I've been in a investment focused role but would like to get closer to the bricks. Really don't care about money, more interested in feeling like I actually created something to built environment - legit ground-up development. None of my experience is in JV with developers or ground-up development.

Any suggestions on how to make the switch. Will going to a large services firm like CBRE or JLL and doing project management or development consulting be the best way? (keyword: best)

Hey RE monkeys, long-time reader first-time topic starter here.

Recently joined a small REPE acquistions team on the West Coast. As I'm relatively new to the industry, I'm curious what deal flow is like at most shops and if other firms are spending money as quickly as we are (closed on three in the past couple months, $100M+ total). The properties aren't opportunistic, so we have lower requirements, but damn this is moving fast. A couple friends at larger integrated firms (like Tishman, Hines, etc.) said they only close a couple per year?

Mainly I'm worried about May 26 when I'll have to call in sick to watch all the new Arrested Development episodes.

I'm preparing for an interview with a REPE Debt Fund (hence my prior posting regarding this topic). I was curious to know what types of financial models are typically used. The folks I'm interviewing with typically purchase portfolios of distressed assets, rarely individual properties.
Does anyone have knowledge or experience regarding what specific types of excel models will be typically used in this niche field of REPE?

I was trying to come up with a list of top shops in Chicago.

In no particular order:

Walton Street
Waterton
Heitman
Pearlmark
Blue Vista
Green Courte
LaSalle Investment Management

Any other firms? Any thoughts on the ones above?

Hi All,

First time posting here and hoping for some helpful feedback.

I have a great opportunity in front of me and I'm really trying to make sure I do everything I can to make it happen.

Hey guys,

I’m just looking for some quick advice for my own situation. I graduated this past year from what I would call a “shit state school” with mediocre-to-low grades in a non-business major (Political Science major, Economics minor) but with an awesome resume & great experiences (student government president, university board of directors, built a $2.6 million facility, etc.) Obviously struck out at a lot of places while networking like a ninja but finally managed to network my way into a regional office of a top commercial real estate services firm. Already managed to get bumped up to senior analyst and am being transitioned from the back office to the front office by the end of the month, am on some non-profit boards, etc.

Hey,

I'll be interviewing with a large Real Estate PE firm in a couple of weeks and I'll have to pass an excel modeling test. As of now, I don't have much RE modeling experience. Therefore, I was looking for some tutorials. Has anyone of you tried out the "breaking into wall street tutorials"? Or are there any any other resources that you'd recommend?

http://breakingintowallstreet.com/biws/real-estate...

Cheers!

Possibly showing type of fund too (value-add, opportunity, core, etc) Rather not pay a grand for preqin report tho it does seem comprehensive

Looking for advice on how to prepare for my next step after working as an acquisitions analyst.

Current: I am currently at a mid-size multi-family acquisition firm that focuses on West Coast assets. I spend my time primarily looking at value-add acquisitions in SoCal. We are typically the JV partner with a larger pension fund, capital partner that lends our local expertise to each deal. 1 year of experience. First and only real estate direct investing experience. Excited to stick around through the associate level.

Past experience: spent my first 2 years out of undergrad at a 1.5bn fund of hedge funds (that did not invest in real estate assets). Top 10 undergrad business programs.

Exit???: Based on this quick summary what are my realistic exit opps?

Is there a thread/list somewhere of REPE questions to know similar to how our IB and vanilla PE peers have their interview guides
Would be for analysts with 2 years in reib/top brokerage (eastdil, etc) experience

I'm considering joining a financial intermediary as an originator covering secondary/tertiary markets. I'll be sourcing both debt and equity for investors and developers. My understanding is that 75-90% of my time will be spent arranging first mortgages. That said, I find the the equity/mezz/bridge portion of the capital stack very interesting.

What types of REPE funds consider investments in secondary/tertiary markets and what types of property do they consider most? What, typically, are the minimum investment amounts?

Most of the properties that I'll be working on will be in the $2-20 million range.

Hi everybody,

Just started in PE

Do you guys know Private Equity Intelligence (which unfortunately is costly)? And are there any quality source that is just great to learn and get the pulse of the industry, blogs etc?

Any word of advice on my current situation would be really appreciated!

Charles

I have realized that the name of smaller re shops can be quite creative. I was recently contacted by a HH to check out what on the surface appears to be (and probably is) a legit opportunity. It would mean more money, so I have some interest.

However the name of the firm is just so stupid. Using a thesaurs, it is something like "Material Investment Answers". WTF? Why would they name it something like that and not XXXXX Capital or something? I do not want that name on my resume.

Still, this is not the first time I have come across a RE firm that has a dumb, or at least will-require-explaining name. I even struggle with names like "The John Group" because I would assume you are at a disadvantage when sending a resume to the recognized REPE firms (where I want to end up).

Has anyone been through the blackstone REPE interview process in the UK for London. Naturally, as other places have mentioned, it is very quantitative in nature. Can anybody go into detail regarding the interview process?

Dear all

I am a first-year analyst (started this summer) at a larger commercial real estate firm in Europe working mostly in their valuation and brokerage departments. I joined the group directly out of my undergrad studies and so far I really like it here. Learning curve, deal exposure and overall experience is pretty decent (as far as I can really judge it). In the longer run (i.e. within the next 2-3 years), I would like to make the switch to a position in acquisitions at a larger real estate private equity group / investment manager.

Now I realise when reading through REPE job postings that they usually look for people with 1-2 years of decent experience.

If, having no real estate experience pre-mba, I do my summer internship in a real estate investment banking group, will that be enough experience to land a REPE job post mba? Most of the advice that I've seen around here suggests the the REPE firms only hire ex bankers.

Any other summer gigs that i should look at to help land a REPE job post MBA?

How are the hours/comp/exit opps/reputation of this industry in general? how about for well known shops like cw capital, torchlight investors, LNR capital, C-III and the like?

Is this generally a good launch pad for a career in real estate debt? i'm interested in how this kind of career would compare to mezzanine. Is one typically 'better' to start out with or to know? is one typically harder to break in?

i can't find any info comparing the two anywhere, would really appreciate some info.

thanks

In private equity there's an investment term during which you must call on and put all of the capital committed to work I assume.

For REPE firms which undertake development projects, i'm wondering how this works considering the longer time period prior to realizing any kind of cash flows. I assume if it's a raw land development deal they'll have to pull committed capital to acquire the land, then go through design/planning process and then through the entitlement process which can take over a year in and of itself. Then you actually have to build the property - another 12-24 months.

Like most people might expect, REPE is getting the majority of the attention. This comes as no surprise since many of the well known shops are highly selective, pay handsomely, and provide employees an opportunity to refine their real estate modeling skillset and knowledge base.

However, not everyone can get a shot at a top REPE firm like Blackstone, Carlyle, or Fortress. So what else is there and how much worse is it?*

Below I've listed some other areas within RE. Feel free to answer any of the questions or add your own to get some more points of view in this bitch:

1. Capital Markets (Placements / Investment Sales): This fits into RE essentially how IB fits into corporations, so it's gotta have something going for it in terms of RE exit opps, right?

When modelling real estate private equity deals, or real estate portfolios...

- Do you guys ever use Monte Carlo simulations* (whether Crystal Ball or your own programming)?

- Do your risk guys use these (if you are at a bank, or financial institution)?

- What about you RE junior debt / mezz guys? Do you use it?

I haven't seen many (rather any) people use Monte Carlo simulations in practice. Just sensitivity and scenario analyses.

As a quick aside, I'm not sure if I remember correctly, but does Argus use a Monte Carlo type process (behind the scenes) to deal with / model lease renewal optionality and such?

http://www.perenews.com/Pages.aspx?pageID=3415
just in case anyone is interested. free PDF for download if you fill in those fields.

Basically I've just made up my mind that I want to break into the Real Estate business upon graduating undergrad, and hopefully moving into Real Estate PE down the line. The issue is I'm a rising senior and don't have any experience directly related to RE.

Stats:
-Rising senior at non-target school in Boston (BU/Northeastern)
-Dual concentration in Finance & Accounting. 3.5 GPA
-Leadership positions in finance clubs etc.

Internships:
Trade Support at big AM firm in Boston
Interest Rate Derivative Sales-trading at a MM in NYC
Financial Leadership Development Program at a F10 (Current internship, not done until July 13)

Ok so I have been reading through tons of threads and I am still lost on this single point: What distinguishes Real Estate Asset Management at a BB from REPE at a BB/PE firm?

I understand that MSRE and GS REPIA/Whitehall are considered REPE. However MSRE is part of Morgan Stanley IBD and REPIA is part of GS Merchant Banking.

What about JPM? Their Real Estate is clearly under Asset Management. How is this different from REPE?

In other words, what constitutes the line between RE being another investment vehicle for the asset management arm VS a private equity investment within the same BB firm?

Thanks for any input

If you are already at an RE investment firm, which graduate degree would use pursue to get to a top tier REPE firm?

I had the following exchange with a fellow WSO RE guy. We thought we'd share here to get more points of view...

[Quote]
Currently, I am exploring the idea of getting MSRE from MIT's Center for Real Estate with the intention of transitioning from my current real estate investment firm into a "top" PE group (BX/Carlyle/KKR/Canyon Cap/MSREF etc etc...I want to work on complex deals).

The plan is to apply for MIT's MSRED, then on to PE greatness. I have been advised (repeatedly) to apply to an MBA instead.

I am against this for a couple of reasons:

Ok, so it's been 3 years since ADIA hired Bill Schwab to head Real Estate and make a move into direct real estate investments.

As I understand it they've recapitalised / refinanced a few old deals they were in and have constrained the number of and amounts invested in the funds they deal with. They've also added to their RE team over the past couple of years.

How do you guys think things have panned out for them with regards to direct investments? Any noteworthy deals from them recently either on the debt or equity side?

So Blackstone have raised over $6 billion for their latest REPE fund and are targeting $10 billion by the end of their fund-raising.

It seems like Jon Gray and his guys are operating on a different scale to their competitors.

Do you guys seen anyone giving them a run for their money? either from the other PE funds, Hedge Funds or maybe BB spin-offs?

It doesn't look like they'll be screwing their associates out of their bonuses anytime soon...

Investment Analyst, Acquisitions & Due Diligence with Bachelor's Degree in finance, accounting, economics or related disciplines. One to three years experience as a financial analyst in commercial real estate or investment banking preferred.

The Investment Analyst will support the company’s acquisition & due diligence departments. Specific responsibilities will include the following:

Analyze potential real estate acquisitions to determine investment potential.
Produce detailed pro forma cash flow analysis using, ARGUS, Microsoft Excel and Visual Basic.
Research and analyze markets and submarkets to ascertain initial underwriting assumptions.

Just got through 2 rounds of interviews with a REPE firm, and was told to expect an in-home excel modeling test sometime next week. One of the analysts there said the test would take about 4 hours to complete. Given the length and RE nature of the test, I was wondering what the test might possibly be like and how I should approach/prepare for it? Some quick info: This is an acquisitions and advisory role; and I have a RE debt structuring background.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.