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Finally passed the BOMA exam after two attempts — here's what helped

by Preethi N. 483 views3 replies
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Preethi N.OP
May 27, 2026

Okay so I've been meaning to post this for a while. I work in commercial property management in Chicago and my firm basically told me I needed the BOMA certification to move up to senior PM. I took the exam back in March and failed by 8 points, which was honestly demoralizing. I thought I knew the material but the questions on lease analysis and operating expense reconciliation were way more detailed than I expected.

I spent about six weeks preparing for my second attempt. The biggest game-changer was actually finding a decent BOMA practice test that mirrored the real question format — multiple choice with a lot of scenario-based stuff, not just definitions. I also went back through the BOMA study guide cover to cover instead of skimming the sections I thought I already knew.

Passed last month with a 78. Not a perfect score but I'll take it. Happy to share what worked — the income capitalization questions and ANSI/BOMA floor measurement standards were the areas I drilled the hardest.

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Sofia R.
May 28, 2026
I passed two years ago and the best exam tip I can give is to read every question twice. A lot of the scenario questions have a trick buried in the wording — 'tenant's proportionate share' vs 'landlord's actual cost' for example. Those distinctions matter a lot on the real exam. I wasted so much time memorizing formulas when understanding the concepts would've served me better. Good luck to everyone preparing!
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Jessica L.
May 28, 2026
Congrats on passing! I'm sitting for mine in July and the floor measurement standards are killing me. There's so much nuance between usable vs. rentable vs. gross area. Did you find any specific resource that explained the ANSI/BOMA method clearly? Most of what I find online is either too basic or assumes you're already an architect. I've been using a mix of the official study guide and some practice questions but I don't feel confident yet.
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Mike_T
May 28, 2026
Eight points on your first try is actually really close — a lot of people fail by way more. Six weeks of focused prep sounds about right from what I've heard. Thanks for posting this, it gives me hope. I start my study plan next week.

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