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Income Taxes
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Income Taxes [Abstract]  
Income Tax Disclosure
FEDERAL INCOME TAXES
 
Federal income taxes are not provided because we intend to and believe we qualify as a REIT under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and because we have distributed and intend to continue to distribute all of our taxable income to our shareholders.  Our shareholders include their proportionate taxable income in their individual tax returns.  As a REIT, we must distribute at least 90% of our real estate investment trust taxable income to our shareholders and meet certain income sources and investment restriction requirements.  In addition, REITs are subject to a number of organizational and operational requirements.  If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, we will be subject to federal income tax (including any applicable alternative minimum tax) on our taxable income at regular corporate tax rates.
 
During 2010, we discovered that we may have inadvertently violated the “5% asset test,” as set forth in Section 856(c)(4)(B)(iii)(I) of the Code, for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 as a result of utilizing a certain cash management arrangement with a commercial bank. If our investment in a commercial paper investment sweep account through such cash management agreement is not treated as cash, and is instead treated as a security of a single issuer for purposes of the “5% asset test,” then we failed the “5% asset test” for the first quarter of our 2009 taxable year. We believe, however, that if we failed the “5% asset test,” our failure would be considered due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect and, therefore, we would not be disqualified as a REIT for our 2009 taxable year. We would be, however, subject to certain reporting requirements and a tax equal to the greater of $50,000 or 35% of the net income from the commercial paper investment account during the period in which we failed to satisfy the “5% asset test.” The amount of such tax was $50,000, and we paid such tax on April 27, 2010.     
If the IRS were to assert that we failed the “5% asset test” for the first quarter of our 2009 taxable year and that such failure was not due to reasonable cause, and the courts were to sustain that position, our status as a REIT would terminate as of December 31, 2008. We would not be eligible to again elect REIT status until our 2014 taxable year. Consequently, we would be subject to federal income tax on our taxable income at regular corporate rates without the benefit of the dividends-paid deduction, and our cash available for distributions to shareholders would be reduced.
Taxable income differs from net income for financial reporting purposes principally due to differences in the timing of recognition of interest, real estate taxes, depreciation and rental revenue. 

For federal income tax purposes, the cash dividends distributed to shareholders are characterized as follows for the years ended December 31: 
 
 
2011
 
2010
 
2009
Ordinary income (unaudited)
 
24.4
%
 
37.8
%
 
40.5
%
Return of capital (unaudited)
 
66.1
%
 
62.2
%
 
59.5
%
Capital gain distributions (unaudited)
 
6.5
%
 
%
 
%
Unrecaptured section 1250 gain (unaudited)
 
3.0
%
 
%
 
%
Total
 
100.0
%
 
100.0
%
 
100.0
%