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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2020
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] Commitments and Contingencies
Legal Proceedings
We are involved in various claims and litigation arising principally in the ordinary course of business. We believe that adequate provision for resolution of all current claims and pending litigation has been made and that the disposition of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and liquidity or on our financial condition.
In March 2018, the Pennsylvania Attorney General informed the Company that it was conducting a review of our construction of stucco homes in Pennsylvania after January 1, 2005 and requested that we voluntarily produce documents and information. The Company has produced documents and information in response to this request and, in addition, has produced requested information and documents in response to a subpoena issued in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. Management cannot at this time predict the eventual scope or outcome of this matter.
Land Purchase Commitments
Generally, our agreements to acquire land parcels do not require us to purchase those land parcels, although we, in some cases, forfeit any deposit balance outstanding if and when we terminate an agreement. Information regarding our land purchase commitments, as of the dates indicated, is provided in the table below (amounts in thousands):
April 30, 2020October 31, 2019
Aggregate purchase commitments:
Unrelated parties$2,607,742  $2,349,900  
Unconsolidated entities that the Company has investments in7,776  10,826  
Total$2,615,518  $2,360,726  
Deposits against aggregate purchase commitments$189,705  $168,778  
Additional cash required to acquire land2,425,813  2,191,948  
Total
$2,615,518  $2,360,726  
Amount of additional cash required to acquire land included in accrued expenses$14,582  $14,620  
In addition, we expect to purchase approximately 2,500 additional home sites over a number of years from several joint ventures in which we have interests; the purchase prices of these home sites will be determined at a future date.
At April 30, 2020, we also had similar purchase commitments to acquire land for apartment developments of approximately $165.0 million, of which we had outstanding deposits in the amount of $7.6 million. We intend to develop these projects in joint ventures with unrelated parties in the future.
We have additional land parcels under option that have been excluded from the aggregate purchase commitments since we do not believe that we will complete the purchase of these land parcels and no additional funds will be required from us to terminate these contracts.
Investments in Unconsolidated Entities
At April 30, 2020, we had investments in a number of unconsolidated entities, were committed to invest or advance additional funds, and had guaranteed a portion of the indebtedness and/or loan commitments of these entities. See Note 4, “Investments in Unconsolidated Entities,” for more information regarding our commitments to these entities.
Surety Bonds and Letters of Credit
At April 30, 2020, we had outstanding surety bonds amounting to $823.2 million, primarily related to our obligations to governmental entities to construct improvements in our communities. We estimate that approximately $390.5 million of work remains on these improvements. We have an additional $181.3 million of surety bonds outstanding that guarantee other obligations. We do not believe that it is probable that any outstanding bonds will be drawn upon.
At April 30, 2020, we had outstanding letters of credit of $164.8 million under our Revolving Credit Facility. These letters of credit were issued to secure various financial obligations, including insurance policy deductibles and other claims, land deposits, and security to complete improvements in communities in which we are operating. We do not believe that it is probable that any outstanding letters of credit will be drawn upon.
Backlog
At April 30, 2020, we had agreements of sale outstanding to deliver 6,428 homes with an aggregate sales value of $5.49 billion.
Mortgage Commitments
Information regarding our mortgage commitments, as of the dates indicated, is provided in the table below (amounts in thousands):
April 30,
2020
October 31, 2019
Aggregate mortgage loan commitments:
IRLCs$537,787  $565,634  
Non-IRLCs1,686,419  1,364,972  
Total$2,224,206  $1,930,606  
Investor commitments to purchase:
IRLCs$537,787  $565,634  
Mortgage loans held for sale129,648  208,591  
Total$667,435  $774,225  
Lease Commitments
We lease certain facilities, equipment, and properties held for rental apartment operation or development under non-cancelable operating leases which, in the case of certain rental properties, have an initial term of 99 years. We recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recorded on the balance sheet for all leases with an expected term over one year. A majority of our facility lease agreements include rental payments based on a pro-rata share of the lessor’s operating costs which are variable in nature. Our lease agreements do not contain any residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants.
ROU assets are classified within “Receivables, prepaid expenses, and other assets” and the corresponding lease liability is included in “Accrued expenses” in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet. At April 30, 2020, ROU assets and lease liabilities were $109.5 million and $127.8 million, respectively. Payments on lease liabilities during the six months and three months ended April 30, 2020 totaled $8.2 million and $4.3 million, respectively.
Lease expense includes costs for leases with terms in excess of one year as well as short-term leases with terms of one year or less. For the six months and three months ended April 30, 2020, our total lease expense was $12.8 million and $6.4 million, respectively, inclusive of variable lease costs of approximately $1.5 million and $0.9 million, respectively, and short-term lease costs of approximately $2.0 million and $1.0 million, respectively. Sublease income was de minimis.
Information regarding our remaining lease payments as of April 30, 2020 is provided in the table below (amounts in thousands):
Year ended April 30, 2020
2020 (a) $8,455  
2021  19,327  
2022  17,437  
2023  15,039  
2024  12,133  
Thereafter213,509  
Total lease payments (b)285,900  
Less: Interest (c)158,146  
Present value of lease liabilities$127,754  

(a) Remaining payments are for the six months ending October 31, 2020
(b) Lease payments include options to extend lease terms that are reasonably certain of being exercised
(c) Our leases do not provide a readily determinable implicit rate. Therefore, we must estimate our discount rate for such leases to determine the present value of lease payments at the lease commencement date.
The majority of our facility leases give us the option to extend the lease term. The exercise of lease renewal options is at our discretion. For several of our facility leases we are reasonably certain the option will be exercised and thus the renewal term has been included in our calculation of the ROU asset and lease liability. The weighted average remaining lease term and weighted
average discount rate used in calculating these facility lease liabilities, excluding our land leases, were 9 years and 4.0%, respectively, at April 30, 2020.
We have a small number of land leases with initial terms of 99 years. We are not reasonably certain that, if given the option, we would extend these leases. We have therefore excluded the renewal terms from our ROU asset and lease liability for these leases. The weighted average remaining lease term and weighted average discount rate used in calculating these land lease liabilities were 94 years and 4.5%, respectively, at April 30, 2020.