15 questions reported in Blackstone Real Estate Debt interviews, organised by the group that asks them. Every question carries a model answer and graded feedback on your own attempt.
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LTV, DSCR, debt yield and structuring against a property's cash flow. 15 questions
Tests cash-flow coverage fluency in real estate debt interviews.
What is DSCR, and how does a rising interest rate affect a floating-rate borrower's DSCR?
A first-round question on real estate loan structure and sponsor alignment.
What is the difference between recourse and non-recourse real estate debt?
A foundational underwriting question for real estate lending roles.
Define loan-to-value. A lender makes a $60m loan against a $100m property. What is the LTV, and what does it miss?
A basic real estate credit metric that lenders use alongside LTV.
Define debt yield. A property has $8m of NOI and a $100m loan. What is debt yield and why do lenders care?
A common loan-documentation question for transitional real estate lenders.
Why might a lender require a floating-rate borrower to buy an interest-rate cap?
A first-round real estate credit question on what protects a senior lender.
Explain why senior mortgage debt ranks ahead of mezzanine debt and equity. What does that priority mean in a downside?
Tests whether candidates know how lenders protect a loan after closing.
What covenants would you include in a transitional real estate loan, and why?
A practical asset-management question for construction and development lenders.
How does a construction lender protect itself after closing?
Real estate debt and acquisitions interviews both test the three sizing constraints.
A property has $8m NOI and a $160m value. A lender offers 65% LTV, requires a 1.35x DSCR and a 9% debt yield. Interest is 5.5% interest-only. How much debt do they actually lend?
Tests property-type judgement because hotel cash flow differs sharply from leased real estate.
What changes when you underwrite a hotel loan rather than a loan on a leased office building?
A lender judgement question that goes beyond property-level metrics.
What do you assess when underwriting a real estate sponsor?
A portfolio-management scenario for a lender monitoring a transitional office loan.
A floating-rate office loan has a 1.24x trailing DSCR against a 1.25x springing cash-management trigger. The borrower has made every payment, but a tenant representing 18% of rent expires in six…
Real estate debt and securitised products desks both test this.
Explain how a CMBS deal is structured. Who bears the first loss, and what is the special servicer?
A workout judgement case for real estate debt asset-management teams.
What would make you transfer a real estate loan to watchlist, and what happens next?
The gap-funding layer that appears in most levered real estate deals.
A sponsor needs 75% total leverage but the senior lender will only go to 60%. How do you fill the gap, and how is your position secured?
Write your answer, get it graded on technical accuracy, completeness and communication, and see exactly which mechanic you missed.
Company tags reflect where a question type is commonly reported in interviews. They are not sourced from, endorsed by, or affiliated with Blackstone Real Estate Debt.