real estate PE
(Chimp, 15
Points)
on 10/18/11 at 11:33am
hey you guys,
I have an interview with some real estate PE places including CIM Group coming up. no real estate experience before, just straight up IB for a summer. could someone tell me how you go about approaching this and what technicals to expect (like, will they ask about the lbo models of a regular company to see your overall modeling strength or RE specific valuation methods).
thanks - would appreciate any insight





I am assuming you are a fresh
I am assuming you are a fresh undergrad? If so, you probably wont be tested on your technical knowledge of the business. You may be tested on finance technicals; specifically, IRR and NPV. Also, they will probably expect your excel skils to be sharp. Things that will be good to know:
*Cap rate
*Net operating income
*IRR
*NPV
*Cash-on-cash
It would also be good (but not necessary) to know:
*How do you calc net operating income
*Trends in RE markets
*What an operating statement looks like (google it)
*Argus
*Advanced excel functions: vlookup, CSE, etc
Also, depending who you ask CIM Group either has the reputation of being a legit private equity real estate firm or a shady, bottom-feeding, garbage RE chop shop. They also expect really long hours.
Man made money, money never made the man
A good thing to do as well is
A good thing to do as well is look up specific deals they have closed recently. www.globest.com is good for this and the WSJ may have some stuff as well. Knowing about these deals will really help you during the "do you have any questions for us?". They like to talk about it (from my experience).
You can also use the information they give you when talking about those deals and segwue into a broader macroeconomic question that demonstrates your knowledge of current RE trends.
Agree with RECM. For CIM
Agree with RECM. For CIM specifically, they have a lot of ex-bankers working there, and may drill down into any modeling that you've done (regardless of whether it's real estate related or not). Anything that you can talk intelligently about will obviously help.