NOTE 6 • COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Litigation. We are not a party to any legal proceedings which are expected to have a material effect on our liquidity, financial position, cash flows or results of operations. We are subject to a variety of legal actions for personal injury or property damage arising in the ordinary course of our business, most of which are covered by liability insurance. Various claims of resident discrimination are also periodically brought, most of which also are covered by insurance. While the resolution of these matters cannot be predicted with certainty, management believes that the final outcome of such legal proceedings and claims will not have a material effect on our liquidity, financial position, cash flows or results of operations.

Insurance. We carry insurance coverage on our properties in amounts and types that we believe are customarily obtained by owners of similar properties and are sufficient to achieve our risk management objectives.

Purchase Options. We have granted options to purchase certain of our properties to tenants under lease agreements. In general, the options grant the tenant the right to purchase the property at the greater of such property’s appraised value or an annual compounded increase of a specified percentage of our initial cost for the property. As of January 31, 2016, our total property cost for the 15 properties subject to purchase options was $117.6 million, and the total gross rental revenue from these properties was $6.8 million for the nine months ended January 31, 2016. The tenant in the Nebraska Orthopaedic Hospital property has exercised its option to purchase the property, which accounts for $16.0 million of the total property cost and $1.3 million of the total gross rental revenue subject to purchase options. However, we can give no assurance if or when such sale of the property will be completed.

Environmental Matters. Under various federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations, a current or previous owner or operator of real estate may be liable for the costs of removal of, or remediation of, certain hazardous or toxic substances in, on, around or under the property. While we currently have no knowledge of any material violation of environmental laws, ordinances or regulations at any of our properties, there can be no assurance that areas of contamination will not be identified at any of our properties, or that changes in environmental laws, regulations or cleanup requirements would not result in material costs to us.

Restrictions on Taxable Dispositions. Approximately 78 of our properties, consisting of 2.7 million square feet of our combined commercial properties and 5,372 apartment units, are subject to restrictions on our ability to resell in taxable transactions. These restrictions are contained in agreements we entered into with some of the sellers or contributors of the properties, and are effective for varying periods. The real estate investment amount of these properties (net of accumulated depreciation) was $670.6 million at January 31, 2016. We do not believe that these restrictions materially affect the conduct of our business or decisions whether to dispose of these properties during the restriction periods because we generally hold properties for investment purposes, rather than for sale. Historically, however, where we have deemed it to be in the shareholders’ best interests to dispose of restricted properties, we have done so through tax-deferred transactions under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Exchange Value of Units. Whenever limited partners of the Operating Partnership exercise their Exchange Rights, we have the right, but not the obligation, to acquire such Units in exchange for either cash or our Common Shares on a one-for-one basis. If Units are exchanged for cash, the amount of cash per Unit is equal to the average of the daily market price of a Common Share for the ten consecutive trading days immediately preceding the date of valuation of the Unit. As of January 31, 2016 and 2015, the aggregate exchange value of the then-outstanding Units of the Operating Partnership owned by limited partners was approximately $89.4 million and $122.0 million, respectively. All Units receive the same cash distributions as those paid on our Common Shares.

Joint Venture Buy/Sell Options. Several of our joint venture agreements contain buy/sell options in which each party under certain circumstances has the option to acquire the interest of the other party, but do not generally require that we buy our partners’ interests. However, from time to time, we have entered into joint venture agreements which contain options compelling us to acquire the interest of the other parties. We currently have one such joint venture, our Southgate apartment project in Minot, North Dakota, in which our joint venture partner can, for the four-year period from February 6, 2016 through February 5, 2020, compel us to acquire the partner’s interest for a price to be determined in accordance with the provisions of the joint venture agreement. The joint venture partner’s interest is reflected as a redeemable noncontrolling interest on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Tenant Improvements. In entering into leases with tenants, we may commit to fund improvements or build-outs of the rented space to suit tenant requirements. These tenant improvements are typically funded at the beginning of the lease term, and we are accordingly exposed to some risk of loss if a tenant defaults prior to the expiration of the lease term, and the rental income that was expected to cover the cost of the tenant improvements is not received. As of January 31, 2016, we are committed to fund $4.5 million in tenant improvements within approximately the next 12 months.

Development, Expansion and Renovation Projects. As of January 31, 2016, we had several development, expansion and renovation projects underway or placed in service during the quarter, the costs for which have been capitalized, as follows:

(in thousands)

(in fiscal years)

Project Name and Location

Planned Segment

Rentable

Square Feet

or Number of Units

Anticipated

Total Cost⁽¹⁾

Costs as of

January 31,

2016⁽¹⁾

Anticipated

Construction

Completion

Deer Ridge - Jamestown, ND

Multifamily

163 units

24,874

4Q 2016

Cardinal Point - Grand Forks, ND⁽²⁾

Multifamily

251 units

48,242

4Q 2016

71 France - Edina, MN⁽³⁾

Multifamily

241 units

73,290

69,105

1Q 2017

Monticello Crossings - Monticello, MN

Multifamily

202 units

31,784

11,210

2Q 2017

Other

n/a

3,524

n/a

178,190

156,955

(1)	Includes costs related to development projects that are placed in service in phases (Deer Ridge - $14.3 million, 71 France - $41.3 million, Cardinal Point - $23.0 million).

(2)	Anticipated total cost as of January 31, 2016 includes incremental cost increase due to the replacement of the project’s original general contractor. There may be additional costs for this project as it nears completion in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016.

(3)

The project is being constructed in three phases by a joint venture entity in which we currently have an approximately 52.6% interest. The anticipated total cost amount given in the table above is the total cost to the joint venture entity. The anticipated total cost includes approximately 21,772 square feet of retail space.

These development projects are subject to various contingencies, and no assurances can be given that they will be completed within the time frames or on the terms currently expected.

Construction interest capitalized for the three month periods ended January 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, was $1.0 million and $1.4 million for development projects completed and in progress. Construction interest capitalized for the nine month periods ended January 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, was $4.4 million and $3.6 million for development projects completed and in progress.

Pending Acquisitions. We currently have signed purchase agreements for the acquisition of the following properties. These pending acquisitions are subject to various closing conditions and contingencies, and no assurances can be given that the transactions will be completed on the terms currently proposed, or at all:

●

four multifamily properties with 393 units in Rochester, Minnesota, for a purchase price of $72.5 million, of which approximately $47.5 million is to be paid in cash with the remainder in Units of the Operating Partnership valued at approximately $25.0 million.

Pending Dispositions. We currently have signed sales agreements for the disposition of the following properties. These pending dispositions are subject to various closing conditions and contingencies, and no assurances can be given that the transactions will be completed on the terms currently proposed, or at all:

●

a healthcare property in Omaha, Nebraska for a sales price of $24.4 million, pursuant to the tenant exercising its purchase option;

●

eight multifamily properties in St. Cloud, Minnesota for a sales price of $5.6 million; and

●

a parcel of unimproved land in River Falls, Wisconsin for a sales price of $20,000.