Wall Street Prep RE Qs + CRE Flashcards
(189 cards)
What is the investment strategy of the firm?
What types of properties does the firm invest in?
What is the structure of the firm’s investments? (i.e. equity or debt)
“What are the investment criteria of the firm?” (e.g. geographical focus, transaction size, risk/return profile, etc.)
Explain one past transaction completed by the firm, and why you found it interesting?
What is a Real Estate Private Equity (REPE)
REPE firms raise capital from investors – i.e. the fund’s limited partners (LPs) – to deploy their capital contributions into real estate investments.
The strategy of REPE firms is oriented around the acquisition and development of commercial properties like buildings, managing the properties, and selling the improved properties to realize a profit.
The limited partners (LPs) of REPE firms include pension funds, university endowments, fund of funds (FOF), and insurance companies.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
REITs are companies with ownership of a portfolio of income-generating real estate assets over a wide range of property sectors.
If compliant with the relevant regulatory requirements, these investment vehicles are exempt from income taxes at the corporate level.
However, the drawback to REITs is the obligation to issue 90% of their taxable income to shareholders (or unit-holders) as dividends.
In effect, REITs rarely have cash on hand because of the dividend payments and tend to fund their operations by raising debt and equity financing in public markets.
Most REITs are publicly traded entities and are subject to strict requirements on public filing disclosures.
Real Estate Development Firm
Real estate development firms, or “property developers”, construct properties from scratch.
In contrast, most other investment firms acquire existing properties, such as office buildings.
Therefore, development firms purchase land and build properties, while other firms participate in acquisitions.
The life-cycle of development projects is substantially longer than acquisitions, as one might reasonably expect.
Real Estate Investment Management
Real estate investment management firms raise funding from limited partners (LPs) to acquire, develop, and manage commercial properties to later sell them at a profit.
REPE firms are distinct from real estate investment firms because REPE firms are generally structured as closed-end funds (i.e. stated end date in fund life), while real estate investment management firms are most often open-end funds (i.e. with no end date in fund life).
Real Estate Operating Companies (REOCs)
Real estate operating companies (REOCs) purchase and manage real estate.
Unlike REITs, REOCs are permitted to reinvest their earnings, rather than the mandatory obligation to distribute a significant portion of their earnings to shareholders.
The drawback, however, is that REOCs face double taxation, i.e. taxed at the entity level and then the shareholder level.
Real Estate Brokerage Firms
Real estate brokerage firms serve as intermediaries in the real estate industry to facilitate transactions.
A commercial broker is hired to protect their client’s interest in a purchase, sale, or lease transaction.
Commercial real estate brokerage firms can help clients identify a new property to purchase, market, or sell a property on behalf of the client, as well as negotiate the terms of a lease as a formal “tenant representative”.
What are the Different Property Classes in Real Estate Investing?
Class A → “premium” properties, pose the lowest risk to investors, and lower risk corresponds with lower yields.
Class B → Class B properties tend to be more outdated (i.e. older), yet are still built with high-quality construction and well-maintained
Class C → Class C properties are even more outdated and less modernized compared to Class B properties and located in far less desirable locations relative to the prior two property classifications.
Class D → Class D properties are the bottom-tier classification and consist of properties in poor condition, while located in areas with limited market demand.
What are the 4 Main Real Estate Investment Strategies?
- Core - Core investments are recognized as the least risky strategy and involve modern properties priority with core investments is stability in performance .and limiting downside risk.
- Core Plus - marginally riskier than the core strategy aside from necessitating some capital improvements.
- Value-Add: More risk because the properties need considerable capital improvements. Real estate investors implement significant improvements resulting in higher pricing and more market demand.
- Opportunistic
riskiest strategy entails new development; time-consuming but also require substantial spending on resources.
What is NOI in Real Estate?
Net Operating Income (NOI) = (Rental Income + Ancillary Income) – Direct Operating Expenses
NOI formula neglects non-operating items such as capital expenditures, depreciation, financing costs, income taxes, and corporate-level SG&A expenses.
industry-standard measure of profitability to analyze property investments, particularly for comparability purposes.
What is the Difference Between NOI and EBITDA?
distinction between NOI and EBITDA boils down to industry classification because the factors that constitute “operating” and “non-operating” items are contingent on the industry at hand.
Operating Items → NOI neglects non-operating items like EBITDA, however, from the perspective of a real estate property, not a corporation.
Industry-Usage → NOI is seldom recognized outside the real estate industry
Therefore, NOI measures the profit potential of a property, whereas EBITDA reflects the operating profitability of an entire corporation.
Depreciation Concept Nuance | Real Estate vs. Corporations
The depreciation concept is nuanced in real estate because unlike standard circumstances, properties such as homes can be priced and sold on the market at a premium to the original purchase price.
The recognition of depreciation in the real estate industry is more related to tax deductions, while depreciation is intended to match the purchase of a fixed asset (PP&E) with the timing of its economic utility for corporations.
How is the Cap Rate Calculated?
Cap Rate (%) = Net Operating Income (NOI) ÷ Property Value
Explain the Relationship Between the Cap Rate and Risk.
higher cap rates coincide with higher risk, while lower cap rates correspond with lower risk.
Higher Cap Rates → Higher cap rates suggest property prices are low relative to the income generated.
Lower Cap Rates → Properties with lower cap rates carry less risk and are more secure – resulting in reduced returns – which certain risk-averse investors are open to in exchange for mitigating potential capital losses.
What Does Funds from Operations (FFO) Measure?
FFO used to analyse REIT; estimate the capacity of a REIT to generate enough cash.
Funds from Operations (FFO) = Net Income to Common + Depreciation – Gain on Sale, net
What is the Difference Between FFO and AFFO?
normalising FFO for items like non-cash rent and subtracting the recurring maintenance capital expenditures
Adjusted Funds from Operations (AFFO) = Funds from Operations (FFO) + Non-Recurring Items – Maintenance Capital Expenditures (Capex)
What are the 3 Methods of Appraising a Property?
Income Approach
property value = net operating income (NOI) / the market cap rate.
Sales Comparison Approach
Comparable properties to estimate the valuation of a property.
Cost Approach
“replacement cost”, the property value is estimated based on the total cost of replacing the property.
Walk Me Through the Income Approach (or Direct Capitalization Method).
estimates the value of a property based on the income expected to be generated in a one-year time horizon.
Estimated Property Value = Forward NOI ÷ Market Cap Rate
What is the Intuition Behind the Cost Approach?
no rational investor would pay more for a property than the cost of constructing an equivalent substitute with similar utilities and amenities.
Estimated Property Value = Land Value + (Cost New – Accumulated Depreciation)
What Does the Cash on Cash Return Measure?
Cash on Cash Return (%) = Annual Pre-Tax Cash Flow ÷ Invested Equity
Annual Pre-Tax Cash Flow → metric is post-financing therefore is a “levered” metric.
Invested Equity → The original equity contribution on the date of property purchase, i.e. the initial cash outlay.