Off-Market Deal: Case Study Help

For an interview (small REPE fund) I am asked in the deal case study about how would I go about getting a resi owner to sell a property to me off-market. The owner is keen on selling (we don't know if he is distressed) and taking his property to market, but has not done it yet (no brokers have been hired). The seller is a mom&pop and rather unsophisticated.

I don't have much deal experience, so I am afraid of saying something dumb here. Would be great if some of you could sense-check my thinking.

-Quick execution. The REPE fund is well capitalized and doesn't need much financing to close, a real plus in the current market

-No broker fees, no process headache

-The REPE fund is well-known in that market and has a low cost of capital. We're not looking to fleece him, we'll obviously match our IRR requirements (and more hopefully) but he can expect we'd pay a fair price. He could get a better price maybe by going to market, but perhaps not worth the pain for not much gain. Our reputation is stellar and if this deal goes well we could do many more in the future.

-We have a strong expertise in that market/sector, the due diligence process will likely be shorter than for the average buyer

Any other tactic in this situation? I've thought about putting the property in a SPV and structuring a share deal (vs. asset deal) which could benefit the seller as well. Is there anything I should dig up around tax structuring as well to make the deal more enticing for the seller (if the property has some tax loss carryforwards for example)?

1 Comments
 

Omnis sunt eligendi deleniti esse aut ipsa. Quis debitis nam cum sint et. Ipsum iusto qui et commodi molestiae est ipsum ea. Debitis consequuntur consectetur earum provident porro rerum. Quia dolores quae nulla rerum excepturi earum sed. Ut quod dolor labore ea sit omnis eaque.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 04 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (17) $409
  • Associates (58) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $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

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...”