ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of presentation

Basis of presentation.    The Company presents its financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements include our accounts, our subsidiaries, generally all of which are wholly-owned, and all entities in which we have a controlling interest. Arrangements that are not controlled through voting or similar rights are accounted for as a Variable Interest Entity (VIE), in accordance with the provisions and guidance of ASC Topic 810 “Consolidation”, whereby we have determined that we are a primary beneficiary of the VIE and meet certain criteria of a sole general partner or managing member as identified in accordance with Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) Issue 04-5, Investor’s Accounting for an Investment in a Limited Partnership when the Investor is the Sole General Partner and the Limited Partners have Certain Rights (“EITF 04-5”). VIEs are generally entities that lack sufficient equity to finance their activities without additional financial support from other parties or whose equity holders as a group lack adequate decision making ability, the obligation to absorb expected losses or residual returns of the entity, or have voting rights that are not proportional to their economic interests. The primary beneficiary generally is the entity that provides financial support and bears a majority of the financial risks, authorizes certain capital transactions, or makes operating decisions that materially affect the entity’s financial results. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

In determining whether we are the primary beneficiary of a VIE, we consider qualitative and quantitative factors, including, but not limited to: the amount and characteristics of our investment; the obligation or likelihood for us or other investors to provide financial support; our and the other investors’ ability to control or significantly influence key decisions for the VIE; and the similarity with and significance to the business activities of us and the other investors. Significant judgments related to these determinations include estimates about the current future fair values and performance of real estate held by these VIEs and general market conditions.

For entities in which we have less than a controlling financial interest or entities where it is not deemed to be the primary beneficiary, the entities are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. Accordingly, our share of the net earnings or losses of these entities are included in consolidated net income. TCI’s investment in ARL is accounted for under the equity method.

The Company in accordance with the VIE guidance in ASC 810 “Consolidations” consolidates 50 and 48 multifamily residential properties located throughout the United States at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively, with total units of 8,226 and 7,983 units, respectively.  Assets totaling approximately $442 million and approximately $457 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, are consolidated and included in “Real estate, at cost” on the balance sheet and are all collateral for their respective mortgage notes payable, none of which are recourse to the partnership in which they are in or to the Company. 

Real estate, depreciation, and impairment

Real estate, depreciation, and impairment.    Real estate assets are stated at the lower of depreciated cost or fair value, if deemed impaired. Major replacements and betterments are capitalized and depreciated over their estimated useful lives. Depreciation is computed on a straight-line basis over the useful lives of the properties (buildings and improvements—10-40 years; furniture, fixtures and equipment—5-10 years). We continually evaluate the recoverability of the carrying value of its real estate assets using the methodology prescribed in ASC Topic 360, “Property, Plant and Equipment,” Factors considered by management in evaluating impairment of its existing real estate assets held for investment include significant declines in property operating profits, annually recurring property operating losses and other significant adverse changes in general market conditions that are considered permanent in nature. Under ASC Topic 360, a real estate asset held for investment is not considered impaired if the undiscounted, estimated future cash flows of an asset (both the annual estimated cash flow from future operations and the estimated cash flow from the theoretical sale of the asset) over its estimated holding period are in excess of the asset’s net book value at the balance sheet date. If any real estate asset held for investment is considered impaired, a loss is provided to reduce the carrying value of the asset to its estimated fair value.

Properties that are treated as “subject to sales contract” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are listed in detail in Schedule III, “Real Estate and Accumulated Depreciation” are those in which we have not recognized the legal sale according to the guidance in ASC 360-20 due to various factors. For sales transactions where the guidance reflects a sale did not occur, the asset involved in the transaction, including the debt, if applicable, and property operations, remain on the books of the Company. We continue to charge depreciation to expense as a period cost for the property until such time as the property has been classified as held for sale in accordance with guidance reflected in ASC 360-10-45 “Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.”

Real estate held for sale

Real estate held for sale.   We classify properties as held for sale when certain criteria are met in accordance with GAAP.  At that time, we present the assets and obligations of the property held for sale separately in our consolidated balance sheet and we cease recording depreciation and amortization expense related to that property.  Properties held for sale are reported at the lower of their carrying amount or their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell. We did not have any real estate assets classified as held for sale at December 31, 2016 or 2015.

Effective as of January 1, 2015, we adopted the revised guidance in Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-08 regarding discontinued operations.  For sales of real estate or assets classified as held for sale after January 1, 2015, we will evaluate whether a disposal transaction meets the criteria of a strategic shift and will have a major effect on our operations and financial results to determine if the results of operations and gains on sale of real estate will be presented as part of our continuing operations or as discontinued operations in our consolidated statements of operations. If the disposal represents a strategic shift, it will be classified as discontinued operations for all periods presented; if not, it will be presented in continuing operations.

Any properties that are treated as “subject to sales contract” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are listed in detail in Schedule III, “Real Estate and Accumulated Depreciation” are those in which we have not recognized the legal sale according to the guidance in ASC 360-20 due to various factors, disclosed in Item 1 “Significant Real Estate Acquisitions/Dispositions and Financing.”  Any sale transaction where the guidance reflects that a sale had not occurred, the asset involved in the transaction, including the debt, if appropriate, and property operations, remained on the books of the Company.  We continue to charge depreciation to expense as a period costs for the property until such time as the property has been classified as held for sale in accordance with guidance reflected in ASC 360-10-45 “Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets. 

Cost capitalization

Cost capitalization.     The cost of buildings and improvements includes the purchase price of property, legal fees and other acquisition costs. Costs directly related to planning, developing, initial leasing and constructing a property are capitalized and classified as Real Estate in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Capitalized development costs include interest, property taxes, insurance, and other direct project costs incurred during the period of development.

A variety of costs are incurred in the acquisition, development and leasing of properties. After determination is made to capitalize a cost, it is allocated to the specific component of a project that is benefited. Determination of when a development project is substantially complete and capitalization must cease involves a degree of judgment. Our capitalization policy on development properties is guided by ASC Topic 835-20 “Interest – Capitalization of Interest” and ASC Topic 970 “Real Estate - General”. The costs of land and buildings under development include specifically identifiable costs. The capitalized costs include pre-construction costs essential to the development of the property, development costs, construction costs, interest costs, real estate taxes, salaries and related costs and other costs incurred during the period of development. We consider a construction project as substantially completed and held available for occupancy upon the receipt of certificates of occupancy, but no later than one year from cessation of major construction activity. We cease capitalization on the portion (1) substantially completed and (2) occupied or held available for occupancy, and we capitalize only those costs associated with the portion under construction.

We capitalize leasing costs which include commissions paid to outside brokers, legal costs incurred to negotiate and document a lease agreement and any internal costs that may be applicable. We allocate these costs to individual tenant leases and amortize them over the related lease term.

Fair value measurement

Fair value measurement.    We apply the guidance in ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” to the valuation of real estate assets. These provisions define fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in a transaction between market participants at the measurement date, establish a hierarchy that prioritizes the information used in developing fair value estimates and require disclosure of fair value measurements by level within the fair value hierarchy. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable data (Level 3 measurements), such as the reporting entity’s own data.

The valuation hierarchy is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability as of the measurement date and includes three levels defined as follows: 

Level 1	—	Unadjusted quoted prices for identical and unrestricted assets or liabilities in active markets.
Level 2	—	Quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the financial instrument.
Level 3	—	Unobservable inputs that are significant to the fair value measurement.

A financial instrument’s categorization within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

Related parties

Related parties. We apply ASC Topic 805, “Business Combinations”, to evaluate business relationships. Related parties are persons or entities who have one or more of the following characteristics, which include entities for which investments in their equity securities would be required, trust for the benefit of persons including principal owners of the entities and members of their immediate families, management personnel of the entity and members of their immediate families and other parties with which the entity may deal if one party controls or can significantly influence the decision making of the other to an extent that one of the transacting parties might be prevented from fully pursuing its own separate interests, or affiliates of the entity.

Recognition of revenue

Recognition of revenue.    Our revenues, which are composed largely of rental income, include rents reported on a straight-line basis over the lease term. In accordance with ASC 805 “Business Combinations”, we recognize rental revenue of acquired in-place “above-” and “below-market” leases at their fair values over the terms of the respective leases.

Reimbursements of operating costs, as allowed under most of our commercial tenant leases, consist of amounts due from tenants for common area maintenance, real estate taxes and other recoverable costs, and are recognized as revenue in the period in which the recoverable expenses are incurred. We record these reimbursements on a “gross” basis, since we generally are the primary obligor with respect to purchasing goods and services from third-party suppliers; we have discretion in selecting the supplier and have the credit risk with respect to paying the supplier.

Rental income for residential property leases is recorded when due from residents and is recognized monthly as earned, which is not materially different than on a straight-line basis as lease terms are generally for periods of one year or less. An allowance for doubtful accounts is recorded for all past due rents and operating expense reimbursements considered to be uncollectible.

Sales and the associated gains or losses related to real estate assets are recognized in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 360-20, “Property, Plant and Equipment—Real Estate Sale.” The specific timing of a sale is measured against various criteria in ASC 360-20 related to the terms of the transaction and any continuing involvement in the form of management or financial assistance associated with the properties. If the sales criteria for the full accrual method are not met, the Company defers some or all of the gain recognition and accounts for the continued operations of the property by applying the finance, leasing, deposit, installment or cost recovery methods, as appropriate, until the sales criteria are met.

Non-performing notes receivable

Non-performing notes receivable.    We consider a note receivable to be non-performing when the maturity date has passed without principal repayment and the borrower is not making interest payments in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

Interest recognition on notes receivable

Interest recognition on notes receivable.    We record interest income as earned in accordance with the terms of the related loan agreements.

Allowance for estimated losses

Allowance for estimated losses.    We assess the collectability of notes receivable on a periodic basis, of which the assessment consists primarily of an evaluation of cash flow projections of the borrower to determine whether estimated cash flows are sufficient to repay principal and interest in accordance with the contractual terms of the note. We recognize impairments on notes receivable when it is probable that principal and interest will not be received in accordance with the contractual terms of the loan. The amount of the impairment to be recognized generally is based on the fair value of the partnership’s real estate that represents the primary source of loan repayment. See Note 3 “Notes and Interest Receivable” for details on our notes receivable.

Cash equivalents

Cash equivalents.    For purposes of the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less are considered to be cash equivalents. Restricted cash consists of cash reserved primarily for specific uses such as insurance, property taxes and replacement reserves.

Concentration of credit risk

Concentration of credit risk.    The Company maintains its cash balances at commercial banks and through investment companies, the deposits of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). At December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company maintained balances in excess of the insured amount.

Earnings per share

Earnings per share.    Income (loss) per share is presented in accordance with ASC 620 “Earnings per Share” and is computed based upon the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each year.

Use of estimates

Use of estimates.    In the preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with GAAP, it is necessary for management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the Consolidated Financial Statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expense for the year ended. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Income taxes

Income taxes.    The Company is a “C” corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The Company and the rest of the ARL group are included in the MRHI, consolidated group for tax purposes. TCI is a member of a tax sharing agreement that specifies the manner in which the group will share the consolidated tax liability and also how certain tax attributes are to be treated among members of the group.

Recent accounting pronouncements

Recent accounting pronouncements.    

In May 2014, Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09 (“ASU 2014-09”), “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” was issued. This new guidance established a new single comprehensive revenue recognition model and provides for enhanced disclosures. Under the new policy, the nature, timing and amount of revenue recognized for certain transactions could differ from those recognized under existing accounting guidance. This new standard does not affect revenue recognized under lease contracts. ASU 2014-09 is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The Company is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of this guidance has on its financial position and results of operations, if any.

In February 2016, Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02 (“ASU 2016-02”), “Leases” was issued. This new guidance establishes a new model for accounting for leases and provides for enhanced disclosures. ASU 2016-02 is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of this guidance, if any, on its financial position and results of operations.