Wall Street Real Estate Financial Modeling Practice Test

The main idea here is that IO in loan terminology stands for Interest Only. In an interest-only arrangement, the borrower pays only the interest for a defined period, so the payments are lower at the start and the principal balance remains unchanged during that time. After the interest-only period ends, payments typically include principal as well, either through amortization or a balloon payment. This can improve initial cash flow but increases total interest paid and leaves more principal to be paid later. The other terms listed aren’t standard loan jargon, so they don’t describe IO in this context.