Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Accounting and Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2017 have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for audited financial statements. The unaudited consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim period presented. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2017 may not be indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2017. Amounts as of December 31, 2016 included in the consolidated financial statements have been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements as of that date. The unaudited consolidated financial statements, included herein, should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto, as well as Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, the Operating Partnership and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of (1) assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements, and (2) revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Reclassification

Certain reclassifications of prior period amounts have been made in the consolidated financial statements and footnotes in order to conform to the current presentation. Prepaid rents are presented on the Balance Sheet as Deferred Revenue; in previously filed reports prepaid rents were presented in Accounts Payable - Operating. The classification of below-market lease intangibles are presented net of accumulated amortization as a Liability; in previously filed reports below-market lease intangibles were presented in Unamortized Deferred Expenses: Lease Intangibles net from in-place and above-market lease intangibles.

Segment Reporting

The Company is primarily in the business of acquiring, developing and managing retail real estate which is considered to be one reporting segment. The Company has no other reportable segments.

Real Estate Investments

The Company records the acquisition of real estate at cost, including acquisition and closing costs. For properties developed by the Company, all direct and indirect costs related to planning, development and construction, including interest, real estate taxes and other miscellaneous costs incurred during the construction period, are capitalized for financial reporting purposes and recorded as property under development until construction has been completed. Properties classified as “held for sale” are recorded at the lower of their carrying value or their fair value, less anticipated selling costs.

Accounting for Acquisitions of Real Estate

The acquisition of property for investment purposes is typically accounted for as an asset acquisition. The Company allocates the purchase price to land, building and identified intangible assets and liabilities, based in each case on their relative estimated fair values and without giving rise to goodwill. Intangible assets and liabilities represent the value of in-place leases and above- or below-market leases. In making estimates of fair values, the Company may use a number of sources, including data provided by independent third parties, as well as information obtained by the Company as a result of our due diligence, including expected future cash flows of the property and various characteristics of the markets where the property is located.

In allocating the fair value of the identified intangible assets and liabilities of an acquired property, in-place lease intangibles are valued based on the Company’s estimates of costs related to tenant acquisition and the carrying costs that would be incurred during the time it would take to locate a tenant if the property were vacant, considering current market conditions and costs to execute similar leases at the time of the acquisition. Above and below market lease intangibles are recorded based on the present value of the difference between the contractual amounts to be paid pursuant to the leases at the time of acquisition of the real estate and the Company’s estimate of current market lease rates for the property, measured over a period equal to the remaining non-cancelable term of the lease.

The fair value of identified intangible assets and liabilities acquired is amortized to depreciation and amortization over the remaining term of the related leases.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and money market accounts. The account balances periodically exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance coverage, and as a result, there is a concentration of credit risk related to amounts on deposit in excess of FDIC insurance coverage. We had $1.6 million and $32.4 million in cash as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, in excess of the FDIC insured limit.

Accounts Receivable – Tenants

The Company reviews its rent receivables for collectability on a regular basis, taking into consideration changes in factors such as the tenant’s payment history, the financial condition of the tenant, business conditions in the industry in which the tenant operates and economic conditions in the area where the property is located. In the event that the collectability of a receivable with respect to any tenant is in doubt, a provision for uncollectible amounts will be established or a direct write-off of the specific rent receivable will be made. For accrued rental revenues related to the straight-line method of reporting rental revenue, the Company performs a periodic review of receivable balances to assess the risk of uncollectible amounts and establish appropriate provisions.

The Company’s leases provide for reimbursement from tenants for common area maintenance (“CAM”), insurance, real estate taxes and other operating expenses ("Operating Cost Reimbursement Revenue"). A portion of our Operating Cost Reimbursement Revenue is estimated each period and is recognized as revenue in the period the recoverable costs are incurred and accrued. Receivables from Operating Cost Reimbursement Revenue are included in our Accounts Receivable - Tenants line item in our consolidated balance sheets. The balance of unbilled Operating Cost Reimbursement Receivable at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 was $0.6 million and $1.1 million, respectively.

In addition, many of the Company’s leases contain rent escalations for which we recognize revenue on a straight-line basis over the non-cancelable lease term. This method results in rental revenue in the early years of a lease being higher than actual cash received, creating a straight-line rent receivable asset which is included in the Accounts Receivable - Tenants line item in our consolidated balance sheets. The balance of straight-line rent receivables at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 was $10.3 million and $9.6 million, respectively. To the extent any of the tenants under these leases become unable to pay their contractual cash rents, the Company may be required to write down the straight-line rent receivable from those tenants, which would reduce operating income.

Sales Tax

The Company collects various taxes from tenants and remits these amounts, on a net basis, to the applicable taxing authorities.

Unamortized Deferred Expenses

Deferred expenses include debt financing costs related to the line of credit, leasing costs and lease intangibles, and are amortized as follows: (i) debt financing costs related to the line of credit on a straight-line basis to interest expense over the term of the related loan, which approximates the effective interest method; (ii) leasing costs on a straight-line basis to depreciation and amortization over the term of the related lease entered into; and (iii) lease intangibles on a straight-line basis to depreciation and amortization over the remaining term of the related lease acquired.

The following schedule summarizes the Company’s amortization of deferred expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2017		March 31, 2016

Credit Facility Financing Costs	$	99	$	53
Leasing Costs	$	40	$	22
Lease Intangibles	$	2,428	$	1,685
Total	$	2,567	$	1,760

The following schedule represents estimated future amortization of deferred expenses as of March 31, 2017 (in thousands):

Year Ending December 31,	2017
	(remaining)		2018		2019		2020		2021		Thereafter		Total

Credit Facility Financing Costs	$	296	$	380	$	379	$	380	$	21	$	-	$	1,456
Leasing Costs		121		167		178		185		169		755		1,575
Lease Intangibles		7,616		9,876		9,422		9,158		8,874		65,004		109,950
Total	$	8,033	$	10,423	$	9,979	$	9,723	$	9,064	$	65,759	$	112,981

Earnings per Share

Earnings per share have been computed by dividing the net income after allocation to unvested restricted stock by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average common shares and potentially dilutive common shares outstanding in accordance with the treasury stock method.

The following is a reconciliation of the denominator of the basic net earnings per common share computation to the denominator of the diluted net earnings per common share computation for each of the periods presented:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2017		March 31, 2016
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding		26,182,994		20,666,806
Less: Unvested restricted stock		(229,897)		(228,077)
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding used in basic earnings per share		25,953,097		20,438,729

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding used in basic earnings per share		25,953,097		20,438,729
Effect of dilutive securities: restricted stock		56,023		41,411
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding used in diluted earnings per share		26,009,120		20,480,140

Income Taxes

The Company has elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”). As a REIT, the Company generally will not be subject to federal income tax provided it continues to satisfy certain tests concerning the Company’s sources of income, the nature of its assets, the amounts distributed to its stockholders, and the ownership of Company stock. Management believes the Company has qualified and will continue to qualify as a REIT. Notwithstanding the Company’s qualification for taxation as a REIT, the Company is subject to certain state and local taxes on its income and real estate.

The Company has established taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRS”) pursuant to the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. The Company’s TRS entities are able to engage in activities resulting in income that would be non-qualifying income for a REIT. As a result, certain activities of the Company which occur within its TRS entities are subject to federal and state income taxes. As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company had accrued a deferred income tax amount of $705,000. In addition, the Company recognized no income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Fair Values of Financial Instruments

The Company’s estimates of fair value of financial and non-financial assets and liabilities are based on the framework established in the fair value accounting guidance. The framework specifies a hierarchy of valuation inputs which was established to increase consistency, clarity and comparability in fair value measurements and related disclosures. The guidance describes a fair value hierarchy based upon three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value, two of which are considered observable and one that is considered unobservable. The following describes the three levels:

Level 1 – Valuation is based upon quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 – Valuation is based upon inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3 – Valuation is generated from model-based techniques that use at least one significant assumption not observable in the market. These unobservable assumptions reflect estimates of assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Valuation techniques include option pricing models, discounted cash flow models and similar techniques.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In January 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (”FASB”) issued ASU No. 2017-01, “Business Combinations: Clarifying the Definition of a Business” (“ASU 2017-01”). The objective of ASU 2017-01 is to clarify the definition of a business by adding guidance on how entities should evaluate whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The definition of a business affects many areas of accounting including acquisitions, disposals, goodwill, and consolidation. ASU 2017-01 will be effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods in the year of adoption. Early adoption is permitted for any interim or annual period. The Company is in the process of determining the impact that the implementation of ASU 2017-01 will have on the Company’s financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02 “Leases” (“ASU 2016-02”). The new standard creates Topic 842, Leases, in FASB Accounting Standards Codification (FASB ASC) and supersedes FASB ASC 840, Leases. ASU 2016-02 requires a lessee to recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from leases (operating and finance). However, for leases with a term of 12 months or less, a lessee is permitted to make an accounting policy election not to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities. The main difference between the existing guidance on accounting for leases and the new standard is that operating leases will now be recorded in the statement of financial position as assets and liabilities. The new standard requires lessors to account for leases using an approach that is substantially equivalent to existing guidance for sales-type leases and operating leases. ASU 2016-02 is expected to impact the Company’s consolidated financial statements as the Company has certain operating land lease arrangements for which it is the lessee. GAAP requires only capital (finance) leases to be recognized in the statement of financial position, and amounts related to operating leases largely are reflected in the financial statements as rent expense on the income statement and in disclosures to the financial statements. ASU 2016-02 is effective for annual reporting periods (including interim periods within those periods) beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is in the process of determining the impact that the implementation of ASU 2016-02 will have on the Company’s financial statements. We anticipate there will be an immaterial impact for the leases in which the Company is the lessor and/or the lessee.

In May 2014, with subsequent updates issued in August 2015 and March, April and May 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” (“ASU 2014-09”). ASU 2014-09 was developed to enable financial statement users to better understand the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. The update’s core principle is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. Companies are to use a five-step contract review model to ensure revenue is recognized, measured and disclosed in accordance with this principle. ASU 2014-09, as updated, is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The Company is in the process of engaging a professional services firm to assist in the implementation of ASU 2014-09 and has not currently selected a transition method. In addition we are in the process of determining the impact that the implementation of ASU 2014-09, as updated, will have on the Company’s financial statements and it is considered likely the implementation will change the Company’s disclosures.