ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

NOTE 1. ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Organization

As used herein, the terms “TCI”, “the Company”, “we”, “our” or “us” refer to Transcontinental Realty Investors, Inc., a Nevada corporation which was formed in 1984. The Company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and its common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol (“TCI”). Subsidiaries of American Realty Investors, Inc. (“ARL”) own approximately 77.68% of the Company’s common stock. Accordingly, TCI’s financial results are consolidated with those of ARL’s on Form 10-K and related Consolidated Financial Statements. ARL’s common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol (“ARL”).

TCI is a “C” corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and files an annual consolidated income tax return with American Realty Investors, Inc. (“ARL”), whose common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “ARL”. Subsidiaries and affiliates of ARL own in excess of 80% of the Company’s common stock. ARL and one of its subsidiaries own 77.68% and the parent of ARL owns 6.98% of the company. Accordingly, TCI’s financial results are consolidated with those of ARL’s on Form 10-K and related Consolidated Financial Statements. ARL’s common stock is listed and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “ARL”.

On July 17, 2009, the Company acquired an additional 2,518,934 shares of common stock of Income Opportunity Realty Investors, Inc. (“IOR”), and in doing so, increased its ownership from approximately 25% to over 80% of the shares of common stock of IOR outstanding. Upon acquisition of the additional shares in 2009, IOR’s results of operations began to be consolidated with those of the Company for tax and financial reporting purposes. As of December 31, 2018, TCI owned 81.25% of the outstanding IOR common shares. Shares of IOR common stock are listed and traded on the NYSE American under the symbol “IOR”.

At the time of the acquisition, the historical accounting value of IOR’s assets was $112 million and liabilities were $43 million. In that the shares of IOR acquired by TCI were from a related party, the values recorded by TCI are IOR’s historical accounting values at the date of transfer. The Company’s fair valuation of IOR’s assets and liabilities at the acquisition date approximated IOR’s book value. The net difference between the purchase price and historical accounting basis of the assets and liabilities acquired is $25.6 million and has been reflected by TCI as deferred income. The deferred income will be recognized upon the sale of the land that IOR held on its books as of the date of sale, to an independent third party.

TCI’s Board of Directors are responsible for directing the overall affairs of TCI and for setting the strategic policies that guide the Company. As of April 30, 2011, the Board of Directors delegated the day-to-day management of the Company to Pillar Income Asset Management, Inc. (“Pillar”), a Nevada corporation, under a written Advisory Agreement that is reviewed annually by TCI’s Board of Directors. The directors of TCI are also directors of ARL and IOR. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of TCI also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ARL and IOR. The officers of TCI also serve as officers of ARL, IOR and Pillar.

Since April 30, 2011, Pillar, the sole shareholder of which is Realty Advisors, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, the sole member of which is Realty Advisors, Inc. (“RAI”), a Nevada corporation, the sole shareholder of which is May Realty Holdings, Inc. (“MRHI”, formerly known as Realty Advisors Management, Inc.), effective August 7, 2014), a Nevada corporation, the sole shareholder of which is a trust known as the May Trust, became the Company’s external Advisor and Cash Manager. Pillar’s duties include, but are not limited to, locating, evaluating and recommending real estate and real estate-related investment opportunities. Pillar also arranges, for the Company’s benefit, debt and equity financing with third party lenders and investors. Pillar also serves as an Advisor and Cash Manager to ARL and IOR. As the contractual advisor, Pillar is compensated by TCI under an Advisory Agreement that is more fully described in Part III, Item 10. “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance – The Advisor”. TCI has no employees. Employees of Pillar render services to TCI in accordance with the terms of the Advisory Agreement. 

Regis Realty Prime, LLC, dba Regis Property Management, LLC (“Regis”), manages our commercial properties and provides brokerage services. Regis receives property management fees, construction management fees and leasing commissions in accordance with the terms of its property-level management agreement. Regis is also entitled to receive real estate brokerage commissions in accordance with the terms of a non-exclusive brokerage agreement. Refer to Part III, Item 10. “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance – Property Management and Real Estate Brokerage”. TCI engages third-party companies to lease and manage its apartment properties.

Southern Properties Capital Ltd. (“Southern” or “SPC”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of TCI that was incorporated on August 16, 2016 for the purpose of raising funds by issuing debentures that cannot be converted into shares on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (“TASE”). Southern operates in the United States and is primarily involved in investing in, developing, constructing and operating income-producing properties of multi-family residential real estate assets. Southern is included in the consolidated financial statements of TCI.

On January 1, 2012, the Company entered into a development agreement with Unified Housing Foundation, Inc. “UHF” a non-profit corporation that provides management services for the development of residential apartment projects in the future. This development agreement was terminated December 31, 2013. The Company has also invested in surplus cash notes receivables from UHF and has sold several residential apartment properties to UHF in prior years. Due to this ongoing relationship and the significant investment in the performance of the collateral secured under the notes receivable, UHF has been determined to be a related party.

On November 19, 2018, we executed an agreement between the Macquarie Group (“Macquarie”) and Southern and TCI to create a joint venture, Victory Abode Apartments, LLC (“VAA”) to address existing and future demand for quality multifamily residential housing through acquisition and development of sustainable Class A multifamily housing in focused secondary and tertiary markets. In connection with the formation of the joint venture, Southern and TCI contributed a portfolio of 49 income producing apartment complexes, and 3 development projects in various stages of construction and received cash consideration of $236.8 million. At the time of the transfer of the properties, the joint venture assumed all liabilities of those properties, including mortgage debt to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”).

VAA is equally owned and controlled by Abode JVP, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southern and Summerset Intermediate Holdings 2 LLC (“Summerset”), a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Macquarie. Pursuant to the Agreement, Abode JVP, LLC and Summerset each own voting and profit participation rights of 50% and 49%, respectively (“Class A Members”). The remaining 2% of the profits interest is held by Daniel J. Moos, who serves as the President and Chief Executive officer of the Company (“Class B Member”) and Manager of the joint venture.

Properties

At March 31, 2019, our portfolio of income-producing properties consisted of:

● Seven commercial properties consisting of five office buildings and two retail properties comprising in aggregate of approximately 1.7 million square feet;

● Nine residential apartment communities owned directly by us comprising 1,489 units, excluding apartments being developed;

● Approximately 2,287 acres of developed and undeveloped land; and

● Fifty-one residential apartment communities totaling 9,786 units owned by our 50% owned investee VAA.

We join with various third-party development companies to construct residential apartment communities. We are in the predevelopment process on several residential apartment communities that have not yet begun construction. The third-party developer typically holds a general partner as well as a majority limited partner interest in a limited partnership formed for the purpose of building a single property, while we generally take a minority limited partner interest in the limited partnership. We may contribute land to the partnership as part of our equity contribution or we may contribute the necessary funds to the partnership to acquire the land. We are required to fund all necessary equity contributions while the third-party developer is responsible for obtaining construction financing, hiring a general contractor and for the overall management, successful completion and delivery of the project. We generally bear all the economic risks and rewards of ownership in these partnerships and therefore include these partnerships in our Consolidated Financial Statements. The third-party developer is paid a developer fee typically equal to a percentage of the construction costs. When the project reaches stabilized occupancy, we acquire the third-party developer’s partnership interests in exchange for any remaining unpaid developer fees. 

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted in accordance with such rules and regulations, although management believes the disclosures are adequate to prevent the information presented from being misleading. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring matters) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2019, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for other interim periods or for the full fiscal year.

The year-end Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2018 was derived from the audited Consolidated Financial Statements at that date, but does not include all of the information and disclosures required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. For further information, refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. Certain 2018 Consolidated Financial Statement amounts have been reclassified to conform to the 2019 presentation.

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company, its 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 is generally 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 we are 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 is included in consolidated net income. Our investment in ARL and VAA is accounted for under the equity method. 

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). The Company continually evaluates the recoverability of the carrying value of its real estate assets using the methodology prescribed in ASC Topic 360 (“ASC 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 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.

Real Estate Held For Sale

We periodically classify real estate assets as “held for sale.” An asset is classified as held for sale after the approval of our Board of Directors, after an active program to sell the asset has commenced and if the sale is probable. One of the deciding factors in determining whether a sale is probable is whether the firm purchase commitment is obtained and whether the sale is probable within the year. Upon the classification of a real estate asset as held for sale, the carrying value of the asset is reduced to the lower of its net book value or its estimated fair value, less costs to sell the asset. Subsequent to the classification of assets as held for sale, no further depreciation expense is recorded. Real estate assets held for sale are stated separately on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Upon a decision that the sale is no longer probable, the asset is classified as an operating asset and depreciation expense is reinstated.

Cost Capitalization

Costs related to planning, developing, leasing and constructing a property are capitalized and classified as Real Estate in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. We capitalize interest to qualifying assets under development based on average accumulated expenditures outstanding during the period. In capitalizing interest to qualifying assets, we first use the interest incurred on specific project debt, if any, and next use the weighted average interest rate of non-project specific debt. We capitalize interest, real estate taxes and certain operating expenses until building construction is substantially complete and the building is ready for its intended use, but no later than one year from the cessation of major construction activity.

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

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.

Deferred Costs

Costs relating to the financing of properties are deferred and amortized over the life of the related financing agreement. Amortization is reflected as interest expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, with remaining terms ranging from 6 months to 40 years. Unamortized financing costs are written off when the financing agreement is extinguished before the maturity date.

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.

Newly Issued Accounting Standards

In February 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-02 (“ASU 2016-02”), Leases. This 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 adoption of ASU 2016-02 did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial position and results of operations.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement that eliminates, adds and modifies certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. The effective date of the standard is for fiscal periods, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2019. The amendments on changes in unrealized gains and losses, the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements, and the narrative description of measurement uncertainty should be applied prospectively. All other amendments should be applied retrospectively. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2018-13 may have on its consolidated financial statements.