Debt management has moved from a back-office function to a strategic priority for real estate fund managers. In a higher-rate environment, the spread between borrowing costs and property yields is compressed, making debt structure and timing critical to returns. Start with a comprehensive debt maturity schedule. Map every loan across your portfolio by maturity date, rate type (fixed vs. floating), and prepayment terms. This visualization alone often reveals concentration risks that aren't apparent from looking at individual properties. Covenant monitoring should be proactive, not reactive. Set up tracking for DSCR, LTV, and any property-specific covenants well ahead of reporting deadlines. Early warning gives you time to cure issues through operational improvements rather than emergency capital calls. Refinancing strategy requires a longer runway than it did in the low-rate era. Start conversations with lenders 12-18 months before maturity, not 6 months. This gives you negotiating leverage and time to improve property performance metrics if needed. Consider your fund-level credit facilities carefully. Subscription lines and NAV facilities can provide valuable flexibility, but they also add complexity to waterfall calculations and can obscure true fund-level leverage from investors. Finally, document everything. Lender relationships, covenant waiver history, rate lock decisions, and hedging strategies should all be tracked systematically. When markets are volatile, institutional memory becomes your competitive advantage.