UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 16, 2016
Resource Real Estate Opportunity REIT II, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Commission file number 000-55430
| Maryland | 80-0854717 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
1845 Walnut Street, 18th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
(215) 231-7050
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
(former name or former address , if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the following obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| ¨ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the securities Act (17CFR 230.425) |
| ¨ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Item 8.01. Other Events.
Resource Real Estate Opportunity REIT II, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) is filing this Current Report on Form 8-K to present risk factor disclosure to be incorporated by reference into the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-184476) for the sale of shares of the Company’s common stock pursuant to its distribution reinvestment plan (the “Registration Statement”). Our stockholders or potential investors may be referred to as “you” or “your” in this disclosure.
RISK FACTORS
An investment in our common stock involves various risks and uncertainties. You should carefully consider the following risk factors in conjunction with the other information contained in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement (the “Prospectus”). The risks discussed below could adversely affect our business, operating results, prospects and financial condition. This could cause the value of our common stock to decline and could cause you to lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face but do represent those risks and uncertainties that we believe are material to us. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also harm our business.
Risks Related to an Investment in Us
There is no public trading market for your shares; therefore, it will be difficult for you to sell your shares.
There is no current public market for our shares and our charter does not require our directors to seek stockholder approval to liquidate our assets by a specified date nor list our shares on an exchange by a specified date. Our charter limits your ability to transfer or sell your shares unless the prospective stockholder meets the applicable suitability and minimum purchase standards. Our charter also prohibits the ownership of more than 9.8% of our stock, unless exempted by our board of directors, which may inhibit large investors from desiring to purchase your shares. Moreover, our share redemption program includes numerous restrictions that limit your ability to sell your shares to us, and our board of directors may amend, suspend or terminate our share redemption program upon 30 days’ notice without stockholder approval. Therefore, it will be difficult for you to sell your shares promptly or at all. If you are able to sell your shares, you would likely have to sell them at a substantial discount to their public offering price. It is also likely that your shares would not be accepted as the primary collateral for a loan. You should purchase our shares only as a long-term investment because of the illiquid nature of the shares.
If we are unable to find suitable investments, we may not be able to achieve our investment objectives or pay distributions.
Our ability to achieve our investment objectives and to pay distributions depends upon the performance of our advisor, Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II, LLC, in the acquisition of our investments, including the determination of any financing arrangements. Competition from competing entities may reduce the number of suitable investment opportunities offered to us or increase the bargaining power of property owners seeking to sell. Additionally, disruptions and dislocations in the credit markets have materially impacted the cost and availability of debt to finance real estate acquisitions, which is a key component of our acquisition strategy. This lack of available debt could result in a further reduction of suitable investment opportunities and create a competitive advantage to other entities that have greater financial resources than we do. We are also subject to competition in seeking to acquire real estate-related debt investments. We can give no assurance that our advisor will be successful in obtaining suitable investments on financially attractive terms or that, if our advisor makes investments on our behalf, our objectives will be achieved. If we, through our advisor, are unable to find suitable investments promptly upon receipt of our offering proceeds, we will hold the proceeds from this offering in an interest-bearing account or invest the proceeds in short-term assets. If we would continue to be unsuccessful in locating suitable investments, we may ultimately decide to liquidate. In the event we are unable to timely locate suitable investments, we may be unable or limited in our ability to pay distributions and we may not be able to meet our investment objectives.
Disruptions in the financial markets and sluggish economic conditions nationally and globally could adversely impact our ability to implement our business strategy and generate returns to you.
Our business and operations will be dependent on the commercial real estate finance industry generally, which in turn is dependent upon broad economic conditions in the United States and abroad. Despite some recent improvements in
the U.S. economy, low oil prices and ongoing economic weakness in Europe and Asia may eventually hinder future growth in the U.S. economy. Further, continued political instability in the European Union, as well as open hostilities in certain Middle Eastern countries and along the Russian-Ukrainian border could negatively impact the U.S. economy should those conflicts deepen.
The single family residential real estate markets have been experiencing an uneven recovery in the U.S. Insufficient equity and ongoing uncertainty about the economy’s strength have forced potential sellers to stay in their homes. A survey by the National Association of Realtors showed homeowners on average staying in their homes for 10 years instead of the typical seven years, causing a relatively low level of housing supply in the single family residential market. The slow and steady recovery in the single family home market continues to progress, but lags behind the overall U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve’s low interest rate policy has pushed capital into the residential mortgage markets and has helped consumer balance sheets by establishing some stability in home valuations. If interest rates increase, it could have a negative effect on the entire U.S. single family residential real estate market, which would likely slow overall U.S. economic growth.
Central bank interventions in the banking system and the persistence of a highly expansionary monetary policy by a number of government entities have introduced additional complexity and uncertainty to the markets. These conditions, which are expected to continue and, combined with a challenging macro-economic environment and numerous regions of political instability, may interfere with the implementation of our business strategy and/or force us to modify it.
We intend to acquire a diversified portfolio of real estate and real estate-related assets, some of which have been discounted. Current economic conditions could greatly increase the risks of these investments. For instance, the sluggish employment market could contribute to increased rent delinquencies at our rental properties. Further, declining real estate values could significantly increase the likelihood that we will incur losses on our loans in the event of a default because the value of our collateral may be insufficient to cover our cost on the loan. In addition, revenues on the properties and other assets underlying any loan investments we may make could decrease, making it more difficult for borrowers to meet their payment obligations to us. More generally, the risks arising from a deterioration in the financial markets and economic conditions are applicable to all of the investments we may make, including commercial real estate-related debt.
A protracted economic downturn could have a negative impact on our portfolio. Borrowers often use increases in the value of their existing properties to support the purchase of or investment in additional properties. Although our discount and value-add investment strategies do not rely on precisely the same concepts, if real property or other real estate-related asset values continue to decline after we acquire them, we may have a difficult time making new acquisitions or generating returns on your investment.
We expect to finance some of our investments in part with debt. If access to the credit markets is limited, we may not be able to obtain debt financing on attractive terms. As such, we may be forced to use a greater proportion of our offering proceeds to finance our acquisitions, reducing the number of investments we would otherwise make. If the debt market environment is unfavorable, we may modify our investment strategy in order to optimize our portfolio performance. Our options would include limiting or eliminating the use of debt and focusing on those investments that do not require the use of leverage to meet our portfolio goals.
All of the factors described above could adversely impact our ability to implement our business strategy and make distributions to our investors and could decrease the value of an investment in us.
If we are unable to invest all of the net proceeds from our initial public offering promptly, our distributions and your investment returns may be lower than they otherwise would.
We could suffer from delays in locating suitable investments. Our reliance on our advisor to locate suitable investments for us at times when the management of our advisor is simultaneously seeking to locate suitable investments for other affiliated programs could also delay the investment of the proceeds of our initial public offering that have yet to be invested. Delays we encounter in the selection, acquisition and development of income-producing properties would likely limit our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders and reduce our stockholders’ overall returns.
We have no prior operating history which makes our future performance difficult to predict.
We commenced operations in June 2014 and we have a limited operating history. We were incorporated in the State of Maryland on September 28, 2012. As of February 10, 2016, we owned 11 multifamily properties. You should not assume that our performance will be similar to the past performance of other real estate investment programs sponsored by affiliates of our advisor. Our limited operating history increases the risk and uncertainty you face in making an investment in our shares.
Because we are dependent upon our advisor and its affiliates to conduct our operations, any adverse changes in the financial health of our advisor or its affiliates or our relationship with them could hinder our operating performance and the return on our stockholders’ investment.
We are dependent on our advisor to manage our operations and our portfolio of real estate assets. Our advisor has no prior operating history and it depends largely upon the fees and other compensation that it receives from us in connection with the purchase, management and sale of assets to conduct its operations. Any adverse changes in the financial condition of our advisor or our relationship with our advisor could hinder its ability to successfully manage our operations and our portfolio of investments.
Our ability to achieve our investment objectives and to conduct our operations is dependent upon the performance of our advisor, which is a subsidiary of our sponsor and its parent company, Resource America. Our sponsor’s business is sensitive to trends in the general economy, as well as the commercial real estate and credit markets. The current macroeconomic environment and accompanying credit crisis has negatively impacted the value of commercial real estate assets, contributing to a general slowdown in our sponsor’s industry, which our sponsor anticipates will continue for the foreseeable future. To the extent that any decline in our sponsor’s revenues and operating results impacts the performance of our advisor, our results of operations, and financial condition could also suffer.
The loss of or the inability to hire additional or replacement key real estate and debt finance professionals at Resource Real Estate could delay or hinder implementation of our investment strategies, which could limit our ability to make distributions and decrease the value of your investment.
Our success depends to a significant degree upon the contributions of Messrs. Alan F. Feldman and Kevin M. Finkel, each of whom would be difficult to replace. Neither we nor our advisor have employment agreements with these individuals. Messrs. Feldman and Finkel may not remain associated with Resource Real Estate. If either of these persons were to cease their association with us, our operating results could suffer. We do not intend to maintain key person life insurance on any person.
We believe that our future success depends, in large part, upon Resource Real Estate and its affiliates’ ability to retain highly skilled managerial, operational and marketing professionals. Competition for such professionals is intense, and Resource Real Estate and its affiliates may be unsuccessful in attracting and retaining such skilled individuals. If Resource Real Estate loses or is unable to obtain the services of highly skilled professionals, our ability to implement our investment strategies could be delayed or hindered and the value of your investment may decline.
If we make distributions from sources other than our cash flow from operations, we will have less funds available for the acquisition of properties, your overall return may be reduced and the value of a share of our common stock may be diluted.
For the year ended December 31, 2014, we paid distributions of $328,785. We funded 9.3% of these distributions from cash provided by operating activities in the first two quarters of 2014 and we funded the remaining 90.7% of these distributions with proceeds from debt financing. For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, we paid distributions of $8,173,432. We funded 100% of these distributions with proceeds from debt financing. We will declare distributions when our board of directors determines we have sufficient cash flow. Our board of directors considers many factors before authorizing a cash distribution, including current and projected cash flow from operations, capital expenditure needs, general financial conditions and REIT qualification requirements. We expect to have little, if any, cash flow from operations available for cash distributions until we have executed our value-add strategy for a substantial portion of our investments. It is therefore likely that, at least during the early stages of our development, and from time to time during our operational stage, our board will declare cash distributions that will be paid in advance of our receipt of cash flow that we expect to receive during a later period. In these instances, where we do not have sufficient cash flow to cover our
distributions, we expect to use the proceeds from this offering, the proceeds from the issuance of securities in the future or proceeds from borrowings or asset sales to pay distributions. We may borrow funds, issue new securities or sell assets to make and cover our declared distributions, all or a portion of which could be deemed a return of capital. We may also fund such distributions from third-party borrowings or from advances from our advisor or sponsor or from our advisor’s deferral of its asset management fee. If we fund cash distributions from borrowings, sales of assets or the net proceeds from this offering, we will have less funds available for the acquisition of real estate and real estate-related assets and your overall return may be reduced. Further, to the extent cash distributions exceed cash flow from operations, a stockholder’s basis in our stock will be reduced and, to the extent distributions exceed a stockholder’s basis, the stockholder may recognize capital gain. Our organizational documents do not limit the amount of distributions we can fund from sources other than from cash flows from operations.
The value of a share of our common stock has been diluted as a result of our payment of stock distributions and will be further diluted if we make additional stock distributions.
As of February 10, 2016, we have also issued five stock distributions to our stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 30, 2014, September 30, 2014, December 31, 2014, March 31, 2015 and June 30, 2015. Such stock distributions were in the amount of 0.00625, 0.01, 0.00833333, 0.05 and 0.05 shares, respectively, of our common stock for every share held of record on such date. We may pay additional stock distributions in the future. We seek to purchase assets that may have limited operating cash flows. While our objective is to acquire assets that appreciate in value, there can be no assurance that assets we acquire will appreciate in value. Furthermore, we do not currently intend to change the per share public offering price of our shares. Therefore, investors who purchase our shares early in this offering, as compared with later investors, will receive more shares for the same cash investment as a result of any stock distributions. Because they own more shares, upon a sale or liquidation of the company, these early investors will receive more sales proceeds or liquidating distributions relative to their invested capital compared to later investors. Furthermore, unless our assets appreciate in an amount sufficient to offset the dilutive effect of the prior stock distributions, the value per share for later investors purchasing our stock will be below the value per share of earlier investors.
Future interest rate increases in response to inflation may inhibit our ability to conduct our business and acquire or dispose of real property or real estate-related debt investments at attractive prices and your overall return may be reduced.
We will be exposed to inflation risk with respect to income from any long-term leases on real property and from related real estate debt investments as these may constitute a source of our cash flows from operations. High inflation may in the future tighten credit and increase prices. Further, if interest rates rise, such as during an inflationary period, the cost of acquisition capital to purchasers may also rise, which could adversely impact our ability to dispose of our assets at attractive sales prices. Should we be required to acquire, hold or dispose of our assets during a period of inflation, our overall return may be reduced.
Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to recover claims against our directors and officers are limited, which could reduce your and our recovery against them if they negligently cause us to incur losses.
Maryland law provides that a director has no liability in that capacity if he performs his duties in good faith, in a manner he reasonably believes to be in our best interests and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. Our charter provides that our directors and officers will not be liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages and that we will generally indemnify them for losses unless our directors are negligent or engage in misconduct or our independent directors are grossly negligent or engage in willful misconduct. As a result, you and we may have more limited rights against our directors and officers than might otherwise exist under common law, which could reduce our and your recovery from these persons if they act in a negligent manner. Our charter also requires us, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, to indemnify and, without requiring a preliminary determination of the ultimate entitlement to indemnification, pay or reimburse reasonable expenses in advance of the final disposition of a proceeding to any individual who is a present or former director or officer and who is made or threatened to be made a party to the proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity or any individual who, while a director or officer and at our request, serves or has served as a director, officer, partner, member, manager or trustee of another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, employment benefit plan or other enterprise and who is made or threatened to be made a party to the proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity.
We may change our targeted investments, our policies and our operations without stockholder consent.
We expect to invest in multifamily rental properties, which includes student housing and senior residential, condominiums and debt or securities secured by multifamily rental properties, but we may also invest a relatively small portion of our proceeds in other real estate asset classes throughout the United States. Also, except as described in this prospectus, we are not restricted as to the following:
| • | where we may acquire real estate investments in the United States; |
| • | the percentage of our proceeds that may be invested in properties as compared with the percentage of our proceeds that we may invest in real estate-related debt investments or mortgage loans, each of which may be leveraged and will have differing risks and profit potential; or |
| • | the percentage of our proceeds that may be invested in any one real estate investment (the greater the percentage of our subscription proceeds invested in one asset, the greater the potential adverse effect on us if that asset is unprofitable). |
Though this is our current target portfolio, we may make adjustments to our target portfolio based on real estate market conditions and investment opportunities, and we may change our targeted investments and investment guidelines at any time without the consent of our stockholders, which could result in our making investments that are different from, and possibly riskier than, the investments described in this prospectus. A change in our targeted investments or investment guidelines could adversely affect the value of our common stock and our ability to make distributions to you.
Our board of directors determines our major policies, including our policies regarding financing, growth, debt capitalization, REIT qualification and distributions. Our board of directors may amend or revise these and other policies without a vote of the stockholders. Under Maryland General Corporation Law and our charter, our stockholders have a right to vote only on limited matters. Our board’s broad discretion in setting policies and our stockholders’ inability to exert control over those policies increases the uncertainty and risks you face as a stockholder.
Investing in mezzanine debt, B-Notes or other subordinated debt involves greater risks of loss than senior loans secured by the same properties.
We may invest in mezzanine debt, B-Notes and other subordinated debt. These types of investments carry a higher degree of risk of loss than senior secured debt investments, because in the event of default and foreclosure, holders of senior liens will be paid in full before subordinated investors and, depending on the value of the underlying collateral, there may not be sufficient assets to pay all or any part of amounts owed to subordinated investors. Moreover, mezzanine debt, B-Notes and other subordinate debt investments may have higher loan-to-value ratios than conventional senior lien financing, resulting in less equity in the collateral and increasing the risk of loss of principal. If a borrower defaults or declares bankruptcy, we may be subject to agreements restricting or eliminating our rights as a creditor, including rights to call a default, foreclose on collateral, accelerate maturity or control decisions made in bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, the prices of lower credit quality securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than more highly rated investments, but more sensitive to economic downturns or individual issuer developments. An economic downturn, for example, could cause a decline in the price of lower credit quality securities because the ability of obligors of instruments underlying the securities to make principal and interest payments may be impaired.
We may experience adverse business developments or conditions similar to those affecting certain programs sponsored by our sponsor, which could limit our ability to make distributions and decrease the value of your investment.
Certain programs sponsored by our sponsor or its affiliates have experienced lower than originally expected cash flows from operations. The recession that occurred during 2008 through 2011 made it significantly more difficult for multifamily property owners, including the multifamily real estate funds sponsored by our sponsor or its affiliates, to increase rental rates to planned levels and maintain occupancy rates during periods of unprecedented nationwide job losses. For 2004 and 2007, Resource Real Estate Investors, L.P. had negative cash flow from operations of $111,874 and $206,885, respectively. During 2005, 2007, and 2008, Resource Real Estate Investors, L.P. utilized $270,410, $541,776, and $148,246, respectively, from reserves to supplement cash flow from operations. For 2006 and 2007, Resource Real Estate Investors II, L.P. had negative cash flow from operations of $680,056 and $42,097, respectively. During 2006, 2007 and 2008, Resource Real Estate Investors II, L.P. utilized $916,459, $250,706 and $207,219, respectively, from reserves to supplement cash flow from operations. For Resource Real Estate Investors III, L.P., cash flow deficiencies occurred at one of the fund properties due to third-party property management issues and the delay in receiving tax refunds from tax appeals on two fund properties located in Texas during 2007 and 2008. During 2007 and 2008, Resource Real Estate Investors III, L.P. utilized $723,343 and $157,192, respectively, from reserves to supplement cash flow from operations. For Resource Real Estate Investors IV, L.P., cash flow deficiencies occurred at some of the fund properties during 2008 and 2009. During 2008 and 2009, Resource Real Estate Investors IV, L.P. utilized $11,370 and $164,627, respectively, from reserves to supplement cash flow from operations. For Resource Real Estate Investors V, L.P., cash flow deficiencies have occurred at some of the properties in the fund due to third party property management issues. For Resource Real Estate Investors 6, L.P., cash flow deficiencies occurred during 2008 through 2011 due to a drop in occupancy at one of the fund properties due to sizable layoffs at a large employer located across the street from that property. Cash flow deficiencies are expected to continue in that fund also due to the restructuring of subordinated debt investments held by the fund that were in default. During 2008 through 2011, Resource Real Estate Investors 6, L.P. utilized $272,241, $1,996,000, $634,752 and $513,627, respectively, from reserves to supplement cash flow from operations. During 2009 through 2011, Resource Real Estate Investors 7, L.P. utilized $237,731, $545,099, and $257,025, respectively, from reserves to supplement cash flow from operations. Unforeseen circumstances have caused different programs to experience temporary cash flow deficiencies at various times. Similarly, unforeseen adverse business conditions may affect us and, as a result, your overall return may be reduced.
Risks Related to Conflicts of Interest
Because we rely on affiliates of Resource Real Estate for the provision of advisory, property management and dealer manager services, if Resource Real Estate is unable to meet its obligations we may be required to find alternative providers of these services, which could result in a significant and costly disruption of our business.
Resource Real Estate, through one or more of its subsidiaries, owns and controls our advisor, our property manager and our dealer manager. The operations of our advisor, our property manager and our dealer manager rely substantially on Resource Real Estate. In the event that Resource Real Estate becomes unable to meet its obligations as they become due, we might be required to find alternative service providers, which could result in a significant disruption of our business and would likely adversely affect the value of your investment in us. Further, given the non-solicitation agreement we have with our advisor, it would be difficult for us to utilize any current employees that provide services to us.
Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II and its affiliates, including all of our executive officers, some of our directors and other key real estate professionals face conflicts of interest caused by their compensation arrangements with us, which could result in actions that are not in the long-term best interests of our stockholders.
All of our executive officers and some of our directors are also officers, directors, managers or key professionals of our advisor, our dealer manager and other affiliated Resource Real Estate entities. Our advisor and its affiliates receive substantial fees from us. These fees could influence our advisor’s advice to us as well as the judgment of affiliates of our advisor. Among other matters, these compensation arrangements could affect their judgment with respect to:
| • | the continuation, renewal or enforcement of our agreements with our advisor and its affiliates, including the advisory agreement and the management agreement; |
| • | offerings of equity by us, which entitle Resource Securities to dealer manager fees and will likely entitle our advisor to increased acquisition and asset management fees; |
| • | acquisitions of properties and investments in loans, which entitle our advisor to acquisition and asset management fees, and, in the case of acquisitions or investments from other Resource Real Estate-sponsored programs, might entitle affiliates of our advisor to disposition fees in connection with its services for the seller; |
| • | borrowings to acquire properties and other investments, which borrowings will increase the acquisition and asset management fees payable to our advisor; |
| • | whether and when we seek to list our common stock on a national securities exchange, which listing could entitle our advisor to the issuance of shares of our common stock through the conversion of our convertible stock; and |
| • | whether and when we seek to sell the company or its assets, which sale could entitle our advisor to disposition fees and to the issuance of shares of our common stock through the conversion of our convertible stock and terminate the asset management fee. |
The fees our advisor receives in connection with the acquisition and management of assets are based on the cost of the investment, and not based on the quality of the investment or the quality of the services rendered to us. This may influence our advisor to recommend riskier transactions to us.
Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II will face conflicts of interest relating to the acquisition of assets and such conflicts may not be resolved in our favor, which could limit our ability to make distributions and reduce your overall investment return.
We rely on our sponsor and other key real estate professionals at our advisor to identify suitable investment opportunities for us. The executive officers and several of the other key real estate professionals at our advisor are also the key real estate professionals at the advisors to other Resource Real Estate-sponsored programs and joint ventures. As such, Resource Real Estate-sponsored programs and joint ventures rely on many of the same real estate professionals as will future programs. Many investment opportunities that are suitable for us may also be suitable for other Resource Real Estate programs and joint ventures. When these real estate professionals direct an investment opportunity to any Resource Real Estate-sponsored program or joint venture, they, in their sole discretion, will offer the opportunity to the program or joint venture for which the investment opportunity is most suitable based on the investment objectives, portfolio and criteria of each program or joint venture. For so long as we are externally advised, our charter provides that it shall not be a proper purpose of the corporation for us to purchase real estate or any significant asset related to real estate unless our advisor has recommended the investment to us. Thus, the real estate professionals of Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II could direct attractive investment opportunities to other entities. Such events could result in us investing in properties that provide less attractive returns, which may reduce our ability to make distributions to you.
Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II will face conflicts of interest relating to joint ventures that we may form with affiliates of Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II, which conflicts could result in a disproportionate benefit to the other venture partners at our expense.
If approved by our conflicts committee, we may enter into joint venture agreements with other Resource Real Estate-sponsored programs or affiliated entities for the acquisition, development or improvement of properties or other investments. Our advisor and the advisors to the other Resource Real Estate-sponsored programs have the same executive officers and key employees; and these persons will face conflicts of interest in determining which Resource Real Estate program or investor should enter into any particular joint venture agreement. These persons may also face a conflict in structuring the terms of the relationship between our interests and the interests of the Resource Real Estate-affiliated co-venturer and in managing the joint venture. Any joint venture agreement or transaction between us and a Resource Real Estate-affiliated co-venturer will not have the benefit of arm’s-length negotiation of the type normally conducted between unrelated co-venturers. The Resource Real Estate-affiliated co-venturer may have economic or business interests or goals that are or may become inconsistent with our business interests or goals. These co-venturers may thus be either to our and your benefit or detriment.
Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II, the real estate professionals assembled by our advisor, their affiliates and our officers face competing demands relating to their time, and this may cause our operations and your investment to suffer.
We rely on Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II, the real estate professionals our advisor has assembled and their affiliates and officers for the day-to-day operation of our business. Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II, its real estate professionals and affiliates, including our officers and employees, have interests in other Resource Real Estate programs and engage in other business activities. As a result of their interests in other Resource Real Estate programs and the fact that they have engaged in and they will continue to engage in other business activities, they face conflicts of interest in allocating their time among us, Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II and other Resource Real Estate-sponsored programs and other business activities in which they are involved. Should our advisor breach its fiduciary duty to us by inappropriately devoting insufficient time or resources to our business, the returns on our investments may suffer.
Our executive officers and some of our directors face conflicts of interest related to their positions in Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II and its affiliates, including our dealer manager, which could hinder our ability to implement our business strategy and to generate returns to you.
Our executive officers and some of our directors are also executive officers, directors, managers and key professionals of our advisor, our dealer manager and other affiliated Resource Real Estate entities. Their loyalties to these other entities could result in actions or inactions that breach their fiduciary duties to us and are detrimental to our business, which could harm the implementation of our business strategy and our investment and leasing opportunities. If we do not successfully implement our business strategy, we may be unable to generate the cash needed to make distributions to you and to maintain or increase the value of our assets.
Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II may assign its obligations under the advisory agreement to its affiliates, who may not have the same expertise or provide the same level of service as our advisor.
Under the advisory agreement, our advisor may assign its responsibilities under the agreement to any of its affiliates with the approval of the conflicts committee. If there is such an assignment or transfer, the assignee may not have comparable operational expertise, have sufficient personnel, or manage our company as well as our advisor.
Risks Related to This Offering and Our Corporate Structure
Our charter limits the number of shares a person may own, which may discourage a takeover that could otherwise result in a premium price to our stockholders.
Our charter, with certain exceptions, authorizes our directors to take such actions as are necessary and desirable to preserve our qualification as a REIT. To help us comply with the REIT ownership requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, our charter prohibits a person from directly or constructively owning more than 9.8% of our outstanding shares, unless exempted by our board of directors. This restriction may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us, including an extraordinary transaction (such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all, or substantially all, of our assets) that might provide a premium price for holders of our common stock.
Our charter permits our board of directors to issue stock with terms that may subordinate the rights of our common stockholders or discourage a third party from acquiring us in a manner that could result in a premium price to our stockholders.
Our board of directors may increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue and classify or reclassify any unissued common stock or preferred stock and establish the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption of any such stock. Our board of directors could authorize the issuance of preferred stock with terms and conditions that could have priority as to distributions and amounts payable upon liquidation over the rights of the holders of our common stock. Such preferred stock could also have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us, including an extraordinary transaction (such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all, or substantially all, of our assets) that might provide a premium price to holders of our common stock. A majority of our conflicts committee must approve any issuance of preferred stock.
Your investment return may be reduced if we are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act; if we or our subsidiaries become an unregistered investment company, we could not continue our business.
Neither we nor any of our subsidiaries intend to register as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). If we or our subsidiaries were obligated to register as investment companies, we would have to comply with a variety of substantive requirements under the Investment Company Act that impose, among other things:
| • | limitations on capital structure; |
| • | restrictions on specified investments; |
| • | prohibitions on transactions with affiliates; and |
| • | compliance with reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy disclosure and other rules and regulations that would significantly increase our operating expenses. |
Under the relevant provisions of Section 3(a)(1) of the Investment Company Act, an investment company is any issuer that:
| • | pursuant to Section 3(a)(1)(A), is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities (the “primarily engaged test”); or |
| • | pursuant to Section 3(a)(1)(C), is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire “investment securities” having a value exceeding 40% of the value of such issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis (the “40% test”). “Investment securities” excludes U.S. government securities and securities of majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exception from the definition of investment company under Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) (relating to private investment companies). |
We believe that we and our operating partnership will not be required to register as an investment company. With respect to the 40% test, most of the entities through which we and our operating partnership will own our assets will be majority-owned subsidiaries that will not themselves be investment companies and will not be relying on the exceptions from the definition of investment company under Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7).
With respect to the primarily engaged test, we and our operating partnership will be holding companies and do not intend to invest or trade in securities ourselves. Rather, through the majority-owned subsidiaries of our operating partnership, we and our operating partnership will be primarily engaged in the non-investment company businesses of these subsidiaries, namely the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring real estate and real estate-related assets.
If any of the subsidiaries of our operating partnership fail to meet the 40% test, we believe they will usually, if not always, be able to rely on Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act for an exception from the definition of an investment company. (Otherwise, they should be able to rely on the exceptions for private investment companies pursuant to Section 3(c)(1) and Section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act.) As reflected in no-action letters, the SEC staff’s position on Section 3(c)(5)(C) generally requires that an issuer maintain at least 55% of its assets in “mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate,” or qualifying assets; at least 80% of its assets in qualifying assets plus real estate-related assets; and no more than 20% of the value of its assets in other than qualifying assets and real estate-related assets, which we refer to as miscellaneous assets. To constitute a qualifying asset under this 55% requirement, a real estate interest must meet various criteria based on no-action letters. We expect that any of the subsidiaries of our operating partnership relying on Section 3(c)(5)(C) will invest at least 55% of its assets in qualifying assets, and approximately an additional 25% of its assets in other types of real estate-related assets. If any subsidiary relies on Section 3(c)(5)(C), we expect to rely on guidance published by the SEC staff or on our analyses of guidance published with respect to types of assets to determine which assets are qualifying real estate assets and real estate-related assets.
Rapid changes in the values of our assets may make it more difficult for us to maintain our qualification as a REIT or our exception from the definition of an investment company under the Investment Company Act.
If the market value or income potential of our qualifying real estate assets changes as compared to the market value or income potential of our non-qualifying assets, or if the market value or income potential of our assets that are considered “real estate-related assets” under the Investment Company Act or REIT qualification tests changes as compared to the market value or income potential of our assets that are not considered “real estate-related assets” under the
Investment Company Act or REIT qualification tests, whether as a result of increased interest rates, prepayment rates or other factors, we may need to modify our investment portfolio in order to maintain our REIT qualification or exception from the definition of an investment company. If the decline in asset values or income occurs quickly, this may be especially difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish. This difficulty may be exacerbated by the illiquid nature of many of the assets that we may own. We may have to make investment decisions that we otherwise would not make absent REIT and Investment Company Act considerations.
You may not be able to sell your shares under our share redemption program and, if you are able to sell your shares under the program, you may not be able to recover the amount of your investment in our shares.
Our board of directors has approved the share redemption program, but may amend, suspend or terminate our share redemption program upon 30 days’ notice without stockholder approval. Our board of directors may reject any request for redemption of shares. Further, there are many limitations on your ability to sell your shares pursuant to the share redemption program. Any stockholder requesting repurchase of their shares pursuant to our share redemption program will be required to certify to us that such stockholder acquired the shares by either (1) a purchase directly from us or (2) a transfer from the original investor by way of (i) a bona fide gift not for value to, or for the benefit of, a member of the stockholder’s immediate or extended family, (ii) a transfer to a custodian, trustee or other fiduciary for the account of the stockholder or his or her immediate or extended family in connection with an estate planning transaction, including by bequest or inheritance upon death or (iii) operation of law.
In addition, our share redemption program contains other restrictions and limitations. We expect to redeem shares on a quarterly basis. Shares will be redeemed pro rata among all stockholders requesting redemption in such quarter, with a priority given to redemptions upon the death, qualifying disability, or confinement to a long-term care facility of a stockholder; next, to stockholders who demonstrate, in the discretion of our board of directors, another involuntary, exigent circumstance, such as bankruptcy; next, to stockholders subject to a mandatory distribution requirement under such stockholder’s IRA; and, finally, to other redemption requests.
You must hold your shares for at least one year prior to seeking redemption under the share redemption program, except that our board of directors may waive this one-year holding requirement with respect to redemptions sought upon the death, qualifying disability, or confinement to a long-term care facility of a stockholder or for other exigent circumstances, and that if a stockholder is redeeming all of his or her shares the board of directors may waive the one-year holding requirement with respect to shares purchased pursuant to the distribution reinvestment plan. We will not redeem more than 5% of the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the twelve-month period immediately prior to the date of redemption. Our board of directors will determine from time to time, and at least quarterly, whether we have sufficient excess cash to repurchase shares. Generally, the cash available for redemption will be limited to proceeds from our distribution reinvestment plan plus 1% of the operating cash flow from the previous fiscal year (to the extent positive).
Other than redemptions following the death, qualifying disability or confinement to a long-term care facility of a stockholder, the purchase price for such shares we repurchase under our redemption program will be as follows.
Prior to the time we establish a net asset value (“NAV”) per share of our common stock, the price at which we will redeem the shares is as follows:
| • | For those shares held by the redeeming stockholder for at least one year, 92.5% of the price paid to acquire the shares from us; |
| • | For those shares held by the redeeming stockholder for at least two years, 95.0% of the price paid to acquire the shares from us; |
| • | For those shares held by the redeeming stockholder for at least three years, 97.5% of the price paid to acquire the shares from us; and |
| • | For those shares held by the redeeming stockholder for at least four years, 100% of the price paid to acquire the shares from us. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, until we establish an NAV per share, shares received as a stock distribution will be redeemed at a purchase price of $0.00. In addition, the purchase price per share will be adjusted for any stock combinations, splits, recapitalizations and the like with respect to the shares of common stock and reduced by the aggregate amount of net sale or refinance proceeds per share, if any, distributed to the redeeming stockholder prior to the redemption date.
After we establish an NAV per share of our common stock, the price at which we will redeem the shares is as follows:
| • | For those shares held by the redeeming stockholder for at least one year, 92.5% of our most recent applicable NAV per share as of the applicable redemption date; |
| • | For those shares held by the redeeming stockholder for at least two years, 95.0% of our most recent applicable NAV per share as of the applicable redemption date; |
| • | For those shares held by the redeeming stockholder for at least three years, 97.5% of our most recent applicable NAV per share as of the applicable redemption date; and |
| • | For those shares held by the redeeming stockholder for at least four years, 100% of our most recent applicable NAV per share as of the applicable redemption date. |
Accordingly, you may receive less by selling your shares back to us than you would receive if our investments were sold for their estimated values and such proceeds were distributed in our liquidation.
Therefore, in making a decision to purchase shares of our common stock, you should not assume that you will be able to sell any of your shares back to us pursuant to our share redemption program.
The actual value of shares that we repurchase under our share redemption program may be substantially less than what we pay.
Under our share redemption program, shares may be repurchased at varying prices depending on (a) the number of years the shares have been held, (b) the purchase price paid for the shares, and (c) whether the redemptions are sought upon a stockholder’s death, qualifying disability or confinement to a long-term care facility. The maximum price that may be paid under the program is $10.00 per share, which is the offering price of shares of common stock in the primary portion of our initial public offering (ignoring purchase price discounts for certain categories of purchasers). Although this purchase price represents the most recent price at which most investors were willing to purchase shares in our primary offering, this value is likely to differ from the price at which a stockholder could resell his or her shares for the reasons discussed in the risk factor above. Thus, when we repurchase shares of our common stock at $10.00 per share, the actual value of the shares that we repurchase is likely to be less, and the repurchase is likely to be dilutive to our remaining stockholders. Even at lower repurchase prices, the actual value of the shares may be substantially less than what we pay and the repurchase may be dilutive to our remaining stockholders.
Your interest in us will be diluted if we issue additional shares, which could reduce the overall value of your investment.
Potential investors in this offering do not have preemptive rights to any shares we issue in the future. Our charter authorizes us to issue 1,010,050,000 shares of capital stock, of which 1,000,000,000 shares are designated as common stock, 50,000 shares are designated as convertible stock and 10,000,000 are designated as preferred stock. Our board of directors may increase the number of authorized shares of capital stock without stockholder approval. After you purchase shares in this offering, our board may elect to (1) sell additional equity securities in future public or private offerings; (2) issue shares of our common stock upon the exercise of the options we may grant to our independent directors or to employees of our advisor or property manager; (3) issue shares to our advisor, its successors or assigns, in payment of an outstanding obligation or as consideration in a related-party transaction; (4) issue shares of common stock upon the conversion of our convertible stock; or (5) issue shares of our common stock to sellers of properties we acquire in connection with an exchange of limited partnership interests of our operating partnership. To the extent we issue additional equity interests after you purchase shares in this offering, your percentage ownership interest in us will be diluted. Further, depending upon the terms of such transactions, most notably the offering price per share, which may be less than the price paid per share in any offering under this prospectus, and the value of our properties, existing stockholders may also experience a dilution in the book value of their investment in us.
Payment of substantial fees and expenses to Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II and its affiliates reduces cash available for investment and distribution and increases the risk that you will not be able to recover the amount of your investment in our shares.
Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II and its affiliates perform services for us in connection with the offer and sale of our shares, the selection and acquisition of our investments, the management and leasing of our properties and the administration of our other investments. We pay them substantial fees for these services, which result in immediate dilution to the value of your investment and reduce the amount of cash available for investment or distribution to stockholders.
We also pay significant fees to our advisor and its affiliates during our operational stage. Those fees include property management and debt servicing fees, asset management fees and obligations to reimburse our advisor and its affiliates for expenses they incur in connection with their providing services to us, including certain personnel services.
We may also pay significant fees during our listing/liquidation stage. The subordinated incentive fee that we will pay to our advisor upon our investors receiving an agreed upon return on their investment is structured in the form of convertible stock. Our advisor has exchanged 5,000 shares of our common stock for 50,000 shares of our convertible stock. Under limited circumstances, these shares may be converted into shares of our common stock satisfying our obligation to pay our advisor an incentive fee and diluting our stockholders’ interest in us. Our convertible stock will convert into shares of common stock on one of two events. First, it will convert if we have paid distributions to common stockholders such that aggregate distributions are equal to 100% of the price at which we sold our outstanding shares of common stock plus an amount sufficient to produce a 7% cumulative, non-compounded, annual return at that price. Alternatively, the convertible stock will convert if we list our shares of common stock on a national securities exchange and, on the 31st trading day after listing, the value of our company based on the average trading price of our shares of common stock since the listing, plus prior distributions, combine to meet the same 7% return threshold for our common stockholders. Each of these two events is a “Triggering Event.”
Upon a Triggering Event, our convertible stock will, unless our advisory agreement with our advisor has been terminated or not renewed on account of a material breach by our advisor, generally be converted into a number of shares of common stock equal to 1/50,000 of the quotient of:
| (A) | 15% of the amount, if any, by which |
| • | (1) the value of the company as of the date of the event triggering the conversion plus the total distributions paid to our stockholders through such date on the then outstanding shares of our common stock exceeds |
| • | (2) the sum of the aggregate issue price of those outstanding shares plus a 7% cumulative, non-compounded, annual return on the issue price of those outstanding shares as of the date of the event triggering the conversion, divided by |
| (B) | the value of the company divided by the number of outstanding shares of common stock, in each case, as of the date of the event triggering the conversion. |
However, if our advisory agreement with our advisor expires without renewal or is terminated (other than because of a material breach by our advisor) prior to a Triggering Event, then upon a Triggering Event the holder of the convertible stock will be entitled to a prorated portion of the number of shares of common stock determined by the foregoing calculation, where such proration is based on the percentage of time we were advised by our advisor. As a result, following conversion, the holder of the convertible stock will be entitled to a portion of amounts distributable to our stockholders, which such amounts distributable to the holder could be significant.
Our advisor can influence whether our common stock is listed for trading on a national securities exchange. Accordingly, our advisor can influence the conversion of the convertible stock issued to it and the resulting dilution of other stockholders’ interests.
These fees and other potential payments increase the risk that the amount available for distribution to common stockholders upon a liquidation of our portfolio would be less than the purchase price of the shares in this offering. Substantial consideration paid to our advisor and its affiliates also increases the risk that you will not be able to resell your shares at a profit, even if our shares are listed on a national securities exchange.
If we are unable to obtain funding for future capital needs, cash distributions to our stockholders could be reduced and the value of our investments could decline.
If we need additional capital in the future to improve or maintain our properties or for any other reason, we may have to obtain financing from sources beyond our cash flow from operations, such as borrowings, sales of assets or future equity offerings. These sources of funding may not be available on attractive terms or at all. If we cannot procure additional funding for capital improvements, our investments may generate lower cash flows or decline in value, or both, which would limit our ability to make distributions to you and could reduce the value of your investment.
Our board of directors could opt into certain provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law in the future, which may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and may prevent our stockholders from receiving a premium price for their stock in connection with a business combination.
Under Maryland law, “business combinations” between a Maryland corporation and certain interested stockholders or affiliates of interested stockholders are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. These business combinations include a merger, consolidation, share exchange, or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities. Also under Maryland law, control shares of a Maryland corporation acquired in a control share acquisition have no voting rights except to the extent approved by a vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Shares owned by the acquirer, an officer of the corporation or an employee of the corporation who is also a director of the corporation are excluded from the vote on whether to accord voting rights to the control shares. Should our board opt into these provisions of Maryland law, it may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating any offer. For more information about the business combination and control share acquisition provisions of Maryland law, see “Description of Shares—Business Combinations” and “Description of Shares—Control Share Acquisitions.”
Because Maryland law permits our board to adopt certain anti-takeover measures without stockholder approval, investors may be less likely to receive a “control premium” for their shares.
In 1999, the State of Maryland enacted legislation that enhances the power of Maryland corporations to protect themselves from unsolicited takeovers. Among other things, the legislation permits our board, without stockholder approval, to amend our charter to:
| • | stagger our board of directors into three classes; |
| • | require a two-thirds stockholder vote for removal of directors; |
| • | provide that only the board can fix the size of the board; |
| • | provide that all vacancies on the board, however created, may be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors in office; and |
| • | require that special stockholder meetings may only be called by holders of a majority of the voting shares entitled to be cast at the meeting. |
Under Maryland law, a corporation can opt to be governed by some or all of these provisions if it has a class of equity securities registered under the Exchange Act, and has at least three independent directors. Our charter does not prohibit our board from opting into any of the above provisions permitted under Maryland law. Becoming governed by any of these provisions could discourage an extraordinary transaction (such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all or substantially all of our assets) that might provide a premium price for holders of our securities.
If we internalize our management functions, we could incur significant costs associated with being self-managed and may not be able to retain or replace key personnel; and we may have increased exposure to litigation as a result of internalizing our management functions.
We may internalize management functions provided by our advisor, our property manager and their respective affiliates by acquiring assets and personnel from our advisor, our property manager or their affiliates. In the event we were to acquire our advisor or our property manager, we cannot be sure of the terms relating to any such acquisition.
If we internalize, we would no longer bear the costs of the various fees and expenses we expect to pay to our advisor and to our property manager under their respective agreements; however, our direct expenses would increase due to the inclusion of general and administrative costs, including legal, accounting, and other expenses related to corporate governance, SEC reporting and compliance. We would also incur the compensation and benefits costs of our officers and other employees and consultants that are now paid by our advisor, our property manager or their affiliates. We cannot reasonably estimate the amount of fees to our advisor, property manager and other affiliates we would save, and the costs we would incur, if we acquired these entities. If the expenses we assume as a result of an internalization are higher than the expenses we avoid paying to our advisor, our property manager and their affiliates, our net income per share and funds from operations per share would be lower than they otherwise would have been had we not acquired these entities, potentially decreasing the amount of funds available for distribution.
Additionally, if we internalize our management functions, we would employ personnel and would be subject to potential liabilities commonly faced by employers, such as workers’ disability and compensation claims, potential labor disputes and other employee-related liabilities and grievances. Also, there can be no assurances that we will be successful in retaining key personnel at our advisor or property manager in the event of an internalization transaction. In addition, we could have difficulty integrating the functions currently performed by our advisor, our property manager and their affiliates. Currently, the officers and employees of our advisor, our property manager, and their affiliates perform asset management, property management, and general and administrative functions, including accounting and financial reporting, for multiple entities. We may fail to properly identify the appropriate mix of personnel and capital needs to operate as a stand-alone entity. An inability to manage an internalization transaction effectively could result in our incurring additional costs and/or experiencing deficiencies in our disclosures controls and procedures or our internal control over financial reporting. Such deficiencies could cause us to incur additional costs and our management’s attention could be diverted from effectively managing our properties and overseeing other real estate-related assets.
In addition, in recent years, internalization transactions have been the subject of stockholder litigation. Stockholder litigation can be costly and time-consuming, and there can be no assurance that any litigation expenses we might incur would not be significant or that the outcome of litigation would be favorable to us. Any amounts we are required to expend defending any such litigation will reduce the amount of funds available for investment by us in properties or other investments.
Risks Related to Investments in Real Estate
Economic and regulatory changes that impact the real estate market generally may decrease the value of our investments and weaken our operating results.
The properties we acquire and their performance are subject to the risks typically associated with real estate, including:
| • | downturns in national, regional and local economic conditions; |
| • | competition; |
| • | adverse local conditions, such as oversupply or reduction in demand and changes in real estate zoning laws that may reduce the desirability of real estate in an area; |
| • | vacancies, changes in market rental rates and the need to periodically repair, renovate and re-let space; |
| • | changes in the supply of or the demand for similar or competing properties in an area; |
| • | changes in interest rates and the availability of permanent mortgage financing, which may render the sale of a property or loan difficult or unattractive; |
| • | changes in governmental regulations, including those involving tax, real estate usage, environmental and zoning laws; and |
| • | periods of high interest rates and tight money supply. |
Any of the above factors, or a combination thereof, could result in a decrease in the value of our investments, which would have an adverse effect on our results of operations, reduce the cash available for distributions and the return on your investment.
We are subject to the risks associated with acquiring discounted real estate assets.
We are subject to the risks generally incident to the ownership of discounted real estate assets. Such assets may be purchased at a discount from historical cost due to substantial deferred maintenance, abandonment, undesirable locations or markets, or poorly structured financing of the real estate or debt instruments underlying the assets, which has since lowered their value. Further, the continuing instability in the financial markets may limit the availability of lines of credit and the degree to which people and entities have access to cash to pay rents or debt service on the underlying assets. Such illiquidity has the effect of increasing vacancies, increasing bankruptcies and weakening interest rates commercial entities can charge consumers, which can all decrease the value of already discounted real estate assets. Should conditions worsen, the continued inability of the underlying real estate assets to produce income may weaken our return on our investments, which in turn, may weaken your return on investment.
Further, irrespective of the instability the financial markets may have on the return produced by discounted real estate assets, the evolving efforts to correct the instability make the valuation of such assets highly unpredictable. The fluctuation in market conditions make judging the future performance of such assets difficult. There is a risk that we may not purchase real estate assets at absolute discounted rates and that such assets may continue to decline in value.
Residents of multifamily rental properties or tenants of other property classes we intend to acquire as discounted real estate assets who have experienced personal financial problems or a downturn in their business may delay enforcement of our rights, and we may incur substantial costs attempting to protect our investment.
The discounted real estate assets may involve investments in commercial leases with residents or tenants who have experienced a downturn in their residential or business leases and with residents or tenants who have experienced difficulties with their personal financial situations such as a job loss, bankruptcy or bad credit rating, resulting in their failure to make timely rental payments or their default under their leases or debt instruments. In the event of any default by residents or tenants at our properties, we may experience delays in enforcing our rights and may incur substantial costs attempting to protect our investment.
The bankruptcy or insolvency of any resident or tenant also may adversely affect the income produced by our properties. If any resident or tenant becomes a debtor in a case under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, our actions may be restricted by the bankruptcy court and our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
The operating costs of our properties will not necessarily decrease if our income decreases.
Certain expenses associated with ownership and operation of a property may be intentionally increased to enhance the short- and long-term success of the property in the form of capital gain and current income, such as:
| • | increased staffing levels; |
| • | enhanced technology applications; and |
| • | increased marketing efforts. |
Certain expenses associated with the ownership and operation of a property are not necessarily reduced by events that adversely affect the income from the property, such as:
| • | real estate taxes; |
| • | insurance costs; and |
| • | maintenance costs. |
For example, if the leased property loses tenants or rents are reduced, then those costs described in the preceding sentence are not necessarily reduced. As a result, our cost of owning and operating leased properties may, in the future, exceed the
income the property generates even though the property’s income exceeded its costs at the time it was acquired. This would decrease the amount of cash available to us to distribute to you and could negatively affect your return on investment.
We will be subject to the risks associated with acquiring bank-owned properties, commonly referred to as REO (“real estate owned” by a bank after foreclosure).
We will be subject to the risks generally incident to the acquisition and ownership of REO. An investment in REO assets may be riskier than traditional real estate transactions. For example, such additional risks may include:
| • | REO assets often will require certain additional planned capital expenditures to repair and maintain the property in order to prepare the property for sale, due to the previous owners’ inadequate maintenance of the property; |
| • | REO assets may result in the purchaser discovering additional latent defects with the property requiring additional unplanned expenditures not initially budgeted for as part of the redevelopment and repositioning capital expenditures; and |
| • | the timing and closing of an REO acquisition may be delayed and we may incur additional costs because of the bank’s lack of adequate staff assigned to the bank’s REO portfolio or the deliberate process of following the bank’s specific rules and requirements for obtaining its approval prior to closing the transaction. |
The risks associated with REO may adversely affect our results of operations, reduce the cash available for distributions and the return on your investment.
We will compete with third parties in acquiring, managing and selling properties and other investments, which could reduce our profitability and the return on your investment.
We believe that the current market for properties that meet our investment objectives is extremely competitive and many of our competitors have greater resources than we do. We will compete with numerous other entities engaged in real estate investment activities, including individuals, corporations, banks and insurance company investment accounts, other REITs, real estate limited partnerships, the U.S. Government and other entities, to acquire, manage and sell real estate and real estate-related assets. Many of our expected competitors enjoy significant competitive advantages that result from, among other things, a lower cost of capital and enhanced operating efficiencies. In addition, the number of entities and the amount of funds competing for suitable investments may increase.
Competition with these entities may result in the following:
| • | greater demand for the acquisition of real estate and real estate-related assets, which results in increased prices we must pay for our real estate and real estate-related assets; |
| • | delayed investment of our capital; |
| • | decreased availability of financing to us; or |
| • | reductions in the size or desirability of the potential tenant base for one or more properties that we lease. |
If such events occur, you may experience a lower return on your investment.
Our joint venture partners could take actions that decrease the value of an investment to us and lower our stockholders’ overall return.
We may enter into joint ventures to acquire properties and other assets. We may also purchase and renovate properties in joint ventures or in partnerships, co-tenancies or other co-ownership arrangements. Such investments may involve risks not otherwise present with other methods of investment, including, for example, the following risks:
| • | that our co-venturer, co-tenant or partner in an investment could become insolvent or bankrupt; |
| • | that such co-venturer, co-tenant or partner may at any time have economic or business interests or goals that are or that become inconsistent with our business interests or goals; |
| • | that such co-venturer, co-tenant or partner may be in a position to take action contrary to our instructions or requests or contrary to our policies or objectives; or |
| • | that such co-venturer, co-tenant or partner may grant us a right of first refusal or buy/sell right to buy out such co-venturer or partner, and that we may be unable to finance such a buy-out if it becomes exercisable or we are required to purchase such interest at a time when it would not otherwise be in our best interest to do so. If our interest is subject to a buy/sell right, we may not have sufficient cash, available borrowing capacity or other capital resources to allow us to elect to purchase an interest of a co-venturer subject to the buy/sell right, in which case we may be forced to sell our interest as the result of the exercise of such right when we would otherwise prefer to keep our interest. |
Any of the above might subject a property to liabilities in excess of those contemplated and thus reduce our returns on that investment and therefore your return on investment.
Properties that have significant vacancies, especially discounted real estate assets, may experience delays in leasing up or could be difficult to sell, which could diminish our return on these properties.
A property may incur vacancies either by the expiration of tenant leases or the continued default of tenants under their leases. Further, our potential investments in underperforming multifamily rental properties or other types of discounted properties may have significant vacancies at the time of acquisition. If vacancies continue for a prolonged period of time beyond the expected lease-up stage that we anticipate will follow any redevelopment or repositioning efforts, we may suffer reduced revenues resulting in less cash available for distributions. In addition, the resale value of the property could be diminished because the market value of a particular property depends principally upon the value of the cash flow generated by the leases associated with that property. Such a reduction on the resale value of a property could also reduce your return on investment.
We may have difficulty re-leasing underperforming or discounted properties because of the location or reputation of the property.
The nature of discounted real estate assets carries the risk that the properties underlying certain real estate investments may be located in areas of slow, stagnant, or declining economic growth. Such areas may experience high levels of crime and unemployment. In addition to the risks these conditions impose on the current tenants and owners of properties underlying the real estate investments, these conditions may harm the reputation of the property making it difficult to attract future more productive tenants and owners to the areas where the properties are located. The inability to re-lease or re-sell property abandoned, foreclosed upon, or purchased in these areas may result in an unproductive use of our resources and could negatively affect our performance and your return on investment.
Because we rely on Resource Real Estate Opportunity Manager II, its affiliates and third parties to manage the day-to-day affairs of any properties we acquire, should the staff of a particular property perform poorly, our operating results for that property will similarly be hindered and our net income may be reduced.
We depend upon the performance of our property managers to effectively manage our properties and real estate-related assets. Rising vacancies across real estate properties have resulted in increased pressure on real estate investors and their property managers to maintain adequate occupancy levels. In order to do so, we may have to offer inducements, such as free rent and resident amenities, to compete for residents. Poor performance by those sales, leasing and other management staff members operating a particular property will necessarily translate into poor results of operations for that
particular property. Should Resource Real Estate Opportunity Manager II, its affiliates or third parties fail to identify problems in the day-to-day management of a particular property or fail to take the appropriate corrective action in a timely manner, our operating results may be hindered and our net income reduced.
If we are unable to sell a property for the price, on the terms, or within the time frame we desire, it could limit our ability to pay cash distributions to you.
Many factors that are beyond our control affect the real estate market and could affect our ability to sell properties for the price, on the terms, or within the time frame that we desire. These factors include general economic conditions, the availability of financing, interest rates and other factors, including supply and demand. Because real estate investments are relatively illiquid, we have a limited ability to vary our portfolio in response to changes in economic or other conditions. Further, before we can sell a property on the terms we want, it may be necessary to expend funds to correct defects or to make improvements. However, we can give no assurance that we will have the funds available to correct such defects or to make such improvements. We may be unable to sell our properties at a profit. Our inability to sell properties at the time and on the terms we want could reduce our cash flow and limit our ability to make distributions to you and could reduce the value of your investment.
Government entities, community associations and contractors may cause unforeseen delays and increase costs to redevelop and reposition underperforming properties that we may acquire, which may reduce our net income and cash available for distributions to you.
We may seek to or be required to incur substantial capital obligations to redevelop or reposition existing properties that we acquire at a discount as a result of neglect of the previous owners or tenants of the properties and to sell the properties. Our advisor and its key real estate professionals will do their best to acquire properties that do not require excessive redevelopment or modifications and that do not contain hidden defects or problems. There could, however, be unknown and excessive costs, expenses and delays associated with a discounted property’s redevelopment, repositioning or interior and exterior upgrades. We will be subject to risks relating to the uncertainties associated with rezoning for redevelopment and other concerns of governmental entities, community associations and our construction manager’s ability to control costs and to build in conformity with plans and the established timeframe. We will pay a construction management fee to a construction manager, which may be Resource Real Estate Opportunity Manager II or its affiliates, if new capital improvements are required.
If we are unable to increase rental rates or sell the redeveloped property at a price consistent with our underwritten projections due to local market or economic conditions to offset the cost of the redevelopment or repositioning the property, the return on your investment may suffer. To the extent we acquire discounted properties in major metropolitan areas where the local government has imposed rent controls, we may be prohibited from increasing the rental rates to a level sufficient to cover the particular property’s redevelopment costs and expenses.
Costs of responding to both known and previously undetected environmental contamination and hazardous conditions may decrease our cash flows and limit our ability to make distributions.
Real property and the operations conducted on real property are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to protection of the environment and human health. We could be subject to liability in the form of fines, penalties or damages for noncompliance with these laws and regulations. These laws and regulations generally govern wastewater discharges, air emissions, the operation and removal of underground and above-ground storage tanks, the use, storage, treatment, transportation and disposal of solid and hazardous materials, the remediation of contamination associated with the release or disposal of solid and hazardous materials, the presence of toxic building materials, and other health and safety-related concerns.
Some of these laws and regulations may impose joint and several liability on the tenants, current or previous owners or operators of real property for the costs to investigate or remediate contaminated properties, whether the contamination occurred prior to purchase, or whether the acts causing the contamination were legal. These costs could be substantial. Such laws often impose liability whether or not the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. Our tenants’ operations, the condition of properties at the time we buy them, operations in the vicinity of our properties, such as the presence of underground storage tanks, or activities of unrelated third parties may affect our properties.
Environmental laws also may impose liens on a property or restrictions on the manner in which a property may be used or businesses may be operated, and these restrictions may require substantial expenditures or prevent us from entering into leases with prospective tenants that may be impacted by such laws. Environmental laws provide for sanctions for noncompliance and may be enforced by governmental agencies or, in certain circumstances, by private parties. Certain environmental laws and common law principles could be used to impose liability for the release of and exposure to hazardous substances, including asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paint. Third parties may seek recovery from real property owners or operators for personal injury or property damage associated with exposure to released hazardous substances.
The presence of hazardous substances, or the failure to properly manage or remediate these substances, may hinder our ability to sell, rent or pledge such property as collateral for future borrowings. Any material expenditures, fines, penalties, or damages we must pay will reduce our ability to make distributions and may reduce the value of your investment.
Properties acquired by us may have toxic mold that could result in substantial liabilities to us.
Litigation and concern about indoor exposure to certain types of toxic molds has been increasing as the public becomes aware that exposure to mold can cause a variety of health effects and symptoms, including allergic reactions. It is impossible to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment. There can be no assurance that the properties acquired by us will not contain toxic mold. The difficulty in discovering indoor toxic mold growth could lead to an increased risk of lawsuits by affected persons and the risk that the cost to remediate toxic mold will exceed the value of the property. There is a risk that we may acquire properties that contain toxic mold and such properties may negatively affect our performance and your return on investment.
Uninsured losses relating to real property or excessively expensive premiums for insurance coverage could reduce our cash flows and the return on your investment.
There are types of losses, generally catastrophic in nature, such as losses due to wars, acts of terrorism, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, pollution or environmental matters that are uninsurable or not economically insurable, or may be insured subject to limitations, such as large deductibles or co-payments. Insurance risks associated with potential acts of terrorism could sharply increase the premiums we pay for coverage against property and casualty claims. Additionally, mortgage lenders in some cases have begun to insist that commercial property owners purchase coverage against terrorism as a condition for providing mortgage loans. Such insurance policies may not be available at reasonable costs, if at all, which could inhibit our ability to finance or refinance our properties. In such instances, we may be required to provide other financial support, either through financial assurances or self-insurance, to cover potential losses. We may not have adequate coverage for such losses. If any of our properties incurs a casualty loss that is not fully insured, the value of our assets will be reduced by any such uninsured loss. In addition, other than any working capital reserve or other reserves we may establish, we have no source of funding to repair or reconstruct any uninsured property. Also, to the extent we must pay unexpectedly large amounts for insurance, we could suffer reduced earnings that would result in lower distributions.
Our costs associated with and the risk of failing to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act and other tax credit programs may adversely affect cash available for distributions.
Our properties are generally expected to be subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended. Under the Disabilities Act, all places of public accommodation are required to comply with federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. The Disabilities Act has separate compliance requirements for “public accommodations” and “commercial facilities” that generally require that buildings and services be made accessible and available to people with disabilities. The Disabilities Act’s requirements could require removal of access barriers and could result in the imposition of injunctive relief, monetary penalties or, in some cases, an award of damages. We cannot assure you that we will be able to acquire properties that comply with the Disabilities Act or place the burden on the seller or other third party to ensure compliance with such laws. If we cannot, our funds used for compliance with these laws may affect cash available for distributions and the amount of distributions to you.
The multifamily rental properties we acquire must comply with Title III of the Disabilities Act, to the extent that such properties are “public accommodations” or “commercial facilities” as defined by the Disabilities Act. Compliance with the Disabilities Act could require removal of structural barriers to handicapped access in certain public areas of our
apartment communities where such removal is readily achievable. The Disabilities Act does not, however, consider residential properties, such as multifamily rental properties, to be public accommodations or commercial facilities, except to the extent portions of such facilities, such as the leasing office, are open to the public.
We also must comply with the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988 (“FHAA”), which requires that multifamily rental properties first occupied after March 13, 1991 be accessible to handicapped residents and visitors. Compliance with the FHAA could require removal of structural barriers to handicapped access in a community, including the interiors of apartment units covered under the FHAA. Recently there has been heightened scrutiny of multifamily rental properties for compliance with the requirements of the FHAA and the Disabilities Act and an increasing number of substantial enforcement actions and private lawsuits have been brought against multifamily rental properties to ensure compliance with these requirements. Noncompliance with the FHAA and the Disabilities Act could result in the imposition of fines, awards of damages to private litigants, payment of attorneys’ fees and other costs to plaintiffs, substantial litigation costs and substantial costs of remediation.
Certain of our properties may be subject to the low income housing tax credits, historic preservation tax credits or other similar tax credit rules at the federal, state or municipal level. The application of these tax credit rules is extremely complicated and noncompliance with these rules may have adverse consequences for us. Noncompliance with applicable tax regulations may result in the loss of future or other tax credits and the fractional recapture of these tax credits already taken. Accordingly, noncompliance with these tax credit rules and related restrictions may adversely affect our ability to distribute any cash to our investors.
Our properties may be dispersed geographically and across various markets and sectors.
We may acquire and operate properties in different locations throughout the United States and in different markets and sectors. The success of our properties will depend largely on our ability to hire various managers and service providers in each area, market and sector where the properties are located or situated. It may be more challenging to manage a diverse portfolio. Failure to meet such challenges could reduce the value of your investment.
A high concentration of our properties in a particular geographic area would magnify the effects of downturns in that geographic area.
In the event that we have a concentration of properties in any particular geographic area, any adverse situation that disproportionately affects that geographic area would have a magnified adverse effect on our portfolio.
Newly constructed and existing multifamily rental properties or other properties that compete with any properties we may acquire in any particular location could adversely affect the operating results of our properties and our cash available for distribution.
We may acquire properties in locations that experience increases in construction of multifamily rental or other properties that compete with our properties. This increased competition and construction could:
| • | make it more difficult for us to find residents to lease units in our apartment communities; |
| • | force us to lower our rental prices in order to lease units in our apartment communities; or |
| • | substantially reduce our revenues and cash available for distribution. |
Our efforts to upgrade multifamily rental properties to increase occupancy and raise rental rates through redevelopment and repositioning may fail, which may reduce our net income and the cash available for distributions to you.
The success of our ability to upgrade any multifamily rental properties that we may acquire and realize capital gains and current income for you on these investments materially depends upon the status of the economy where the multifamily rental property is located. Our revenues will be lower if the rental market cannot bear the higher rental rate that accompanies the upgraded multifamily rental property due to job losses or other economic hardships. Should the local market be unable to support a higher rental rate for a multifamily rental property that we upgraded, we may not realize the premium rental we had assumed by a given upgrade and we may realize reduced rental income or a reduced gain or even loss upon the sale of the property. These events could cause us to reduce the cash available for distributions.
Repositioning risks could affect our profitability.
A component of our strategy is to renovate and reposition multifamily communities in order to effect long-term growth. Our renovation and repositioning activities generally entail certain risks, including the following:
| • | funds may be expended and management’s time devoted to projects that may not be completed due to a variety of factors, including without limitation, the inability to obtain necessary governmental approvals; |
| • | construction costs of a renovation or repositioning project may exceed original estimates, possibly making the project economically unfeasible or the economic return on a repositioned property less than anticipated; |
| • | increased material and labor costs, problems with subcontractors, or other costs due to errors and omissions which occur in the renovation process; |
| • | projects may be delayed due to required governmental approvals, adverse weather conditions, labor shortages or other unforeseen complications; |
| • | occupancy rates and rents at a repositioned property may be less than anticipated; and |
| • | the operating expenses at a repositioned property may be higher than anticipated. |
These risks may reduce the funds available for distribution to our stockholders. Further, the renovation and repositioning of properties is also subject to the general risks associated with real estate investments.
A concentration of our investments in any one property sector may leave our profitability vulnerable to a downturn or slowdown in such sector.
We expect a majority of our investments to be in the multifamily sector. Vacancy rates in multifamily rental properties and other commercial real estate properties may be related to jobless rates. As a result, we will be subject to risks inherent in investments in a single type of property. If our investments are substantially in any one property sector, then the potential effects on our revenues, and as a result, on cash available for distribution, resulting from increased jobless rates as well as a general downturn or slowdown in such property sector could be more pronounced than if we had more fully diversified our investments.
Increased competition and the increased affordability of single-family and multifamily homes and condominiums for sale or rent could limit our ability to retain residents, lease apartment units or increase or maintain rents.
Any multifamily rental property that we may acquire will most likely compete with numerous housing alternatives in attracting residents, including single-family and multifamily homes and condominiums. Due to the current economic conditions, competitive housing in a particular area and the increasing affordability of single-family and multifamily homes and condominiums to buy caused by relatively low mortgage interest rates and generous federal and state government programs to promote home ownership could adversely affect our ability to fully occupy any multifamily rental properties we may acquire. Further, single-family homes and condominiums available for rent could also adversely affect our ability to retain our residents, lease apartment units and increase or maintain rental rates.
Short-term multifamily leases expose us to the effects of declining market rent, which could adversely impact our ability to make cash distributions.
We expect that substantially all of our apartment leases will be for a term of one year or less. Because these leases generally permit the residents to leave at the end of the lease term or earlier in certain situations, such as when a resident loses his/her job, without penalty, our rental revenues may be impacted by declines in market rents more quickly than if our leases were for longer terms.
If we acquire student housing properties, these properties would be subject to an annual leasing cycle, short lease-up period, seasonal cash flows, changing university admission and housing policies and other risks inherent in the student housing industry.
Similar to multifamily rental properties, if we acquire student housing, we expect to generally lease such properties under short-term, 12-month leases, and in certain cases, under nine-month or shorter-term semester leases. As a result, we may experience significantly reduced cash flows during the summer months at properties leased under leases having terms shorter than 12 months. Student housing properties are also typically leased during a limited leasing season that usually begins in January and ends in August of each year. We are therefore highly dependent on the effectiveness of our marketing and leasing efforts and personnel during this season.
Changes in university admission policies or overall student enrollment levels could also adversely affect the investment return on student housing properties. For example, if a university reduces the number of student admissions or requires that a certain class of students, such as freshman, live in a university-owned facility, the demand for beds at our properties may be reduced and our occupancy rates may decline. We will also be required to form relationships directly or through third parties with colleges and universities for referrals of prospective student-residents or for mailing lists of prospective student-residents and their parents. Any failure to maintain good relationships with these colleges and universities could therefore have a material adverse effect on us. Federal and state laws require colleges to publish and distribute reports of on-campus crime statistics, which may result in negative publicity and media coverage associated with crimes occurring on or in the vicinity of our on-campus properties.
If we acquire student housing properties, we may face significant competition from university-owned on-campus student housing, from other off-campus student housing properties and from traditional multifamily housing located within close proximity to universities.
On-campus student housing has certain inherent advantages over off-campus student housing in terms of physical proximity to the university campus and integration of on-campus facilities into the academic community. Colleges and universities can generally avoid real estate taxes and borrow funds at lower interest rates than us and other private sector operators. Competition from university-owned on-campus housing could adversely affect the performance of any student housing properties we may acquire.
If we invest in senior residential properties, we may incur liability for failing to comply with the FHAA and the Housing for Older Persons Act or certain state regulations.
Any senior residential properties we acquire will be required to qualify as housing for older persons and will be required to comply with the appropriate federal and state laws governing age and owner occupancy. Noncompliance with the FHAA and the Housing for Older Persons Act and certain state registration requirements could result in fines, awards of damages to private litigants, payment of attorneys’ fees and other substantial costs of remediation.
The condominium industry is subject to extensive regulation and other unique risks.
We may invest in condominium properties to convert the condominiums into multifamily rental units or market and sell the condominium units at discounted prices. These activities are subject to extensive laws and regulations of local, state and federal governments. These laws and regulations vary by municipality and state and their requirements can be burdensome and costly.
Further, condominium associations often serve as mini-governments in the form and manner by which they govern the activities and services impacting the residents of the condominium building. Our lack of control over any condominium association, where we own the building, could raise additional risks of undue delay or unexpected costs to sell the discounted condominium units or convert them into multifamily rental units. In addition, condominium buildings and their associations may also be subject to litigation from contractors, other condominium owners or other third parties and may be subject to other unknown liabilities not readily discoverable upon initial due diligence.
Changing market conditions, especially in the greater metropolitan areas may adversely impact our ability to sell condominium units at expected prices, or at all, which could hinder our results of operations and reduce our net income.
If we acquire a condominium building for conversion or to sell units at a discount, there could be a significant amount of time before we can redevelop or reposition the condominium units available for conversion or sale. The market value of a condominium unit being redeveloped or repositioned can vary significantly during this time due to changing market conditions. If we acquire condominiums or attempt to convert multifamily or hotel properties into condominiums, lower prices of condominium units and sales activities in major metropolitan markets or other markets where these properties may be located could adversely affect our results of operations and net income. Although demand in major metropolitan geographic areas historically has been strong, increased purchase price appreciation may reduce the likelihood of consumers seeking to purchase new residences, which would likely harm our ability to sell units in residential condominium buildings. If the prices of condominium units or sales activity decline in the key markets in which we may operate, our costs may not decline at all or at the same rate and, as a result, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected.
Condominium purchasers may be unwilling or unable to purchase condominium units at times when mortgage-financing costs are high or as credit quality declines.
The majority of our potential purchasers for discounted condominium units will finance their purchases through third-party lenders. In general, housing demand is adversely affected by increases in interest rates, demand for increased down payments and by decreases in the availability of mortgage financing as a result of declining customer credit quality or other issues. Further, there are additional constraints on certain government-sponsored entities, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for potential condominium purchasers in projects where a substantial number of units remain unsold in a particular condominium project. Even though we closely monitor the mortgage market for prospective buyers for condominium units, if mortgage interest rates increase or the average down payment requirement increases, the ability or willingness of prospective buyers to finance condominium unit purchases may be adversely affected.
If we acquire condominium properties or mixed-use properties that combine hotel, multifamily or condominiums, a fire or other accident could occur in a single unit that causes the entire building to be uninhabitable.
We may experience greater risks in the condominium and mixed-use property investments because there could be a higher likelihood of an accident occurring in a building containing numerous individuals where we do not have the same ability to monitor or review the building as other property classes. A fire or other accident in a single unit could in turn cause the entire building to be uninhabitable. Even if there is insurance on the building, it may not be enough to cover all of the losses as a result of a fire or other accident.
If we acquire office, retail or certain other property types, the loss of anchor tenants for such properties could adversely affect our profitability.
If we acquire office properties or retail properties, we will be subject to the risk that significant tenants may be unable to make their lease payments or may decline to extend a lease upon its expiration. A lease termination by a tenant that occupies a large area of space in one of our office or retail properties (commonly referred to as an anchor tenant) could impact leases of other tenants. Other tenants may be entitled to modify the terms of their existing leases in the event of a lease termination by an anchor tenant or the closure of the business of an anchor tenant that leaves its space vacant, even if the anchor tenant continues to pay rent. Any such modifications or conditions could be unfavorable to us as the property owner and could decrease rents or expense recoveries. In the event of default by an anchor tenant, we may experience delays and costs in enforcing our rights as landlord to recover amounts due to us under the terms of our agreements with those parties.
If we acquire retail properties or mixed-use properties with a retail component, our investments may be affected by the economic downturn in the United States, which may continue to have an adverse impact on the retail industry generally. Slow or negative growth in the retail industry may result in defaults by retail tenants, which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations.
The retail industry is facing reductions in sales revenues and increased bankruptcies throughout the United States. Adverse economic conditions may result in an increase in distressed or bankrupt retail companies, which in turn could result in an increase in defaults by tenants at our commercial properties. Additionally, slow economic growth is likely to
hinder new entrants into the retail market, which may make it difficult for us to fully lease our properties. Tenant defaults and decreased demand for retail space would have an adverse impact on the value of our retail properties and our results of operations.
Any retail tenants we have will face competition from numerous retail channels, which may reduce our profitability and ability to pay distributions.
Retailers will face continued competition from discount or value retailers, factory outlet centers, wholesale clubs, mail order catalogues and operators, television shopping networks and shopping via the Internet. If retail tenants’ rent payments are based on the amount of sales revenue that they generate, such competition could adversely affect our tenants and, consequently, our revenues and funds available for distribution.
Risks Related to Investments in Real Estate-Related Debt Assets
Our investments in real estate-related debt investments are subject to the risks typically associated with real estate.
Our investments in mortgage, mezzanine or other real estate loans will generally be directly or indirectly secured by a lien on real property (or the equity interests in an entity that owns real property) that, upon the occurrence of a default on the loan, could result in our acquiring ownership of the property. We will not know whether the values of the properties ultimately securing our loans will remain at the levels existing on the dates of origination of those loans. If the values of the underlying properties drop, our risk will increase because of the lower value of the security associated with such loans. In this manner, real estate values could impact the values of our loan investments. Our investments in other real estate-related debt investments may be similarly affected by real estate property values. Therefore, our real estate-related debt investments will be subject to the risks typically associated with real estate, which are described above under the heading “—Risks Related to Investments in Real Estate.”
If we make or invest in mortgage, mezzanine, bridge or other real estate loans, our loans will be subject to interest rate fluctuations that will affect our returns as compared to market interest rates; accordingly, the value of our stockholders’ investment would be subject to fluctuations in interest rates.
If we make or invest in fixed rate, long-term loans and interest rates rise, the loans could yield a return that is lower than then-current market rates. If interest rates decrease, we will be adversely affected to the extent that loans are prepaid because we may not be able to reinvest the proceeds at as high of an interest rate. If we invest in variable-rate loans and interest rates decrease, our revenues will also decrease. For these reasons, if we invest in mortgage, mezzanine, bridge or other real estate loans, our returns on those loans and the value of our stockholders’ investment will be subject to fluctuations in interest rates.
Delays in liquidating defaulted mortgage loans could reduce our investment returns.
If we make or invest in mortgage loans and there are defaults under those mortgage loans, we may not be able to repossess and sell the underlying properties quickly. The resulting time delay could reduce the value of our investment in the defaulted mortgage loans. An action to foreclose on a property securing a mortgage loan is regulated by state statutes and regulations and is subject to many of the delays and expenses of other lawsuits if the defendant raises defenses or counterclaims. In the event of default by a mortgagor, these restrictions, among other things, may impede our ability to foreclose on or sell the mortgaged property or to obtain proceeds sufficient to repay all amounts due to us on the mortgage loan.
Government action may reduce recoveries on defaulted loans.
Legislative or regulatory initiatives by federal, state or local legislative bodies or administrative agencies, if enacted or adopted, could delay foreclosure, provide new defenses to foreclosure or otherwise impair our ability to foreclose on real estate-related debt investments in default. Various jurisdictions have considered or are currently considering such actions, and the nature or extent of the limitation on foreclosure that may be enacted cannot be predicted. Bankruptcy courts could, if this legislation is enacted, reduce the amount of the principal balance on a mortgage loan that is secured by a lien on the mortgaged property, reduce the interest rate, extend the term to maturity or otherwise modify the terms of a bankrupt borrower’s mortgage loan.
Property owners filing for bankruptcy may adversely affect us.
The filing of a petition in bankruptcy automatically stops or “stays” any actions to enforce the terms of all debt of the debtor, including a mortgage loan. The length of the stay and the costs associated with it will generally have an adverse impact on our profitability. Further, the bankruptcy court may take other actions that prevent us from foreclosing on the property. Any bankruptcy proceeding will, at a minimum, delay us in achieving our investment objectives and may adversely affect our profitability.
The B-Notes in which we may invest may be subject to additional risks relating to the privately negotiated structure and terms of the transaction, which may result in losses to us.
We may invest in B-Notes. A B-Note is a mortgage loan typically (i) secured by a first mortgage on a single large commercial property or group of related properties and (ii) subordinated to an A-Note secured by the same first mortgage on the same collateral. As a result, if a borrower defaults, there may not be sufficient funds remaining for B-Note holders after payment to the A-Note holders. Since each transaction is privately negotiated, B-Notes can vary in their structural characteristics and risks. For example, the rights of holders of B-Notes to control the process following a borrower default may be limited in certain investments. We cannot predict the terms of each B-Note investment. Further, B-Notes typically are secured by a single property, and so reflect the increased risks associated with a single property compared to a pool of properties.
Our potential ownership of a B-Note with controlling class rights may, if the financing fails to perform according to its terms, cause us to pursue remedies, which may include foreclosure on, or modification of, the note. In some cases, however, the owner of the A-Note may be able to foreclose or modify the note against our wishes as owner of the B-Note. As a result, our economic and business interests may diverge from the interests of the owner of the A-Note. In this regard, B-Notes share certain credit characteristics with second mortgages, because both are subject to greater credit risk with respect to the underlying mortgage collateral than the first mortgage or A-Note.
Investment in non-conforming and non-investment-grade loans may involve increased risk of loss.
Loans we may acquire may not conform to conventional loan criteria applied by traditional lenders and may not be rated or may be rated as non-investment grade. Non-investment-grade ratings for these loans typically result from the overall leverage of the loans, the lack of a strong operating history for the properties underlying the loans, the borrowers’ credit history, the properties’ underlying cash flow or other factors. As a result, loans we acquire may have a higher risk of default and loss than conventional loans. Any loss we incur may reduce distributions to stockholders and adversely affect the value of our common stock.
Our investments in subordinated loans may be subject to losses.
We may acquire subordinated loans. In the event a borrower defaults on a subordinated loan and lacks sufficient capacity to cure the default, we may suffer a loss of principal or interest. In the event a borrower declares bankruptcy, we may not have full recourse to the assets of the borrower, or the assets of the borrower may not be sufficient to satisfy the loan. If a borrower defaults on our loan or on debt senior to our loan, or in the event of a borrower bankruptcy, our loan will be satisfied only after the senior debt is paid in full. Where debt senior to our loan exists, the presence of intercreditor arrangements may limit our ability to amend our loan documents, assign our loans, accept prepayments, exercise our remedies (through “standstill periods”), and control decisions made in bankruptcy proceedings relating to borrowers.
To the extent that we make investments in real estate-related securities, a portion of those investments may be illiquid and we may not be able to adjust our portfolio in response to changes in economic and other conditions.
Certain of the real estate-related securities that we may purchase in connection with privately negotiated transactions will not be registered under the relevant securities laws, resulting in a prohibition against their transfer, sale, pledge or other disposition except in a transaction that is exempt from the registration requirements of, or is otherwise in accordance with, those laws. As a result, our ability to vary our portfolio in response to changes in economic and other conditions may be relatively limited. The mezzanine and certain of the other loans we may purchase will be particularly illiquid investments due to their short life, their unsuitability for securitization and the greater difficulty of recoupment in the event of a borrower’s default.
Investments in non-performing real estate assets involve greater risks than investments in stabilized, performing assets and make our future performance more difficult to predict.
Traditional performance metrics of real estate assets are generally not as reliable for non-performing real estate assets as they are for performing real estate assets. Non-performing properties, for example, do not have stabilized occupancy rates. Similarly, non-performing loans do not have a consistent stream of loan servicing or interest payments. In addition, for non-performing loans, often there is greater uncertainty that the face amount of the note will be paid in full.
In addition, we may pursue more than one strategy to create value in a non-performing real estate investment. With respect to a property, these strategies may include development, redevelopment, or lease-up of such property. With respect to a loan, these strategies may include negotiating with the borrower for a reduced payoff, restructuring the terms of the loan or enforcing our rights as lender under the loan and foreclosing on the collateral securing the loan.
The factors described above make it challenging to evaluate non-performing investments.
Delays in restructuring or liquidating non-performing real estate securities could reduce the return on our stockholders’ investment.
Real estate securities may become non-performing after acquisition for a wide variety of reasons. Such non-performing real estate investments may require a substantial amount of workout negotiations or restructuring, which may entail, among other things, a substantial reduction in the interest rate and a substantial write-down of such loan or asset. However, even if a restructuring is successfully accomplished, upon maturity of such real estate security, replacement “takeout” financing may not be available. We may find it necessary or desirable to foreclose on some of the collateral securing one or more of our investments. Intercreditor provisions may substantially interfere with our ability to do so. Even if foreclosure is an option, the foreclosure process can be lengthy and expensive. Borrowers often resist foreclosure actions by asserting numerous claims, counterclaims and defenses, including, without limitation, lender liability claims and defenses, in an effort to prolong the foreclosure action. In some states, foreclosure actions can take up to several years or more to litigate. At any time during the foreclosure proceedings, the borrower may file for bankruptcy, which would have the effect of staying the foreclosure action and further delaying the foreclosure process. Foreclosure litigation tends to create a negative public image of the collateral property and may result in disrupting ongoing leasing and management of the property. Foreclosure actions by senior lenders may substantially affect the amount that we may earn or recover from an investment.
We will depend on debtors for our revenue, and, accordingly, our revenue and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders will be dependent upon the success and economic viability of such debtors.
The success of our real estate-related debt investments such as loans and debt and derivative securities will materially depend on the financial stability of the debtors underlying such investments. The inability of a single major debtor or a number of smaller debtors to meet their payment obligations could result in reduced revenue or losses. In the event of a debtor default or bankruptcy, we may experience delays in enforcing our rights as a creditor, and such rights may be subordinated to the rights of other creditors. These events could negatively affect the cash available for distribution to our stockholders and the value of our stockholders’ investment.
Prepayments can adversely affect the yields on our investments.
Prepayments on debt instruments, where permitted under the debt documents, are influenced by changes in current interest rates and a variety of economic, geographic and other factors beyond our control, and consequently, such prepayment rates cannot be predicted with certainty. If we are unable to invest the proceeds of such prepayments received, the yield on our portfolio will decline. Under certain interest rate and prepayment scenarios, we may fail to recoup fully our cost of acquisition of certain investments.
Our investments in real estate-related debt securities and preferred and common equity securities will be subject to the specific risks relating to the particular issuer of the securities and may involve greater risk of loss than secured debt financings.
Subject to certain REIT asset and income tests, we may make equity investments in REITs and other real estate companies. We may target a public company that owns commercial real estate or real estate-related assets when we believe its stock is trading at a discount to that company’s intrinsic value. We may eventually seek to acquire or gain a controlling interest in the companies that we target. We do not expect our non-controlling equity investments in other public companies to exceed 10% of the proceeds of this offering, assuming we sell the maximum offering amount, or to represent a substantial portion of our assets at any one time. We may also invest in debt securities and preferred equity securities issued by REITs and other real estate companies. Our investments in debt securities and preferred and common equity securities will involve special risks relating to the particular issuer of the securities, including the financial condition and business outlook of the issuer. Issuers that are REITs and other real estate companies are subject to the inherent risks associated with real estate and real estate-related debt investments. Furthermore, debt securities and preferred and common equity securities may involve greater risk of loss than secured debt financings due to a variety of factors, including that such investments are generally unsecured and may also be subordinated to other obligations of the issuer. As a result, investments in debt securities and preferred and common equity securities are subject to risks of (i) limited liquidity in the secondary trading market, (ii) substantial market price volatility resulting from changes in prevailing interest rates, (iii) subordination to the prior claims of banks and other senior lenders to the issuer, (iv) the operation of mandatory sinking fund or call/redemption provisions during periods of declining interest rates that could cause the issuer to reinvest redemption proceeds in lower yielding assets, (v) the possibility that earnings of the issuer may be insufficient to meet its debt service and distribution obligations and (vi) the declining creditworthiness and potential for insolvency of the issuer during periods of rising interest rates and economic downturn. These risks may adversely affect the value of outstanding debt securities and preferred and common equity securities and the ability of the issuers thereof to make principal, interest or distribution payments to us.
Some of our portfolio investments will be carried at estimated fair value as determined by us and, as a result, there may be uncertainty as to the value of these investments.
Some of our portfolio investments will be in the form of securities that are recorded at fair value but have limited liquidity or are not publicly traded. The fair value of securities and other investments that have limited liquidity or are not publicly traded may not be readily determinable. We estimate the fair value of these investments on a quarterly basis. Because such valuations are inherently uncertain, because they may fluctuate over short periods of time, and because they may be based on numerous estimates, our determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would have been used if a ready market for these securities existed. The value of our common stock could be lower than perceived at the time of your investment if our determinations regarding the fair value of these investments are materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon their disposal.
Any credit ratings assigned to our investments will be subject to ongoing evaluations and revisions, and we cannot assure you that those ratings will not be downgraded.
Some of our investments may be rated by Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch Ratings or Standard & Poor’s. Any credit ratings on our investments are subject to ongoing evaluation by credit rating agencies, and we cannot assure you that any such ratings will not be changed or withdrawn by a rating agency in the future if, in its judgment, circumstances warrant. If rating agencies assign a lower-than-expected rating or reduce or withdraw, or indicate that they may reduce or withdraw, their ratings of our investments in the future, the value of these investments could significantly decline, which would adversely affect the value of our investment portfolio and could result in losses upon disposition or the failure of borrowers to satisfy their debt service obligations to us.
Risks Associated with Debt Financing
We have incurred, and may continue to incur, mortgage indebtedness and other borrowings, which increases our risk of loss due to foreclosure.
We have incurred mortgage indebtedness and we may obtain additional lines of credit and long-term financing that may be secured by our properties and other assets. In some instances, we may acquire real properties by financing a portion of the price of the properties and mortgaging or pledging some or all of the properties purchased as security for that debt. We may also incur mortgage debt on properties that we already own in order to obtain funds to acquire additional properties. In addition, we may borrow as necessary or advisable to ensure that we maintain our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, including borrowings to satisfy the REIT requirement that we distribute at least 90% of our annual REIT taxable income to our stockholders (computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gain). We, however, can give you no assurance that we will be able to obtain such borrowings on satisfactory terms.
If we do mortgage a property and there is a shortfall between the cash flow from that property and the cash flow needed to service mortgage debt on that property, then the amount of cash available for distributions to stockholders may be reduced. In addition, incurring mortgage debt increases the risk of loss of a property since defaults on indebtedness secured by a property may result in lenders initiating foreclosure actions. In that case, we could lose the property securing the loan that is in default, reducing the value of your investment. For tax purposes, a foreclosure of any of our properties would be treated as a sale of the property for a purchase price equal to the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage. If the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage exceeds our tax basis in the property, we would recognize taxable income on foreclosure even though we would not necessarily receive any cash proceeds. We may give full or partial guaranties to lenders of mortgage debt on behalf of the entities that own our properties. When we give a guaranty on behalf of an entity that owns one of our properties, we will be responsible to the lender for satisfaction of the debt if it is not paid by such entity. If any mortgages contain cross-collateralization or cross-default provisions, a default on a single property could affect multiple properties.
We may also obtain recourse debt to finance our acquisitions and meet our REIT distribution requirements. If we have insufficient income to service our recourse debt obligations, our lenders could institute proceedings against us to foreclose upon our assets. If a lender successfully forecloses upon any of our assets, our ability to pay cash distributions to our stockholders will be limited and you could lose all or part of your investment.
High mortgage interest rates may make it difficult for us to finance or refinance properties, which could reduce the number of properties we can acquire, our net income and the amount of cash distributions we can make.
If mortgage debt is unavailable at reasonable interest rates, we may not be able to finance the purchase of properties. If we place mortgage debt on properties, we run the risk of being unable to refinance the properties when the loans become due, or of being unable to refinance on favorable terms. If interest rates are higher when we refinance the properties, our income could be reduced. If any of these events occur, our cash flow would be reduced. This, in turn, would reduce cash available for distribution to you and may hinder our ability to raise more capital by issuing more stock or by borrowing more money.
We may not be able to access financing sources on attractive terms, which could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan.
We may finance our assets over the long term through a variety of means, including credit facilities, issuance of commercial mortgage-backed securities, and other structured financings. Our ability to execute this strategy will depend on various conditions in the markets for financing in this manner that are beyond our control, including lack of liquidity and greater credit spreads. We cannot be certain that these markets will remain an efficient source of long-term financing for our assets. If our strategy is not viable, we will have to find alternative forms of long-term financing for our assets. This could subject us to more recourse indebtedness and the risk that debt service on less efficient forms of financing would require a larger portion of our cash flows, thereby reducing cash available for distribution to our stockholders and funds available for operations, as well as for future business opportunities.
Disruptions in the financial and real estate markets could adversely affect the multifamily property sector’s ability to obtain financing from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which could adversely impact us.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are major sources of financing for the multifamily sector. Until recently, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had reported substantial losses and required significant amounts of additional capital. These losses coupled with the credit market’s poor perception of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, add to the considerable uncertainty surrounding the capital structure of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In response to the deteriorating financial condition of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the credit market disruption that begin in 2007, the U.S. Congress and Treasury undertook a series of actions to stabilize these government-sponsored enterprises and the financial markets. Pursuant to legislation enacted in 2008, the U.S. government placed both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under its conservatorship. Despite additional funding for both government-sponsored entities, the U.S. government has stated that it remains committed to reducing their portfolios. In August 2012, the U.S. Treasury modified its investment in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to accelerate the reduction of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s investment portfolios and to require a sweep of all quarterly profits generated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In May 2014, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved legislation to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and redesign the U.S. mortgage finance system, which legislation has to date not been acted on in the broader Senate. If new U.S. government legislation or regulations (i) heighten Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s underwriting standards, (ii) adversely affect interest rates and (iii) continue to reduce the amount of capital they can make available to the multifamily sector, it could reduce or remove entirely a vital resource for multifamily financing. Any potential reduction in loans, guarantees and credit enhancement arrangements from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could jeopardize the effectiveness of the multifamily sector’s available financing and decrease the amount of available liquidity and credit that could be used to acquire and diversify our portfolio of multifamily assets as well as dispose of our multifamily assets upon our liquidation.
Lenders may require us to enter into restrictive covenants relating to our operations, which could limit our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.
When providing financing, a lender may impose restrictions on us that affect our distribution and operating policies and our ability to incur additional debt. Loan documents we enter into may contain covenants that limit our ability to further mortgage the property, discontinue insurance coverage or replace Resource Real Estate Opportunity Advisor II as our advisor. These or other limitations may limit our flexibility and our ability to achieve our operating plans.
Increases in interest rates could increase the amount of our debt payments and limit our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.
We expect that we will incur indebtedness in the future. Increases in interest rates may increase our interest costs, which would reduce our cash flows and our ability to pay distributions. In addition, if we need to repay existing debt during periods of higher interest rates, we might have to sell one or more of our investments in order to repay the debt, which sale at that time might not permit realization of the maximum return on such investments.
We have broad authority to incur debt, and high debt levels could hinder our ability to make distributions and decrease the value of your investment.
Our charter limits our leverage to 300% of our net assets, and we may exceed this limit with the approval of the conflicts committee of our board of directors. High debt levels would cause us to incur higher interest charges and higher debt service payments and may also be accompanied by restrictive covenants. These factors could limit the amount of cash we have available to distribute and could result in a decline in the value of your investment.
Federal Income Tax Risks
Failure to qualify as a REIT would reduce our net earnings available for investment or distribution.
Our qualification as a REIT will depend upon our ability to meet requirements regarding our organization and ownership, distributions of our income, the nature and diversification of our income and assets and other tests imposed by the Internal Revenue Code.
If we fail to qualify as a REIT for any taxable year after electing REIT status, we will be subject to federal income tax on our taxable income at corporate rates. In addition, we would generally be disqualified from treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year of losing our REIT status. Losing our REIT status would reduce our net earnings available for investment or distribution to stockholders because of the additional tax liability. In addition, distributions to stockholders would no longer qualify for the dividends paid deduction and we would no longer be required to make distributions. If this occurs, we might be required to borrow funds or liquidate some investments in order to pay the applicable tax.
You may have current tax liability on distributions you elect to reinvest in our common stock.
If you participate in our distribution reinvestment plan, you will be deemed to have received, and for income tax purposes will be taxed on, the amount reinvested in shares of our common stock to the extent the amount reinvested was not a tax-free return of capital. In addition, you will be treated for tax purposes as having received an additional distribution to the extent the shares are purchased at a discount to fair market value. As a result, unless you are a tax-exempt entity, you may have to use funds from other sources to pay your tax liability on the value of the shares of common stock received.
Failure to qualify as a REIT would subject us to federal income tax, which would reduce the cash available for distribution to you.
We expect to operate in a manner that is intended to cause us to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2014. However, the federal income tax laws governing REITs are extremely complex, and interpretations of the federal income tax laws governing qualification as a REIT are limited. Qualifying as a REIT requires us to meet various tests regarding the nature of our assets and our income, the ownership of our outstanding stock, and the amount of our distributions on an ongoing basis. While we intend to operate so that we will qualify as a REIT, given the highly complex nature of the rules governing REITs, the ongoing importance of factual determinations, including the tax treatment of certain investments we may make, and the possibility of future changes in our circumstances, no assurance can be given that we will so qualify for any particular year. If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any calendar year and we do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, we would be required to pay federal income tax on our taxable income. We might need to borrow money or sell assets to pay that tax. Our payment of income tax would decrease the amount of our income available for distribution to you. Furthermore, if we fail to maintain our qualification as a REIT and we do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, we no longer would be required to distribute substantially all of our REIT taxable income to our stockholders. Unless our failure to qualify as a REIT were excused under federal tax laws, we would be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which qualification was lost.
Even if we qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we may be subject to other tax liabilities that reduce our cash flow and our ability to make distributions to you.
Even if we qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we may be subject to some federal, state and local taxes on our income or property. For example:
| • | In order to qualify as a REIT, we must distribute annually at least 90% of our REIT taxable income to our stockholders (which is determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction or net capital gain). To the extent that we satisfy the distribution requirement but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on the undistributed income. |
| • | We will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which distributions we pay in any calendar year are less than the sum of 85% of our ordinary income, 95% of our capital gain net income and 100% of our undistributed income from prior years. |
| • | If we have net income from the sale of foreclosure property that we hold primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business or other non-qualifying income from foreclosure property, we must pay a tax on that income at the highest corporate income tax rate. |
| • | If we sell an asset, other than foreclosure property, that we hold primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business, our gain would be subject to the 100% “prohibited transaction” tax unless such sale were made by one of our taxable REIT subsidiaries or the sale met certain “safe harbor” requirements under the Internal Revenue Code. |
Our investments in debt instruments may cause us to recognize taxable income for which cash has not been received.
We may acquire debt instruments in the secondary market for less than their face amount. The amount of such discount will generally be treated as “market discount” for federal income tax purposes. In general, we will be required to accrue original issue discount on a debt instrument as taxable income in accordance with applicable federal income tax rules even though no cash payments may be received on such debt instrument.
In the event a borrower with respect to a particular debt instrument encounters financial difficulty rendering it unable to pay stated interest as due, we may nonetheless be required to continue to recognize the unpaid interest as taxable income. Similarly, we may be required to accrue interest income with respect to subordinate mortgage-backed securities at the stated rate regardless of when their corresponding cash payments are received.
As a result of these factors, there is a risk that we may recognize taxable income in excess of cash available for distribution. In that event, we may need to borrow funds or take other action to satisfy the REIT distribution requirements for the taxable year in which this taxable income for which cash has not been received is recognized.
REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan.
We generally must distribute annually at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, subject to certain adjustments and excluding any net capital gain, in order for federal corporate income tax not to apply to earnings that we distribute. To the extent that we satisfy this distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed REIT taxable income. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we pay out to our stockholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under federal tax laws. We intend to make distributions to our stockholders to comply with the REIT requirements of the Internal Revenue Code.
From time to time, we may generate taxable income greater than our net income for financial reporting purposes, or our taxable income may be greater than our cash flow available for distribution to stockholders (for example, where a borrower defers the payment of interest in cash pursuant to a contractual right or otherwise). If we do not have other funds available in these situations we could be required to borrow funds, sell investments at disadvantageous prices or find another alternative source of funds to make distributions sufficient to enable us to pay out enough of our taxable income to satisfy the REIT distribution requirement and to avoid corporate income tax and the 4% excise tax in a particular year. These alternatives could increase our costs or reduce our equity. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our ability to operate solely on the basis of maximizing profits.
To maintain our REIT status, we may be forced to forego otherwise attractive opportunities, which may delay or hinder our ability to meet our investment objectives and reduce your overall return.
To qualify as a REIT, we must satisfy certain tests on an ongoing basis concerning, among other things, the sources of our income, nature of our assets and the amounts we distribute to our stockholders. We may be required to make
distributions to stockholders at times when it would be more advantageous to reinvest cash in our business or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution. Compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our ability to operate solely on the basis of maximizing profits and the value of your investment.
The “taxable mortgage pool” rules may increase the taxes that we or our stockholders incur and may limit the manner in which we conduct securitizations.
We may be deemed to be, or we may make investments in entities that own or are themselves deemed to be, taxable mortgage pools. Similarly, certain of our securitizations or other borrowings could be considered to result in the creation of a taxable mortgage pool for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, provided that we own 100% of the equity interests in a taxable mortgage pool, we generally would not be adversely affected by the characterization of the securitization as a taxable mortgage pool. However, certain categories of stockholders such as foreign stockholders eligible for treaty or other benefits, stockholders with net operating losses, and certain tax-exempt stockholders that are subject to unrelated business income tax, could be subject to increased taxes on a portion of their dividend income from us that is attributable to the taxable mortgage pool. In addition, to the extent that our stock is owned by tax-exempt “disqualified organizations,” such as certain government-related entities that are not subject to tax on unrelated business income, we will incur a corporate-level tax on a portion of our income from the taxable mortgage pool. In that case, we are authorized to reduce and intend to reduce the amount of our distributions to any disqualified organization whose stock ownership gave rise to the tax by the amount of such tax paid by us that is attributable to such stockholder’s ownership. Moreover, we would generally be precluded from selling equity interests in these securitizations to outside investors, or selling any debt securities issued in connection with these securitizations that might be considered to be equity interests for federal income tax purposes. These limitations may prevent us from using certain techniques to maximize our returns from securitization transactions or other financing arrangements.
Potential characterization of distributions or gain on sale may be treated as unrelated business taxable income to tax-exempt investors.
If (1) all or a portion of our assets are subject to the rules relating to taxable mortgage pools, (2) we are a “pension-held REIT,” (3) a tax-exempt stockholder has incurred debt to purchase or hold our common stock, or (4) the residual interests in any real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMICs”), we acquire (if any) generate “excess inclusion income,” then a portion of the distributions to and, in the case of a stockholder described in clause (3), gains realized on the sale of common stock by such tax-exempt stockholder may be subject to federal income tax as unrelated business taxable income under the Internal Revenue Code.
Classification of a securitization or financing arrangement we enter into as a taxable mortgage pool could subject us or certain of you to increased taxation.
We intend to structure our securitization and financing arrangements as to not create a taxable mortgage pool. However, if we have borrowings with two or more maturities and (1) those borrowings are secured by mortgages or mortgage-backed securities and (2) the payments made on the borrowings are related to the payments received on the underlying assets, then the borrowings and the pool of mortgages or mortgage-backed securities to which such borrowings relate may be classified as a taxable mortgage pool under the Internal Revenue Code. If any part of our investments were to be treated as a taxable mortgage pool, then our REIT status would not be impaired, provided we own 100% of such entity, but a portion of the taxable income we recognize may, under regulations to be issued by the Treasury Department, be characterized as “excess inclusion” income and allocated among our stockholders to the extent of and generally in proportion to the distributions we make to each stockholder. Any excess inclusion income would:
| • | not be allowed to be offset by a stockholder’s net operating losses; |
| • | be subject to a tax as unrelated business income if a stockholder were a tax-exempt stockholder; |
| • | be subject to the application of federal income tax withholding at the maximum rate (without reduction for any otherwise applicable income tax treaty) with respect to amounts allocable to foreign stockholders; and |
| • | be taxable (at the highest corporate tax rate) to us, rather than to you, to the extent the excess inclusion income relates to stock held by disqualified organizations (generally, tax-exempt companies not subject to tax on unrelated business income, including governmental organizations). |
The tax on prohibited transactions will limit our ability to engage in transactions, including certain methods of securitizing mortgage loans that would be treated as sales for federal income tax purposes.
A REIT’s net income from prohibited transactions is subject to a 100% tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of assets, other than foreclosure property, deemed held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business where such sales do not qualify for a safe harbor under the Internal Revenue Code. We might be subject to this tax if we were to dispose of or securitize loans in a manner that was treated as a sale of the loans for federal income tax purposes. Therefore, in order to avoid the prohibited transactions tax, we may choose not to engage in certain sales of loans, and may limit the structures we utilize for our securitization transactions, even though the sales or structures might otherwise be beneficial to us.
It may be possible to reduce the impact of the prohibited transaction tax by conducting certain activities through taxable REIT subsidiaries. However, to the extent that we engage in such activities through taxable REIT subsidiaries, the income associated with such activities may be subject to full corporate income tax.
Complying with REIT requirements may force us to liquidate otherwise attractive investments.
To qualify as a REIT, we must ensure that at the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our assets consists of cash, cash items, government securities and qualified REIT real estate assets, including certain mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. The remainder of our investment in securities (other than government securities and qualified real estate assets) generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our assets (other than government securities and qualified real estate assets) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, and no more than 25% (20% for taxable years after 2017) of the value of our total assets can be represented by securities of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries. If we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT qualification and suffering adverse tax consequences. As a result, we may be required to liquidate from our portfolio otherwise attractive investments. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.
Liquidation of assets may jeopardize our REIT qualification.
To qualify as a REIT, we must comply with requirements regarding our assets and our sources of income. If we are compelled to liquidate our investments to repay obligations to our lenders, we may be unable to comply with these requirements, ultimately jeopardizing our qualification as a REIT, or we may be subject to a 100% tax on any resultant gain if we sell assets that are treated as dealer property or inventory.
Characterization of any repurchase agreements we enter into to finance our investments as sales for tax purposes rather than as secured lending transactions would adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT.
We may enter into repurchase agreements with a variety of counterparties to achieve our desired amount of leverage for the assets in which we invest. When we enter into a repurchase agreement, we generally sell assets to our counterparty to the agreement and receive cash from the counterparty. The counterparty is obligated to resell the assets back to us at the end of the term of the transaction. We believe that for federal income tax purposes we will be treated as the owner of the assets that are the subject of repurchase agreements and that the repurchase agreements will be treated as secured lending transactions notwithstanding that such agreement may transfer record ownership of the assets to the counterparty during the term of the agreement. It is possible, however, that the IRS could successfully assert that we did not own these assets during the term of the repurchase agreements, in which case we could fail to qualify as a REIT if tax ownership of these assets was necessary for us to meet the necessary income or asset tests.
Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge effectively.
The REIT provisions of the Internal Revenue Code may limit our ability to hedge our assets and operations. Under these provisions, any income that we generate from transactions intended to hedge our interest rate, inflation or currency risks will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests if the instrument hedges (i) interest rate risk on liabilities incurred to carry or acquire real estate, (ii) risk of currency fluctuations with respect to any item of income or gain that would be qualifying income under the REIT 75% or 95% gross income
tests, or (iii) to manage risk with respect to prior hedging transactions described in (i) and/or (ii) above, and such instrument is properly identified under applicable Treasury Regulations. Income from hedging transactions that do not meet these requirements will generally constitute nonqualifying income for purposes of both the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests. As a result of these rules, we may have to limit our use of hedging techniques that might otherwise be advantageous, which could result in greater risks associated with interest rate or other changes than we would otherwise incur.
Ownership limitations may restrict change of control or business combination opportunities in which you might receive a premium for your shares.
In order for us to qualify as a REIT for each taxable year after 2016, no more than 50% in value of our outstanding capital stock may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals during the last half of any calendar year. “Individuals” for this purpose include natural persons, and certain other entities including private foundations. To preserve our REIT qualification, our charter generally prohibits any person from directly or indirectly owning more than 9.8% in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of any class or series of the outstanding shares of our capital stock. This ownership limitation could have the effect of discouraging a takeover or other transaction in which holders of our common stock might receive a premium for their shares over the then prevailing market price or which holders might believe to be otherwise in their best interests.
Our ownership of and relationship with our taxable REIT subsidiaries will be limited and a failure to comply with the limits would jeopardize our REIT status and may result in the application of a 100% excise tax.
A REIT may own up to 100% of the stock of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries. A taxable REIT subsidiary may earn income that would not be qualifying income if earned directly by the parent REIT. Both the subsidiary and the REIT must jointly elect to treat the subsidiary as a taxable REIT subsidiary. A corporation of which a taxable REIT subsidiary directly or indirectly owns more than 35% of the voting power or value of the stock will automatically be treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary. Overall, no more than 25% (20% for taxable years after 2017) of the value of a REIT’s assets may consist of stock or securities of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries. A domestic taxable REIT subsidiary will pay federal, state and local income tax at regular corporate rates on any income that it earns. In addition, the taxable REIT subsidiary rules limit the deductibility of interest paid or accrued by a taxable REIT subsidiary to its parent REIT to assure that the taxable REIT subsidiary is subject to an appropriate level of corporate taxation. The rules also impose a 100% excise tax on certain transactions between a taxable REIT subsidiary and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis. We cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with the 25% (or 20%, as applicable) value limitation on ownership of taxable REIT subsidiary stock and securities on an ongoing basis so as to maintain REIT status or to avoid application of the 100% excise tax imposed on certain non-arm’s length transactions.
The IRS may challenge our characterization of certain income from offshore taxable REIT subsidiaries.
We may form offshore corporate entities treated as taxable REIT subsidiaries. If we form such subsidiaries, we may receive certain “income inclusions” with respect to our equity investments in these entities. We intend to treat such income inclusions, to the extent matched by repatriations of cash in the same taxable year, as qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test but not the 75% gross income test. See “Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation of Resource Apartment REIT III—Income Tests.” Because there is no clear precedent with respect to the qualification of such income inclusions for purposes of the REIT gross income tests, no assurance can be given that the IRS will not assert a contrary position. If such income does not qualify for the 95% gross income test, we could be subject to a penalty tax or we could fail to qualify as a REIT, in both events only if such inclusions (along with certain other non-qualifying income) exceed 5% of our gross income.
We may be subject to adverse legislative or regulatory tax changes.
At any time, the federal income tax laws or regulations governing REITs or the administrative interpretations of those laws or regulations may be amended. We cannot predict when or if any new federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, or any amendment to any existing federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, will be adopted, promulgated or become effective and any such law, regulation or interpretation may take effect retroactively. We and our stockholders could be adversely affected by any such change in, or any new, federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation.
Dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for the reduced tax rates.
In general, the maximum tax rate for dividends payable to domestic stockholders that are individuals, trusts and estates is 20%. Dividends payable by REITs, however, are generally not eligible for the reduced rates. While this tax treatment does not adversely affect the taxation of REITs or dividends paid by REITs, the more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate dividends could cause investors who are individuals, trusts and estates, to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in stock of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the stock of REITs, including our common stock.
Retirement Plan Risks
If you fail to meet the fiduciary and other standards under ERISA or the Internal Revenue Code as a result of an investment in our stock, you could be subject to criminal and civil penalties.
There are special considerations that apply to employee benefit plans subject to ERISA (such as profit-sharing, section 401(k) or pension plans) and other retirement plans or accounts subject to Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code (such as an IRA) that are investing in our shares. If you are investing the assets of such a plan or account in our common stock, you should satisfy yourself that:
| • | your investment is consistent with your fiduciary and other obligations under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code; |
| • | your investment is made in accordance with the documents and instruments governing your plan or IRA, including your plan’s or account’s investment policy; |
| • | your investment satisfies the prudence and diversification requirements of Sections 404(a)(1)(B) and 404(a)(1)(C) of ERISA and other applicable provisions of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code; |
| • | your investment in our shares, for which no trading market may exist, is consistent with the liquidity needs of the plan or IRA; |
| • | your investment will not produce an unacceptable amount of “unrelated business taxable income” for the plan or IRA; |
| • | you will be able to comply with the requirements under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code to value the assets of the plan or IRA annually; and |
| • | your investment will not constitute a prohibited transaction under Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code. |
With respect to the annual valuation requirements described above, we expect to provide an estimated value for our shares annually. Until no later than April 11, 2016, we expect to use the gross offering price of a share of common stock in our most recent primary offering as the per share estimated value thereof.
This estimated value is not likely to reflect the proceeds you would receive upon our liquidation or upon the sale of your shares. Accordingly, we can make no claim whether such estimated value will or will not satisfy the applicable annual valuation requirements under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. The Department of Labor or the Internal Revenue Service may determine that a plan fiduciary or an IRA custodian is required to take further steps to determine the value of our common shares. In the absence of an appropriate determination of value, a plan fiduciary or an IRA custodian may be subject to damages, penalties or other sanctions.
Failure to satisfy the fiduciary standards of conduct and other applicable requirements of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code may result in the imposition of civil and criminal penalties, and can subject the fiduciary to claims for damages or for equitable remedies, including liability for investment losses. In addition, if an investment in our shares constitutes a prohibited transaction under ERISA or the Internal Revenue Code, the fiduciary or IRA owner who authorized or directed the investment may be subject to the imposition of excise taxes with respect to the amount invested. Additionally, the investment transaction may be undone. In the case of a prohibited transaction involving an IRA owner, the IRA may be disqualified as a tax-exempt account and all of the assets of the IRA may be deemed distributed and subjected to tax. ERISA plan fiduciaries and IRA owners should consult with counsel before making an investment in our common shares.
The Department of Labor has issued proposed regulations that would revise the definition of an ERISA fiduciary, and these regulations, if finalized in their current form, could have a significant effect on an investment in our shares.
The Department of Labor has recently proposed to amend the regulation defining a fiduciary under ERISA. The proposed amendment would broaden the definition of fiduciary and make a number of changes to the prohibited transaction exemptions relating to investments by employee benefit plans and IRAs. The proposed changes, if finalized, could have a significant effect on investments in our shares by such investors. Plan fiduciaries and the beneficial owners of IRAs are urged to consult with their own advisors regarding this development.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
| RESOURCE REAL ESTATE OPPORTUNITY REIT II, INC. | ||||
| Dated: February 16, 2016 | By: | /s/ Alan F. Feldman | ||
| Alan F. Feldman | ||||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||||
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||||