MF REPE technical questions

Preparing for an interview at BX/Carlyle. I come from a generalist M&A background and have had a few PE interviews in the past, however I have very little experience with REPE technicals and don't know much apart from the basics. In all honesty, I am lost and not sure where to begin.


In the initial interview rounds, what should I expect in terms of technical questions - is it more similar to classical PE technicals (company-level rather than property/asset) considering the way these firms invest in RE?


Any good guides that you would recommend? Many thanks in advance!

 

Helpful thank you, what about real estate pro-forma? How important is that?

 

No info is missing. If they give you a 10 cap, assume PP is 100, and NOI is 10.

From there, you have 50% LTV (I said they’d give an LTV and a rate on the loan, so let’s assume 50% LTV)

so you know on a $100 PP, the equity you invested is $50. 
 

Now let’s say the rate is 5% which means debt service is $2.5. So $10 (NOI) - $2.50 (debt service) = $7.5 which is cash flow after debt service.

cash on cash would be $7.5 / $50 and you’d have to do the long division on paper (or mentally if you’re that good) to give them the percentage. 

 

I interviewed with bx years ago (fuck I'm old), as mentioned by the other user they focus a lot on mental tests etc (at one point there's a math session with 10/15 gmat-style exercises).

Anyway, just to focus on the basics, make sure you have these things covered

  • NOI breakdown
  • Cash on cash calculation (see other comment)
  • Risk profiles of investments (difference between core/core plus/value add/opportunistic) and their target returns
  • The concept of yield. Let's say shopping centres trade at a 7% yield, what's the logical meaning of this 7%?
  • Quick RE case studies (e.g. you buy an asset with a 500m NOI at 5% yield, you hold it 4 years and you sell it at 4% yield, what's the equity multiple and irr)?
  • Basic understanding of major asset classes and relative trends (look for some reports by the leading brokers such as CBRE/JLL/Cushman/colliers)
 

I'm from Europe, no idea about US. Anyway, from what I've been told there are a ton of rounds - around 10 afaik. I went through pymetrics, 2 interviews and the math test and then I was rejected.

 

Debitis ad aspernatur nulla est quia. Facere cupiditate id voluptates praesentium.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
10
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”