to my cash flow? What if the market cap rate increases or decrease?  What if vacancies increase or appreciation decreases?  If you are [...]

9 Read the full article →
Real Estate Technology

The Many Ways of Viewing an Excel Worksheet

by Loretta Steele April 17, 2013
Thumbnail image for The Many Ways of Viewing an Excel Worksheet

After you have created an Excel worksheet with all the appropriate formatting and correct formulas, what is left but to view the results.  Just as there are many ways in which to format a worksheet, there are various ways to view that worksheet. Have you ever looked at someone else’s worksheet?  Was it easy to [...]

6 Read the full article →
Technology & Social Media

Help, My Contacts List is in Excel! (Using Microsoft Excel Tables)

by Loretta Steele April 10, 2013
Thumbnail image for Help, My Contacts List is in Excel! (Using Microsoft Excel Tables)

Microsoft Office’s most used applications are: Word, Access, PowerPoint, OneNote, Publisher and Outlook.  One of the most used applications is Excel.  Real estate investors need an application that can analyze numbers.  Excel is well suited to that purpose.  Because Excel is so widely used, at times we expect it to go beyond “number crunching.” The [...]

4 Read the full article →
Real Estate

Excel Functions Standing upon Bones

by Loretta Steele April 3, 2013
Thumbnail image for Excel Functions Standing upon Bones

Few would argue that Excel is a popular application when it comes to investment analyses.  Real Estate investors use Excel because of its rich complement of financial calculations.  How many times have you used, seen or heard of Excel’s investment features, functions and calculations as part of a property’s sales presentation and/or loan portfolio?  Without [...]

2 Read the full article →
Real Estate

The Story Beneath the Values Using Excel Charts

by Loretta Steele March 27, 2013
Thumbnail image for The Story Beneath the Values Using Excel Charts

My first impression of Excel is a visual of rows and columns of numbers.  Without question, Excel is an excellent number analyzing application.  In addition to the rows and columns, is the powerful feature of charting.  Using Excel to transform those rows and columns of numbers into the clear visual of a pie chart or [...]

9 Read the full article →
Real Estate Investing

How to Make an Amortization Schedule + FREE Download

by Loretta Steele March 20, 2013
Thumbnail image for How to Make an Amortization Schedule + FREE Download

Excel is an excellent tool for calculating values based on money.  With a number of built in functions, Excel can lend itself to helping investors figure out the bottom line.  There are over 50 financial functions in Excel.  The financial function calculations can be categorized into; Simple interest Compound interest Annuity Repayment Price Investment Amortization [...]

6 Read the full article →
Real Estate Deal Analysis & Advice

Conditional Formatting to Spotlight Important Values in Spreadsheets

by Loretta Steele March 13, 2013
Thumbnail image for Conditional Formatting to Spotlight Important Values in Spreadsheets

The size of an Excel spreadsheet can range from a few rows and columns, a single printed page or an enormous number of printed pages. Whatever the size, the importance of a spreadsheet are the results derived or the trends produced from the analysis. So if the results or trends are the ultimate goal, why [...]

2 Read the full article →
Real Estate

Cell Formating in Excel Using the Format Painter

by Loretta Steele March 6, 2013
Thumbnail image for Cell Formating in Excel Using the Format Painter

One of the most common tools used by real estate investors is Microsoft Excel. Investors love Excel because it is widely used for number crunching. Number crunching is important in analyzing investment deals. But how many investors are really proficient or have a passing familiarity with this powerful tool? I love Excel. I love passing [...]

5 Read the full article →