CRE Interview Prep
Interview prep across the entire commercial real estate industry — debt, equity, acquisitions, asset management, development, leasing, brokerage, and property operations.
🏦 Debt & Credit
Bridge Lending Interview Questions
Real prompts + what they’re testing: sizing, exit risk, sponsor evaluation, and structure.
DSCR vs Debt Yield (With Example)
When each metric binds, how rates change DSCR, and how to explain it cleanly in interviews.
Loan-to-Cost (LTC) (With Example)
Cost-based leverage metric used in bridge and construction lending. Includes LTC vs LTV + purchase/reno example.
Debt Yield Explained (With Example)
How lenders use debt yield for sizing, which NOI to use, and how it ties to exit risk.
Walk Me Through Your Underwriting
A lender-grade script: deal story → NOI build → sizing → exit → risks → structure.
Evaluating Sponsor Risk
A practical scorecard: liquidity vs exposure, track record, ops bench, concentration, red flags.
Exit Underwriting (Refi + Sale)
How to underwrite the takeout: stressed cap rates, takeout DSCR, and refinance proceeds.
Risk & Structure Playbook
Match the risk to the protection: reserves, cash management, milestones, covenants, guarantees.
Loan Sizing Cheat Sheet
Size to debt yield, DSCR, and LTV — and explain which constraint binds.
Debt Origination Questions (Broker Call)
The exact questions to ask: business plan, economics, sponsor, diligence, timing.
Credit Memo Template (1 Page)
A clean lender-style writeup you can use in interviews or take-home cases.
Common Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
Interview traps: NOI definitions, exit caps, timing risk, generic structure.
DSCR Minimums (What Lenders Look For)
Why DSCR minimums vary, rate sensitivity, stressed DSCR, and interview-ready lender framing.
📈 Equity & Investments
REPE Interview Questions
Real estate private equity prompts: deal judgment, returns, IC thinking, and risk framing.
Equity Returns 101 (IRR vs MOIC)
How to explain IRR, MOIC, cash-on-cash, and what they mean in practice.
Equity Waterfall Basics
Preferred return, promote, catch-up — explained clearly without spreadsheet vomit.
Preferred Return (With 8% Example)
What an 8% pref actually means, how it works in the waterfall, and how to explain it cleanly in interviews.
Promote Structure (With 70/30 Example)
What promote is, how GP incentives work, and a clean 70/30 after 8% pref walkthrough.
Cap Rate Explained (With Example)
Definition, formula, value sensitivity, and how to explain compression vs expansion in interviews.
How to Explain IRR in an Interview
Plain-English IRR, timing intuition, IRR vs MOIC, and how to answer cleanly in interviews.
🏢 Acquisitions & Asset Management
Acquisitions Interview Questions
How acquisitions teams think: story, underwriting, downside, comps, and conviction.
Asset Management Interview Questions
NOI bridges, leasing plans, KPIs, and how you actually manage value-add execution.
Rent Roll + T-12 Deep Dive
What to look for fast: concessions, rollover risk, bad debt, expenses, and normalization.
🏗️ Development & Construction
Development Interview Questions
Entitlements, budgets, timelines, feasibility, and how developers talk returns.
Construction Budget 101
Hard vs soft costs, contingency, GMP, and the stuff that actually blows up deals.
Development Returns (Yield-on-Cost)
Yield-on-cost, spread to market cap, margin, and when a project is actually financeable.
🤝 Leasing, Brokerage & Property Ops
Leasing Interview Questions
Office/retail/industrial leasing prompts: pipeline, comps, concessions, and tenant strategy.
Brokerage Interview Questions
How to answer around sourcing, relationships, market knowledge, and deal execution.
Property Management Interview Questions
Operations + NOI drivers: delinquencies, expenses, service levels, and reporting.
Want weekly CRE roles + prep?
Get top jobs and short technical prompts delivered weekly.