ITEM 1. BUSINESS
General
MVP REIT, Inc. (the “Company” or “MVP”) was incorporated on April 3, 2012 as a Maryland corporation, and has elected to be taxed, and operates in a manner that will allow the Company to qualify as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes beginning with the taxable year ended December 31, 2013. Pursuant to its initial public offering (the “Offering”), which closed in September 2015, the Company received net consideration of approximately $97.3 million for the issuance and sale of its common stock. Of this amount, approximately $19.5 million of shares were issued in consideration of the contribution of commercial properties to the Company. The Company has also registered up to $50 million for the issuance of common stock pursuant to a distribution reinvestment plan (the “DRIP”) under which common stockholders may elect to have their distributions reinvested in additional shares of common stock.
The Company operates as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”). The Company is not a mutual fund or an investment company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, nor is the Company subject to any regulation thereunder. As a REIT, the Company is required to have a December 31 fiscal year end. Among other requirements, REITs are required to satisfy certain gross income and asset tests, which may affect the composition of assets the Company acquires with the proceeds from its public offering. In addition, REITs are required to distribute to stockholders at least 90% of their annual REIT taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gain).
The Company’s investment strategy was originally to invest available net proceeds from its Offering in direct investments in real property and real estate secured loans that meet the Company’s investment objectives and strategies. In March 2014, the Company’s board of directors approved a plan to increase the focus of the Company’s investment strategy on parking and self-storage facilities located throughout the United States as the Company’s core assets. As part of this strategy, the Company exchanged office properties with affiliated entities to exchange all of its ownership interests in certain non-core assets (consisting of four office buildings) for all of the affiliated entities’ ownership interests in five parking facilities and one self-storage facility. The property exchanges were consummated on April 30, 2014.
In June 2014, the Company’s board decided to further focus its efforts primarily on parking facilities. Additionally, during July and August, 2014, the Company sold its membership interest in the two remaining office buildings producing net rental income owned by the Company to Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc., a Maryland corporation and OTC Market-listed company (“VRM I”) and Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc., a Maryland corporation and Nasdaq-listed company (“VRM II”). Please refer to Note I - Acquisitions in Part II, Item 8 Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information regarding the property exchanges. The Company may, from time to time, invest in non-core assets, including investments in companies that manage real estate or mortgage investment companies; however, the Company has agreed that no more than 25% of the gross proceeds from the Offering will be used to invest in real properties other than parking facilities.
On October 3, 2012, the Company confirmed that its board of directors had approved a plan for payment of initial monthly cash distributions of $0.045 per share. On January 25, 2013, the Company issued a press release announcing that its board of directors had approved an increase in its monthly distribution rate on its common shares to an annualized distribution rate of 6.2 percent, or $0.558 per share annually or $0.0465 monthly, assuming a purchase price of $9.00 per share. The distribution, previously 6 percent, increased beginning with the January 2013 distribution, paid to stockholders of record as of January 24, 2013 on February 10, 2013. On June 4, 2013, the Company issued a press release announcing that its board of directors has approved an increase in its monthly distribution rate on its common shares to an annualized distribution rate of 6.7 percent, assuming a purchase price of $9.00 per share or $0.05025 monthly. The Company anticipates paying future distributions monthly in arrears, with a record date on the 24th of each month and distributions paid on the 10th day of the following month (or the next business day if the 10th is not a business day).
As of December 31, 2015, the Company has paid approximately $7.0 million in distributions including approximately $1.7 million in DRIP distributions to the Company’s stockholders, all of which have been paid from offering proceeds and constituted a return of capital. The Company may pay distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations, including proceeds from the Offering, the sale of assets, or borrowings. The Company has no limits on the amounts it may pay from such sources. If the Company continues to pay distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations, the funds available to the Company for investments would be reduced and the share value may be diluted.
The Company’s sponsor is MVP Capital Partners, LLC (“MVPCP” or the “Sponsor”), an entity owned and managed by Michael V. Shustek, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The Company’s advisor is MVP Realty Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”). VRM II owns 60% of the Advisor, and the remaining 40% is owned by VRM I. Michael Shustek owns a significant majority of Vestin Mortgage, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, which is the manager of VRM I, VRM II and Vestin Fund III (“VF III”). The Advisor is responsible for managing the Company’s affairs on a day-to-day basis and for identifying and making investments on the Company’s behalf pursuant to an advisory agreement between the Company and the Advisor (the “Advisory Agreement”).
The Company is the sole member of its operating limited liability company, MVP Real Estate Holdings, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company (“REH”). Substantially all of the Company’s business is conducted through our wholly owned subsidiary REH. The operating agreement provides that REH is operated in a manner that enables the Company to (1) satisfy the requirements for being classified as a REIT for tax purposes, (2) avoid any federal income or excise tax liability, and (3) ensure that REH is not classified as a “publicly traded partnership” for purposes of Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code, which classification could result in REH being taxed as a corporation.
Investment Objectives
Our primary investment objective is to generate current income. We anticipate generating current income from rent and other income from properties we acquire.
We may also seek to realize growth in the value of our investments by timing their sale to maximize value. However, we cannot assure you that we will attain these objectives or that the value of our assets will not decrease. Furthermore, within our investment objectives and policies, our advisor will have substantial discretion with respect to the selection of specific investments and the purchase and sale of our assets. Our board of directors, including our independent directors, will review our investment policies at least annually to determine whether our investment policies continue to be in the best interests of our stockholders. Each determination and the basis therefore shall be set forth in the applicable board meeting minutes.
Current Investment Focus and Expansion of Geographic Focus
Parking Facilities
Based on current market conditions and other factors, we have decided that a significant focus of our investment strategy will be on parking facilities, including parking lots, parking garages and other parking structures.
We believe parking facilities possess attractive characteristics not found in other commercial real estate investments, including the following:
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no reliance on a “single large tenant” whose lease termination can have a devastating impact on rental or licensing revenue;
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generally, no long term lease commitments;
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generally no leasing commissions;
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generally no tenant improvement requirements;
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relatively low capital expenditures; and
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in light of the relatively low up-front costs, an enhanced opportunity for geographic diversification.
Moreover, we believe the REIT industry is evolving, with more REITs moving towards specializing in particular types of properties or property location rather than building a diversified portfolio of properties. Therefore, our board has determined that diversification of our portfolio may not enhance shareholder value and would come at the expense of potentially developing specialized expertise in investments in parking facilities that could provide us with a competitive advantage and distinguish us from other REIT investments in the marketplace.
The parking industry is large and fragmented and includes companies that provide temporary parking spaces for vehicles on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis along with providing various ancillary services. A substantial number of companies in the industry offer parking services as a non-core operation in connection with property management or ownership, and the vast majority of companies in the industry are small, private and operate a single parking facility. The owner of a parking facility may operate the facility or may engage a management company for this purpose. Location is critically important to the performance of parking facilities. Parking rates and ancillary services offered at the facility (such as car wash or electric car charging stations) may also influence a driver’s decision to use a particular parking facility. The performance of parking facilities may fluctuate significantly based on economic trends. For example, the National Parking Association reported that 96% of airport parking lots experienced a decline in parked vehicles from 2008 to 2009, with 58% reporting a decline of more than 10%, as a result of reduced air travel during the 2008/2009 recession.
We operate our parking and storage facilities typically through triple net leases or management contracts. Under either arrangement, we typically rely upon the lessee or the manager to manage and conduct the daily operations of the facilities. Leases generally have longer terms than our management contracts, from three to ten years, and may provide for rent based on the performance of the leased parking facility. In addition, under a triple net lease arrangement, the lessee is generally responsible for all of the operating expenses at our leased location.
Our Advisor will have substantial discretion with respect to the selection of specific properties. The consideration paid for a property will ordinarily be based on the fair market value of the property as determined by a majority of our board of directors. In selecting a potential property for acquisition, we and our Advisor will consider a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the following:
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projected demand for parking facilities in the area;
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a property’s geographic location and type;
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a property’s physical location in relation to population density, traffic counts and access;
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construction quality and condition;
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potential for capital appreciation;
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proposed purchase price, terms and conditions;
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historical financial performance;
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rental/parking rates and occupancy/use levels for the property and competing properties in the area;
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The terms and conditions of any lease or management contract for a particular parking facility;
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potential for rent increases;
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demographics of the area;
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operating expenses being incurred and expected to be incurred, including, but not limited to property taxes and insurance costs;
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potential capital improvements and reserves required to maintain the property;
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prospects for liquidity through sale, financing or refinancing of the property;
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potential competitors;
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the potential for the construction of new properties in the area;
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treatment under applicable federal, state and local tax and other laws and regulations;
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evaluation of title and obtaining of satisfactory title insurance; and
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evaluation of any reasonably ascertainable risks such as environmental contamination.
There is no limitation on the number, size or type of properties that we may acquire or on the percentage of net offering proceeds that may be invested in any particular property type or single property. The number and mix of properties will depend upon real estate market conditions and other circumstances existing at the time of acquisition and the amount of proceeds raised in the Offering. Moreover, depending upon real estate market conditions, economic changes and other developments, our board of directors may change our targeted investment focus or supplement that focus to include other targeted investments from time to time without stockholder consent. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we have agreed that no more than 25% of the gross proceeds from our initial public offering will be used to invest in real properties other than parking facilities. See “Risk Factors - We may change our targeted investments and investment guidelines without stockholder consent.”
Expansion of Geographic Focus
At the time we commenced our offering in September 2012, our initial investment focus was primarily on investments in commercial real estate and loans secured by commercial real estate located in the Western and Southwestern United States and other areas where our affiliates or correspondents have experience. In July 2013, our board of directors approved an expansion of the geographical scope of our potential investments to consider opportunities throughout the United States. During the process of searching for suitable properties, we have been introduced to potentially attractive investment or acquisition opportunities in a wide variety of locations. Our Board believes that it would be in the best interests of our shareholders to consider appropriate opportunities, wherever they may be located.
There are risks and uncertainties relating to the expansion of the geographic scope of our potential investments, and our current targeted investment focus on parking facilities. Our company’s historical experience has been primarily in the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States and other areas where our affiliates and correspondents have experience. We may not possess familiarity with the dynamics and prevailing conditions of any new geographic markets we enter, which could adversely affect our ability to successfully expand into or operate within those markets. In addition, because a significant focus for our investments will be parking facilities, our revenues will be significantly influenced by demand for such properties generally, and a decrease in such demand would likely have a greater adverse effect on our revenues than if we owned a more diversified real estate portfolio. Any parking facilities we acquire or invest in will face intense competition, which may adversely affect rental and fee income. For more information, please see “Risk Factors”.
Economic Dependency
Under various agreements, the Company has engaged or will engage the Advisor and its affiliates to provide certain services that are essential to the Company, including asset management services, supervision of the management and leasing of properties owned by the Company, asset acquisition and disposition decisions, the sale of shares of the Company’s common stock available for issue, as well as other administrative responsibilities for the Company including accounting services and investor relations.
As a result of these relationships, the Company is dependent upon the Advisor and its affiliates. In the event that these companies are unable to provide the Company with the respective services, the Company will be required to find alternative providers of these services.
Competition
Our competitors include other REITs, insurance companies, commercial banks, private investment funds, hedge funds, specialty finance companies and other investors, many of which have significantly greater resources than us. We may not be able to compete successfully for investments. In addition, the number of entities and the amount of funds competing for suitable investments may increase. If we pay higher prices for investments our returns will be lower and the value of our assets may not increase or may decrease significantly below the amount we paid for such assets.
Moreover, any parking facilities we acquire or invest in will face intense competition, which may adversely affect rental and fee income. We believe that competition in parking facility operations is intense. The relatively low cost of entry has led to a strongly competitive, fragmented market consisting of competitors ranging from single facility operators to large regional and national multi-facility operators, including several public companies. In addition, any parking facilities we acquire may compete with building owners that provide on-site paid parking. Many of the competitors have more experience than we do in owning and operating parking facilities. Moreover, some of our competitors will have greater capital resources, greater cash reserves, less demanding rules governing distributions to stockholders and a greater ability to borrow funds.
Income Taxes
As of December 31, 2015, the Company was organized and conducted our operations to qualify as a REIT under Sections 856 to 860 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and to comply with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code with respect thereto. A REIT is generally not subject to federal income tax on that portion of its REIT taxable income (“Taxable Income”) which is distributed to its stockholders, provided that at least 90% of Taxable Income is distributed and provided that certain other requirements are met. The Company’s Taxable Income may substantially exceed or be less than the net income as determined based on GAAP, because, differences in GAAP and taxable net income consist primarily of allowances for loan losses or doubtful account, write-downs on real estate held for sale, amortization of deferred financing cost, capital gains and losses, and deferred income.
Regulations
Our investments are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws, ordinances and regulations, including, among other things, zoning regulations, land use controls, environmental controls relating to air and water quality, noise pollution and indirect environmental impacts such as increased motor vehicle activity. We intend to obtain all permits and approvals necessary under current law to operate our investments.
Environmental
As an owner of real estate, we are subject to various environmental laws of federal, state and local governments. In particular, under various federal, state and local environmental laws, ordinances and regulations, a current or previous owner or operator of real property may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of hazardous or toxic substances on, under or in such property. Such laws typically impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. In connection with our ownership of parking facilities, we may be potentially liable for any such costs.
We do not believe that compliance with existing laws will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. However, we cannot predict the impact of unforeseen environmental contingencies or new or changed laws or regulations on properties in which we hold an interest, or on properties that may be acquired directly or indirectly in the future.
Employees
We have no employees. The employees of our advisor or its affiliates provide management, acquisition, advisory and certain administrative services for us.
Available Information
We are subject to the reporting and information requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, and, as a result, file our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website (http://www.sec.gov) that contains our annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy and information statements and other information we file electronically with the SEC. Access to these filings is free of charge.
ITEM 1A.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The following are some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those presented in our forward-looking statements. 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
We have a limited operating history; therefore there is a higher risk that we will not be able to achieve our investment objectives compared to a real estate investment trust with a more established operating history.
We have a limited operating history, having commenced operations in December 2012. We may not be able to successfully operate our business or achieve our investment objectives. An investment in our shares of common stock may entail more risk than the shares of common stock of a real estate investment trust with a more established operating history and we may not be able to achieve our investment objectives.
We have experienced losses in the past, and we may experience additional losses in the future.
Historically, we have experienced net losses (calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America) and we may not be profitable or realize growth in the value of our investments. Many of our losses can be attributed to start-up costs, depreciation and amortization, as well as acquisition expenses incurred in connection with purchasing properties or making other investments. For a further discussion of our operational history and the factors affecting our losses, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes thereto.
Our cash distributions are not guaranteed and may fluctuate.
The actual amount and timing of distributions will be determined by our board of directors and typically will depend upon the amount of funds available for distribution, which will depend on items such as current and projected cash requirements and tax considerations. As a result, our distribution rate and payment frequency may vary from time to time.
We have paid, and may continue to pay, our distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations, which has reduced the funds available for the acquisition of properties and may reduce our stockholders’ overall return.
As of December 31, 2015, we have paid all of our distributions from proceeds from issuance of our common stock in the offering or under our distribution reinvestment plan. Our organization documents permit us to pay distributions from any source, including offering proceeds, borrowings, or sales of assets. We have not placed a cap on the use of offering or other proceeds to fund distributions. Our distribution policy is to fund the payment of regular distributions to our stockholders from cash flow from our operations. However, we may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to fund distributions. Therefore, we may need to continue to utilize proceeds from the sale of securities, borrow funds or request that our advisor, in its discretion, defer its receipt of fees and reimbursement of expenses in order to make cash distributions. We can give no assurance that we will be able to pay distributions solely from our funds from operations in the future. If we continue to pay distributions from sources other than our cash flow from operations, we will have fewer funds available for investments and your overall return may be reduced.
Because we have paid, and may continue to pay, our cash distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations, such distributions may not reflect the current performance of our real property investments or our current operating cash flows, and may constitute a return of capital or taxable gain from the sale or exchange of property.
Our long-term strategy is to fund the payment of monthly distributions to our stockholders entirely from our funds from operations. However, during the early stages of our operations, we have utilized offering proceeds to make cash distributions. Because the amount we pay out in distributions may exceed our cash flow from operations, the amount of distributions paid at any given time may not reflect the current performance our real property investments or our current cash flow from operations. To the extent distributions exceed cash flow from operations, distributions may be treated as a return of capital (rather than a return on capital) and could reduce your basis in our stock. A reduction in a stockholder’s basis in our stock could result in the stockholder recognizing more gain upon the disposition of his or her shares, which in turn could result in greater taxable income to such stockholder.
We depend upon our advisor to find suitable investments. If it is unable to do so, 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 in the acquisition of our investments, including the determination of any financing arrangements. While our advisor’s personnel have substantial experience in investing in real estate secured loans, they have only limited experience in making direct investments in real estate. You will have no opportunity to evaluate the economic merits or the terms of our investments and must rely entirely on the management abilities of our advisor and the oversight of our board of directors. We cannot assure you 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, we will hold the proceeds from our initial public 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 be limited in our ability, to pay distributions and we may not be able to meet our investment objectives.
Our sponsor and its other affiliated entities, including MVP REIT II, Inc., a publicly registered non-traded REIT managed by our advisor, also rely on Michael V. Shustek for investment opportunities. MVP REIT II is seeking to raise up to $550 million in initial offering proceeds for investments in parking assets in the United States and Canada. To the extent that our advisor’s real estate, finance and securities professionals face competing demands upon their time in instances when we have capital ready for investment, we may face delays in execution of our investment strategy. Delays we encounter in the selection and acquisition of income-producing assets would likely limit our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders and lower their overall returns.
Any adverse changes in our advisor’s financial health or our relationship with our advisor or its affiliates could hinder our operating performance and the return on your investment.
We have engaged our advisor to manage our operations and our portfolio of investments. Our ability to achieve our investment objectives and to pay distributions is dependent upon the performance of our advisor and its affiliates, as well as our advisor’s real estate, finance and securities professionals, in the identification and acquisition of investments, the determination of any financing arrangements, the management of our assets and operation of our day-to-day activities. We also depend upon Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc. and Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc., the owners of our advisor, to continue to support and fund our costs and expenses. Any adverse changes in our advisor’s financial condition or our relationship with our advisor, its owners or its other affiliates could hinder our advisor’s ability to successfully manage our operations and our portfolio of investments.
The loss of key real estate, finance and securities professionals at our sponsor 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 prospects for success depend to a significant degree upon the contributions of Michael V. Shustek who would be difficult to replace. If he were to cease his 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 prospects for future success depend, in large part, upon our sponsor and its affiliates’ ability to retain highly skilled managerial, operational and marketing professionals. Competition for such professionals is intense, and our sponsor and its affiliates may be unsuccessful in attracting and retaining such skilled individuals. If our sponsor 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.
You will not have the opportunity to evaluate additional investments before we make them, which makes your investment more speculative.
Our current investment strategy is to focus predominantly on parking facilities, and we have agreed that no more than 25% of the gross proceeds from our initial public offering may be used to invest in real properties other than parking facilities. You will not have an opportunity to evaluate our future investments, and will have to rely entirely on the ability of our advisor to select suitable and successful investment opportunities. Furthermore, our board of directors and our advisor will have broad discretion in implementing our investment strategy, objectives and policies. These factors increase the risk that your investment may not generate returns comparable to our competitors and may hinder your ability to achieve your own personal investment objectives related to portfolio diversification, risk-adjusted investment returns and other objectives.
We may be unable to build a large, diversified portfolio of properties and the poor performance of a single investment could materially adversely affect our overall investment performance.
In September 2015, we completed our initial public offering of common shares on a “best efforts” basis. Although we continue to seek to expand our portfolio of investments, the number of investments we may make may be limited by the amount raised in our initial public offering. Failure to build a diversified portfolio increases the likelihood that any single investment’s poor performance would materially affect our overall investment performance. Our inability to raise substantial funds would also increase our fixed operating expenses as a percentage of gross income. Each of these factors could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and ability to make distributions to our stockholders.
There can be no assurance that we will effect a liquidity event. If we do not successfully implement a liquidity transaction, you may have to hold your investment for an indefinite period.
There currently is no public market for our common stock. However, on March 7, 2016, our board of directors approved taking all action necessary to list our outstanding common shares on the NASDAQ Global Market. While we intend to pursue listing on NASDAQ expeditiously, there can be no assurance as to if or when our listing application will be approved and our common stock will begin to trade on NASDAQ. If we do not list our shares on a national securities exchange or pursue another liquidity event, such as a sale of all or substantially all of our assets or a sale or a merger in a transaction that would provide our stockholders with cash and/or securities of a publicly traded company, your shares may continue to be illiquid and you may, for an indefinite period of time, be unable to convert your investment to cash easily and could suffer losses on your investment.
Additionally, our charter contains restrictions on the ownership and transfer of our shares, and these restrictions may limit your ability to sell your shares. If you are able to sell your shares, you may only be able to sell them at a substantial discount from the price you paid. This may be the result, in part, of the fact that the amount of funds available for investment are reduced by funds used to pay certain up-front fees and expenses, including organization and offering costs, such as issuer costs, selling commissions, and acquisition expenses in connection with our public offerings. Unless our aggregate investments increase in value to compensate for these up-front fees and expenses, which may not occur, it is unlikely that you will be able to sell your shares, without incurring a substantial loss. You may also experience substantial losses if we dispose of our assets in connection with a liquidation event, though we are not required to consummate a transaction to provide liquidity to stockholders on any date certain or at all. We cannot assure you that your shares will ever appreciate in value to equal the price you paid for your shares. We have adopted a share repurchase program but it is limited in terms of the amount of shares that may be repurchased each quarter. The share repurchase program will terminate upon the listing of our shares on a national securities exchange. Thus, prospective stockholders should consider our shares of common stock as illiquid and a long-term investment, and you must be prepared to hold your shares for an indefinite length of time.
Your ability to have your shares repurchased is limited under our share repurchase program, and if you are able to have your shares repurchased, it may be at a price that is less than the price you paid for the shares and the then-current market value of the shares.
Our share repurchase program contains significant restrictions and limitations. For example, stockholders must generally hold their shares for a minimum of one year before they can participate in our share repurchase program. Further, we presently intend to limit the number of shares to be repurchased during any calendar quarter to not more than 2.00% of the number of shares of our common stock outstanding on December 31st of the prior calendar year. Repurchases will be funded solely from the net proceeds from the sale of shares under the distribution reinvestment plan in the prior calendar year. Our board of directors may also limit the amounts available for repurchase at any time in its sole discretion. In addition, our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, amend, suspend, or terminate the share repurchase program at any time upon 30 days prior notice. Therefore, you may not have the opportunity to make a repurchase request prior to any potential termination of our share repurchase program.
Please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Share Repurchase Program” for a description of the terms and limitations associated with our share repurchase program. As a result of these limitations, the repurchase price you may receive upon any such repurchase may not be indicative of the price our stockholders would receive if our shares were actively traded or if we were liquidated, and you should not assume that you will be able to sell all or any portion of your shares back to us pursuant to our share repurchase program or to third parties at a price that reflects the then current market value of the shares or at all.
Risks Related to Our Investments
We may be unable to successfully invest in or acquire properties situated in parts of the United States where we do not have extensive experience.
We intend to explore investments in and acquisitions of properties throughout the United States. Our company’s historical experience has been primarily in the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States and other areas where our affiliates and correspondents have experience. We may not possess familiarity with the dynamics and prevailing conditions of any new geographic markets we enter, which could adversely affect our ability to successfully expand into or operate within those markets. For example, new markets may have different insurance practices, reimbursement rates and local real estate, zoning and development regulations than those with which we are familiar. We may find ourselves more dependent on third parties in new markets because our distance could hinder our ability to directly and efficiently identify suitable investments or manage properties in distant markets. We may not be successful in identifying suitable properties or other assets which meet our acquisition or development criteria or in consummating acquisitions or investments on satisfactory terms or at all for a number of reasons, including, among other things, unsatisfactory results of our due diligence investigations, failure to obtain financing on acceptable terms for the acquisition or development and our misjudgment of the value of the opportunities. We may also be unable to successfully integrate the operations of acquired properties, maintain consistent standards, controls, policies and procedures, or realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions within the anticipated timeframe or at all. If we are unsuccessful in expanding into new markets, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.
Because a predominant focus for our investments will be parking facilities, our revenues will be significantly influenced by demand for such properties generally, and a decrease in such demand would likely have a greater adverse effect on our revenues than if we owned a more diversified real estate portfolio.
We have decided that a predominant focus for our portfolio of investments and acquisitions will be parking facilities and possibly other multi-tenant/licensee properties. There are no specific targets for such properties as a percentage of our total portfolio, nor are there any limitations in this regard. However, based on our current investment strategy to focus predominantly on parking facilities, a substantial percentage of our portfolio will consist of parking and similar properties, and we have agreed that no more than 25% of the gross proceeds from our initial public offering may be used to invest in real properties other than parking facilities. A decrease in the demand for paid parking facilities, or other developments adversely affecting such sector of the property market, including a downturn in the economy, emergency safety measures, natural disasters and acts of terrorism, would likely have a more pronounced effect on our financial performance than if we owned a more diversified real estate portfolio. Adverse developments affecting such sectors of the property market could have a material, adverse effect on the value of our properties as well as our revenues and our distributions to shareholders.
Any parking facilities we acquire or invest in will face intense competition, which may adversely affect rental and fee income.
We believe that competition in parking facility operations is intense. The relatively low cost of entry has led to a strongly competitive, fragmented market consisting of competitors ranging from single facility operators to large regional and national multi-facility operators, including several public companies. In addition, any parking facilities we acquire may compete with building owners that provide on-site paid parking, as well as municipal and other governmental entities that choose not to outsource their parking operations. Many of the competitors have more experience than we do in owning and operating parking facilities. Moreover, some of our competitors will have greater capital resources, greater cash reserves, less demanding rules governing distributions to stockholders and a greater ability to borrow funds. Competition for investments may reduce the number of suitable investment opportunities available to us, may increase acquisition costs and may reduce demand for parking facilities, all of which may adversely affect our operating results. Additionally, an economic slowdown in a particular market could have a negative effect on our parking fee revenues.
If competitors build new facilities that compete with our facilities or offer space at rates below the rates we charge, we may lose potential or existing customers and we may be pressured to discount our rates to retain business. As a result, our ability to make distributions to you may be impaired. In addition, increased competition for customers may require us to make capital improvements to facilities that we would not otherwise make, which could reduce cash available for distribution to our stockholders.
Our leases and management contracts expose us to certain risks.
We operate our parking and storage facilities typically through triple net leases or management contracts. Under either arrangement, we typically rely upon the lessee or the manager to manage and conduct the daily operations of the facilities. In addition, under a triple net lease arrangement, the lessee is generally responsible for all of the operating expenses at our leased location. Our management contracts are typically for a term of one to three years, although the contracts may often be terminated, with or without cause, giving the manager an opportunity to negotiate an increase in management fees or other allocated costs, for example. Leases generally have longer terms than our management contracts, from three to ten years, and may provide for rent based on the performance of the leased parking facility. The loss or renewal on less favorable terms of a lease or management contract, or a breach or other failure to perform by a lessee or manager under a lease or management contract, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. A material reduction in the rental and other income associated with the leases (or an increase in anticipated expenses to the extent we are responsible for such expenses) also could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Deterioration in economic conditions in general and other factors could reduce the demand for parking and, as a result, reduce our revenues and adversely affect our financial condition.
Adverse changes in global, national and local economic conditions could have a negative impact on our business. If adverse economic conditions reduce discretionary spending, business travel or other economic activity that fuels demand for parking services, our revenues could be reduced. Adverse changes in local and national economic conditions could also reduce parking spaces or depress prices for parking services. In addition, our parking facilities tend to be concentrated in urban areas. Users of our parking facilities include workers who commute by car to their places of employment in these urban centers. The return on our investments could be materially adversely affected to the extent that weak economic conditions or demographic factors have resulted in the elimination of jobs and high unemployment in these urban areas. In addition, increased unemployment levels, the movement of white-collar jobs from urban centers to suburbs or out of North America entirely, increased office vacancies in urban areas, movement toward home office alternatives or lower consumer spending could reduce consumer demand for parking, which could adversely impact our revenues and financial condition. Weather conditions, including fluctuations in temperatures, hurricanes, snow or severe weather storms, earthquakes, drought, heavy flooding, natural disasters or acts of terrorism also may result in reduced levels of travel and use of our parking facilities and require increase in certain expenditure costs, all of which could adversely impact our revenues and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.
Our business strategy contemplates that certain of our investments may be in real estate markets that have suffered significant declines in value in recent years. As a result, such investments may entail greater risk of loss resulting in a decline in the value of your shares and reduced distributions to stockholders.
Our sponsor’s historic experience is primarily in states in the Western and Southwestern United States such as Nevada, Arizona, California, Texas and Utah. The real estate markets in a number of these states have suffered significant declines in value over the last several years. One of our business strategies contemplates investing in under-valued properties, including in the Western and Southwestern United States, and seeking to profit from future appreciation in such properties, as well as lending to borrowers who are developing properties with significant growth potential in such geographic markets.
As the real estate markets in which we operate have begun to improve, it may become more difficult for us to identify undervalued property or suitable borrowers to execute this business strategy. Even if we are able to identify such potential investments, we continue to bear the risks that we may acquire properties that fail to appreciate in value and we may make loans to borrowers who are unable to complete their projects and repay their loans as a result of persistent weakness in local real estate markets or other factors. In such event, the value of our investments may decline and we may experience a high level of defaults on our loans, resulting in a likely decline in the value of your shares and reduced distributions to our stockholders.
Changes in national, regional or local economic, demographic or real estate market conditions may adversely affect our results of operations and returns to our investors.
We will be subject to risks incident to the ownership of real estate related assets including:
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changes in national, regional or local economic, demographic or real estate market conditions;
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changes in supply of, or demand for, similar properties in an area;
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increased competition for real estate-related assets targeted by our investment strategy;
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bankruptcies, financial difficulties or lease defaults by property owners and tenants;
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changes in interest rates and availability of financing; and
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changes in government rules, regulations and fiscal policies, including changes in tax, real estate, environmental and zoning laws.
Additionally, we are unable to predict future changes in national, regional or local economic, demographic or real estate market conditions. For example, a recession or rise in interest rates could make it more difficult for us to lease real properties or dispose of them. In addition, rising interest rates could also make alternative interest-bearing and other investments more attractive and therefore potentially lower the relative value of the real estate-related assets we acquire. These conditions, or others we cannot predict, may adversely affect our results of operations funds from operations, cash flow and returns to our investors.
A prolonged economic slowdown, a lengthy or severe recession or declining real estate values could harm our operations.
Many of our investments may be susceptible to economic slowdowns or recessions, which could lead to financial losses in our investments and a decrease in revenues, net income and assets. While certain real estate markets have improved from the most recent economic downturn, a recession or continuing market volatility may interfere with the successful implementation of our business strategy, decrease revenues and the return on our investments and make it more difficult for us to collect rents or fee revenue. An economic slowdown or recession, in addition to other non-economic factors such as an excess supply of properties or decrease demand for parking, could also have a material negative impact on the values of our investments.
Our investments in real estate will be subject to the risks typically associated with real estate.
We are subject to the risk that our investments may not generate sufficient rental and other revenues to meet our operating expenses and other obligations. Such a deficiency could result in an adverse impact our economic performance and the value of our investments. Events and conditions applicable to owners and operators of real estate that are beyond our control and could impact our economic performance and the value of our investments may include:
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property damage and other losses from natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, adverse weather conditions and floods;
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acts of war or terrorism, including the consequences of terrorist attacks;
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adverse changes in national and local economic and real estate conditions;
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an oversupply of (or a reduction in demand for) space in the areas where particular properties are located and the attractiveness of particular properties to prospective tenants;
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inability to locate or finance property acquisitions on favorable terms or at all;
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vacancies or inability to rent space or engage a manager on favorable terms or at all;
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inability to collect rent from tenants;
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increased operating costs, including insurance premiums, maintenance and repair costs, and taxes, to the extent not otherwise passed through to tenants;
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changes in governmental laws and regulations, fiscal policies and zoning ordinances and the related costs of compliance therewith and the potential for liability under applicable laws;
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costs of remediation and liabilities associated with environmental conditions affecting properties;
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the potential for uninsured or underinsured property losses. and
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the relative illiquidity of real estate investments.
We have no established investment criteria limiting the geographic concentration of our investments. If our investments are concentrated in an area that experiences adverse economic conditions, increased regulations or natural disasters, our investments may lose value and we may experience losses.
Our real estate investments may be concentrated in one or few geographic locations. These investments may carry the risks associated with significant geographical concentration. We have not established and do not plan to establish any investment criteria to limit our exposure to these risks for future investments. As a result, properties underlying our investments may be overly concentrated in certain geographic areas, and we may experience losses as a result. A worsening of economic conditions, increased regulations or a natural disaster in the geographic area in which our investments may be concentrated could have an adverse effect on our business, including increasing our operating costs, reducing our revenues and otherwise adversely impacting our financial conditions and ability to make distributions to our stockholders.
Competition with third parties in acquiring and operating our investments may reduce our profitability and the return on your investment.
We have significant competition with respect to our acquisition of assets with many other companies, including other REITs, owners and managers of parking facilities, insurance companies, commercial banks, private investment funds, hedge funds, specialty finance companies and other investors, many of which have greater resources than us. We may not be able to compete successfully for investments. In addition, the number of entities and the amount of funds competing for suitable investments may increase. If we pay higher prices for investments our returns will be lower and the value of our assets may not increase or may decrease significantly below the amount we paid for such assets. We may also face intense competition to attract tenants to some of the properties we may acquire. There is no assurance that we will be able to attract tenants on favorable terms, if at all. Each of these factors could adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, value of our investments and ability to pay distributions to you.
Changes in supply of or demand for similar real properties in a particular area may increase the price of real properties we seek to purchase and decrease the price of real properties when we seek to sell them.
The real estate industry is subject to market forces. We are unable to predict certain market changes including changes in supply of, or demand for, parking facilities and other real properties that we may acquire as investments in a particular area. Any potential purchase of an overpriced asset could decrease our rate of return on these investments and result in lower operating results and overall returns to our stockholders.
Our operating expenses may increase in the future and, to the extent such increases cannot be passed on to tenants, our cash flow and our operating results would decrease.
Operating expenses, such as expenses for insurance, utilities, taxes, and labor, are not fixed and may increase in the future. Moreover, many expenditures associated with properties (such as operating expenses and capital expenditures) cannot be reduced when there is a reduction in income from the properties. There is no guarantee that we will be able to pass such operating expenses on to the lessee or manager of a parking facility or other real property we own. To the extent increased operating expenses cannot be passed on to the lessee or manager, any such increase would cause our cash flow and our operating results to decrease.
Real property that incurs a vacancy could be difficult to re-lease or sell.
Real property may incur a vacancy either by the continued default of a tenant under its lease or the expiration of one of a lease. Additionally, an economic slowdown may lead to increased defaults by tenants. Certain of the real properties we may acquire may have some level of vacancy at the time of closing or the transaction itself may trigger the need to replace the tenant or parking facility operator. Regardless of the nature of any vacancies, we may have difficulty obtaining a new tenant or manager for any vacant space we have in our real properties or otherwise be able to replace any departing tenant or manager on terms as favorable as the terminated lease or management agreement. Additionally, if market rental rates are reduced, property-level cash flows would likely be negatively affected as existing leases renew at lower rates. If the vacancy continues for a long period of time or if we are unable to negotiate comparable terms when replacing a tenant or manager, we may suffer reduced revenues resulting in lower cash distributions to stockholders. In addition, the resale value of the real property could be diminished because the market value may depend principally upon the value of the leases of such real property.
The bankruptcy, insolvency or other loss of a significant tenant may adversely impact our operations and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.
The bankruptcy, insolvency or other loss of a significant tenant or a number of smaller tenants may have an adverse impact on our income and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders. Generally, under bankruptcy law, a debtor tenant has 120 days to exercise the option of assuming or rejecting the obligations under any unexpired lease for nonresidential real property, which period may be extended once by the bankruptcy court. If the tenant assumes its lease, the tenant must cure all defaults under the lease and may be required to provide adequate assurance of its future performance under the lease. If the tenant rejects the lease, we will have a claim against the tenant’s bankruptcy estate. Although rent owing for the period between filing for bankruptcy and rejection of the lease may be afforded administrative expense priority and paid in full, pre-bankruptcy arrears and amounts owing under the remaining term of the lease will be afforded general unsecured claim status (absent collateral securing the claim). Moreover, amounts owing under the remaining term of the lease will be capped. Other than equity and subordinated claims, general unsecured claims are the last claims paid in a bankruptcy and therefore funds may not be available to pay such claims in full.
Real property will be subject to property taxes that may increase in the future, which could adversely affect our cash flow.
Real property is subject to real and personal property taxes that may increase as tax rates change and as real property is assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. We anticipate that certain of our leases will generally provide that the property taxes, or increases in property taxes, are charged to the lessees as an expense related to the real property that they occupy, while other leases will generally provide that we are responsible for such taxes. In any case, we are ultimately responsible for payment of the taxes to the applicable government authorities. If real property taxes increase, tenants may be unable to make the required tax payments, ultimately requiring us to pay the taxes even if otherwise stated under the terms of the lease. If we fail to pay any such taxes, the applicable taxing authority may place a lien on the real property and the real property may be subject to a tax sale. In addition, we will generally be responsible for real property taxes related to any vacant space.
Our parking facilities also may be subject to sales and parking taxes and, to the extent we are unable to require compliance by our lessee or manager of such regulations, or to the extent a lessee or manager fails to comply with such regulations, we may be obligated to withhold and remit such taxes or a direct assessment may be imposed upon us for failure to remit sales/parking taxes or failure to file the appropriate tax return.
Uninsured losses or premiums for insurance coverage relating to real property may adversely affect your returns.
Our real properties may incur casualty 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. Risks associated with potential terrorism could sharply increase the premiums we pay for coverage against property and casualty claims. Additionally, mortgage lenders sometimes require property owners to purchase specific coverage against terrorism as a condition for providing mortgage loans. These policies may not be available at a reasonable cost, if at all, which could inhibit our ability to finance or refinance real property we may hold. In such instances, we may be required to provide other financial support, either through financial assurances or self-insurance, to cover potential losses. Changes in the cost or availability of insurance could expose us to uninsured casualty losses. In the event that any of our real property incurs a casualty loss which is not fully covered by insurance, the value of our assets will be reduced by any such uninsured loss. In addition, we cannot assure you that funding will be available to us for repair or reconstruction of damaged real property in the future.
Actions of joint venture partners could negatively impact our performance.
We may enter into joint ventures with third parties, including MVP REIT II and other entities that are affiliated with our advisor. We may also purchase and develop properties in joint ventures or in partnerships, co-tenancies or other co-ownership arrangements with the sellers of the properties, affiliates of the sellers, developers or other persons. Such investments may involve risks not otherwise present with a direct investment in real estate, including, for example:
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the possibility that our venture partner or co-tenant in an investment might become bankrupt;
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that the venture partner or co-tenant may at any time have economic or business interests or goals which are, or which become, inconsistent with our business interests or goals;
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that such venture partner or co-tenant may be in a position to take action contrary to our instructions or requests or contrary to our policies or objectives;
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the possibility that we may incur liabilities as a result of an action taken by such venture partner;
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that disputes between us and a venture partner may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses and prevent our officers and directors from focusing their time and effort on our business;
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the possibility that if we have a right of first refusal or buy/sell right to buy out a co-venturer, co-owner or partner, we may be unable to finance such a buy-out if it becomes exercisable or we may be required to purchase such interest at a time when it would not otherwise be in our best interest to do so; or
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the possibility that we may not be able to sell our interest in the joint venture if we desire to exit the joint venture.
Under certain joint venture arrangements, neither party has the power to control the joint venture, potentially resulting in an impasse, which might have a negative influence on the joint venture and decrease potential returns to you. In addition, to the extent that our venture partner or co-tenant is an affiliate of our advisor, certain conflicts of interest will exist.
Acquiring or attempting to acquire multiple properties in a single transaction may adversely affect our operations.
From time to time, we may seek to acquire multiple properties in a single transaction. Portfolio acquisitions are more complex and expensive than single property acquisitions, and the risk that a multiple-property acquisition does not close may be greater than in a single-property acquisition. Portfolio acquisitions may also result in us owning investments in geographically dispersed markets, placing additional demands on our ability to manage the properties in the portfolio. In addition, a seller may require that a group of properties be purchased as a package even though we may not want to purchase one or more properties in the portfolio. In these situations, if we are unable to identify another person or entity to acquire the unwanted properties, we may be required to operate or attempt to dispose of these properties. To acquire multiple properties in a single transaction we may be required to accumulate a large amount of cash. We would expect the returns that we earn on such cash to be less than the ultimate returns on real property, therefore accumulating such cash could reduce our funds available for distributions to you. Any of the foregoing events may have an adverse effect on our operations.
Delays in the acquisition, development and construction of real property may have adverse effects on our results of operations and returns to our stockholders.
Delays we encounter in the selection, acquisition and development of real property could adversely affect your returns. Where properties are acquired prior to the start of construction or during the early stages of construction, it will typically take several months to complete construction and rent available space. Therefore, you could suffer delays in receiving cash distributions attributable to those particular real properties. Delays in completion of construction could give tenants the right to terminate preconstruction leases for space at a newly developed project. We may incur additional risks when we make periodic progress payments or other advances to builders prior to completion of construction.
Each of those factors could result in increased costs of a project or loss of our investment. In addition, we will be subject to normal lease-up risks relating to newly constructed projects. Furthermore, the price we agree to pay for a real property will be based on our projections of rental income and expenses and estimates of the fair market value of real property upon completion of construction. If our projections are inaccurate, we may pay too much for a property.
Costs of complying with governmental laws and regulations related to environmental protection and human health and safety may be high.
All real property investments and the operations conducted in connection with such investments are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to environmental protection and human health and safety. Some of these laws and regulations may impose joint and several liability on customers, owners or operators for the costs to investigate or remediate contaminated properties, regardless of fault or whether the acts causing the contamination were legal.
Under various federal, state and local environmental laws, a current or previous owner or operator of real property may be liable for the cost of removing or remediating hazardous or toxic substances on such real property. 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. In addition, the presence of hazardous substances, or the failure to properly remediate these substances, may adversely affect our ability to sell, rent or pledge such real property as collateral for future borrowings. Environmental laws also may impose restrictions on the manner in which real property may be used or businesses may be operated. Some of these laws and regulations have been amended so as to require compliance with new or more stringent standards as of future dates. Compliance with new or more stringent laws or regulations or stricter interpretation of existing laws may require us to incur material expenditures. Future laws, ordinances or regulations may impose material environmental liability. Additionally, operations of our parking facilities and other tenant operations, the existing condition of land when we buy it, operations in the vicinity of our real property, such as the presence of underground storage tanks, oil leaks and other vehicle discharge, or activities of unrelated third parties may affect our real property. There are also various local, state and federal fire, health, life-safety and similar regulations with which we may be required to comply and which may subject us to liability in the form of fines or damages for noncompliance. In connection with the acquisition and ownership of real property, we may be exposed to such costs in connection with such regulations. The cost of defending against environmental claims, of any damages or fines we must pay, of compliance with environmental regulatory requirements or of remediating any contaminated real property could materially and adversely affect our business, lower the value of our assets or results of operations and, consequently, lower the amounts available for distribution to you.
Real property investments may contain or develop harmful mold or suffer from other indoor air quality issues, which could lead to liability for adverse health effects or property damage or cost for remediation.
When excessive moisture accumulates in buildings or on building materials, mold growth may occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or is not addressed over a period of time. Some molds may produce airborne toxins or irritants. Indoor air quality issues can also stem from inadequate ventilation, chemical contamination from indoor or outdoor sources, and other biological contaminants such as pollen, viruses and bacteria. Indoor exposure to airborne toxins or irritants can be alleged to cause a variety of adverse health effects and symptoms, including allergic or other reactions. As a result, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants at any of our real property investments could require us to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold or other airborne contaminants or to increase ventilation. In addition, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants could expose us to liability from our tenants or others if property damage or personal injury occurs.
The costs associated with complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act may reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our stockholders.
Investment in real property may also be subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, or ADA. Under the ADA, all places of public accommodation are required to comply with federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. The ADA 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. With respect to the properties we acquire, the ADA’s requirements could require us to remove access barriers and could result in the imposition of injunctive relief, monetary penalties or, in some cases, an award of damages. Any monies we use to comply with the ADA will reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our stockholders.
Real property is an illiquid investment, and we may be unable to adjust our portfolio in response to changes in economic or other conditions or sell a property if or when we decide to do so.
Real property is an illiquid investment. We may be unable to adjust our portfolio in response to changes in economic or other conditions. In addition, the real estate market is affected by many factors, such as general economic conditions, availability of financing, interest rates and other factors, including supply and demand, that are beyond our control. We cannot predict whether we will be able to sell any real property for the price or on the terms set by us, or whether any price or other terms offered by a prospective purchaser would be acceptable to us. We cannot predict the length of time needed to find a willing purchaser and to close the sale of a real property.
We may be required to expend funds to correct defects or to make improvements before a property can be sold. We cannot assure you that we will have funds available to correct such defects or to make such improvements.
In acquiring a real property, we may agree to restrictions that prohibit the sale of that real property for a period of time or impose other restrictions, such as a limitation on the amount of debt that can be placed or repaid on that real property. Our real properties may also be subject to resale restrictions. All these provisions would restrict our ability to sell a property, which could reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our stockholders.
Hedging against interest rate exposure may adversely affect our earnings, limit our gains or result in losses, which could adversely affect cash available for distribution to our stockholders.
We may enter into interest rate swap agreements or pursue other interest rate hedging strategies. Our hedging activity will vary in scope based on the level of interest rates, the type of portfolio investments held, and other changing market conditions. Interest rate hedging may fail to protect or could adversely affect us because, among other things:
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interest rate hedging can be expensive, particularly during periods of rising and volatile interest rates;
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available interest rate hedging may not correspond directly with the interest rate risk for which protection is sought;
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the duration of the hedge may not match the duration of the related liability or asset;
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our hedging opportunities may be limited by the treatment of income from hedging transactions under the rules determining REIT qualification;
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the credit quality of the party owing money on the hedge may be downgraded to such an extent that it impairs our ability to sell or assign our side of the hedging transaction;
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the party owing money in the hedging transaction may default on its obligation to pay; and
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we may purchase a hedge that turns out not to be necessary, i.e., a hedge that is out of the money.
Any hedging activity we engage in may adversely affect our earnings, which could adversely affect cash available for distribution to our stockholders. Therefore, while we may enter into such transactions to seek to reduce interest rate risks, unanticipated changes in interest rates may result in poorer overall investment performance than if we had not engaged in any such hedging transactions. In addition, the degree of correlation between price movements of the instruments used in a hedging strategy and price movements in the portfolio positions being hedged or liabilities being hedged may vary materially. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, we may not seek to establish a perfect correlation between such hedging instruments and the portfolio holdings being hedged. Any such imperfect correlation may prevent us from achieving the intended hedge and expose us to risk of loss.
Hedging instruments often are not traded on regulated exchanges, guaranteed by an exchange or its clearing house, or regulated by any U.S. or foreign governmental authorities and involve risks and costs.
The cost of using hedging instruments increases as the period covered by the instrument increases and during periods of rising and volatile interest rates. We may increase our hedging activity and thus increase our hedging costs during periods when interest rates are volatile or rising and hedging costs have increased. In addition, hedging instruments involve risk since they often are not traded on regulated exchanges, guaranteed by an exchange or its clearing house, or regulated by any U.S. or foreign governmental authorities. Consequently, there are no requirements with respect to record keeping, financial responsibility or segregation of customer funds and positions. Furthermore, the enforceability of agreements underlying derivative transactions may depend on compliance with applicable statutory, commodity and other regulatory requirements and, depending on the identity of the counterparty, applicable international requirements. The business failure of a hedging counterparty with whom we enter into a hedging transaction will most likely result in a default. Default by a party with whom we enter into a hedging transaction may result in the loss of unrealized profits and force us to cover our resale commitments, if any, at the then current market price. We may not be able to terminate our hedging positions or dispose of or close out a hedging position without the consent of the hedging counterparty, and we may not be able to enter into an offsetting contract in order to cover our risk. We cannot assure you that a liquid secondary market will exist for hedging instruments purchased or sold, and we may be required to maintain a position until exercise or expiration, which could result in losses.
The Dodd-Frank Act regulates derivative transactions, which include certain hedging instruments we may use in our risk management activities. The Dodd-Frank Act contemplates that most swaps will be required to be cleared through a registered clearing facility and traded on a designated exchange or swap execution facility. There are some exceptions to these requirements for entities that use swaps to hedge or mitigate commercial risk. The scope of these exceptions is currently uncertain, pending further definition through rulemaking proceedings. Although the Dodd-Frank Act includes significant new provisions regarding the regulation of derivatives, the impact of those requirements will not be known definitively until regulations have been adopted by the SEC and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. The new legislation and any new regulations could increase the operational and transactional cost of derivatives contracts and affect the number and/or creditworthiness of available hedge counterparties to us.
Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge effectively.
The REIT provisions of the 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 and/or currency risks will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests if the instrument hedges (1) interest rate risk on liabilities incurred to carry or acquire real estate-related assets or (2) 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 any property which generates such income or gain), and such instrument is properly identified under applicable Treasury Regulations.
To the extent we enter into transactions to mitigate the risk of hedging transactions where the hedged asset has been extinguished or disposed of, income from such transactions may also be excluded from gross income for purposes of the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests. Income from hedging transactions that do not meet these requirements will generally constitute non-qualifying 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.
Declines in the market values of our investments may adversely affect periodic reported results of operations and credit availability, which may reduce earnings and, in turn, cash available for distribution to our stockholders.
Some of our assets will be classified for accounting purposes as “available-for-sale.” These investments are carried at estimated fair value and temporary changes in the market values of those assets will be directly charged or credited to stockholders’ equity without impacting net income on the income statement. Moreover, if we determine that a decline in the estimated fair value of an available-for-sale security falls below its amortized value and is not temporary, we will recognize a loss on that security on the income statement, which will reduce our earnings in the period recognized.
A decline in the market value of our assets may adversely affect us particularly in instances where we have borrowed money based on the market value of those assets. If the market value of those assets declines, the lender may require us to post additional collateral to support the loan. If we were unable to post the additional collateral, we may have to sell assets at a time when we might not otherwise choose to do so. A reduction in credit available may reduce our earnings and, in turn, cash available for distribution to stockholders.
Further, credit facility providers may require us to maintain a certain amount of cash reserves or to set aside unlevered assets sufficient to maintain a specified liquidity position, which would allow us to satisfy our collateral obligations. As a result, we may not be able to leverage our assets as fully as we would choose, which could reduce our return on equity. In the event that we are unable to meet these contractual obligations, our financial condition could deteriorate rapidly.
Market values of our investments may decline for a number of reasons, such as changes in prevailing market rates, increases in defaults, increases in voluntary prepayments for those investments that we have that are subject to prepayment risk, widening of credit spreads and downgrades of ratings of the securities by ratings agencies.
We disclose funds from operations, or FFO, a non-GAAP financial measure, in communications with investors, including documents filed with the SEC; however, FFO is not equivalent to our net income or loss as determined under GAAP, and our computation of FFO may not be comparable to other REITs.
One of our objectives is to provide cash distributions to our stockholders from cash generated by our operations determined under U.S. GAAP. Cash generated from operations is not equivalent to our net income from continuing operations as determined under U.S. GAAP. One non-U.S. GAAP supplemental performance measure that we consider due to the certain unique operating characteristics of real estate companies is known as funds from operations, or “FFO.” The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or “NAREIT,” an industry trade group, promulgated this measure which it believes more accurately reflects the operating performance of a REIT. As defined by NAREIT, FFO means net income computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP, excluding gains or losses from sales of property, plus depreciation and amortization on real property and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures in which we hold an interest. In addition, NAREIT has recently clarified its computation of FFO, which includes adding back real estate impairment charges for all periods presented, however, under U.S. GAAP, impairment charges reduce net income. While impairment charges are added back in the calculation of FFO, we caution that due to the fact that impairments to the value of any property are typically based on estimated future undiscounted cash flows compared to current carrying value, declines in the undiscounted cash flows which led to the impairment charges reflect declines in property operating performance which may be permanent.
The calculation of FFO may vary from entity to entity since capitalization and expense policies tend to vary from entity to entity. Items that are capitalized do not impact FFO whereas items that are expensed reduce FFO. Consequently, our presentation of FFO may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures presented by other REITs. FFO does not represent cash flows from operations as defined by U.S. GAAP, it is not indicative of cash available to fund all cash flow needs nor is it indicative of liquidity, including our ability to pay distributions, and should not be considered as an alternative to net income, as determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, for purposes of evaluating our operating performance. Management uses the calculation of FFO for several reasons. We use FFO to compare our operating performance to that of other REITs. Additionally, we compute FFO as part of our acquisition process to determine whether a proposed investment will satisfy our investment objectives.
The historical cost accounting rules used for real estate assets require, among other things, straight-line depreciation of buildings and improvements, which implies that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time, especially if such assets are not adequately maintained or repaired and renovated as required by relevant circumstances and/or is requested or required by lessees for operational purposes. We believe that, since real estate values historically rise and fall with market conditions, including inflation, interest rates, the business cycle, unemployment and consumer spending, presentations of operating results for a REIT using historical cost accounting for depreciation may be less informative than FFO. We believe that the use of FFO, which excludes the impact of real estate related depreciation and amortization, provides a more complete understanding of our operating performance to investors and to management, and when compared year over year, reflects the impact on our operations from trends in occupancy rates, rental rates, operating costs, general and administrative expenses, and interest costs.
However, FFO should not be construed to be equivalent to or a substitute for the current U.S. GAAP methodology in calculating net income or in its applicability in evaluating our operating performance. The method utilized to evaluate the performance of real estate under U.S. GAAP should be construed as a more relevant measure of operational performance and considered more prominently than the non-U.S. GAAP FFO measures and the adjustments to U.S. GAAP in calculating FFO. Furthermore, FFO is not indicative of cash flow available to fund cash needs and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) or income (loss) from continuing operations as an indication of our performance, as an alternative to cash flows from operations calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, or indicative of funds available to fund our cash needs including our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. FFO should be reviewed in conjunction with other U.S. GAAP measurements as an indication of our performance. The exclusion of impairments limits the usefulness of FFO as a historical operating performance measure since an impairment indicates that the property’s operating performance may have been permanently affected. FFO is not a useful measure in evaluating net asset value because impairments are taken into account in determining net asset value but not in determining FFO.
Cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents may adversely affect our business by causing a disruption to our operations, a compromise or corruption of our confidential information, and/or damage to our business relationships, all of which could negatively impact our financial results.
A cyber incident is considered to be any adverse event that threatens the confidentiality, integrity or availability of our information resources. These incidents may be an intentional attack or an unintentional event and could involve gaining unauthorized access to our information systems for purposes of misappropriating assets, stealing confidential information, corrupting data or causing operational disruption. The result of these incidents may include disrupted operations, misstated or unreliable financial data, liability for stolen assets or information, increased cybersecurity protection and insurance costs, litigation and damage to our tenant and investor relationships. As our reliance on technology has increased, so have the risks posed to our information systems, both internal and those we have outsourced. We have implemented processes, procedures and internal controls to help mitigate cybersecurity risks and cyber intrusions, but these measures, as well as our increased awareness of the nature and extent of a risk of a cyber incident, do not guarantee that our financial results, operations, business relationships or confidential information will not be negatively impacted by such an incident.
Risks Related to Our Financing Strategy
The real estate finance industry has been and may continue to be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions in the United States generally.
Beginning in mid-2007, the global financial markets experienced significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes and an unprecedented lack of liquidity. This market disruption was initially triggered by the subprime residential lending and single family housing markets experiencing significant default rates, declining real estate values and increasing backlog of housing supply. Other lending markets also experienced higher volatility and decreased liquidity resulting from the poor credit performance in the residential lending markets. The residential sector capital markets issues quickly spread more broadly to commercial real estate and other credit markets. Financial conditions affecting some real estate markets have improved amid low Treasury rates and increased lending from banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions. However, any deterioration of financial conditions could have the potential to materially adversely affect the value of our properties and other investments; the availability or the terms of financing that we may anticipate utilizing; our ability to make principal and interest payments on, or refinance, certain property acquisitions or refinance any debt at maturity; and/or, for our leased properties, the ability of our tenants to enter into new leasing transactions or satisfy rental payments under existing leases.
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 with outside capital. Notwithstanding the improvements in the credit markets since the economic downturn beginning in mid-2007, many real estate lenders and investors continue to find it difficult to obtain cost-effective debt capital to finance new investment activity or to refinance maturing debt. We do not know whether any sources of capital will be available to us in the future on terms that are acceptable to us, if at all. If we cannot obtain sufficient capital on acceptable terms, our businesses and our ability to operate could be severely impacted.
Increases in interest rates could increase the amount of our debt payments and negatively impact our operating results.
Interest we pay on our debt obligations will reduce cash available for distributions. As interest rates are expected to rise in the coming years, we anticipate incurring increased borrowing costs. Moreover, if we incur variable rate debt, increases in interest rates would increase our interest costs. Higher borrowing costs would reduce our cash flows and our ability to make distributions to you. If we need to repay existing debt during periods of rising interest rates, we could be required to liquidate one or more of our investments at times which may not permit realization of the maximum return on such investments.
Instability in the debt markets may make it more difficult for us to finance or refinance properties, which could reduce the number of properties we can acquire and the amount of cash distributions we can make to our stockholders.
If mortgage debt is unavailable on reasonable terms as a result of increased interest rates or other factors, we may not be able to finance the initial purchase of properties. In addition, we run the risk of being unable to refinance any mortgage debt on our properties when the loans come due, or of being unable to refinance on favorable terms. If interest rates are higher when we refinance debt, our income could be reduced. We may be unable to refinance debt at appropriate times, which may require us to sell properties on terms that are not advantageous to us, or could result in the foreclosure of such properties. 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 securities or by borrowing more money.
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 a property, discontinue insurance coverage, or replace our advisor. In addition, loan documents may limit our ability to replace a property’s property manager or terminate certain operating or lease agreements related to a property. These or other limitations may adversely affect our flexibility and our ability to achieve our investment objectives.
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 does not limit us from incurring debt until our borrowings would exceed 300% of our net assets. Further, we can increase our borrowings in excess of 300% of our net assets, if a majority of our independent directors approve such increase and the justification for such excess borrowing is disclosed to our stockholders in our next quarterly report. High debt levels would cause us to incur higher interest charges and higher debt service payments and could 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.
We may use credit facilities to finance our investments, which may require us to provide additional collateral and significantly impact our liquidity position.
We may use credit facilities to finance some of our investments. To the extent these credit facilities contain mark-to-market provisions, if the market value of the real estate secured loans pledged by us declines in value due to credit quality deterioration, we may be required by the lending institution to provide additional collateral or pay down a portion of the funds advanced. In a weakening economic environment, we would generally expect credit quality and the value of the real estate secured loans that serve as collateral for our credit facilities to decline, resulting in a higher likelihood that the lenders would require partial repayment from us, which could be substantial. Posting additional collateral to support our credit facilities could significantly reduce our liquidity and limit our ability to leverage our assets. In the event we do not have sufficient liquidity to meet such requirements, lending institutions can accelerate our indebtedness, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
Risks Related to Conflicts of Interest
The fees we pay to affiliates, including in connection with our initial public offering and the acquisition and management of our investments, were not determined on an arm’s length basis; therefore, we do not have the benefit of arm’s length negotiations of the type normally conducted between unrelated parties.
The fees being paid to our advisor, MVP American Securities (our affiliated selling agent) and other affiliates for services they provide for us were not determined on an arm’s length basis. As a result, the fees have been determined without the benefit of arm’s length negotiations of the type normally conducted between unrelated parties and may be in excess of amounts that we would otherwise pay to third parties for such services.
Our executive officers and our advisor’s key real estate, finance and securities professionals will face conflicts of interest caused by our compensation arrangements with our advisor and its affiliates, which could result in actions that are not in the long-term best interests of our company.
Our executive officers and our advisor’s key real estate, finance and securities professionals are also officers, directors, managers and/or key professionals of our sponsor, our affiliated selling agent and other affiliated entities. Our advisor, our affiliated selling agent and other affiliated entities will receive substantial fees from us. These fees could influence the advice given to us by the key personnel of our advisor and its affiliates. Among other matters, these compensation arrangements could affect their judgment with respect to:
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the continuation, renewal or enforcement of our agreements with our advisor, our affiliated selling agent and other affiliated entities, including the advisory agreement and our selling agreement with our affiliated selling agent;
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any follow-on public offerings of equity by us, which would enable our affiliated selling agent to earn additional selling commissions and our advisor to earn additional acquisition and asset management fees;
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acquisitions of investments and loans originated for us by affiliates, which entitle our advisor to asset management fees and, in the case of acquisitions of real property from other affiliated entities, might entitle affiliates of our advisor to disposition fees in connection with services for the seller;
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real property sales, since the asset management fees payable to our advisor will decrease;
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sales of real property, which entitle our advisor to disposition fees; and
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borrowings to acquire investments and loans originated for us by affiliates, which borrowings will increase the debt financing fees, and asset management fees payable to our advisor.
The fees our advisor receives in connection with transactions involving the acquisition of an asset 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. Additionally, the payment of certain fees may influence our advisor to recommend transactions with respect to the sale of a property or properties that may not be in our best interest at the time. Investments with higher net operating income growth potential are generally riskier or more speculative. In evaluating investments and other management strategies, the opportunity to earn fees may lead our advisor to place undue emphasis on criteria relating to its compensation at the expense of other criteria, such as the preservation of capital, to achieve higher short-term compensation. Considerations relating to our affiliates’ compensation from us and other affiliates could result in decisions that are not in the best interests of our stockholders, which could hurt our ability to pay you distributions or result in a decline in the value of your investment.
In addition, our advisor hired John Roy and Lance Miller in August 2014 to serve as its Chief Investment Officer and Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Roy and Mr. Miller are also the co-founders and primary owners of JNL Parking, LP, a brokerage and consulting company specializing in the parking industry. As part of Mr. Roy and Mr. Miller’s employment arrangement with our advisor, each of them, through JNL Parking, has agreed to grant the Company a right of first refusal on all listings by JNL Parking for investments in parking facilities. As a result of the continued affiliations with JNL Parking, Mr. Roy and Mr. Miller may receive, through JNL Parking, commissions, fees and other compensation from us, our advisor and its affiliates, including in the event that the Company exercises its right of first refusal on a listing by JNL Parking. The receipt of such commissions, fees and other compensation through JNL Parking could influence Mr. Roy’s and Mr. Miller’s advice to us, in their capacity as our advisor’s Chief Investment Officer and Chief Technology Officer. Among other matters, these compensation arrangements could affect their judgment by directing the Company’s acquisitions of investments to those parking investments listed by JNL Parking, which will entitle Mr. Roy and Mr. Miller, through their ownership interest in JNL Parking, to commissions, fees and other compensation if the Company acquires such investments. We may also encounter conflicts of interest in enforcing our rights against JNL Parking in the event of a default by or disagreement with JNL Parking or in invoking powers, rights or options pursuant to any agreement between us and JNL Parking.
Our sponsor will face conflicts of interest relating to performing services on our behalf and such conflicts may not be resolved in our favor, meaning that we could invest in less attractive assets, which could limit our ability to make distributions and reduce your overall investment return.
Our advisor relies upon the key real estate, finance and securities professionals of our sponsor to identify suitable investment opportunities for us. Our sponsor and other affiliated entities, including MVP REIT II, a publicly registered non-traded REIT that is also seeking to invest primarily in parking assets, also rely on many of the same real estate, finance and securities professionals. Our investment strategy is similar to that of MVP REIT II. When these real estate, finance and securities professionals direct an investment opportunity to any affiliated entity, they, in their sole discretion, will offer the opportunity to the entity for which the investment opportunity is most suitable based on the investment objectives, available cash and existing portfolio of each entity. There are no specific guidelines to govern the allocation of investment opportunities among MVP REIT II and our affiliated entities. The allocation of investment opportunities could result in our investing in assets that provide less attractive returns, reducing the level of distributions we may be able to pay to you.
Further, our directors and officers, our sponsor, our advisor, Michael V. Shustek and any of their respective affiliates, employees and agents are not prohibited from engaging, directly or indirectly, in any business or from possessing interests in any other business venture or ventures, including businesses and ventures involved in the acquisition or sale of real estate investments or that otherwise compete with us.
Our advisor’s real estate, finance and securities professionals acting on behalf of our advisor will face competing demands relating to their time and this may cause our operations and your investment to suffer.
Our advisor relies on the real estate, finance and securities professionals of our sponsor performing services for us on behalf of our advisor, including Michael V. Shustek, for the day-to-day operation of our business, who is also an executive officer of other affiliated entities. As a result of his interests in other affiliated entities and the fact that he engages in and will continue to engage in other business activities on behalf of himself and others, Michael V. Shustek will face conflicts of interest in allocating his time among us, our sponsor and other affiliated entities, including MVP REIT II which is currently conducting a public offering, and other business activities in which he is involved. These conflicts of interest could result in declines in the returns on our investments and the value of your investment.
Our advisor may have conflicting fiduciary obligations if we enter into joint ventures or engage in other transactions with its affiliates. As a result, in any such transaction we may not have the benefit of arm’s-length negotiations of the type normally conducted between unrelated parties.
We have co- invested in property together with one or more of our affiliates, including with the owners of our advisor, Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc. and Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc., and may co-invest with MVP REIT II. We may make additional co-investments in real estate of real estate-secured loans with our affiliates or through a joint venture with its affiliates. In these circumstances, our advisor will have a conflict of interest when fulfilling its fiduciary obligation to us. In any such transaction, we would not have the benefit of arm’s-length negotiations of the type normally conducted between unrelated parties.
Our executive officers and our advisor’s key real estate, finance and securities professionals face conflicts of interest related to their positions and interests in our affiliates, which could hinder our ability to implement our business strategy and to generate returns to you.
Our executive officers and our advisor’s key real estate, finance and securities professionals are also executive officers, directors, managers and key professionals of our sponsor, our advisor, MVP REIT II, MVP AS and other affiliated entities. As a result, they owe duties to each of these entities, their members and limited partners and these investors, which duties may from time to time conflict with the fiduciary duties that they owe to us and our stockholders.
The loyalties of these individuals to other entities and investors could result in action or inaction that is 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.
We may purchase real property and other real estate-related assets from third parties who have existing or previous business relationships with affiliates of our advisor, and, as a result, in any such transaction, we may not have the benefit of arm’s-length negotiations of the type normally conducted between unrelated parties.
We may purchase real property and other real estate-related assets from third parties that have existing or previous business relationships with affiliates of our advisor. The officers, directors or employees of our advisor and its affiliates may have a conflict in representing our interests in these transactions on the one hand and the interests of such affiliates in preserving or furthering their respective relationships on the other hand. In any such transaction, we will not have the benefit of arm’s-length negotiations of the type normally conducted between unrelated parties, and the purchase price or fees paid by us may be in excess of amounts that we would otherwise pay to third parties.
Your interest in us could be diluted and we could incur other significant costs associated with being self-managed if we internalize our management functions.
Our board of directors may decide in the future to internalize our management functions. If we do so, we may elect to negotiate to acquire our advisor’s assets and the personnel that our advisor utilizes to perform services on its behalf for us. The payment of such consideration could result in dilution of your interests as a stockholder and could reduce the income per share attributable to your investment. Additionally, although we would no longer bear the costs of the various fees and expenses we expect to pay to our advisor under the advisory agreement, our direct expenses would include general and administrative costs, including legal, accounting and other expenses related to corporate governance, SEC reporting and compliance. We would also be required to 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 as well as incur the compensation and benefits costs of our officers and other employees and consultants that will be paid by our advisor or its affiliates. We may issue equity awards to officers, employees and consultants, which awards would decrease our net income and funds from operations and may further dilute your investment. We cannot reasonably estimate the amount of advisory fees we would save or the costs we would incur if we become self-managed. If the expenses we assume as a result of an internalization are higher than the expenses we avoid paying to our advisor, our income per share would be lower as a result of the internalization than it otherwise would have been, potentially decreasing the amount of cash available to distribute to our stockholders and the value of our shares.
Internalization transactions involving the acquisition of advisors affiliated with entity sponsors have also, in some cases, been the subject of litigation. Even if these claims are without merit, we could be forced to spend significant amounts of money defending claims which would reduce the amount of cash available for us to originate or acquire assets, and to pay distributions. If we internalize our management functions, we could have difficulty integrating these functions as a stand-alone entity. Currently, our advisor and its affiliates perform asset management and general and administrative functions, including accounting and financial reporting, for multiple entities. These personnel have substantial know-how and experience which provides us with economies of scale. We may fail to properly identify the appropriate mix of personnel and capital needs to operate as a stand-alone entity. Certain key employees may not become employees of the advisor but may instead remain employees of the sponsor or its affiliates. An inability to manage an internalization transaction effectively could thus result in our incurring excess costs and suffering deficiencies in our disclosure 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 most effectively managing our investments.
Risks Related to Our Shares and Our Corporate Structure
There is currently no public market for our shares. While we intend to pursue listing of our common shares on NASDAQ expeditiously, there can be no assurance as to if or when our listing application will be approved and our common stock will begin to trade on NASDAQ. If and when our common shares begin to trade on NASDAQ, the market for our common shares may be limited, and the market price and trading volume of our common shares may be volatile.
On March 7, 2016, our board of directors approved taking all action necessary to list our outstanding common shares on the NASDAQ Global Market. While we intend to pursue listing on NASDAQ expeditiously, there can be no assurance as to if or when our listing application will be approved and our common stock will begin to trade on NASDAQ. In addition, such listing does not provide any assurance as to:
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whether the market price of our shares will reflect our actual financial performance;
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the liquidity of our common shares;
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the ability of any holder to sell common shares; or
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the prices that may be obtained for our common shares.
Moreover, if and when our common shares being to trade on NASDAQ, the market price of our common shares may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations. In addition, the trading volume in our common shares may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. We cannot assure you that the market price of our common shares will not fluctuate or decline significantly if and when our shares begin to trade on NASDAQ. Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our common shares upon commencement of trading on NASDAQ include:
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actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating results or dividends;
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changes in our earnings estimates, failure to meet earnings or operating results expectations of public market analysts and investors, or publication of research reports about us or the real estate specialty finance industry;
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increases in market interest rates that lead purchasers of our common shares to demand a higher yield;
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passage of legislation, changes in applicable law, court rulings, enforcement actions or other regulatory developments that adversely affect us or our industry;
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changes in government policies or changes in timing of implementation of government policies,
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changes in market valuations of similar companies;
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adverse market reaction to any increased indebtedness we incur in the future;
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additions or departures of key management personnel;
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actions by shareholders;
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speculation in the press or investment community;
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general market and economic conditions;
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our operating performance and the performance of other similar companies;
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changes in accounting principles; and
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the occurrence of any of the other risk factors presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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 or appropriate to preserve our qualification as a REIT. To help us comply with the REIT ownership requirements of the Code, among other purposes, our charter generally prohibits a person from beneficially or constructively owning more than 9.8% in value of the aggregate of our outstanding shares of capital stock or more than 9.8% in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the aggregate of our outstanding common stock, unless exempted by our board of directors. This limit can generally be waived and adjusted by our board of directors. The ownership limit may have the effect of precluding a change in control of us by a third party, even if such change in control would be in the interest of the our stockholders (and even if such change in control would not reasonably jeopardize our REIT status). 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. In addition, these provisions may also decrease your ability to sell your shares 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 classify or reclassify any unissued common stock or preferred stock into other classes or series of stock and establish the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications and terms and conditions of repurchase of any such classes or series of stock. Thus, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of preferred stock with 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.
Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to recover claims against directors, including our independent directors, and our 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 generally provides that no director or officer will be liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages and that we must generally indemnify directors and officers for losses unless, in the case of independent directors, they are grossly negligent or engage in willful misconduct or, in the case of non-independent directors or officers, they are negligent or engage in 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 your and our recovery from these persons if they act in a negligent manner. In addition, we may be obligated to fund the defense costs incurred by our directors (as well as by our officers, employees (if we ever have employees) and agents) in some cases, which would decrease the cash otherwise available for distribution to you.
We are not and do not plan to be registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, and therefore we will not be subject to the requirements imposed and stockholder protections provided by the Investment Company Act; maintaining an exemption from registration may limit or otherwise affect our investment choices.
Neither we nor any of our subsidiaries are registered or intend to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we were obligated to register as an investment company, we would have to comply with a variety of substantive requirements under the Investment Company Act that impose, among other things:
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limitations on capital structure;
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restrictions on specified investments;
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prohibitions on transactions with affiliates; and
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compliance with reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy disclosure and other rules and regulations that would significantly increase our operating expenses.
We expect that the Company and its subsidiaries will rely on the exception from the definition of an investment company under Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act, which is available for entities “primarily engaged in the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate.” In providing guidance on this exclusion, the SEC staff, among other things, generally has focused on whether at least 55% of a subsidiary’s portfolio will comprise of qualifying real estate-related assets and at least 80% of its portfolio will comprise of qualifying real estate-related assets and real estate-related assets (and no more than 20% will comprise of other, non-qualifying assets). For purposes of the exclusions provided by Sections 3(c)(5)(C), we will classify our investments based in large measure on no-action letters issued by the SEC staff and other SEC interpretive guidance and, in the absence of SEC Guidance, on our view of what constitutes a qualifying real estate asset and a real estate related asset. These no-action positions were issued in accordance with factual situations that may be substantially different from the factual situations we may face, and a number of these no-action positions were issued more than 20 years ago. Pursuant to this guidance, and depending on the characteristics of the specific investments, certain mortgage loans, participations in mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, joint venture investments and the equity securities of other entities may not constitute qualifying real estate investments or real estate related investments and therefore our investments in these types of assets may be limited. No assurance can be given that the SEC will concur with our classification of our assets. The SEC is reviewing interpretive issues relating to the status of mortgage-related pools under the Investment Company Act and whether mortgage-related pools potentially are making judgments about their status under the Investment Company Act without sufficient regulatory guidance. It is not certain whether or to what extent the SEC or its staff in the future may modify interpretive guidance to narrow the ability of issuers to rely on the exemption from registration provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C). Future revisions to the Investment Company Act or further guidance from the SEC staff may cause us to lose our exemption from registration or force us to re-evaluate our portfolio and our investment strategy. Such changes may prevent us from operating our business successfully.
To ensure that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries are required to register as an investment company, an entity may be unable to sell assets that it would otherwise want to sell and may need to sell assets that it would otherwise wish to retain. In addition, we or our subsidiaries may be required to acquire additional income- or loss-generating assets that we might not otherwise acquire or forego opportunities to acquire securities or interests in companies that we would otherwise want to acquire. We will monitor our holdings and those of our subsidiaries to ensure continuing and ongoing compliance with these tests, and we will be responsible for making the determinations and calculations required to confirm our compliance with these tests. If the SEC does not agree with our determinations, we may be required to adjust our activities or those of our subsidiaries.
If we or our subsidiaries are required to register as an investment company but fail to do so, the unregistered entity would be prohibited from engaging in our business, and criminal and civil actions could be brought against such entity. In addition, the contracts of such entity would be unenforceable unless a court required enforcement, and a court could appoint a receiver to take control of the entity and liquidate its business.
Further, if we or our subsidiaries are required to register as investment companies under the Investment Company Act, our investment options may be limited by various limitations, such as those mentioned above, and we or our subsidiaries would be subjected to a complex regulatory scheme, the costs of compliance with which can be high.
We are an “emerging growth company” under the federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.
In April 2012, President Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or the JOBS Act. We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies.”
We could remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years, or until the earliest of (1) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenues equals or exceeds $1 billion, (2) December 31 of the fiscal year that we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter and we have been publicly reporting for at least 12 months or (3) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three-year period.
Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies are not required to (1) provide an auditor’s attestation report on management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (2) comply with any new requirements adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, requiring mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report in which the auditor would be required to provide additional information about the audit and the financial statements of the issuer, (3) comply with any new audit rules adopted by the PCAOB after April 5, 2012, unless the SEC determines otherwise, (4) provide certain disclosure regarding executive compensation required of larger public companies or (5) hold shareholder advisory votes on executive compensation. Certain of these exemptions are inapplicable to us because of our structure as an externally managed REIT, and we have not made a decision as to whether to take advantage of any or all of the JOBS Act exemptions that applicable to us. If we do take advantage of any of these exemptions, we do not know if some investors will find our common stock less attractive as a result.
In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of such extended transition period. Since we will not be required to comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for other public companies, our financial statements may not be comparable to the financial statements of companies that comply with public company effective dates. If we were to subsequently elect to instead comply with these public company effective dates, such election would be irrevocable pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act.
You will have limited control over changes in our policies and operations, which increases the uncertainty and risks you face as a stockholder.
Our board of directors determines our major policies, including our policies regarding growth, REIT qualification and distributions. Our board of directors may amend or revise these and other policies without a vote of the stockholders. Under the Maryland General Corporation Law, or MGCL, 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 increase the uncertainty and risks you face as a stockholder.
Your interest in us will be diluted if we issue additional shares.
Existing stockholders do not have preemptive rights to any shares issued by us in the future. Our charter currently has authorized 100,000,000 shares of capital stock, of which 98,999,000 shares are classified as common stock, par value $0.001 per share, 1,000,000 shares are classified as preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 1,000 shares are classified as non-participating, non-voting convertible stock, par value $0.001 per share. Subject to any limitations set forth under Maryland law, our board of directors may increase the number of authorized shares of stock, increase or decrease the number of shares of any class or series of stock designated, or classify or reclassify any unissued shares without the necessity of obtaining stockholder approval. All of such shares may be issued in the discretion of our board of directors. Existing stockholders may suffer dilution of their equity investment in us, in the event that we (1) sell additional shares of our common stock or preferred stock in the future, including those issued pursuant to our distribution reinvestment plan or in any follow-on equity offerings, (2) sell securities that are convertible into shares of our common stock or redeemable by us where the redemption price is paid in the form of shares of our common stock, (3) issue shares of our common stock or preferred stock in a private offering of securities to institutional investors, (4) issue shares of our common stock to our advisor, its successors or assigns, in payment of an outstanding fee obligation as set forth under our advisory agreement or (5) issue shares of our common stock to sellers of properties acquired by us in connection with an exchange of limited partnership interests of our operating partnership. Because of these and other reasons described in this “Risk Factors” section, you should not expect to be able to own a significant percentage of our shares.
Your investment will be diluted upon conversion of the convertible stock.
We have issued 1,000 shares of our convertible stock to our advisor, for which our advisor contributed $1,000. Our convertible stock will convert to shares of our common stock if and when: (A) we have made total distributions on the then outstanding shares of our common stock equal to the invested capital attributable to those shares plus a 6.00% cumulative, non-compounded, annual pre-tax return on such invested capital; or (B) (i) we list our common stock for trading on a national securities exchange and (ii) the sum of the aggregate market value of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock plus our distributions exceeds the aggregate capital contributed by investors plus an amount equal to a 6% cumulative, pre-tax non-compounded annual return to investors; or (C) our advisory agreement is terminated or not renewed, but only if at the time of such termination or non-renewal, the requirements for conversion set forth in either of the immediately preceding clause (A) or (B) also shall have been satisfied. For purposes of such calculation, the market value of our outstanding common stock will be calculated based on the average market value of the shares of common stock issued and outstanding at listing over the 30 trading days beginning 180 days after the shares are first listed for trading on a national securities exchange. In the event of a termination or non-renewal of our advisory agreement for cause, the convertible stock will be redeemed by us for $1.00 per share. In general, upon the occurrence of any of the conditions set forth above, our issued shares of convertible stock will convert into a number of shares of common stock representing three and one-half percent (3.50%) of the outstanding shares of our common stock immediately preceding the conversion. Upon the issuance of shares of our common stock in connection with the conversion of our convertible stock, your interests in us will be diluted.
The conversion of the convertible stock held by our advisor may discourage a takeover attempt or prevent us from effecting a merger that otherwise would have been in the best interests of our stockholders.
The affirmative vote of two-thirds of the outstanding shares of convertible stock, voting as a single class, will be required (1) for any amendment, alteration or repeal of any provision of our charter that materially and adversely changes the rights of the convertible stock and (2) to effect a merger of our company into another entity, or a merger of another entity into our company, unless in each case each share of convertible stock (A) will remain outstanding without a material and adverse change to its terms and rights or (B) will be converted into or exchanged for shares of stock or other ownership interest of the surviving entity having rights identical to that of our convertible stock. In the event that we propose to merge with or into another entity, including another REIT, our advisor could, by exercising these voting rights, determine whether or not we are able to complete the proposed transaction. By voting against a proposed merger, our advisor could prevent us from effecting the merger, even if the merger otherwise would have been in the best interests of our stockholders.
Payment of fees to our advisor and its affiliates will reduce 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.
Our advisor and its affiliates will perform services for us in connection with the selection, acquisition, and administration of our investments. We will pay them substantial fees for these services, which will result in immediate dilution to the value of your investment and will reduce the amount of cash available for investment or distribution to stockholders. We may increase the compensation we pay to our advisor subject to approval by our board of directors and other limitations in our charter, which would further dilute your investment and the amount of cash available for investment or distribution to stockholders. We estimate that we will use 96.25% to 96.59% of our gross offering proceeds for investments, to pay fees to our advisor for its services in connection with the selection and acquisition of investments and for the repurchase of shares of our common stock under our share repurchase program. As a result, stockholders will only receive a full return of their invested capital if we either (1) sell our assets or our company for a sufficient amount in excess of the original purchase price of our assets or (2) the market value of our company after we list our shares of common stock on a national securities exchange is substantially in excess of the original purchase price of our assets. Moreover, these fees 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 our initial public offering. These substantial fees and other payments also increase 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.
Although we will not currently be afforded the protection of certain provisions of the MGCL relating to deterring or defending hostile takeovers, our board of directors could opt into these provisions of Maryland 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 and thereafter may only be consummated if approved by two supermajority votes of our stockholders. 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. These provisions may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating any offer. Similarly, provisions of Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL could provide similar anti-takeover protection.
Our charter includes a provision that may discourage a person from launching a mini-tender offer for our shares.
Our charter provides that any tender offer made by a person, including any “mini-tender” offer, must comply with most provisions of Regulation 14D of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. A “mini-tender offer” is a public, open offer to all stockholders to buy their stock during a specified period of time that will result in the bidder owning less than 5% of the class of securities upon completion of the mini-tender offer process. Absent such a provision in our charter, mini-tender offers for shares of our common stock would not be subject to Regulation 14D of the Exchange Act. Tender offers, by contrast, result in the bidder owning more than 5% of the class of securities and are automatically subject to Regulation 14D of the Exchange Act. Pursuant to our charter, the offeror must provide our company notice of such tender offer at least 10 business days before initiating the tender offer. If the offeror does not comply with these requirements, no stockholder may transfer shares of our common stock to such offeror unless such stockholder shall have first offered such shares to us for purchase at the tender offer price. In addition, the non-complying offeror shall be responsible for all of our expenses in connection with that offeror’s noncompliance. This provision of our charter may discourage a person from initiating a mini-tender offer for our shares and prevent you from receiving a premium price for your shares in such a transaction.
Federal Income Tax Risks
Failure to qualify as a REIT could adversely affect our operations and our ability to make distributions.
We believe we operate in such a manner as to qualify, and we have elected to be treated, as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013. If we were to fail to continue to qualify as a REIT for any taxable year, or if our board determined to revoke our REIT election, we would be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income at corporate rates. In addition, we would be disqualified from treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year in which we lose 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 be deductible in computing our taxable income and we would no longer be required to make distributions. To the extent that distributions had been made in anticipation of our qualifying as a REIT, we might be required to borrow funds or liquidate some investments in order to pay the applicable corporate income tax.
Lastly, it is possible that future economic, market, legal, tax or other considerations may cause our board of directors to determine that it is no longer in our best interest to continue to be qualified as a REIT and recommend that we revoke our REIT election.
To continue to qualify as a REIT, we must meet annual distribution requirements, which may result in us distributing amounts that may otherwise be used for our operations or having to borrow funds.
To obtain the favorable tax treatment accorded to REITs, we normally will be required each year to distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our real estate investment trust taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for distributions paid and by excluding net capital gains. We will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our undistributed taxable income and net capital gain and to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on any amount by which distributions we pay with respect to 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. These requirements could cause us to distribute amounts that otherwise would be spent on acquisitions of properties and it is possible that we might be required to borrow funds or sell assets to fund these distributions. We may not always be able to make distributions sufficient to meet the annual distribution requirements and to avoid corporate income taxation on the earnings that we distribute.
From time to time, we may generate taxable income greater than our income for financial reporting purposes, or differences in timing between the recognition of taxable income and the actual receipt of cash may occur, e.g., from (i) the effect of non-deductible capital expenditures, (ii) the creation of reserves, (iii) the recognition of original issue discount or (iv) required debt amortization payments. If we do not have other funds available in these situations, it might be necessary to arrange for short-term, or possibly long-term, borrowings, or to pay dividends in the form of our shares or other taxable in-kind distributions of property. We may need to borrow funds at times when the market conditions are unfavorable. Such borrowings could increase our costs and reduce the value of your investment. In the event in-kind distributions are made, your tax liabilities associated with an investment in our common stock for a given year may exceed the amount of cash we distribute to you during such year.
You may have current tax liability on distributions if you elect to reinvest in shares of our common stock.
Our stockholders who elect to participate in the distribution reinvestment plan, and who are subject to U.S. federal income taxation laws, will incur a tax liability on an amount equal to the fair market value on the relevant distribution date of the shares of our common stock purchased with reinvested distributions, even though such stockholders have elected not to receive the distributions used to purchase those shares of common stock in cash. As a result, if you are not a tax-exempt entity, you may have to use funds from other sources to pay your tax liability on the value of the common stock received.
Distributions payable by REITs generally do not qualify for the reduced tax rates that apply to other corporate distributions.
Qualified dividend income payable by corporations to domestic stockholders that are individuals, trusts or estates is subject to the reduced maximum tax rate applicable to capital gains. Distributions payable by REITs, however, generally are not eligible for the preferential rate. The more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate distributions could cause investors who are individuals to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT corporations that pay distributions, which could adversely affect the value of the stock of REITs, including our common stock.
In certain circumstances, we may be subject to federal, state and local taxes as a REIT, which would reduce our cash available for distribution to you.
Even if we qualify and maintain our status as a REIT, we may be subject to U.S. federal income taxes or state taxes. For example, net income from a “prohibited transaction” will be subject to a 100% tax. We may not be able to make sufficient distributions to avoid excise taxes applicable to REITs. We may also decide to retain income we earn from the sale or other disposition of our property and pay income tax directly on such income. In that event, our stockholders would be treated as if they earned that income and paid the tax on it directly. However, stockholders that are tax-exempt, such as charities or qualified pension plans, would have no benefit from their deemed payment of such tax liability. We may also be subject to state and local taxes on our income or property, either directly or at the level of the companies through which we indirectly own our assets. Any U.S. federal or state taxes we pay will reduce our cash available for distribution to you.
Distributions to tax-exempt investors may be classified as unrelated business taxable income.
Neither ordinary nor capital gain distributions with respect to our common stock nor gain from the sale of common stock should generally constitute unrelated business taxable income to a tax-exempt investor. However, there are certain exceptions to this rule. In particular:
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Part of the income and gain recognized by certain qualified employee pension trusts with respect to our common stock may be treated as unrelated business taxable income if shares of our common stock are predominately held by qualified employee pension trusts, and we are required to rely on a special look-through rule for purposes of meeting one of the REIT share ownership tests, and we are not operated in a manner to avoid treatment of such income or gain as unrelated business taxable income;
•
Part of the income and gain recognized by a tax-exempt investor with respect to our common stock would constitute unrelated business taxable income if the investor incurs debt in order to acquire the common stock;
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Part or all of the income or gain recognized with respect to our common stock by social clubs, voluntary employee benefit associations, supplemental unemployment benefit trusts and qualified group legal services plans which are exempt from federal income taxation under Sections 501(c)(7), (9), (17), or (20) of the Code may be treated as unrelated business taxable income.
Investments in other REITs and real estate partnerships could subject us to the tax risks associated with the tax status of such entities.
We may invest in the securities of other REITs and real estate partnerships. Such investments are subject to the risk that any such REIT or partnership may fail to satisfy the requirements to qualify as a REIT or a partnership, as the case may be, in any given taxable year. In the case of a REIT, such failure would subject such entity to taxation as a corporation, may require such REIT to incur indebtedness to pay its tax liabilities, may reduce its ability to make distributions to us, and may render it ineligible to elect REIT status prior to the fifth taxable year following the year in which it fails to so qualify. In the case of a partnership, such failure could subject such partnership to an entity level tax and reduce the entity’s ability to make distributions to us. In addition, such failures could, depending on the circumstances, jeopardize our ability to qualify as a REIT.
Complying with the REIT requirements may impact our ability to maximize profits.
To qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the amounts we distribute to our stockholders and the ownership of shares of our common stock. We may be required to forego attractive investments or liquidate otherwise attractive investments to comply with such tests. We also may be required to make distributions to stockholders at disadvantageous times or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our ability to operate solely on the basis of maximizing profits.
Complying with the 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 real estate-related assets. The remainder of our investments (other than governmental securities and qualified real estate-related 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-related assets) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, and no more than 25% (20% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017) of the value of our total securities 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 such failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter to avoid losing our REIT status and suffering adverse tax consequences. As a result, we may be required to liquidate otherwise attractive investments to maintain REIT status. Such action may subject the REIT to the tax on prohibited transactions, discussed below.
Liquidation of assets may jeopardize our REIT status.
To continue 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 satisfy our obligations to our lenders, we may be unable to comply with these requirements, ultimately jeopardizing our status as a REIT, or we may be subject to a 100% tax on any resulting gain if we sell assets that are treated as dealer property or inventory.
Certain of our business activities are potentially subject to the prohibited transaction tax, which could reduce the return on your investment.
Our ability to dispose of property during the first few years following acquisition is restricted to a substantial extent as a result of our REIT status. Under applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code regarding prohibited transactions by REITs, we will be subject to a 100% tax on any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of any property (other than foreclosure property) we own, directly or through any subsidiary entity, but excluding our taxable REIT subsidiaries, that is deemed to be inventory or property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of trade or business. Whether property is inventory or otherwise held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business depends on the particular facts and circumstances surrounding each property. We intend to avoid the 100% prohibited transaction tax by (1) conducting activities that may otherwise be considered prohibited transactions through a taxable REIT subsidiary, (2) conducting our operations in such a manner so that no sale or other disposition of an asset we own, directly or through any subsidiary other than a taxable REIT subsidiary, will be treated as a prohibited transaction or (3) structuring certain dispositions of our properties to comply with certain safe harbors available under the Internal Revenue Code for properties held at least two years. However, no assurance can be given that any particular property we own, directly or through any subsidiary entity, but excluding our taxable REIT subsidiaries, will not be treated as inventory or property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business.
Recharacterization of sale-leaseback transactions may cause us to lose our REIT status.
We may purchase real property and lease it back to the sellers of such property. We cannot assure you that the Internal Revenue Service will not challenge any characterization of such a lease as a “true lease,” which would allow us to be treated as the owner of the property for federal income tax purposes. In the event that any such sale-leaseback transaction is challenged and recharacterized as a financing transaction or loan for federal income tax purposes, deductions for depreciation and cost recovery relating to such property would be disallowed. If a sale-leaseback transaction were so recharacterized, we might fail to satisfy the REIT qualification “asset tests” or the “income tests” and, consequently, lose our REIT status effective with the year of recharacterization. Alternatively, the amount of our REIT taxable income could be recalculated, which might also cause us to fail to meet the distribution requirement for a taxable year.
The stock ownership limit imposed by the Code for REITs and our charter may restrict our business combination opportunities.
To qualify as a REIT under the Code, not more than 50% in value of our outstanding stock may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include certain entities) at any time during the last half of each taxable year after our first year in which we qualify as a REIT. Our charter, with certain exceptions, authorizes our board of directors to take the actions that are necessary or appropriate to preserve our qualification as a REIT. Unless an exemption is granted by our board of directors, no person (as defined to include entities) may own more than 9.8% in value of the aggregate of our outstanding shares of capital stock or more than 9.8%, in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the aggregate of our outstanding common stock following the completion of our initial public offering. Generally, this limit can be waived and adjusted by the board of directors. In addition, our charter will generally prohibit beneficial or constructive ownership of shares of our capital stock by any person that owns, actually or constructively, an interest in any of our tenants that would cause us to own, actually or constructively, 10% or more of any of our tenants. Our board of directors may grant an exemption from the 9.8% ownership limit prospectively or retroactively in its sole discretion, subject to such conditions, representations and undertakings as required by our charter or as it may determine. These ownership limitations in our charter are common in REIT charters and are intended, among other purposes, to assist us in complying with the tax law requirements and to minimize administrative burdens. However, these ownership limits might also delay or prevent a transaction or a change in our control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.
The failure of a mezzanine loan to qualify as a real estate asset could adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT.
The IRS has issued Revenue Procedure 2003-65, which provides a safe harbor pursuant to which a mezzanine loan that is secured by interests in a pass-through entity will be treated by the IRS as a real estate asset for purposes of the REIT tests, and interest derived from such loan will be treated as qualifying mortgage interest for purposes of the REIT 75% income test. Although the Revenue Procedure provides a safe harbor on which taxpayers may rely, it does not prescribe rules of substantive tax law. We may make investments in loans secured by interests in pass-through entities in a manner that complies with the various requirements applicable to our qualification as a REIT. To the extent, however, that any such loans do not satisfy all of the requirements for reliance on the safe harbor set forth in the Revenue Procedure, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not challenge the tax treatment of such loans, which could jeopardize our ability to qualify as a REIT.
Legislative or regulatory action could adversely affect us or our investors.
In recent years, numerous legislative, judicial and administrative changes have been made to the U.S. federal income tax laws applicable to investments in REITs and similar entities. Additional changes to tax laws are likely to continue to occur in the future and may take effect retroactively, and there can be no assurance that any such changes will not adversely affect how we are taxed or the taxation of a stockholder. Any such changes could have an adverse effect on an investment in shares of our common stock. We urge you to consult with your own tax advisor with respect to the status of legislative, regulatory or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on an investment in shares of our common stock.
Foreign investors may be subject to FIRPTA on the sale of common stock if we are unable to qualify as a domestically controlled REIT.
A foreign person disposing of a U.S. real property interest, including shares of a U.S. corporation whose assets consist principally of U.S. real property interests, is generally subject to a tax under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, or “FIRPTA”, on the gain recognized on the disposition. FIRPTA does not apply, however, to the disposition of stock in a REIT if the REIT is a “domestically controlled REIT.” A domestically controlled REIT is a REIT in which, at all times during a specified testing period, less than 50% in value of its shares is held directly or indirectly by non-U.S. holders. There can be no assurance that we will qualify as a domestically controlled REIT. If we were to fail to so qualify, gain realized by a foreign investor on a sale of our common stock would be subject to FIRPTA unless our common stock was traded on an established securities market and the foreign investor did not at any time during a specified testing period directly or indirectly own more than ten percent of the value of our outstanding common stock. We are not currently traded on an established securities market nor do we anticipate being traded on an established securities market in the foreseeable future.
We may enter into certain hedging transactions which may have a potential impact on our REIT status.
From time to time, we may enter into hedging transactions with respect to one or more of our assets or liabilities. Our hedging activities may include entering into interest rate and/or foreign currency swaps, caps, and floors, options to purchase these items, and futures and forward contracts. Income and gain from hedging transactions that we enter into to hedge indebtedness incurred or to be incurred to acquire or carry real estate-related assets and that are clearly and timely identified as such will be excluded from both the numerator and the denominator for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests. To the extent that we do not properly identify such transactions as hedges or we hedge with other types of financial instruments, or hedge other types of indebtedness, the income from those transactions is not likely to be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the gross income tests, which could jeopardize our status as a REIT. Furthermore, compliance with the statutory REIT requirements may limit our ability to implement hedging strategies that may otherwise reduce risk, thereby increasing our risk profile.
Qualifying as a REIT involves highly technical and complex provisions of the Code.
Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Code provisions for which only limited judicial and administrative authorities exist. Even a technical or inadvertent violation could jeopardize our REIT qualification. Our continued qualification as a REIT will depend on our satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, stockholder ownership and other requirements on a continuing basis. In addition, our ability to satisfy the requirements to qualify as a REIT depends in part on the actions of third parties over which we have no control or only limited influence, including in cases where we own an equity interest in an entity that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
ITEM 1B.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 2.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Our corporate headquarters are located at 12730 High Bluff Drive, Suite 110, San Diego, CA 92130 and the Company has an additional office located at 8880 West Sunset Road, Suite 240, Las Vegas, Nevada 89148.
As of December 31, 2015, the Company had acquired, along with affiliated entities, 18 properties of which our share of the aggregate purchase price total $87,359,000, including closing costs. These acquisitions were funded by the ongoing initial public offering, through the issuance of the Company’s common stock, financing and assuming liabilities.
The following table sets forth the property name, percentage owned, location and other information with respect to the parking lots/facilities that the Company had acquired as of December 31, 2015:
1 Certain property acquisitions were part of an aggregate acquisition of multiple properties. The amount presented reflects the price allocated to the property as part of the total consideration from the aggregate acquisition agreement and not the amount assigned to the property pursuant to the agreement.
2 Occupancy does not include non-parking related space.
ITEM 3.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From time to time in the ordinary course of business, the Company or its subsidiaries may become subject to legal proceedings, claims or disputes. As of March 29, 2016, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries was a party to any material pending legal proceedings.
ITEM 4.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
None.
PART II
ITEM 5.
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our shares of common stock are not currently listed on a national securities exchange or any over-the-counter market.
On March 7, 2016, our board of directors approved taking all action necessary to list our outstanding common shares on the NASDAQ Global Market. While we intend to pursue listing on NASDAQ expeditiously, there can be no assurance as to if or when its listing application will be approved and its common stock will begin to trade on NASDAQ.
Our charter does not require our board of directors to pursue a liquidity event. Due to the uncertainties of market conditions in the future, we believe setting finite dates for possible, but uncertain, liquidity events may result in actions not necessarily in the best interests or within the expectations of our stockholders. We expect that our board of directors, in the exercise of its fiduciary duty to our stockholders, will determine to pursue a liquidity event when it believes that then-current market conditions are favorable for a liquidity event, and that such a transaction is in the best interests of our stockholders. A liquidity event could include (1) the sale of all or substantially all of our assets either on a portfolio basis or individually followed by a liquidation, in which the net proceeds are distributed to stockholders, (2) a merger or another transaction approved by our board of directors in which our stockholders will receive cash and/or shares of a publicly traded company or (3) a listing of our shares on a national securities exchange. There can be no assurance as to when a suitable transaction will be available at all.
In order for members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, and their associated persons to have participated in the offering and sale of our common shares or to participate in any future offering of our common shares, we are required pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110 to disclose in each Annual Report distributed to our stockholders a per share estimated value of our common shares, the method by which it was developed and the date of the data used to develop the estimated value. In addition, our advisor must prepare annual statements of estimated share values to assist fiduciaries of retirement plans subject to the annual reporting requirements of ERISA in the preparation of their reports relating to an investment in our common shares. For these purposes, the estimated value of our shares shall be deemed to be $9.00 per share as of December 31, 2015. The basis for this valuation is the fact that just completed a public offering of our common shares at the price of $9.00 per share (not taking into consideration purchase price discounts for certain categories of purchasers). It is contemplated that in April 2016 we will value our shares based on an estimated value of our common stock.
Stockholder Information
As of March 29, 2016, there were 2,157 holders of record of the Company’s common shares. The number of stockholders is based on the records of the Company’s transfer agent.
Distribution Policy
In order to qualify as a REIT, we are required to distribute at least 90% of our annual REIT taxable income, subject to certain adjustments, to our stockholders. Until we generate sufficient cash flow from operations to fully fund the payment of distributions, some or all of our distributions will be paid from other sources, including our offering proceeds. The amount and timing of our cash distributions will be determined by our board of directors and will depend on the amount of funds available for distribution, current and projected cash requirements, tax considerations, any limitations imposed by the terms of indebtedness we may incur and other factors. As a result, our distribution rate and payment frequency may vary from time to time. If our investments produce sufficient cash flow, we expect to make regular cash distributions to our stockholders, typically on a monthly basis. Because we may receive income from interest or rents at various times during our fiscal year, distributions may not reflect our income earned in that particular distribution period but may be made in anticipation of cash flow which we expect to receive during a later quarter and may be made in advance of actual receipt of funds in an attempt to make distributions relatively uniform. Due to these timing differences, we may be required to borrow money, use proceeds from the issuance of securities or sell assets in order to make distributions.
On October 3, 2012, the Company confirmed that its board of directors had approved a plan for payment of initial monthly cash distributions of $0.045 per share. On January 25, 2013, the Company issued a press release announcing that its board of directors had approved an increase in its monthly distribution rate on its common shares to an annualized distribution rate of 6.2 percent, or $0.558 per share annually or $0.0465 monthly, assuming a purchase price of $9.00 per share. The distribution, previously 6 percent, increased beginning with the January 2013 distribution, paid to stockholders of record as of January 24, 2013 on February 10, 2013. On June 4, 2013, the Company issued a press release announcing that its board of directors has approved an increase in its monthly distribution rate on its common shares to an annualized distribution rate of 6.7%, assuming a purchase price of $9.00 per share or $0.05025 monthly. The Company anticipates paying future distributions monthly in arrears, with a record date on the 24th of each month and distributions paid on the 10th day of the following month (or the next business day if the 10th is not a business day).
As of December 31, 2015, all of our distributions constituted a return of capital as we have paid distributions from offering proceeds only. We may continue to pay distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations, including proceeds from the offering, sale of assets or borrowings. We have no limits on the amounts we may pay from such sources. If we pay distributions from sources other than our cash flow from operations, the funds available to us for investments would be reduced and your share value may be diluted. In addition, no assurance can be given that we will be able to continue to make distributions on a monthly basis.
Please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Distributions” for more information on distributions.
Distribution Reinvestment Plan
We currently have a distribution reinvestment plan pursuant to which you may have the distributions you receive automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock. You may purchase common stock under our distribution reinvestment plan for $8.73 per share. However, we may amend the plan to offer shares at such prices as we determine necessary or appropriate to ensure our dividends are not “preferential” for incomes tax purposes. No sales commissions will be paid in connection with shares purchased pursuant to our distribution reinvestment plan.
Investors participating in our distribution reinvestment plan may purchase fractional shares. If sufficient shares of our common stock are not available for issuance under our distribution reinvestment plan, we will remit excess distributions in cash to the participants. If you elect to participate in the distribution reinvestment plan, you must agree that, if at any time you fail to meet the applicable investor suitability standards or cannot make the other investor representations or warranties set forth in the then current prospectus, the subscription agreement or our articles relating to such investment, you will promptly notify us in writing of that fact.
Stockholders purchasing common stock pursuant to the distribution reinvestment plan will have the same rights and will be treated in the same manner as if such common stock were purchased pursuant to this offering.
At least quarterly, we will provide each participant a confirmation showing the amount of the distributions reinvested in our shares during the covered period, the number of shares of our common stock owned at the beginning of the covered period, and the total number of shares of common stock owned at the end of the covered period. We have the discretion not to provide a distribution reinvestment plan, and a majority of our board of directors may amend, suspend or terminate our distribution reinvestment plan for any reason (except that we may not amend the distribution reinvestment plan to eliminate a participant’s ability to withdraw from the plan) at any time upon 10 days’ prior notice to the participants. Your participation in the plan will also be terminated to the extent that a reinvestment of your distributions in our common stock would cause the percentage ownership limitation contained in our charter to be exceeded. Otherwise, unless you terminate your participation in our distribution reinvestment plan in writing, your participation will continue even if the shares to be issued under the plan are registered in a future registration. You may terminate your participation in the distribution reinvestment plan at any time by providing us with 10 days’ written notice. A withdrawal from participation in the distribution reinvestment plan will be effective only with respect to distributions paid more than 30 days after receipt of written notice. Generally, a transfer of common stock will terminate the stockholder’s participation in the distribution reinvestment plan as of the first day of the month in which the transfer is effective.
If you participate in our distribution reinvestment plan and are subject to federal income taxation, you will incur a tax liability for distributions allocated to you even though you have elected not to receive the distributions in cash, but rather to have the distributions withheld and reinvested in our common stock. Specifically, you will be treated as if you have received the distribution from us in cash and then applied such distribution to the purchase of additional shares of our common stock. You will be taxed on the amount of such distribution as ordinary income to the extent such distribution is from current or accumulated earnings and profits, unless we have designated all or a portion of the distribution as a capital gain distribution. In addition, the difference between the public offering price of our shares and the amount paid for shares purchased pursuant to our distribution reinvestment plan may be deemed to be taxable as income to participants in the plan. Please see “Risk Factors - Federal Income Tax Risks - You may have current tax liability on distributions if you elect to reinvest in shares of our common stock.”
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, an investor’s participation in our distribution reinvestment plan will terminate automatically if we dishonor, or partially dishonor, any requests by such investor to redeem our shares of common stock in accordance with our share repurchase program. We will notify investors of any such automatic termination from our distribution reinvestment plan.
Share Repurchase Program
The Company has a share repurchase program that may provide stockholders who generally have held their shares for at least one year an opportunity to sell their shares to the Company, subject to certain restrictions and limitations. Prior to the date that the Company establishes an estimated value per share of common stock, the purchase price will be 97.5% of the purchase price paid for the shares, if redeemed at any time between the first and third anniversaries of the purchase date, and 100% of the purchase price paid if redeemed after the third anniversary. After the Company establishes an estimated value per share of common stock, the Company will repurchase shares at 100% of the estimated value per share, as determined by its board of directors and disclosed in the annual report publicly filed with the SEC. The number of shares to be repurchased during a calendar quarter is limited to the lesser of: (i) 2.0% of the number of shares of common stock outstanding on December 31 of the prior calendar year, and (ii) those repurchases that can be funded from the net proceeds of the sale of shares under the Company’s distribution reinvestment plan in the prior calendar year. The board of directors may also limit the amounts available for repurchase at any time at its sole discretion. The share repurchase program will terminate if the shares of common stock are listed on a national securities exchange.
As of December 31, 2015, the Company redeemed 53,310 shares through the share repurchase program (“SRP”). For the period from January 1, 2016 through the date of this filing, the Company has redeemed an additional 1,670 shares and has pending requests to redeem an additional 47,005 shares, which exceed the amount allowable for 2015 repurchase by approximately $0.4 million. April 2016 will be the next date shares are available for repurchase.
Use of Offering Proceeds
On September 25, 2012, the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-11 registering a public offering (No. 333- 180741) of up to $550,000,000 in shares of the Company’s common stock was declared effective under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and the Company commenced the initial public offering. The Company offered up to 55,555,555 shares of the Company’s common stock to the public in the primary offering at $9.00 per share and up to 5,555,555 shares of the Company’s common stock pursuant to the distribution reinvestment plan at $8.73 per share. The Company entered into selling agreements with MVP AS and other non-affiliated selling agents to distribute shares of our common stock to its clients. The initial public offering terminated in September 2015.
As of December 31, 2015, the Company issued 11,002,902 shares of common stock in our initial public offering for a total of approximately $97.3 million, less offering costs.
The following is a table of summary of offering proceeds from inception through December 31, 2015:
From inception through December 31, 2015, the Company incurred the following actual costs in connection with the issuance and distribution of the registered securities.
From the commencement of our offering through December 31, 2015, the net cash proceeds to us from our offering, after deducting the total expenses incurred described above, were $70.6 million. From the commencement of the offering through December 31, 2015, net proceeds from our offering have been allocated to paying distributions, selling commissions and acquiring properties. If we continue to pay distributions from offering proceeds and other sources other than our cash flow from operations, the funds available to us for investments would be reduced, the share value may be diluted, the expenses and other amounts, as percentage of the total offering proceeds, may be higher. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the ratio of the costs of raising capital to the capital raised is approximately 6.3%.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
On April 4, 2012, we issued 22,222.22 shares of common stock at $9.00 per share to MVP Capital Partners, LLC (“MVPCP”), our sponsor, in exchange for $200,000 in cash. On April 4, 2012, we also issued 1,000 shares of our convertible stock at $1.00 per share to MVP Realty Advisors, LLC (“the Advisor”), our advisor. In each case, we relied on Section 4(2) of the Securities Act for the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Our sponsor and our advisor, by virtue of their affiliation with us, had access to information concerning our proposed operations and the terms and conditions of this investment.
No additional consideration is due upon the conversion of the convertible stock. There will be no distributions paid on shares of convertible stock. The conversion of the convertible stock into shares of common stock will decrease the percentage of our shares of common stock owned by persons purchasing shares in this offering. However, at no time will the conversion of the convertible stock into shares of common stock result in our advisor holding a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock.
Except in limited circumstances, shares of convertible stock will not be entitled to vote on any matter, or to receive notice of, or to participate in, any meeting of our stockholders at which they are not entitled to vote. However, the affirmative vote of the holders of more than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of convertible stock, voting together as a single class, will be required (1) for any amendment, alteration or repeal of any provision of our charter that materially and adversely changes the rights of the convertible stock and (2) to effect a merger of our company into another entity, or a merger of another entity into our company, unless in each case each share of convertible stock (A) will remain outstanding without a material and adverse change to its terms and rights or (B) will be converted into or exchanged for shares of stock or other ownership interest of the surviving entity having rights identical to that of our convertible stock.
Our convertible stock will convert into shares of our common stock if:
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we have made total distributions on the then outstanding shares of our common stock equal to the invested capital attributable to those shares plus a 6.00% cumulative, non-compounded, annual pre-tax return on such invested capital; or
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(i) we list our common stock for trading on a national securities exchange and (ii) the sum of the aggregate market value of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock plus our distributions exceeds the aggregate capital contributed by investors plus an amount equal to a 6% cumulative, pre-tax non-compounded annual return to investors; or
•
our advisory agreement is terminated or not renewed, but only if at the time of such termination or non-renewal, the requirements for conversion set forth in either of the immediately preceding clause (A) or (B) also shall have been satisfied.
For purposes of such calculation, the market value of our outstanding common stock will be calculated based on the average market value of the shares of common stock issued and outstanding at listing over the 30 trading days beginning 180 days after the shares are first listed for trading on a national securities exchange.
In the event of a termination or non-renewal of our advisory agreement for cause, the convertible stock will be redeemed by us for $1.00 per share. In general, upon the occurrence of any of the conditions set forth above, our issued shares of convertible stock will convert into a number of shares of common stock representing three and one-half percent (3.50%) of the outstanding shares of our common stock immediately preceding the conversion.
Our board of directors will oversee the conversion of the convertible stock. Further, if in the good faith judgment of our board of directors full conversion of the convertible stock would cause a holder of our stock to violate the limitations on the ownership and transfer of shares of common stock which prohibit, among other things, (1) any person or entity from owning or acquiring, directly or indirectly, more than 9.8% of the value of our then outstanding capital stock or more than 9.8% of the value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of our then outstanding common stock or (2) any transfer of shares or other event or transaction that would result in the beneficial ownership of our outstanding shares of capital stock by fewer than 100 persons or would otherwise cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT, then our board of directors can either elect to increase or waive the ownership limit, if it would not cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT or our board of directors could determine to allow the conversion of only such number of shares of convertible stock (or fraction of a share thereof) into shares of our common stock such that no holder of our stock would violate such limitations, and the conversion of the remaining shares of convertible stock will be deferred until the earliest date after our board of directors determines that such conversion will not violate such limitations. Any such deferral will not otherwise alter the terms of the convertible stock.
Equity Incentive Plan
The Company has adopted an equity incentive plan. The equity incentive plan offers certain individuals an opportunity to participate in the Company’s growth through awards in the form of, or based on, the Company’s common stock. The Company has authorized and reserved an aggregate maximum of 300,000 shares for issuance under the equity incentive plan. The Company has no current intention to issue any awards under the equity incentive plan but may do so in the future in order to attract and retain qualified directors, officers, employees, and consultants.
The equity incentive plan authorizes the granting of restricted stock, stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted or deferred stock units, performance awards, dividend equivalents, other stock-based awards and cash-based awards to directors, employees and consultants of the Company selected by the board of directors for participation in the equity incentive plan. Stock options granted under the equity incentive plan will not exceed an amount equal to 10% of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant of any such stock options. Any stock options and stock appreciation rights granted under the equity incentive plan will have an exercise price or base price that is not less than the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant, and otherwise will be subject to the other terms and conditions set forth in the equity incentive plan and any specific award agreement, as applicable. In addition, no option, warrant or any other equity award will be issued under our equity incentive plan or otherwise to our advisor, our sponsor or any of their affiliates, if the issuance of any such award would result in a violation of any applicable NASAA REIT Guidelines, including the limitations imposed under the NASAA REIT Guidelines on our total operating expenses (after giving effect to the expense associated with such equity award).
The board of directors, or the compensation committee of the board of directors, will administer the equity incentive plan, with sole authority to determine all of the terms and conditions of the awards, including whether the grant, vesting or settlement of awards may be subject to the attainment of one or more performance goals. No awards will be granted if the grant or vesting of the awards would jeopardize the Company’s status as a REIT under the Code or otherwise violate the ownership and transfer restrictions imposed under the Company’s charter. Unless otherwise determined by the board of directors, no award granted under the equity incentive plan will be transferable except through the laws of descent and distribution.
ITEM 6.
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
The following selected financial data as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 should be read in conjunction with the accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto and “Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” The selected financial data has been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements.
ITEM 7.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the “Selected Financial Data” above and our accompanying consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto. Also see “Forward Looking Statements” preceding Part I.
Overview
MVP REIT, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) was incorporated on April 3, 2012 as a Maryland corporation, and has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes beginning with the taxable year ended December 31, 2013. Pursuant to its initial public offering, which closed in September 2015, the Company received net consideration of approximately $97.3 million for the issuance of its common stock. Of this amount, approximately $19.5 million of common shares were issued in consideration of the contribution of commercial properties to the Company. The Company has also registered up to $50 million for the issuance of common stock pursuant to a distribution reinvestment plan (the “DRIP”) under which common stockholders may elect to have their distributions reinvested in additional shares of common stock.
The Company’s investment strategy was to invest available net proceeds from its offering in direct investments in real property and real estate secured loans that meet the Company’s investment objectives and strategies. In March 2014, the Company’s board of directors approved a plan to increase the focus of the Company’s investment strategy on parking and self-storage facilities located throughout the United States as the Company’s core assets. In June 2014, the Company’s board decided to further focus its efforts primarily on parking facilities.
As of December 31, 2015, the Company had acquired, 18 properties with the purchase price totaling approximately $87.4 million, including closing costs, which includes a 30% minority interest held by third parties on one property. The Company has a 100% ownership interest in each of the other acquired properties. These acquisitions were funded by the initial public offering, third party financing and the assumption of existing liabilities.
During January 2015, the Company acquired 100% interest in a parking facility located in Denver CO. The Company purchased the property for approximately $0.6 million.
On March 16, 2015, the Company closed on its $23.3 million purchase of a multi-level parking garage. The parking garage consists of 1,013 parking spaces and approximately 11,828 square feet of office space. The parking garage is located in Fort Worth, Texas. The purchase price included assumption of the existing financing which has a maturity date of August 2021, a balance of approximately $12.2 million, and an interest rate of 5.59% per annum. The Company paid customary closing costs in connection with the transaction.
On March 31, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking lot consisting of 54 parking spaces, located in Milwaukee, WI, for a purchase price of $1 million. The property is leased to SP Plus Corporation, a nationwide parking operator. During the company’s due diligence of the property it was discovered that the soil and ground water at the subject property had been impacted by the site’s historical use as a printing press as well as neighboring property uses. As a result, the company has retained a local environmental engineer to seek a closure letter or similar certificate of no further action from the State of Wisconsin due to the Company’s use of the property as a parking lot. As of December 31, 2015 management does not anticipate a material adverse effect related to this environmental matter.
On May 13, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking lot with 55,021 square feet and has 221 parking spaces located in St. Louis, Missouri, for a purchase price of approximately $2.6 million. The Company paid customary closing costs in connection with the transaction. The parking garage is leased to SP Plus Corporation.
On May 28, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking lot with 90,750 square feet and has 265 parking spaces located in Houston, TX, for approximately $8.4 million. The Company paid customary closing costs in connection with the transaction. The parking garage is leased to iPark Services, LLC.
On June 29, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking lot located in St. Louis, MO, for approximately $3.5 million. The Company paid customary closing costs in connection with the transaction. The parking lot consists of 46,683 square feet, has 202 parking spaces, zoned I (CBD) and allows for a maximum building height of 200 feet. The parking lot is leased by SP Plus Corporation.
On June 30, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking lot located in Milwaukee, WI, for approximately $3.9 million. The Company paid customary closing costs in connection with the transaction. The parking lot consists of 41,487 square feet and has 95 spaces, zoned C9-E, and allows for a maximum building height of 40 feet. The parking lot is leased by PCAM, LLC.
On July 10, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking lot located in Wildwood, NJ, for approximately $1.0 million in cash (“parking lot #1”). Parking lot #1 consists of 11,250 square feet and has 45 parking spaces. At closing, parking lot #1 was managed by SP Plus Corporation. On December 16, 2015, the Company purchased an adjacent lot for approximately $0.6 million in cash. The parking lot is located at 401 East Glenwood Ave, Wildwood, NJ (“parking lot #2”). Parking lot #2 consists of 13,500 square feet and has 50 spaces. Through the acquisition of the second lot, the management agreement with SP+ has been cancelled and a lease for the two parking lots has been executed.
On October 5, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking garage for approximately $10.5 million. The parking garage is located at 120 East Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. The parking garage consists of approximately 52,650 square feet and has approximately 370 parking spaces. The parking garage is zoned CBD-1 and allows for a maximum building height of five stories. The parking garage is leased by ABM Onsite Services - Midwest, Inc., a subsidiary of ABM Industries, Inc., which trades on the New York Stock Exchange as ticker symbol “ABM”.
On October 9, 2015, the Company closed on a purchase of a parking lot for approximately $0.5 million in cash. The parking lot is located at 1109 Cherry Street, Kansas City, Missouri. The parking lot consists of approximately 26,304 square feet and has approximately 84 parking spaces. The parking lot is zoned UR. The parking lot is leased by SP Plus.
On October 29, 2015, the Company closed on a purchase of a parking lot for approximately $5.0 million in cash. The parking lot is located at 301 E. Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204. The parking lot consists of approximately 46,403 square feet and has approximately 149 parking spaces. The parking lot is leased by Denison Parking Inc., an Indianapolis parking operator.
On May 6, 2015, the Company sold the storage unit asset located in Nevada to a non-related third party for approximately $5.4 million. Proceeds of approximately $2.7 million from this sale paid the promissory note for this property in full. The gain on sale is approximately $0.3 million.
On October 29, 2015, the Company also sold a 376-unit self-storage facility located in Cedar Park, TX owned by its wholly owned subsidiary, MVP MS Cedar Park 2012, LLC to Calico Industries-CP, LLC, a Texas limited liability company. The sale price was $4.3 million which sale price was paid at the closing, less customary closing costs. The gain on sale is approximately $1.0 million.
On January 2, 2016, the Company entered into a joint venture with MVP REIT II, Inc. to purchase the membership interests of an entity that owns two parking lots located in Minneapolis for a purchase price of approximately $15,495,000 plus closing costs. The purchase will be accomplished through a limited liability company owned jointly by the Company and MVP REIT II, Inc. The Company’s share of the purchase price is approximately $13,495,000 plus closing costs and the Company will own an 87.09% interest in the limited liability company. The first parking lot is located at 1022 Hennepin Avenue (the “Hennepin lot”). The Hennepin lot consists of approximately 90,658 square feet and has approximately 270 parking spaces. The second parking lot is located at 41 10th Street North (the “10th Street lot”). The 10th street lot consists of approximately 107,952 square feet and has approximately 185 parking spaces. Both the Hennepin lot and 10th Street lot will be leased by SP Plus, under a net lease agreement where the Company and MVP REIT II, Inc. will be responsible for property taxes and SP Plus will pay for all insurance and maintenance costs.
On January 15, 2016, the Company through its wholly owned entity MVP Indianapolis Meridian Lot, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, closed on the purchase of a parking lot for approximately $1.7 million. The property is located at 239 S. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. The parking lot consists of approximately 10,290 square feet and has approximately 39 parking spaces. The parking lot is leased to Denison Parking, Inc., an Indianapolis parking operator.
On January 20, 2016, the Company through its wholly owned entity MVP Milwaukee Clybourn, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, closed on the purchase of a parking lot for approximately $0.2 million. The property is located at 412 E. Clybourn Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The parking lot consists of 15 parking spaces and is leased to Secure Parking USA, LLC.
On February 1, 2016, the Company purchased a parking lot for approximately $3.9 million in cash. The property is located at 1124 N. Old World Third Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (the “Wisconsin parking lot”). The parking lot consists of 38,606 square feet and has 75 parking spaces. The Wisconsin parking lot is leased by SP Plus Corporation.
On February 9, 2016, the Company through its wholly owned entity MVP Clarksburg Lot, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company closed on the purchase of a parking lot for approximately $0.6 million in cash. The parking lot is located at 327 Washington Avenue, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26301 (the “parking lot”). The parking lot is leased by ABM Parking Services Inc. ("ABM"), a national parking operator.
On February 12, 2016, the Company along with MVP REIT II through MVP Denver 1935 Sherman, LLC, ("MVP Denver"), a Nevada limited liability company, an entity owned 75.51% by MVP and 24.49% by MVP REIT II, closed on the purchase of a parking lot for approximately $2.4 million in cash of which MVP’s share was approximately $1.8 million. The parking lot is located at 1935 Sherman Avenue, Denver, Colorado (the “Denver parking lot”). The Denver parking lot is leased by SP Plus Corporation.
On January 20, 2016, the Company through various wholly owned subsidiaries entered into two loans with Keybank. The first loan is an $8,580,000 loan secured by the following properties in Indianapolis: 110-120 E. Washington Street, and 301 E. Washington Street. The loan has a term of 10 years, is amortized over 25 years and has an interest rate of 4.59% per annum. The second loan is a $3,490,000 loan secured by the following properties in Missouri: 1010 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, 901, 909, 925 Lucas Avenue and 900, 908, 910 & 916 Convention Plaza, St. Louis and 1109 Cherry Street, Kansas City. The loan has a term of 10 years, is amortized over 25 years and has an interest rate of 4.59% per annum.
The Company may, from time to time, invest in non-core assets, including investments in companies that manage real estate or mortgage investment companies; however, the Company anticipates that its core investments going forward will be predominantly in parking facilities. In addition, the Company has agreed that no more than 25% of the gross proceeds from its initial public offering will be used to invest in real properties other than parking facilities.
The Company operates as a real estate investment trust. The Company is not a mutual fund or an investment company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, nor is the Company subject to any regulation thereunder. As a REIT, the Company is required to have a December 31 fiscal year end. As a REIT, the Company will not be subject to federal income tax on income that is distributed to stockholders. Among other requirements, REITs are required to satisfy certain gross income and asset tests, which may affect the composition of assets the Company acquires with the proceeds of the offering. In addition, REITs are required to distribute to stockholders at least 90% of their annual REIT taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gain).
The Company’s board of directors will at all times have ultimate oversight and policy-making authority over the Company, including responsibility for governance, financial controls, compliance and disclosure. Pursuant to our advisory agreement, however, our board has delegated to MVP Realty Advisors, LLC, our advisor, authority to manage our day-to-day business, in accordance with our investment objectives, strategy, guidelines, policies and limitations. VRM II owns 60% of the Advisor, and the remaining 40% is owned by VRM I; both are managed by Vestin Mortgage, LLC. The Company’s sponsor is MVP Capital Partners, LLC (“MVPCP” or the “Sponsor”), an entity owned and managed by Michael V. Shustek, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Michael Shustek owns a significant majority of Vestin Mortgage, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, which is the manager of VRM I, VRM II and Vestin Fund III (“VF III”).
VRM I, an OTC Markets-listed company, and VRM II, a Nasdaq-listed company, are engaged primarily in the business of investing in commercial real estate and loans secured by commercial real estate. As the owners of the Advisor, VRM I and VRM II may benefit from any fees and other compensation that the Company pays to the Advisor under the Advisor Agreement. In this regard, the Company notes that the Advisor has agreed to waive certain fees and expenses it otherwise would be entitled under the Advisory Agreement. Please refer to Note E - Related Party Transactions and Arrangements - Fees and Expenses Paid in Connection With the Operations of the Company in Part II, Item 8 Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information. As of December 31, 2015, the aggregate amount of fees and expense reimbursements waived by the Advisor was approximately $6.9 million. If the owners of the Advisor determine that such waivers are no longer in the best interests of their stockholders or otherwise refuse to grant future waivers of fees or expenses if requested by the Company, then the Company’s operating expenses could increase significantly, which could adversely affect the Company’s results of operations and the amount of distributions to stockholders.
In addition, the Company may compete against VRM I and VRM II for the acquisition of investments. The Company believes this potential conflict is mitigated, in part, by the Company’s focus on parking facilities as its core investments, while the investment strategy of VRM I and VRM II focuses on acquiring office buildings and other commercial real estate and loans secured by commercial real estate. For additional discussion regarding potential conflicts of interests, please see “Risk Factors-Risks Related to Conflicts of Interest” and “Item 13 - Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.
Results of Operations
As of December 31, 2015, we had acquired 18 properties of which our share of the purchase price totaled $87.4 million, including closing costs. These acquisitions were funded by the proceeds from our initial public offering, third party financing and the assumption of existing liabilities. We completed our initial public offering in September 2015, and the results of operations below reflect start-up costs as well as acquisition expenses incurred in connection with purchasing properties as we seek to deploy our offering proceeds. Many of our acquisitions were completed in 2015 and, as a result, we held many of our properties for less than a year. We expect that income and expenses related to our portfolio will increase in future years as a result of owning the properties acquired for a full year and as a result of anticipated future acquisitions of real estate and real estate-related assets. As a result, the results of operations described below may not be indicative of future results of operations.
Comparison of operating results for the year ended December 31, 2015, to the year ended December 31, 2014:
Total rental revenue earned is from our 18 consolidated properties, which were acquired during 2014 and 2015.
Assets purchased in 2012 and 2013 were sold as of December 31, 2015 and income from those investments is reported as income (loss) from assets held for sale in the discontinued operations, net of income taxes section of our consolidated statements of operations. Increase in total rental revenues is mainly due to the additional properties owned and operated by the Company during the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to the year ended December 31, 2014.
See Note I - Acquisitions and Note J - Assets held for sale of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 Consolidated Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Increase in operating expenses is mainly due to the additional properties owned and operated by the Company during the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to the year ended December 31, 2014. Depreciation expense increased, and will continue to increase, as the Company builds its portfolio of properties.
Interest expense increased due to the assumption of debt through acquisitions and the financing of our Directors and Officers Liability Insurance. The interest expense will vary based on the amount of our borrowings, which will depend on the cost of borrowings and our ability to identify and acquire real estate and real estate-related assets that meet our investment objectives.
See Note K - Notes Payable of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 Consolidated Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
During March 2014, the Company’s Board approved a sale of its interest in four office buildings to VRM I and VRM II in exchange for VRM I and VRM II’s interest in five parking facilities and a storage facility. Additionally, during June 2014, the Company’s Board approved a sale of its interest in two additional office buildings to VRM I and VRM II. The net income from the office buildings is reported as discontinued operations. Subsequently, during January 2015, management entered into a plan to sell the storage unit assets resulting in the financial reporting of these assets, liabilities and results of operations related to the assets held for sale, as discontinued operations. The sale of the storage assets resulted in a gain on sale of investment in real estate held for sale of approximately $1.3 million.
Funds from Operations and Modified Funds from Operations
The Advisor believes that historical cost accounting for real estate assets in accordance with GAAP implicitly assumes that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time. Since real estate values have historically risen or fallen with market conditions, many industry investors and analysts have considered the presentation of operating results for real estate companies that use historical cost accounting to be insufficient. Additionally, publicly registered, non-listed REITs typically have a significant amount of acquisition activity and are substantially more dynamic during their initial years of investment and operation. While other start-up entities may also experience significant acquisition activity during their initial years, the Company believes that non-listed REITs are unique in that they have a limited life with targeted exit strategies within a relatively limited time frame after the acquisition activity ceases.
In order to provide a more complete understanding of the operating performance of a REIT, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”) promulgated a measure known as funds from operations (“FFO”). FFO is defined as net income or loss computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding extraordinary items, as defined by GAAP, and gains and losses from sales of depreciable operating property, adding back asset impairment write-downs, plus real estate related depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs and depreciation of non-real estate assets), and after adjustment for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. Because FFO calculations exclude such items as depreciation and amortization of real estate assets and gains and losses from sales of operating real estate assets (which can vary among owners of identical assets in similar conditions based on historical cost accounting and useful-life estimates), they facilitate comparisons of operating performance between periods and between other REITs. As a result, the Company believes that the use of FFO, together with the required GAAP presentations, provides a more complete understanding of our performance relative to our competitors and a more informed and appropriate basis on which to make decisions involving operating, financing, and investing activities. It should be noted, however, that other REITs may not define FFO in accordance with the current NAREIT definition or may interpret the current NAREIT definition differently than the Company does, making comparisons less meaningful.
The Investment Program Association (“IPA”) issued Practice Guideline 2010-01 (the “IPA MFFO Guideline”) on November 2, 2010, which extended financial measures to include modified funds from operations (“MFFO”). In computing MFFO, FFO is adjusted for certain non-operating cash items such as acquisition fees and expenses and certain non-cash items such as straight-line rent, amortization of in-place lease valuations, amortization of discounts and premiums on debt investments, nonrecurring impairments of real estate-related investments, mark-to-market adjustments included in net income (loss), and nonrecurring gains or losses included in net income (loss) from the extinguishment or sale of debt, hedges, foreign exchange, derivatives or securities holdings where trading of such holdings is not a fundamental attribute of the business plan, unrealized gains or losses resulting from consolidation from, or deconsolidation to, equity accounting, and after adjustments for consolidated and unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures, with such adjustments calculated to reflect MFFO on the same basis. Management is responsible for managing interest rate, hedge and foreign exchange risk. To achieve our objectives, the Company may borrow at fixed rates or variable rates. In order to mitigate our interest rate risk on certain financial instruments, if any, the Company may enter into interest rate cap agreements and in order to mitigate our risk to foreign currency exposure, if any, the Company may enter into foreign currency hedges. The Company views fair value adjustments of derivatives, impairment charges and gains and losses from dispositions of assets as non-recurring items or items which are unrealized and may not ultimately be realized, and which are not reflective of ongoing operations and are therefore typically adjusted for when assessing operating performance. Additionally, the Company believes it is appropriate to disregard impairment charges, as this is a fair value adjustment that is largely based on market fluctuations, assessments regarding general market conditions, and the specific performance of properties owned, which can change over time.
No less frequently than annually, the Company evaluates events and changes in circumstances that could indicate that the carrying amounts of real estate and related intangible assets may not be recoverable. When indicators of potential impairment are present, the Company assesses whether the carrying value of the assets will be recovered through the future undiscounted operating cash flows (including net rental and lease revenues, net proceeds on the sale of the property, and any other ancillary cash flows at a property or group level under GAAP) expected from the use of the assets and the eventual disposition. Investors should note, however, that determinations of whether impairment charges have been incurred are based partly on anticipated operating performance, because estimated undiscounted future cash flows from a property, including estimated future net rental and lease revenues, net proceeds on the sale of the property, and certain other ancillary cash flows, are taken into account in determining whether an impairment charge has been incurred. While impairment charges are excluded from the calculation of MFFO as described above, investors are cautioned that due to the fact that impairments are based on estimated future undiscounted cash flows and the relatively limited term of our operations, it could be difficult to recover any impairment charges through operational net revenues or cash flows prior to any liquidity event.
The Company adopted the IPA MFFO Guideline as management believes that MFFO is a helpful indicator of our on-going portfolio performance and ability to sustain our current distribution level. More specifically, MFFO isolates the financial results of the REIT’s operations. MFFO, however, is not considered an appropriate measure of historical earnings as it excludes certain significant costs that are otherwise included in reported earnings. Further, since the measure is based on historical financial information, MFFO for the period presented may not be indicative of future results or our future ability to pay our dividends. By providing FFO and MFFO, the Company presents information that assists investors in aligning their analysis with management’s analysis of long-term operating activities. MFFO also allows for a comparison of the performance of our portfolio with other REITs that are not currently engaging in acquisitions, as well as a comparison of our performance with that of other non-traded REITs, as MFFO, or an equivalent measure, is routinely reported by non-traded REITs, and the Company believe often used by analysts and investors for comparison purposes. As explained below, management’s evaluation of our operating performance excludes items considered in the calculation of MFFO based on the following economic considerations:
·
Straight-line rent. Most of our leases provide for periodic minimum rent payment increases throughout the term of the lease. In accordance with GAAP, these periodic minimum rent payment increases during the term of a lease are recorded to rental revenue on a straight-line basis in order to reconcile the difference between accrual and cash basis accounting. As straight-line rent is a GAAP non-cash adjustment and is included in historical earnings, it is added back to FFO to arrive at MFFO as a means of determining operating results of our portfolio.
·
Amortization of in-place lease valuation. As this item is a cash flow adjustment made to net income in calculating the cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities, it is added back to FFO to arrive at MFFO as a means of determining operating results of our portfolio.
·
Acquisition-related costs. The Company was organized primarily with the purpose of acquiring or investing in income-producing real property and loans secured by real estate in order to generate operational income and cash flow that will allow us to provide regular cash distributions to our stockholders. In the process, the Company incurs non-reimbursable affiliated and non-affiliated acquisition-related costs, which in accordance with GAAP, are expensed as incurred and are included in the determination of income (loss) from operations and net income (loss).
·
These costs have been and will continue to be funded with cash proceeds from the offering or included as a component of the amount borrowed to acquire such real estate. If the Company acquires a property after all offering proceeds from the offering have been invested, there will not be any offering proceeds to pay the corresponding acquisition-related costs. Accordingly, unless our Advisor determines to waive the payment of any then-outstanding acquisition-related costs otherwise payable to our Advisor, such costs will be paid from additional debt, operational earnings or cash flow, net proceeds from the sale of properties, or ancillary cash flows. In evaluating the performance of our portfolio over time, management employs business models and analyses that differentiate the costs to acquire investments from the investments’ revenues and expenses. Acquisition-related costs may negatively affect our operating results, cash flows from operating activities and cash available to fund distributions during periods in which properties are acquired, as the proceeds to fund these costs would otherwise be invested in other real estate related assets. By excluding acquisition-related costs, MFFO may not provide an accurate indicator of our operating performance during periods in which acquisitions are made. However, it can provide an indication of our on-going ability to generate cash flow from operations and continue as a going concern after the Company ceases to acquire properties on a frequent and regular basis, which can be compared to the MFFO of other non-listed REITs that have completed their acquisition activity and have similar operating characteristics to ours. Management believes that excluding these costs from MFFO provides investors with supplemental performance information that is consistent with the performance models and analysis used by management.
For all of these reasons, the Company believes the non-GAAP measures of FFO and MFFO, in addition to income (loss) from operations, net income (loss) and cash flows from operating activities, as defined by GAAP, are helpful supplemental performance measures and useful to investors in evaluating the performance of our real estate portfolio. However, a material limitation associated with FFO and MFFO is that they are not indicative of our cash available to fund distributions since other uses of cash, such as capital expenditures at our properties and principal payments of debt, are not deducted when calculating FFO and MFFO. Additionally, MFFO has limitations as a performance measure in an offering such as ours where the price of a share of common stock is a stated value. The use of MFFO as a measure of long-term operating performance on value is also limited if the Company does not continue to operate under our current business plan as noted above. MFFO is useful in assisting management and investors in assessing our on-going ability to generate cash flow from operations and continue as a going concern in future operating periods, and in particular, after the offering and acquisition stages are complete and NAV is disclosed. However, MFFO is not a useful measure in evaluating NAV because impairments are taken into account in determining NAV but not in determining MFFO. Therefore, FFO and MFFO should not be viewed as more prominent a measure of performance than income (loss) from operations, net income (loss) or to cash flows from operating activities and each should be reviewed in connection with GAAP measurements.
Neither the SEC, NAREIT, nor any other organization body has opined on the acceptability of the adjustments contemplated to adjust FFO in order to calculate MFFO and its use as a non-GAAP performance measure. In the future, the SEC or NAREIT may decide to standardize the allowable exclusions across the REIT industry, and the Company may have to adjust the calculation and characterization of this non-GAAP measure.
Our calculation of FFO and MFFO is presented in the following table for the year ended December 31, 2015.
Capital and Liquidity Resources
The Company commenced operations on December 11, 2012 and acquired our first property on December 14, 2012.
Our principal demand for funds will be for the acquisition of real estate assets, funding of loans secured by real estate, the payment of operating expenses and interest on our outstanding indebtedness and the payment of distributions to our stockholders. Over time, the Company intends to generally fund its operating expenses from its cash flow from operations. The cash required for acquisitions and investments in real estate will be funded primarily from the sale of shares through our distribution reinvestment plan, dispositions of properties in our portfolio and through third party financing and the assumption of debt on acquired properties.
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2015 was $2.4 million. Operating cash flows were used for the payment of normal operating expenses such as management fees, accounting fees, legal bills and expenses related to real estate owned held for sale. Operating cash flows were provided by the receipt of proceeds from our assets held for sale. Net cash used in investing activities consisted mainly of cash used in investment of real estate of approximately $48.6 million, deposits on future acquisitions of approximately $15.7 million and provided by proceeds from the sale of Red Mountain and Cedar Park of approximately $9.7 million. Net cash provided by financing activities consisted of proceeds from issuance of common stock, net of commissions of approximately $58.5 million and proceeds from a promissory note of approximately $3.8 million. Net cash used in financing activities consisted of payments on redeemed shares of approximately $0.4 million, payments on notes payable of approximately $0.7 million, payments on notes payable - held for sale of approximately $4.3 million and distributions to stockholders of approximately $2.9 million.
As of December 31, 2015, the Company has four promissory notes in the aggregate amount of approximately $29 million secured by our real estate. Our charter precludes us from borrowing more than the NASAA REIT Guidelines limit of 300% of our net assets, unless a majority of our independent directors approve any borrowing in excess of 300% of our net assets and the justification for such excess borrowing is disclosed to our stockholders in our next quarterly report. The Company expects that it may use leverage for any senior debt or equity investments that the Company makes. The Company expects that our debt financing, if any, on such investments will not exceed 50% of the greater of the cost or fair market value of our overall investments.
The Company will experience a relative decrease in liquidity as offering proceeds are used to acquire and operate our assets and may experience a temporary, relative increase in liquidity if and when investments are sold, to the extent such sales generate proceeds that are available for additional investments. Our advisor may, but is not required to, establish working capital reserves from offering proceeds out of cash flow generated by our investments or out of proceeds from the sale of our investments. The Company does not anticipate establishing a general working capital reserve during the initial stages of the offering; however, we may establish capital reserves with respect to particular investments. The Company also may, but is not required to, establish reserves out of cash flow generated by investments or out of net sale proceeds in non-liquidating sale transactions. Working capital reserves are typically utilized to fund tenant improvements, leasing commissions and major capital expenditures. Our lenders also may require working capital reserves.
To the extent that the working capital reserve is insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, additional funds may be provided from cash generated from operations or through short-term borrowing. In addition, subject to the limitations previously described in our prospectus, the Company may incur indebtedness in connection with the acquisition of any real estate asset, refinance the debt thereon, arrange for the leveraging of any previously unfinanced property or reinvest the proceeds of financing or refinancing in additional properties.
In addition to making investments in accordance with our investment objectives, the Company expects to use its capital resources to make certain payments to our advisor and the selling agent(s). During the organization and offering stage, these payments included payments to the selling agent(s) for selling commissions and payments to our advisor for reimbursement of certain organization and offering expenses. During the acquisition and development stage, the Company expects to make payments to our advisor in connection with the selection or purchase of investments, the management of our assets and costs incurred by our advisor in providing services to us. For a discussion of the compensation to be paid to our advisor, see “ Fees and Expenses Paid in Connection With the Operations of the Company”, included in Note E - Related Party Transactions and Arrangements in Part II, Item 8 Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information. The advisory agreement has a one-year term but may be renewed for an unlimited number of successive one-year periods upon the mutual consent of our advisor and our board of directors.
Management Compensation Summary
The following table summarizes all compensation and fees incurred by us and paid or payable to our Advisor and its affiliates in connection with our organization, our initial public offering and our operations for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.
Distributions
The Company intends to continue making regular cash distributions to its stockholders, typically on a monthly basis. The actual amount and timing of distributions will be determined by our board of directors in its discretion and typically will depend on the amount of funds available for distribution, which is impacted by current and projected cash requirements, tax considerations and other factors. As a result, our distribution rate and payment frequency may vary from time to time. However, to qualify as a REIT for tax purposes, the Company must make distributions equal to at least 90% of its “REIT taxable income” each year.
On October 3, 2012, the Company confirmed that its board of directors had approved a plan for payment of initial monthly cash distributions of $0.045 per share. On January 25, 2013, the Company issued a press release announcing that its board of directors had approved an increase in its monthly distribution rate on its common shares to an annualized distribution rate of 6.2 percent, or $0.558 per share annually and $0.0465 per share monthly, assuming a purchase price of $9.00 per share. The distribution rate, which had previously been 6 percent, increased beginning with the January 2013 distribution. On June 4, 2013, the Company issued a press release announcing that its board of directors has approved an increase in its monthly distribution rate on its common shares to an annualized distribution rate of 6.7%, or $0.60 per share annually and $0.05025 monthly assuming a purchase price of $9.00 per share. The Company anticipates paying future distributions monthly in arrears, with a record date on the 24th of each month and distributions paid on the 10th day of the following month (or the next business day if the 10th is not a business day).
From inception through December 31, 2015, the Company has paid approximately $7.0 million in distributions including approximately $1.7 million in DRIP distributions to the Company’s stockholders, all of which have constituted a return of capital. Our total distributions paid for the period presented, the sources of such distributions, the cash flows provided by (used in) operations and the number of shares of common stock issued pursuant to our distribution reinvestment plan, or DRIP, are detailed below.
To date, all distributions have been paid from offering proceeds and represent a return of capital.
The Company may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to fully fund distributions. All or a portion of the distributions may be paid from other sources, such as cash flows from financing activities, borrowings, cash advances from our Advisor, or by way of waiver or deferral of fees. The Company has not established any limit on the extent to which distributions could be funded from these other sources. Accordingly, the amount of distributions paid may not reflect current cash flow from operations and distributions may include a return of capital, rather than a return on capital. If the Company continues to pay distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations, the funds available to the Company for investments would be reduced and the share value may be diluted. The level of distributions will be determined by the board of directors and depend on a number of factors including current and projected liquidity requirements, anticipated operating cash flows and tax considerations, and other relevant items deemed applicable by the board of directors.
Related-Party Transactions and Arrangements
The Company has entered into agreements with affiliates of its Sponsor, whereby the Company will pay certain fees or reimbursements to the Advisor or its affiliates in connection with, among other things, acquisition and financing activities, asset and property management services and reimbursement of operating and offering related costs. See Note E - Related Party Transactions and Arrangements in Part II, Item 8 Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of the various related party transactions, agreements and fees.
Inflation
The Company expects to include provisions in its tenant leases designed to protect the Company from the impact of inflation. These provisions will include reimbursement billings for operating expense pass-through charges, real estate tax and insurance reimbursements, or in some cases annual reimbursement of operating expenses above a certain allowance. Due to the generally long-term nature of these leases, annual rent increases may not be sufficient to cover inflation and rent may be below market.
Income Taxes
The Company is organized and conducts operations to qualify as a REIT under Sections 856 to 860 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and to comply with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code with respect thereto. A REIT is generally not subject to federal income tax on that portion of its REIT taxable income (“Taxable Income”), which is distributed to its stockholders, provided that at least 90% of Taxable Income is distributed and provided that certain other requirements are met. Our Taxable Income may substantially exceed or be less than our net income as determined based on GAAP, because, differences in GAAP and taxable net income consist primarily of allowances for loan losses or doubtful account, write-downs on real estate held for sale, amortization of deferred financing cost, capital gains and losses, and deferred income.
A tax benefit from an uncertain tax position may be recognized when it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon examination, including resolutions of any related appeals or litigation process, based on the technical merits. Based on our evaluation, the Company has concluded that there are no significant uncertain tax positions requiring recognition on the financial statements. The net income tax provision for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 was approximately zero.
REIT Compliance
The Company filed as a REIT for federal income tax purposes effective for the year ended December 31, 2013: therefore, the Company generally will not be subject to federal income tax on income that is distributed to the stockholders. If the Company fails to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, including and after the taxable year in which the Company initially elects to be taxed as a REIT, the Company will be subject to federal income taxes on the taxable income at regular corporate rates and will not be permitted to qualify for treatment as a REIT for federal income tax purposes for four years following the year in which qualification is denied. Failing to qualify as a REIT could materially and adversely affect the Company’s net income.
To qualify as a REIT for tax purposes, the Company will be required to distribute at least 90% of the REIT taxable income to the stockholders. The Company must also meet certain asset and income tests, as well as other requirements. The Company will monitor the business and transactions that may potentially impact the REIT status. If the Company fails to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, the Company will be subject to federal income taxes (including any applicable alternative minimum tax) on our taxable income at regular corporate rates. The Company believes it has met all the required criteria to qualify as a REIT for tax purposes as of December 31, 2015.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
The Company had no off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2015.
Critical Accounting Policies
The Company’s accounting policies have been established to conform with GAAP. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to use judgment in the application of accounting policies, including making estimates and assumptions. These judgments affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. If management’s judgment or interpretation of the facts and circumstances relating to various transactions is different, it is possible that different accounting policies will be applied or different amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses will be recorded, resulting in a different presentation of the financial statements or different amounts reported in the financial statements. Additionally, other companies may utilize different estimates that may impact comparability of our results of operations to those of companies in similar businesses. Below is a discussion of the accounting policies that management considers to be most critical once we commence significant operations. These policies require complex judgment in their application or estimates about matters that are inherently uncertain.
Real Estate Investments
Investments in real estate are recorded at cost. Improvements and replacements are capitalized when they extend the useful life of the asset. Costs of repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of up to 40 years for buildings, 15 years for land improvements, five years for fixtures and the shorter of the useful life or the remaining lease term for tenant improvements and leasehold interests.
We are required to make subjective assessments as to the useful lives of our properties for purposes of determining the amount of depreciation to record on an annual basis with respect to our investments in real estate. These assessments have a direct impact on our net income because if we were to shorten the expected useful lives of our investments in real estate, we would depreciate these investments over fewer years, resulting in more depreciation expense and lower net income on an annual basis.
We are required to present the operations related to properties that have been sold or properties that are intended to be sold, as discontinued operations in the statement of operations for all periods presented. Properties that are intended to be sold are to be designated as “held for sale” on the balance sheet.
Purchase Price Allocation
We allocate the purchase price of acquired properties to tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired based on their respective fair values. Tangible assets include land, land improvements, buildings, fixtures and tenant improvements on an as-if vacant basis. We utilize various estimates, processes and information to determine the as-if vacant property value. Estimates of value are made using customary methods, including data from appraisals, comparable sales, discounted cash flow analysis and other methods. Amounts allocated to land, land improvements, buildings and fixtures are based on cost segregation studies performed by independent third parties or on our analysis of comparable properties in our portfolio. Identifiable intangible assets include amounts allocated to acquire leases for above- and below-market lease rates, the value of in-place leases, and the value of customer relationships, as applicable.
The aggregate value of intangible assets related to in-place leases is primarily the difference between the property valued with existing in-place leases adjusted to market rental rates and the property valued as if vacant. Factors considered by us in our analysis of the in-place lease intangibles include an estimate of carrying costs during the expected lease-up period for each property, taking into account current market conditions and costs to execute similar leases. In estimating carrying costs, we will include real estate taxes, insurance and other operating expenses and estimates of lost rentals at market rates during the expected lease-up period. Estimates of costs to execute similar leases including leasing commissions, legal and other related expenses are also utilized.
Above-market and below-market in-place lease values for owned properties are recorded based on the present value (using an interest rate which reflects the risks associated with the leases acquired) of the difference between the contractual amounts to be paid pursuant to the in-place leases and management’s estimate of fair market lease rates for the corresponding in-place leases, measured over a period equal to the remaining non-cancelable term of the lease. The capitalized above-market lease intangibles are amortized as a decrease to rental income over the remaining term of the lease. The capitalized below-market lease values will be amortized as an increase to rental income over the remaining term and any fixed rate renewal periods provided within the respective leases. In determining the amortization period for below-market lease intangibles, we initially will consider, and periodically evaluate on a quarterly basis, the likelihood that a lessee will execute the renewal option. The likelihood that a lessee will execute the renewal option is determined by taking into consideration the tenant’s payment history, the financial condition of the tenant, business conditions in the industry in which the tenant operates and economic conditions in the area in which the property is located.
The aggregate value of intangible assets related to customer relationship, as applicable, is measured based on our evaluation of the specific characteristics of each tenant’s lease and our overall relationship with the tenant. Characteristics considered by us in determining these values include the nature and extent of our existing business relationships with the tenant, growth prospects for developing new business with the tenant, the tenant’s credit quality and expectations of lease renewals, among other factors.
The value of in-place leases is amortized to expense over the initial term of the respective leases. The value of customer relationship intangibles is amortized to expense over the initial term and any renewal periods in the respective leases, but in no event does the amortization period for intangible assets exceed the remaining depreciable life of the building. If a tenant terminates its lease, the unamortized portion of the in-place lease value and customer relationship intangibles is charged to expense.
In making estimates of fair values for purposes of allocating purchase price, we will utilize a number of sources, including independent appraisals that may be obtained in connection with the acquisition or financing of the respective property and other market data. We will also consider information obtained about each property as a result of our pre-acquisition due diligence, as well as subsequent marketing and leasing activities, in estimating the fair value of the tangible and intangible assets acquired and intangible liabilities assumed.
Deferred Costs
Deferred costs may consist of deferred financing costs, deferred offering costs and deferred leasing costs. Deferred financing costs represent commitment fees, legal fees, and other costs associated with obtaining commitments for financing. These costs are amortized over the terms of the respective financing agreements using the effective interest method. Unamortized deferred financing costs are expensed when the associated debt is refinanced or repaid before maturity. Costs incurred in seeking financial transactions that do not close are expensed in the period in which it is determined that the financing will not close.
Deferred offering costs represent professional fees, fees paid to various regulatory agencies, and other costs incurred in connection with registering to sell shares of our common stock. As of December 31, 2012, such costs totaled approximately $2.1 million. As we effectively commenced operations on January 1, 2013, the offering costs previously deferred were being amortized to expense as offering costs over 12 months on a straight-line basis. These costs were fully amortized as of December 31, 2013.
Contractual Obligations
The following is a summary of our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2015:
Subsequent Events
Status of Offering
The Company commenced its initial public offering of its common stock on September 25, 2012 and terminated the offering in September 2015. As of March 29, 2016, the Company had accepted investors’ subscriptions for, and issued, 11,068,487 shares of common stock, including shares issued pursuant to the distribution reinvestment plan. The Company received net cash proceeds of approximately $75,348,000, additionally the Company issued shares valued at $19,484,000 for contributed properties.
ITEM 7A.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
The Company is exposed to the effects of interest rate changes primarily as a result of debt used to maintain liquidity and fund expansion of the Company’s real estate investment portfolio and operations. One of the Company’s interest rate risk management objectives is to limit the impact of interest rate changes on cash flows. To achieve this objective, the Company may borrow at fixed rates or fix the variable rates of interest on variable interest rate borrowings through the use of interest rate swaps. The Company may enter into derivative financial instruments such as interest rate swaps and caps in order to mitigate the Company’s interest rate risk on a related financial instrument. The Company will not enter into derivative or interest rate transactions for speculative purposes. The Company is exposed to credit risk of the counterparty to these interest rate swap agreements in the event of non-performance under the terms of the derivative contracts. In the event of non-performance by the counterparty, if the Company is not able to replace these swaps, the Company would be subject to the variability of interest rates on the total amount of debt outstanding under the mortgage.
Market risk includes risks that arise from changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, commodity prices, equity prices and other market changes that affect market sensitive instruments. In pursuing the Company’s business plan, the Company expects that the primary market risk to which the Company will be exposed is interest rate risk.
As of December 31, 2015, the Company’s debt consisted of approximately $29.0 million in fixed rate debt and no variable rate debt. Changes in interest rates have different impacts on the fixed rate and variable rate debt. A change in interest rates on fixed rate debt impacts its fair value but has no impact on interest incurred or cash flows. A change in interest rates on variable rate debt could impact the interest incurred and cash flows and its fair value.
Interest rate risk amounts were determined by considering the impact of hypothetical interest rates on the Company’s financial instruments. These analyses do not consider the effect of any change in overall economic activity that could occur. Further, in the event of a change of that magnitude, the Company may take actions to further mitigate our exposure to the change. However, due to the uncertainty of the specific actions that would be taken and their possible effects, these analyses assume no changes in the Company’s financial structure.
The following table summarizes annual debt maturities, average interest rates and estimated fair values on the Company’s outstanding debt as of December 31, 2015:
ITEM 8.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Page
REPORTS OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Consolidated Balance Sheets
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Consolidated Statements of Equity
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
MVP REIT, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of MVP REIT, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the related consolidated statements of operations, equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2015. Our audits also included the consolidated financial statement schedule. These consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of MVP REIT, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2015, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also in our opinion, the related consolidated financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.
/s/ RBSM LLP
New York, New York
March 29, 2016
MVP REIT, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
MVP REIT, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
MVP REIT, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
MVP REIT, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
MVP REIT, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
(Continued)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
MVP REIT, Inc.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
December 31, 2015
Note A - Organization, Proposed Business Operations and Capitalization
Organization and Business
MVP REIT, Inc. (the “Company” or “MVP”) was incorporated on April 3, 2012 as a Maryland corporation, and has elected to be taxed, and operates in a manner that will allow the Company to qualify as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes beginning with the taxable year ended December 31, 2013. Pursuant to its initial public offering (the “Offering”), which closed in September 2015, the Company received net consideration of approximately $97.3 million for the issuance and sale of its common stock. Of this amount, approximately $19.5 million of shares were issued in consideration of the contribution of commercial properties to the Company. The Company has also registered up to $50 million for the issuance of common stock pursuant to a distribution reinvestment plan (the “DRIP”) under which common stockholders may elect to have their distributions reinvested in additional shares of common stock.
The Company operates as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”). The Company is not a mutual fund or an investment company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, nor is the Company subject to any regulation thereunder. As a REIT, the Company is required to have a December 31 fiscal year end. Among other requirements, REITs are required to satisfy certain gross income and asset tests, which may affect the composition of assets the Company acquires with the proceeds from its public offering. In addition, REITs are required to distribute to stockholders at least 90% of their annual REIT taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gain).
The Company’s investment strategy was originally to invest available net proceeds from its Offering in direct investments in real property and real estate secured loans that meet the Company’s investment objectives and strategies. In March 2014, the Company’s board of directors approved a plan to increase the focus of the Company’s investment strategy on parking and self-storage facilities located throughout the United States as the Company’s core assets. As part of this strategy, the Company exchanged office properties with affiliated entities to exchange all of its ownership interests in certain non-core assets (consisting of four office buildings) for all of the affiliated entities’ ownership interests in five parking facilities and one self-storage facility. The property exchanges were consummated on April 30, 2014.
In June 2014, the Company’s board decided to further focus its efforts primarily on parking facilities. Additionally, during July and August, 2014, the Company sold its membership interest in the two remaining office buildings producing net rental income owned by the Company to Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc., a Maryland corporation and OTC Market-listed company (“VRM I”) and Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc., a Maryland corporation and Nasdaq-listed company (“VRM II”). The Company may, from time to time, invest in non-core assets, including investments in companies that manage real estate or mortgage investment companies; however, the Company has agreed that no more than 25% of the gross proceeds from the Offering will be used to invest in real properties other than parking facilities.
On October 3, 2012, the Company confirmed that its board of directors had approved a plan for payment of initial monthly cash distributions of $0.045 per share. On January 25, 2013, the Company issued a press release announcing that its board of directors had approved an increase in its monthly distribution rate on its common shares to an annualized distribution rate of 6.2 percent, or $0.558 per share annually or $0.0465 monthly, assuming a purchase price of $9.00 per share. The distribution, previously 6 percent, increased beginning with the January 2013 distribution, paid to stockholders of record as of January 24, 2013 on February 10, 2013. On June 4, 2013, the Company issued a press release announcing that its board of directors has approved an increase in its monthly distribution rate on its common shares to an annualized distribution rate of 6.7 percent, assuming a purchase price of $9.00 per share or $0.05025 monthly. The Company anticipates paying future distributions monthly in arrears, with a record date on the 24th of each month and distributions paid on the 10th day of the following month (or the next business day if the 10th is not a business day).
From inception through December 31, 2015, the Company has paid approximately $7.0 million in distributions including approximately $1.7 million in DRIP distributions to the Company’s stockholders, all of which have been paid from offering proceeds and constituted a return of capital. The Company may pay distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations, including proceeds from the Offering, the sale of assets, or borrowings. The Company has no limits on the amounts it may pay from such sources. If the Company continues to pay distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations, the funds available to the Company for investments would be reduced and the share value may be diluted.
The Company’s sponsor is MVP Capital Partners, LLC (“MVPCP” or the “Sponsor”), an entity owned and managed by Michael V. Shustek, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The Company’s advisor is MVP Realty Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”). VRM II owns 60% of the Advisor, and the remaining 40% is owned by VRM I. Michael Shustek owns a significant majority of Vestin Mortgage, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, which is the manager of VRM I, VRM II and Vestin Fund III (“VF III”). The Advisor is responsible for managing the Company’s affairs on a day-to-day basis and for identifying and making investments on the Company’s behalf pursuant to an advisory agreement between the Company and the Advisor (the “Advisory Agreement”).
The Company is the sole member of its operating limited liability company, MVP Real Estate Holdings, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company (“REH”). Substantially all of the Company’s business is conducted through our wholly owned subsidiary REH. The operating agreement provides that REH is operated in a manner that enables the Company to (1) satisfy the requirements for being classified as a REIT for tax purposes, (2) avoid any federal income or excise tax liability, and (3) ensure that REH is not classified as a “publicly traded partnership” for purposes of Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code, which classification could result in REH being taxed as a corporation.
Capitalization
As of December 31, 2015 the Company had 11,002,902 shares of common stock issued and outstanding and 1,000 shares of non-voting, non-participating convertible stock, $0.001 par value, issued and outstanding (the “Convertible Stock”).
Upon formation, the Company sold 22,222 shares of common stock to the Sponsor for $200,000. In addition, upon the commencement of our offering, we issued 1,000 shares of the Convertible Stock to our advisor. After giving effect to the release of waivers and waiver agreements executed in August and September of 2014, all of which were previously disclosed in Form 8-Ks and prospectus supplements, the Convertible Stock will convert into shares of our common stock representing 3.50% of the outstanding shares of our common stock immediately preceding the conversion if and when:
(a)
the Company has made total distributions on the then outstanding common shares equal to the invested capital attributable to those shares plus a 6.00% cumulative, non-compounded, annual pre-tax return on such invested capital; or
(b) (i) the Company lists its common shares for trading on a national securities exchange and (ii) (x) the sum of the aggregate market value of the issued and outstanding common shares plus the aggregate amount of all distributions on the Company’s common shares exceeds (y) the sum of the aggregate capital contributed by investors (less any capital returned in the form of distributions) plus an amount equal to a 6% cumulative, pre-tax non-compounded annual return to investors; or
(c) the advisory agreement is terminated or not renewed, but only if at the time of such termination or non-renewal, the requirements for conversion set forth in either of the immediately preceding clause (a) or (b) also shall have been satisfied.
For purposes of such calculation, the market value of our outstanding common stock will be calculated based on the average market value of the shares of common stock issued and outstanding at listing over the 30 trading days beginning 180 days after the shares are first listed for trading on a national securities exchange.
As of December 31, 2015 the Company has received net consideration of approximately $97.3 million for the issuance of its common stock in connection with the offering. Approximately $19.5 million was a non-cash transaction recorded as part of our acquisitions of properties which are no longer part of our portfolio.
Pursuant to the DRIP, stockholders may elect to reinvest distributions by purchasing shares of common stock in lieu of receiving distributions. No dealer manager fees or selling commissions are paid with respect to shares purchased pursuant to the DRIP. Participants purchasing shares pursuant to the DRIP have the same rights and are treated in the same manner as if such shares were issued pursuant to the Offering. The board of directors may designate that certain cash or other distributions be excluded from the DRIP. The Company has the right to amend any aspect of the DRIP or terminate the DRIP with ten days’ notice to participants. Shares issued under the DRIP are recorded to equity in the accompanying balance sheets in the period distributions are declared. An investor’s participation in the DRIP will terminate automatically if the Company dishonors, or partially dishonors, any requests by such investor to redeem shares of its common stock in accordance with the Company’s share repurchase program. As of December 31, 2015, 199,895 common shares have been issued under the DRIP.
In addition, the Company has a Share Repurchase Program (“SRP”) that may provide stockholders who generally have held their shares for at least one year an opportunity to sell their shares to the Company, subject to certain restrictions and limitations. Prior to the date that the Company establishes an estimated value per share of common stock, the purchase price will be 97.5% of the purchase price paid for the shares, if redeemed at any time between the first and third anniversaries of the purchase date, and 100% of the purchase price paid if redeemed after the third anniversary. After the Company establishes an estimated value per share of common stock, the Company will repurchase shares at 100% of the estimated value per share, as determined by its board of directors and disclosed in the annual report publicly filed with the SEC.
The number of shares to be repurchased during a calendar quarter is limited to the lesser of: (i) 2.0% of the number of shares of common stock outstanding on December 31 of the prior calendar year, and (ii) those repurchases that can be funded from the net proceeds of the sale of shares under the DRIP in the prior calendar year. The board of directors may also limit the amounts available for repurchase at any time at its sole discretion. The SRP will terminate if the shares of common stock are listed on a national securities exchange. Effective as of December 14, 2014, the Company has amended the SRP to provide that it will agree to satisfy all repurchase requests made in connection with the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of a stockholder in accordance with the terms of the SRP within 15 days following the Company’s receipt of such repurchase request or as soon as practicable thereafter. Redemption requests other than those made in connection with the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of a stockholder will continue to be repurchased as of March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 of each year in accordance with the terms of the SRP. As of December 31, 2015, the Company redeemed 53,310 shares through the share repurchase program (“SRP”). For the period from January 1, 2016 through the date of this filing, the Company has redeemed an additional 1,670 shares and has pending requests to redeem an additional 47,005 shares, which exceed the amount allowable for 2015 repurchase by approximately $0.4 million. These shares will be redeemed on March 31, 2016.
Note B - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Accounting
The consolidated financial statements of the Company are prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). In the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments considered necessary to give a fair presentation of operating results for the periods presented have been included.
Consolidation
The Company’s consolidated financial statements include its accounts and the accounts of its subsidiaries, REH and all of the subsidiaries of REH: MVP MS Cedar Park 2012, LLC; MVP PF Ft. Lauderdale, LLC; MVP PF Memphis Court, LLC; MVP PF Memphis Poplar, LLC; MVP PF St. Louis, LLC; MVP PF Kansas City, LLC; MVP MS Red Mountain 2013, LLC; Mabley Place Garage; LLC, MVP Denver Sherman; LLC, MVP Fort Worth Taylor, LLC; MVP Milwaukee Old World, LLC; MVP St. Louis Convention Plaza, LLC; MVP Houston Saks Garage, LLC; MVP St. Louis Lucas, LLC, MVP Milwaukee Wells, LLC, MVP Wildwood NJ Lot, LLC, MVP Indianapolis City Park Garage, LLC, MVP KC Cherry Lot, LLC and MVP Indianapolis Washington Street Lot, LLC, as well as the Company’s assets that were sold during 2015. All intercompany profits and losses, balances and transactions are eliminated in consolidation.
Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), the Company’s consolidated financial statements will also include the accounts of its consolidated subsidiaries and joint ventures in which the Company is the primary beneficiary, or in which the Company has a controlling interest. In determining whether the Company has a controlling interest in a joint venture and the requirement to consolidate the accounts of that entity, the Company’s management considers factors such as an entity’s purpose and design and the Company’s ability to direct the activities of the entity that most significantly impacts the entity’s economic performance, ownership interest, board representation, management representation, authority to make decisions, and contractual and substantive participating rights of the partners/members as well as whether the entity is a variable interest entity in which it will absorb the majority of the entity’s expected losses, if they occur, or receive the majority of the expected residual returns, if they occur, or both.
Equity investments in which the Company exercises significant influence but does not control and is not the primary beneficiary are accounted for using the equity method. The Company's share of its equity method investees' earnings or losses is included in other income in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. Investments in which the Company is not able to exercise significant influence over the investee are accounted for under the cost method.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Management makes significant estimates regarding revenue recognition, purchase price allocations to record investments in real estate, and derivative financial instruments and hedging activities, as applicable.
Concentration
The company has approximately six tenants. One tenant, Standard Parking + (“SP+”), consists of 76% of the Company’s rental revenue. This tenant represents a concentration for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.
Acquisitions
The Company records the acquired tangible and intangible assets and assumed liabilities of acquisitions of all operating properties and those development and redevelopment opportunities that meet the accounting criteria to be accounted for as business combinations at fair value at the acquisition date. The Company assesses and considers fair value based on estimated cash flow projections that utilize available market information and discount and/or capitalization rates that the Company deems appropriate. Estimates of future cash flows are based on a number of factors including historical operating results, known and anticipated trends, and market and economic conditions. The acquired assets and assumed liabilities for an operating property acquisition generally include but are not limited to: land, buildings and improvements, construction in progress and identified tangible and intangible assets and liabilities associated with in-place leases, including tenant improvements, leasing costs, value of above-market and below-market operating leases and ground leases, acquired in-place lease values and tenant relationships, if any.
The fair value of land is derived from comparable sales of land within the same submarket and/or region. The fair value of buildings and improvements, tenant improvements, and leasing costs are based upon current market replacement costs and other relevant market rate information.
The fair value of the above-market or below-market component of an acquired in-place operating lease is based upon the present value (calculated using a market discount rate) of the difference between (i) the contractual rents to be paid pursuant to the lease over its remaining non-cancellable lease term and (ii) management's estimate of the rents that would be paid using fair market rental rates and rent escalations at the date of acquisition measured over the remaining non-cancellable term of the lease for above-market operating leases and the initial non-cancellable term plus the term of any below-market fixed rate renewal options, if applicable, for below-market operating leases. The amounts recorded for above-market operating leases are included in deferred leasing costs and acquisition-related intangibles, net on the balance sheet and are amortized on a straight-line basis as a reduction of rental income over the remaining term of the applicable leases. The amounts recorded for below-market operating leases are included in deferred revenue and acquisition-related liabilities, net on the balance sheet and are amortized on a straight-line basis as an increase to rental income over the remaining term of the applicable leases plus the term of any below-market fixed rate renewal options, if applicable. Our below-market operating leases generally do not include fixed rate or below-market renewal options.
The fair value of acquired in-place leases is derived based on management's assessment of lost revenue and costs incurred for the period required to lease the “assumed vacant” property to the occupancy level when purchased. This fair value is based on a variety of considerations including, but not necessarily limited to: (1) the value associated with avoiding the cost of originating the acquired in-place leases; (2) the value associated with lost revenue related to tenant reimbursable operating costs estimated to be incurred during the assumed lease-up period; and (3) the value associated with lost rental revenue from existing leases during the assumed lease-up period. Factors considered by us in performing these analyses include an estimate of the carrying costs during the expected lease-up periods, current market conditions, and costs to execute similar leases. In estimating carrying costs, the Company includes real estate taxes, insurance and other operating expenses, and estimates of lost rental revenue during the expected lease-up periods based on current market demand at market rates.
In estimating costs to execute similar leases, the Company considers leasing commissions, legal and other related expenses. The amount recorded for acquired in-place leases is included in deferred leasing costs and acquisition-related intangibles, net on the balance sheet and amortized as an increase to depreciation and amortization expense over the remaining term of the applicable leases. If a lease were to be terminated or if termination were determined to be likely prior to its contractual expiration (for example resulting from bankruptcy), amortization of the related unamortized in-place lease intangible would be accelerated.
The determination of the fair value of any debt assumed in connection with a property acquisition is estimated by discounting the future cash flows using interest rates available for the issuance of debt with similar terms and remaining maturities.
The determination of the fair value of the acquired tangible and intangible assets and assumed liabilities of operating property acquisitions requires us to make significant judgments and assumptions about the numerous inputs discussed above. The use of different assumptions in these fair value calculations could significantly affect the reported amounts of the allocation of our acquisition related assets and liabilities and the related amortization and depreciation expense recorded for such assets and liabilities. In addition, because the value of above and below market leases are amortized as either a reduction or increase to rental income, respectively, our judgments for these intangibles could have a significant impact on our reported rental revenues and results of operations.
Costs directly associated with all operating property acquisitions and those development and redevelopment acquisitions that meet the accounting criteria to be accounted for as business combinations are expensed as incurred. During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company expensed approximately $2,649,000 of related party and $678,000 non-related party acquisition costs. Our acquisition expenses are directly related to our acquisition activity and if our acquisition activity was to increase or decrease, so would our acquisition costs. Costs directly associated with development acquisitions accounted for as asset acquisitions are capitalized as part of the cost of the acquisition. During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company did not capitalize any such acquisition costs.
Impairment of Long Lived Assets
When circumstances indicate the carrying value of a property may not be recoverable, the Company reviews the asset for impairment. This review is based on an estimate of the future undiscounted cash flows, excluding interest charges, expected to result from the property’s use and eventual disposition. These estimates consider factors such as expected future operating income, market and other applicable trends and residual value, as well as the effects of leasing demand, competition and other factors. If impairment exists, due to the inability to recover the carrying value of a property, an impairment loss is recorded to the extent that the carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value of the property for properties to be held and used. For properties held for sale, the impairment loss is the adjustment to fair value less estimated cost to dispose of the asset. These assessments have a direct impact on net income because recording an impairment loss results in an immediate negative adjustment to net income.
Derivative Instruments
The Company may use derivative financial instruments to hedge all or a portion of the interest rate risk associated with its borrowings. Certain techniques used to hedge exposure to interest rate fluctuations may also be used to protect against declines in the market value of assets that result from general trends in debt markets. The principal objective of such agreements is to minimize the risks and/or costs associated with the Company’s operating and financial structure as well as to hedge specific anticipated transactions.
The Company records all derivatives on the balance sheet at fair value. The accounting for changes in the fair value of derivatives depends on the intended use of the derivative, whether the Company has elected to designate a derivative in a hedging relationship and apply hedge accounting and whether the hedging relationship has satisfied the criteria necessary to apply hedge accounting. Derivatives designated and qualifying as a hedge of the exposure to changes in the fair value of an asset, liability, or firm commitment attributable to a particular risk, such as interest rate risk, are considered fair value hedges. Derivatives designated and qualifying as a hedge of the exposure to variability in expected future cash flows, or other types of forecasted transactions, are considered cash flow hedges. Derivatives may also be designated as hedges of the foreign currency exposure of a net investment in a foreign operation. Hedge accounting generally provides for the matching of the timing of gain or loss recognition on the hedging instrument with the recognition of the changes in the fair value of the hedged asset or liability that are attributable to the hedged risk in a fair value hedge or the earnings effect of the hedged forecasted transactions in a cash flow hedge. The Company may enter into derivative contracts that are intended to economically hedge certain of its risk, even though hedge accounting does not apply or the Company elects not to apply hedge accounting.
The accounting for subsequent changes in the fair value of these derivatives depends on whether each has been designed and qualifies for hedge accounting treatment. If the Company elects not to apply hedge accounting treatment, any changes in the fair value of these derivative instruments is recognized immediately in gains (losses) on derivative instruments in the consolidated statement of operations. If the derivative is designated and qualifies for hedge accounting treatment, the change in the estimated fair value of the derivative is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) to the extent that it is effective. Any ineffective portion of a derivative’s change in fair value will be immediately recognized in earnings.
Cash
The Company maintains the majority of its cash balances in a national financial institution located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The balances are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under the same ownership category up to at least $250,000. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company had approximately $9.1 million and approximately $13.3 million in excess of the federally-insured limits, respectively.
Restricted Cash
Restricted cash primarily consists of escrowed tenant improvement funds, real estate taxes, capital improvement funds, insurance premiums, and other amounts required to be escrowed pursuant to loan agreements.
Revenue Recognition
The Company’s revenues, which will be derived primarily from rental income, include rents that each tenant pays in accordance with the terms of each lease reported on a straight-line basis over the initial term of the lease. Since some of the Company’s leases will provide for rental increases at specified intervals, straight-line basis accounting requires the Company to record a receivable, and include in revenues, unbilled rent receivables that the Company will only receive if the tenant makes all rent payments required through the expiration of the initial term of the lease.
The Company may recognize interest income from loans on an accrual basis over the expected terms of the loans using the effective interest method. The Company may recognize fees, discounts, premiums, anticipated exit fees and direct cost over the terms of the loans as an adjustment to the yield. The Company may recognize fees on commitments that expire unused at expiration. The Company may recognize interest income from available-for-sale securities on an accrual basis over the life of the investment on a yield-to-maturity basis.
The Company will continually review receivables related to rent and unbilled rent receivables and determine collectability by taking into consideration the tenant’s payment history, the financial condition of the tenant, business conditions in the industry in which the tenant operates and economic conditions in the area in which the property is located. In the event that the collectability of a receivable is in doubt, the Company will record an increase in the Company’s allowance for uncollectible accounts or record a direct write-off of the receivable in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.
Advertising Costs
Advertising costs incurred in the normal course of operations are expensed as incurred. During the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company had no advertising costs.
Investments in Real Estate and Fixed Assets
Investments in real estate and fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided principally on the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, which are primarily 3 to 40 years. The cost of repairs and maintenance is charged to expense as incurred. Expenditures for property betterments and renewals are capitalized. Upon sale or other disposition of a depreciable asset, cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any gain or loss is reflected in other income (expense).
The Company periodically evaluates whether events and circumstances have occurred that may warrant revision of the estimated useful lives of fixed assets or whether the remaining balance of fixed assets should be evaluated for possible impairment. The Company uses an estimate of the related undiscounted cash flows over the remaining life of the fixed assets in measuring their recoverability.
Investments in Real Estate Loans
Subject to the restrictions on related-party transactions set forth in the Company’s charter, the Company may, from time to time, acquire or sell investments in real estate loans from or to the advisor or other related parties without a premium. The primary purpose is to either free up capital to provide liquidity for various reasons, such as loan diversification, or place excess capital in investments to maximize the use of our capital. Selling or buying loans allows us to diversify our loan portfolio within these parameters. Due to the short-term nature of the loans the Company makes and the similarity of interest rates in loans the Company normally would invest in, the fair value of a loan typically approximates its carrying value. Accordingly, discounts or premiums typically do not apply upon sales of loans and therefore, generally no gain or loss is recorded on these transactions, regardless of whether to a related or unrelated party.
Investments in real estate loans are secured by deeds of trust or mortgages. Generally, our real estate loans require interest only payments with a balloon payment of the principal at maturity. The Company has both the intent and ability to hold real estate loans until maturity and therefore, real estate loans are classified and accounted for as held for investment and are carried at amortized cost. Loans sold to or purchased from affiliates are accounted for at the principal balance and no gain or loss is recognized by us or any affiliate. Loan-to-value ratios are initially based on appraisals obtained at the time of loan origination and are updated, when new appraisals are received or when management’s assessment of the value has changed, to reflect subsequent changes in value estimates. Such appraisals are generally dated within 12 months of the date of loan origination and may be commissioned by the borrower.
The Company considers a loan to be impaired when, based upon current information and events, it believes it is probable that the Company will be unable to collect all amounts due according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement. The Company’s impaired loans include troubled debt restructuring, and performing and non-performing loans in which full payment of principal or interest is not expected. The Company calculates an allowance required for impaired loans based on the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the loan’s effective interest rate, or at the loan’s observable market price or the fair value of its collateral.
Loans that have been modified from their original terms are evaluated to determine if the loan meets the definition of a Troubled Debt Restructuring (“TDR”) as defined by ASC 310-40. When the Company modifies the terms of an existing loan that is considered a TDR, it is considered performing as long as it is in compliance with the modified terms of the loan agreement. If the modification calls for deferred interest, it is recorded as interest income as cash is collected.
Allowance for Loan Losses
The Company maintains an allowance for loan losses to the extent it makes investments in real estate loans for estimated credit impairment. The Company’s estimate of losses is based on a number of factors including the types and dollar amounts of loans in the portfolio, adverse situations that may affect the borrower’s ability to repay, prevailing economic conditions and the underlying collateral securing the loan. Additions to the allowance are provided through a charge to earnings and are based on an assessment of certain factors, which may indicate estimated losses on the loans. Actual losses on loans are recorded first as a reduction to the allowance for loan losses. Generally, subsequent recoveries of amounts previously charged off are recognized as income.
Estimating allowances for loan losses requires significant judgment about the underlying collateral, including liquidation value, condition of the collateral, competency and cooperation of the related borrower and specific legal issues that affect loan collections or taking possession of the property. As a commercial real estate lender willing to invest in loans to borrowers who may not meet the credit standards of other financial institutional lenders, the default rate on our loans could be higher than those generally experienced in the real estate lending industry. The Company and the Advisor generally approve loans more quickly than other real estate lenders and, due to our expedited underwriting process; there is a risk that the credit inquiry performed will not reveal all material facts pertaining to a borrower and the security.
Additional facts and circumstances may be discovered as the Company continues efforts in the collection and foreclosure processes. This additional information often causes management to reassess its estimates. Circumstances that may cause significant changes in our estimated allowance include, but are not limited to:
·
Declines in real estate market conditions, which can cause a decrease in expected market value;
·
Discovery of undisclosed liens for community improvement bonds, easements and delinquent property taxes;
·
Lack of progress on real estate developments after the Company advances funds. The Company customarily utilizes disbursement agents to monitor the progress of real estate developments and approve loan advances. After further inspection of the related property, progress on construction occasionally does not substantiate an increase in value to support the related loan advances;
·
Unanticipated legal or business issues that may arise subsequent to loan origination or upon the sale of foreclosed property; and
·
Appraisals, which are only opinions of value at the time of the appraisal, may not accurately reflect the value of the property.
Organization, Offering and Related Costs
Certain organization, offering and related costs, including legal, accounting, printing, marketing expenses and the salaries and direct expenses of the employees of the Advisor and its affiliates, will be incurred by the Advisor on behalf of the Company. After the Company has reimbursed $100,000 of such costs, which has been paid to the Advisor, no additional reimbursements will be made unless the aggregate amount of such reimbursements does not exceed 0.75% of the gross offering proceeds as of the date of reimbursement. Prior to the commencement of our operations, such offering costs had been deferred and such deferred offering costs have been amortized to expense as offering costs over the 12 month period commencing January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013, on a straight-line basis.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company has a stock-based incentive award plan, which is accounted for under the guidance for share based payments. The expense for such awards will be included in general and administrative expenses and is recognized over the vesting period or when the requirements for exercise of the award have been met (See Note G - Stock-Based Compensation).
Income Taxes
The Company has elected, and operates in a manner that will allow the Company, to qualify to be taxed as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2013. If the Company qualifies for taxation as a REIT, it generally will not be subject to federal corporate income tax to the extent it distributes all of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders, and so long as it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income. REITs are subject to a number of other organizational and operational requirements. Even if the Company qualifies to be taxed as a REIT, it may be subject to certain state and local taxes on its income and property, and federal income and excise taxes on its undistributed income.
Per Share Data
The Company calculates basic earnings per share by dividing net income for the period by weighted-average shares of its common stock outstanding for a respective period. Diluted earnings per share takes into account the effect of dilutive instruments, such as stock options and convertible stock, but uses the average share price for the period in determining the number of incremental shares that are to be added to the weighted-average number of shares outstanding. The Company had no outstanding common share equivalents during the year ended December 31, 2015.
In September 2012, upon the commencement of our offering, we issued 1,000 shares of convertible stock to our advisor.
After giving effect to the release of waivers and waiver agreements executed in August and September of 2014, all of which were previously disclosed in Form 8-Ks and prospectus supplements, the convertible stock will convert into shares of our common stock representing 3.50% of the outstanding shares of our common stock immediately preceding the conversion if and when:
(a) the Company has made total distributions on the then outstanding common shares equal to the invested capital attributable to those shares plus a 6.00% cumulative, non-compounded, annual pre-tax return on such invested capital; or
(b) (i) the Company lists its common shares for trading on a national securities exchange and (ii) (x) the sum of the aggregate market value of the issued and outstanding common shares plus the aggregate amount of all distributions on the Company’s common shares exceeds (y) the sum of the aggregate capital contributed by investors (less any capital returned in the form of distributions) plus an amount equal to a 6% cumulative, pre-tax non-compounded annual return to investors; or
(c) the advisory agreement is terminated or not renewed, but only if at the time of such termination or non-renewal, the requirements for conversion set forth in either of the immediately preceding clause (a) or (b) also shall have been satisfied.
For purposes of such calculation, the market value of our outstanding common stock will be calculated based on the average market value of the shares of common stock issued and outstanding at listing over the 30 trading days beginning 180 days after the shares are first listed for trading on a national securities exchange.
Reportable Segments
The Company is currently authorized to operate two reportable segments, investments in real estate loans and investments in real property. As of December 31, 2015, the Company only operates in the investment in real property segment.
Reclassifications
Amounts listed in connection with assets held for sale (including liabilities related to assets held for sale), restricted cash and deposits in the 2014 consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the December 31, 2015 presentation.
Accounting and Auditing Standards Applicable to “Emerging Growth Companies”
The Company is an “emerging growth company” under the recently enacted JOBS Act. For as long as the Company remains an “emerging growth company,” which may be up to five fiscal years, the Company is not required to (1) comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies, (2) provide an auditor’s attestation report on management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (3) comply with any new requirements adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, requiring mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report in which the auditor would be required to provide additional information about the audit and the financial statements of the issuer or (4) comply with any new audit rules adopted by the PCAOB after April 5, 2012, unless the SEC determines otherwise. The Company intends to take advantage of such extended transition period. Since the Company will not be required to comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for other public companies, the Company’s financial statements may not be comparable to the financial statements of companies that comply with public company effective dates. If the Company were to subsequently elect to instead comply with these public company effective dates, such election would be irrevocable pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act.
Non-controlling Interests
The FASB issued authoritative guidance for non-controlling interests in December 2007, which establishes accounting and reporting standards for the non-controlling interest in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a subsidiary. The guidance clarifies that a non-controlling interest in a subsidiary, which is sometimes referred to as an unconsolidated investment, is an ownership interest in the consolidated entity that should be reported as a component of equity in the consolidated financial statements. Among other requirements, the guidance requires consolidated net income to be reported at amounts attributable to both the parent and the non-controlling interest. It also requires disclosure, on the face of the consolidated income statement, of the amounts of consolidated net income attributable to the parent and to the non-controlling interest.
Note C - Commitments and Contingencies
Litigation
In the ordinary course of business, the Company may become subject to litigation or claims. There are no material legal proceedings pending or known to be contemplated against the Company.
Environmental Matters
In connection with the ownership and operation of real estate, the Company may potentially be liable for costs and damages related to environmental matters. During the Company’s due diligence of a property located in Milwaukee it was discovered that the soil and ground water at the subject property had been impacted by the site’s historical use as a printing press as well as neighboring property uses. As a result, the company has retained a local environmental engineer to seek a closure letter or similar certificate of no further action from the State of Wisconsin due to the Company’s use of the property as a parking lot. As of December 31, 2015 management does not anticipate a material adverse effect related to this environmental matter. Please see Note I Acquisitions for further information regarding the acquisition of the Milwaukee property. The Company has not been notified by any governmental authority of any non-compliance, liability or other claim, and is not aware of any other environmental condition that it believes will have a material adverse effect on the results of operations.
Note D - Investments in Real Estate
As of December 31, 2015, the company has the following Investments in Real Estate:
*MVP REIT owns 70%, MVP REIT Owns 100% in all other properties.
** Based on investment amount.
*Operated pursuant to management agreement with SP+
Note E - Related Party Transactions and Arrangements
The transactions described in this Note were approved by a majority of the Company’s board of directors (including a majority of the independent directors) not otherwise interested in such transaction as fair and reasonable to the Company and on terms and conditions no less favorable to the Company than those available from unaffiliated third parties.
Accounting services
The Company has an accounting services agreement with Strategix Solutions, LLC (“Strategix Solutions”), a Nevada limited liability company owned by Ms. Gress, the Company’s CFO, for the provision of accounting and financial reporting services. Strategix Solutions also provides accounting and financial reporting services to VRM I, VRM II and Fund III. Our CFO and other members of our accounting staff are employees of Strategix Solutions. As used herein, “management” means our manager, its executive officers and the individuals at Strategix Solutions who perform accounting and financial reporting services on our behalf. During the year ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, Strategix Solutions received fees of approximately $140,000 and $13,000, respectively.
Commissions Paid
During the year ended December 30, 2015, JNL Parking, a brokerage and consulting company specializing in the parking industry and co-founded by the Company’s Chief Investment Officer and Chief Technology Officer, earned fees of approximately $0.6 million, for 1% commission on purchases.
Ownership of Company Stock
As of December 31, 2015, the Sponsor owned 22,222 shares of the Company’s outstanding common stock, VRM I owned 71,112 shares of the Company’s outstanding common stock, VF III owned 34,297 shares of the Company’s outstanding common stock, JNL Parking owned 40,857 shares of the Company’s outstanding common stock and the Advisor owned 1,000 shares of the Convertible Stock. See “Capitalization” under Note A “Organization, Proposed Business Operations and Capitalization” for further information, including a description of the terms of the Convertible Stock.
Ownership of Interests of Advisor
During April 2012, VRM II contributed $1,000 for a 40% interest in the Advisor. Mr. Shustek, through a wholly owned company named MVP Capital Partners, LLC (the “Sponsor”) contributed $1,500 for a 60% interest in the Advisor. As of June 30, 2013, VRM II and the Sponsor had loaned approximately $3.6 million and approximately $1.2 million, respectively, to the Advisor for purposes of funding the Company’s operations. On June 30, 2013, the Sponsor decided to forgive the full amount of its $1.2 million loan. VRM II has not forgiven the balance due from the Advisor. However the decision by the Sponsor to forgive the full amount of its loans created uncertainty as to when VRM II will be repaid the amounts loaned to the Advisor. Based on this uncertainty, VRM II determined to treat as fully impaired the balance of this note receivable.
In December 2013, VRM II and the Sponsor entered into a membership interest transfer agreement, dated as of December 19, 2013, pursuant to which VRM II has acquired from the Seller an additional 20% of the membership interests of the Advisor. Concurrently therewith, the Sponsor and VRM I entered into a separate membership interest transfer agreement pursuant to which VRM I acquired the remaining 40% interest in the Advisor from the Sponsor. As a result, VRM II and VRM I now own 60% and 40%, respectively, of the aggregate membership interests of the Advisor. As of December 31, 2015, VRM I and VRM II had notes receivable from the Advisor of approximately $4.2 million and $12.9 million, respectively, which amount has been fully impaired. The Advisor’s ability to repay the sums due VRM I and VRM II will likely depend upon the success of the Company’s ability to successfully deploy the offering proceeds.
Pursuant to the transfer agreements entered into in December 2013, neither VRM I nor VRM II paid any up-front consideration for the acquired interests, but each will be responsible for its proportionate share of future expenses of the Advisor. In recognition of the Sponsor’s substantial investment in the Advisor for which the Sponsor received no up-front consideration, the transfer agreements and the amended operating agreement of the Advisor further provide that once VRM I and VRM II have been repaid in full for any capital contributions to the Advisor or for any expenses advanced on the Advisor’s behalf (“Capital Investment”), and once they have received an annualized return on their Capital Investment of 7.5%, then the Sponsor will receive one-third of the net profits of the Advisor.
Fees and Expenses Paid in Connection with the Offering
Broker Dealers received 3.00% of the gross offering proceeds sold in the offering, subject to reductions based on volume and for certain categories of purchasers. No selling commissions are payable on shares sold under the distribution reinvestment plan. Additionally, the Sponsor or its affiliates (other than MVP REIT, Inc.) pay up to an additional 5.25% of the gross offering proceeds for third party broker dealer commissions and due diligence expenses.
On July 16, 2012 the Company signed a selling agreement which appointed MVP American Securities (“MVP AS”), formerly known as Ashton Garnett Securities, LLC, an entity indirectly owned by our CEO, to act as one of the selling agents for the Offering. For the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 the Company paid no selling commissions to MVP AS.
Certain organizational, offering and related costs will be incurred by the Advisor on behalf of the Company. After the Company has reimbursed $100,000 of such costs, which amount has been paid to the Advisor, no additional reimbursements will be made unless the aggregate amount of such reimbursements does not exceed 0.75% of the gross offering proceeds as of the date of reimbursement. Such reimbursable costs may include legal, accounting, printing and other offering expenses, including marketing, salaries and direct expenses of the Advisor’s employees and employees of the Advisor’s affiliates and others. Such reimbursable costs do not include any broker-dealer commissions paid by the Advisor in excess of the 3.00% paid by the Company, including any sponsor commissions or sponsor due diligence fees. Any reimbursement of the Advisor will not exceed actual expenses incurred by the Advisor. On November 1, 2013, the advisor forgave the reimbursement of the full amount of offering costs incurred.
Fees and Expenses Paid in Connection With the Operations of the Company
The Company has no paid employees. The Company has retained the Advisor to manage its affairs on a day-to-day basis. Pursuant to an amendment of the advisory agreement effective November 21, 2013, the Company will reimburse, no less than monthly, the Advisor for audit, accounting and legal fees, and other fees for professional services provided by third parties relating to the operations of the Company and all such fees incurred at the request, or on behalf of, the Board or any committee of the Board; provided, however, that the Advisor shall not be entitled to reimbursement by the Company for any personnel or related employment costs incurred by the Advisor or its affiliates in performing the services, including but not limited to salary and benefits of employees and overhead, until the first anniversary of (i) the listing of the Company’s shares on a national securities exchange or (ii) a merger, a sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets or another liquidity event transaction approved by the Company’s board. As of December 31, 2015, the aggregate amount of expense reimbursements waived by the Advisor was approximately $6.9 million.
The Advisor must reimburse the Company at least quarterly for reimbursements paid to the Advisor in any four consecutive fiscal quarters to the extent that such reimbursements to the Advisor cause the Company’s total operating expenses to exceed the greater of (1) 2% of our average invested assets, which generally consists of the average book value of the Company’s real properties before deducting depreciation, bad debts or other non-cash reserves and the average book value of securities, or (2) 25% of the Company’s net income, which is defined as the Company’s total revenues less total expenses for any given period excluding reserves for depreciation, bad debts or other similar non-cash reserves, unless the independent directors have determined that such excess expenses were justified based on unusual and non-recurring factors. The Advisor does not currently owe any amounts to the Company under this provision. As the Company commences the reimbursement of the expenses to the Advisor, the Company will verify that such reimbursements do not exceed the limits identified above or, in the event of any excessive payments, will obtain reimbursements from the Advisor.
The Advisor or its affiliates will receive an acquisition fee of 3.0% of the purchase price of any real estate or loan acquired at a discount, provided, however, the Company will not pay any fees when acquiring loans from its affiliates. During the year ended December 31, 2015 MVP REIT paid approximately $1.8 million, in acquisition fees to the Advisor. During the year ended December 31, 2014 no acquisition fees were earned. During the year ended December 31, 2015, JNL Parking earned fees of approximately $0.6 million, for 1% commission on purchases.
The Advisor or its affiliates will be reimbursed for actual expenses paid or incurred in connection with the selection or acquisition of an investment, whether or not the Company ultimately acquires the investment. The Company may recoup all or a portion of these expenses from the borrower in connection with each investment.
The Advisor or its affiliates is entitled to receive a monthly asset management fee at an annual rate equal to 0.85% of the fair market value of (i) all assets then held by the Company or (ii) the Company’s proportionate share thereof in the case of an investment made through a joint venture or other co-ownership arrangement, excluding (only for clause (ii)) debt financing obtained by the Company or made available to the Company. The fair market value of real property shall be based on annual “AS-IS”, “WHERE-IS” appraisals, and the fair market value of real estate-related secured loans shall be equal to the face value of the such loan, unless it is non-performing, in which case the fair market value shall be equal to the book value of such loan. The asset management fee will be reduced to 0.75% if the Company is listed on a national securities exchange. Asset management fees for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 were approximately $0.5 million and $0.4 million, respectively.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no asset management fee will be paid or payable with respect to any mortgage assets held by us at this time. We will not pay any asset management fee on any of our mortgage assets unless we restructure our mortgage program in a manner consistent with the NASAA Mortgage Program Guidelines that would permit us to pay an asset management fee on our mortgage assets, including making available 84% of our capital contribution to invest in mortgages assets. We have no present intention to revise our investment strategy in a manner that would permit such payment under the NASAA Mortgage Program Guidelines, but may elect to do so in the future. If we do make such an election to restructure our mortgage program, then, subject to satisfaction of the requirements of the NASAA Mortgage Program Guidelines, we may pay our advisor or its affiliates an annual asset-based fee equal to 0.75% of the “Base Amount” (as defined in the NASAA Mortgage Program Guidelines) of the capital contributions, if any, committed to investments in mortgages and 0.5% of the capital contributions temporarily held while awaiting investments in mortgages, in addition to any other fees and compensation that is allowed under the NASAA Mortgage Program Guidelines.
The advisory agreement currently provides for payment to our advisor of a monthly market-based fee for property management services of up to 6.00% of the gross revenues generated by our properties. The Advisor has irrevocably waived its rights to receive a property management fee with respect to any real property owned that are subject to triple net leases. As a result of this waiver, no property management fee will be paid on any real property owned that are subject to triple net leases pursuant to which the tenants pay all or a majority of all real estate taxes, building insurance, and maintenance expenses.
The Advisor or its affiliates is entitled to receive a monthly debt financing fee at an annual rate equal to 0.25% of the aggregate debt financing obtained by the Company or made available to the Company, such as mortgage debt, lines of credit, and other term indebtedness, including refinancings. In the case of a joint venture, the Company pays this fee only on the Company’s pro rata share. Debt financing fees for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 were approximately $66,000, and $29,000, respectively.
Disposition Fee
For substantial assistance in connection with the sale of real property, as determined by the independent directors, the Company will pay the Advisor or its affiliate the lesser of (i) 3.00% of the contract sale price of the real property sold or (ii) 50% of the customary commission which would be paid to a third-party broker for the sale of a comparable property. The amount paid, when added to the sums paid to unaffiliated parties, may not exceed either the customary commission or an amount equal to 6.00% of the contract sales price. The disposition fee will be paid concurrently with the closing of any such disposition of all or any portion of any real property. The Company will not pay a disposition fee upon the maturity, prepayment, workout, modification or extension of a loan or other debt-related investment; provided, however, that the Advisor or its affiliates may receive an exit fee or a prepayment penalty paid by the borrower. If the Company takes ownership of a property as a result of a workout or foreclosure of a loan, the Company will pay a disposition fee upon the sale of such real property equal to 3.00% of the sales price. With respect to real property held in a joint venture, the foregoing commission will be reduced to a percentage reflecting the Company’s economic interest in the joint venture. There were no disposition fees earned by the Advisor for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.
Fees and Expense Reimbursements Payable by Borrowers and Other Third Parties
The Company or its affiliates may be entitled to late fees, loan servicing fees, loan extension and loan modification fees and other fees and expense reimbursement payable by borrowers and other third parties.
Note F -Dependency
The Company has no employees and is dependent on the Advisor for certain services that are essential to the Company, including asset management services, supervision of the management and leasing of properties owned by the Company, asset acquisition and disposition decisions, as well as other administrative responsibilities for the Company including accounting services and investor relations.
In the event that these companies are unable to provide the Company with the respective services, the Company will be required to find alternative providers of these services. In this regard, the Company notes that the Advisor has agreed to waive certain fees and expenses it otherwise would be entitled to under the Advisory Agreement as further described under “Note E - Related Party Transactions and Arrangements - Fees and Expenses Paid in Connection With the Operations of the Company” to the financial statements included in this Annual Report. If the Company is required to find an alternative advisor, the Company may not be able to find an alternative advisor who would be willing to continue to waive such fees and expenses. As a result, the Company may have to incur additional costs and expenses if it is required to replace the Advisor or other agents that are providing services to the Company.
Note G - Stock-Based Compensation
Equity Incentive Plan
The Company has adopted an equity incentive plan. The equity incentive plan offers certain individuals an opportunity to participate in the Company’s growth through awards in the form of, or based on, the Company’s common stock. The Company has no current intention to issue any awards under the equity incentive plan but may do so in the future in order to attract and retain qualified directors, officers, employees, and consultants.
The equity incentive plan authorizes the granting of restricted stock, stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted or deferred stock units, performance awards, dividend equivalents, other stock-based awards and cash-based awards to directors, employees and consultants of the Company selected by the board of directors for participation in the equity incentive plan. Stock options granted under the equity incentive plan will not exceed an amount equal to 10% of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant of any such stock options. Any stock options and stock appreciation rights granted under the equity incentive plan will have an exercise price or base price that is not less than the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant.
The board of directors, or the compensation committee of the board of directors, will administer the equity incentive plan, with sole authority to determine all of the terms and conditions of the awards, including whether the grant, vesting or settlement of awards may be subject to the attainment of one or more performance goals. No awards will be granted if the grant or vesting of the awards would jeopardize the Company’s status as a REIT under the Code or otherwise violate the ownership and transfer restrictions imposed under the Company’s charter. Unless otherwise determined by the board of directors, no award granted under the equity incentive plan will be transferable except through the laws of descent and distribution.
The Company has authorized and reserved an aggregate maximum of 300,000 shares for issuance under the equity incentive plan. In the event of a transaction between the Company and its stockholders that causes the per-share value of common stock to change (including, without limitation, any stock dividend, stock split, spin-off, rights offering or large nonrecurring cash dividend), the share authorization limits under the equity incentive plan will be adjusted proportionately, and the board of directors must make such adjustments to the equity incentive plan and awards as it deems necessary, in its sole discretion, to prevent dilution or enlargement of rights immediately resulting from such transaction. In the event of a stock split, a stock dividend or a combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of common stock into a lesser number of shares, the authorization limits under the equity incentive plan will automatically be adjusted proportionately and the shares then subject to each award will automatically be adjusted proportionately without any change in the aggregate purchase price.
Unless otherwise provided in an award certificate or any special plan document governing an award, in the event of a corporate transaction (as defined in the Company’s equity incentive plan), if any award issued under the Company’s equity incentive plan is not assumed or replaced as part of the corporate transaction, then such portion of the award shall automatically become fully vested and exercisable and be released from any repurchase or forfeiture rights (other than repurchase rights exercisable at fair market value) immediately prior to the effective date of such corporation transaction, so long as the grantee’s continuous service has not terminated prior to such date. Unless otherwise provided in an award certificate or any special plan document governing an award, in the event of a change in control, each outstanding award issued automatically shall become fully vested and exercisable and be released from any repurchase or forfeiture rights (other than repurchase rights exercisable at fair market value), immediately prior to the effective date of such change in control, provided that the grantee’s continuous service has not terminated prior to such date. Under the equity incentive plan, a “corporate transaction” is defined to include (i) a merger or consolidation in which the Company is not the surviving entity; (ii) the sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets; (iii) the Company’s complete liquidation or dissolution; and (iv) acquisitions by any person of beneficial ownership of securities possessing more than 50% of the total combined voting power of the Company’s outstanding securities (but excluding any transactions determined by our administrator not to constitute a “corporate transaction”). Under the equity incentive plan, a “change in control” is defined generally as a change in ownership or control of the Company effected either through (i) acquisitions of securities by any person (or related group of persons) of securities possessing more than 50% of the total combined voting power of the Company’s outstanding securities pursuant to a tender offer or exchange offer that the Company’s directors do not recommend the Company’s stockholders accept; or (ii) a change in the composition of the board over a period of 12 months or less such that a majority of the Company’s board members will no longer serve as directors, by reason of one or more contested elections for board membership.
The equity incentive plan will automatically expire on the tenth anniversary of the date on which it is approved by the board of directors and stockholders, unless extended or earlier terminated by the board of directors. The board of directors may terminate the equity incentive plan at any time. The expiration or other termination of the equity incentive plan will have no adverse impact on any award previously granted under the equity incentive plan. The board of directors may amend the equity incentive plan at any time, but no amendment will adversely affect any award previously granted, and no amendment to the equity incentive plan will be effective without the approval of the Company’s stockholders if such approval is required by any law, regulation or rule applicable to the equity incentive plan.
In addition, no option, warrant or any other equity award will be issued under our equity incentive plan or otherwise to our advisor, our sponsor or any of their affiliates, if the issuance of any such award would result in a violation of any applicable NASAA REIT Guidelines, including the limitations imposed under the NASAA REIT Guidelines on our total operating expenses (after giving effect to the expense associated with such equity award). Please see “Note E - Related Party Transactions and Arrangements - Fees and Expenses Paid in Connection with the Operations of the Company” for more information regarding the NASAA REIT Guidelines’ limitations on operating expenses.
Note H - Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest-Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 853-30)-Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs. This ASU will simplify the presentation of debt issuance costs by requiring such costs to be presented in the balance sheet as a reduction from the corresponding debt liability rather than as an asset. This ASU is effective for annual and interim periods beginning in 2016 and is required to be adopted using a retrospective approach, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption of this ASU to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
Note I - Acquisitions
Denver Sherman
On January 26, 2015 the Company closed on the purchase of a 0.14 acre parking lot located at 1963 Sherman Street, Denver, Colorado, consisting of approximately 28 parking spaces, for a purchase price of approximately $0.6 million, plus certain closing costs. The parking lot is leased to the City of Denver School District Number 1.
Fort Worth Taylor
On March 16, 2015, the Company closed on its $23.3 million purchase of a multi-level parking garage. The parking garage consists of 1,013 parking spaces and approximately 11,828 square feet of office space. The parking garage is located in Fort Worth, Texas. The $23.3 million purchase price included assumption of the existing financing on the parking garage. The existing financing has a maturity date of August 2021, has a balance of approximately $12.2 million, and an interest rate of 5.59% per annum. The Company paid customary closing costs in connection with the transaction. The parking garage is leased to SP Plus Corporation.
Milwaukee Old World
On March 31, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking lot consisting of 54 parking spaces, located in Milwaukee, WI, for a purchase price of $1 million. The property is leased to SP Plus Corporation. During the Company’s due diligence of the property it was discovered that the soil and ground water at the subject property had been impacted by the site’s historical use as a printing press as well as neighboring property uses. As a result, the Company has retained a local environmental engineer to seek a closure letter or similar certificate of no further action from the State of Wisconsin due to the Company’s use of the property as a parking lot. As of December 31, 2015 management does not anticipate a material adverse effect related to this environmental matter.
St. Louis Convention Plaza
On May 13, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking lot with 55,021 square feet and 221 parking spaces located in St. Louis, Missouri, for a purchase price of approximately $2.6 million. The Company paid customary closing costs in connection with the transaction. The parking garage is leased to SP Plus Corporation.
Houston Saks Garage
On May 28, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking lot with 90,750 square feet and 265 parking spaces located in Houston, TX, for approximately $8.4 million. The Company paid customary closing costs in connection with the transaction. The parking garage is leased to iPark Services, LLC.
St. Louis Lucas
On June 29, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking lot located in St. Louis, MO, for approximately $3.5 million. The Company paid customary closing costs in connection with the transaction. The parking lot consists of 46,683 square feet, has 217 parking spaces, is zoned I (CBD) and allows for a maximum building height of 200 feet. The parking lot is leased by SP Plus Corporation under a NN lease, whereby the Company is responsible to pay property taxes. SP Plus pays annual rent of $220,000. In addition, the lease provides revenue participation with MVP receiving 65% of gross receipts between $325,000 and $395,000 and 50% of Gross Receipts in excess of $395,001. The term of the lease is for 5 years.
Milwaukee Wells
On June 30, 2015, the Company closed on the purchase of a parking lot located in Milwaukee, WI, for approximately $3.9 million. The Company paid customary closing costs in connection with the transaction. The parking lot consists of 41,487 square feet and has 100 spaces, zoned C9-E, and allows for a maximum building height of 40 feet. The parking lot is leased by PCAM, LLC, an independent parking operator, under a NNN lease. PCAM pays annual rent of $280,000. In addition, the lease provides revenue participation with MVP receiving 50% of gross receipts over a contractual threshold of $710,000. The term of the lease is for 10 years. As additional consideration for the purchase of the parking lot, the Company and PCAM have entered into a participation agreement, wherein, PCAM shall be entitled to 25% of the net proceeds in excess of $3.9 million in cash upon sale of property.
Wildwood NJ Lot
On July 10, 2015, the Company, through its wholly owned entity, MVP Wildwood NJ Lot, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, announced that it has closed on the purchase of a parking lot for approximately $1.0 million in cash. The parking lot is located at 400 East Magnolia Ave, Wildwood, NJ. The parking lot #1 consists of 11,250 square feet and has 45 parking spaces. The parking lot is zoned T/E, and allows for a maximum building height of 250 feet. At closing, parking lot #1 was managed by SP Plus Corporation. On December 16, 2015, the Company purchased an adjacent lot for approximately $0.6 million in cash. The parking lot is located at 401 East Glenwood Ave, Wildwood, NJ (“parking lot #2”). Parking lost #2 consists of 13,500 square feet and has 50 spaces. Through the acquisition of the second lot, the management agreement with SP+ has been cancelled and a lease for the two parking lots has been executed.
Indy City Parking Garage
On October 5, 2015, the Company purchased a parking garage for approximately $10.5 million. The parking garage is located at 120 East Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. The parking garage consists of approximately 52,650 square feet and has approximately 370 parking spaces. The parking garage is zoned CBD-1 and allows for a maximum building height of five stories. The parking garage will be leased by ABM Onsite Services - Midwest, Inc., a subsidiary of ABM Industries, Inc., which trades on the New York Stock Exchange as ticker symbol “ABM”.
KC Cherry Lot
On October 9, 2015, the Company purchased a parking lot for approximately $515,000 in cash. The parking lot is located at 1109 Cherry Street, Kansas City, Missouri. The parking lot consists of approximately 26,304 square feet and has approximately 84 parking spaces. The parking lot is zoned UR. The parking lot will be leased by SP Plus Corporation.
Indy WA Street
On October 29, 2015, the Company purchased a parking lot for approximately $5 million in cash. The parking lot is located at 301 E. Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204. The parking lot consists of approximately 46,403 square feet and has approximately 149 parking spaces. The parking lot will be leased by Denison Parking Inc., an Indianapolis parking operator.
The following table is a summary of the acquisitions for the year ended December 31, 2015:
Pro forma results of the Company
The following table of pro forma consolidated results of operations of the Company for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, and assumes that the acquisition was completed as of January 1, 2014.
Revenue and expenses of acquisitions since acquisition dates included in consolidated statement of operations
The following is a summary of the results of operations related to the net assets and liabilities acquired for the period from acquisition dates through December 31, 2015:
On April 30, 2014, the Company exercised its Purchase Right and acquired VRM I and VRM II’s interest in the five parking facilities, net of the assumed debt secured by the real estate and VRM II’s interest in the storage facility, net of the assumed debt secured by the real estate. In exchange VRM I and VRM II received interest in four office properties, net of the assumed debt secured by the real estate. The difference between the net amount of the assets exchanged was paid in cash. As a result, the Company now holds 100% interest in the five parking facilities and storage facility, and VRM I and VRM II together hold 100% interest in the four office properties. The transaction was approved by the Board of Directors of the Company, VRM I and VRM II.
The following table summarizes the acquisition-date fair value of the total consideration transferred:
The related assets, liabilities, and results of operations of the acquired properties are included in the consolidated financial statements as of the date of acquisition. The following table summarizes the estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date for our 2014 acquisition:
We recognized acquisition expense related to the acquisition of parking facilities of which includes a 7.5% guaranteed return of approximately $0.5 million to VRM I and VRM II for their investment in these properties. Additionally, we reimbursed VRM I and VRM II for the loss they incurred related to the sale of MVP PF Baltimore 2013, LLC and acquisition expenses. These expenses incurred in the acquisition of the parking facilities totaled $1,336,000 of which VRM I and VRM II’s share was $0.2 million and $0.3 million, respectively.
During December 2014, the Company has acquired 70% tenant-in-common interest in a parking garage located in Cincinnati OH. The Company financed $9.0 million of the $15.0 million purchase price with a 10 year loan with a fixed interest rate of 4.25%. This loan is secured by the property.
Pro forma results of the Company
The following table of pro forma consolidated results of operations of the Company for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, and assumes that the acquisition was completed as of January 1, 2013.
Revenue and expenses of acquisitions since acquisition dates included in consolidated statement of operations
The following is a summary of the results of operations related to the net assets and liabilities acquired for the period from acquisition dates through December 31, 2014:
Note J - Assets held for sale
During February 2015, management entered into a plan to sell the storage unit assets which results in the financial reporting of these assets, liabilities and results of operations related to the assets held for sale, which are classified as discontinued operations.
On May 6, 2015, the Company sold the storage unit asset located in Nevada to a non-related third party for approximately $5.4 million. Proceeds of approximately $2.7 million from this sale were received after the promissory note for this property was paid in full.
On October 29, 2015, the Company also sold the storage unit asset located in Cedar Park, TX to a non-related third party for approximately $4.3. Proceeds of approximately $2.6 million from this sale were received after the promissory note for this property was paid in full. The gain on sale is approximately $1.0 million.
The following is a summary of the results of operations related to the assets held for sale for the year ended December 31, 2015:
On April 30, 2014, the Company exercised its Purchase Right and acquired VRM I and VRM II’s interest in the five parking facilities, net of the assumed debt secured by the real estate and VRM II’s interest in the storage facility, net of the assumed debt secured by the real estate. In exchange VRM I and VRM II received interest in four office properties, net of the assumed debt secured by the real estate. The difference between the net amount of the assets exchanged was paid in cash. As a result, the Company now holds 100% interest in the five parking facilities and storage facility, and VRM I and VRM II together hold 100% interest in the four office properties The transaction was approved by the Board of Directors of the Company, VRM I and VRM II.
The following is a summary of the results of operations related to the assets held for sale for January 1, 2014 through April 30, 2014:
During July 2014, the Company entered into an agreement to sell the remaining 58% interest in Building C, LLC and 100% interest in Building A, LLC whose sole asset is an office building also located in Las Vegas, NV to VRM I and VRM II. The cash consideration, net of assumed debt of approximately $16.9 million, totals approximately $10.3 million. On July 31, 2014, the Company completed the sale of the remaining 58% interest in Building C, LLC to VRM I and VRM II. The sale of the interests in Building A, LLC was completed on August 29, 2014. The purchase price for both buildings is equal to the amount paid by the Company to acquire the buildings which acquisition was within the past twelve (12) months resulting in a net gain of approximately $0.1 million. No commissions were paid in connection with the purchase.
The following is a summary of the results of operations related to the assets held for sale for January 1, 2014 through closing date (July 31, 2014 and August 29, 2014):
During February 2015, the management has entered into a plan to sell the storage unit assets which results in the financial reporting of these assets, liabilities and results of operation to held for sale and discontinued operations.
The following is summary of net assets held for sale through December 31, 2014:
The following is a summary of the results of operations related to the assets held for sale for the year ended December 31, 2014:
Note K - Notes Payable
During March 2013, Cedar Park issued a promissory note for approximately $1.8 million. The note was collateralized by real property located in Cedar Park, Texas, bears an annual interest rate of 4.66%, and was payable in monthly installment payments of principal and interest totaling approximately $10,000, with a lump sum payment of approximately $1.3 million due at maturity in April 2023. This loan was paid in full in October 2015 through the sale of the property.
During September 2013, through the acquisition of Red Mountain, the Company financed a 7-year term loan with a balance of approximately $2.7 million, collateralized by real property located in Las Vegas, Nevada, matures in October 2020, bears an annual interest rate of 4.35%, and was payable in monthly installment payments of principal and interest totaling approximately $15,000. This loan was paid in full in May 2015 through the sale of the property.
During January 2014, the entities holding the four parking facilities issued a promissory note to Key Bank National Association for $4.3 million. This note bears an annual interest rate of 4.94%, is secured by four parking facilities, matures in February 2019 and is payable in monthly principal and interest payments of approximately $25,000.
During December 2014, through the acquisition of Mabley Place, the Company issued a promissory note to Wells Fargo Bank for $9.0 million. This note bears an annual interest rate of 4.25%, is secured by the property, matures in December 2024 and is payable in monthly principal and interest payments of approximately $44,000.
During March 2015, through the acquisition of Ft. Worth Taylor, the Company assumed a 10-year term loan with a balance of approximately $12.2 million, collateralized by real property located in Ft. Worth, Texas, matures in August 2021, bears an annual interest rate of 5.59%, and is payable in monthly installment payments of principal and interest totaling approximately $78,000.
During August 2015, Houston Saks Garage issued a promissory note for approximately $3.7 million. The note is collateralized by real property located in Houston, Texas, bears an annual interest rate of 4.25%, and is payable in monthly installment payments of principal and interest totaling approximately $30,000, maturing in August 2025.
Total interest expense incurred for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 is $1.3 million and $0.1 million, respectively.
As of December 31, 2015, future principal payments on the notes payable are as follows:
As of December 31, 2015, the principle balance on insurance note payable is approximately $162,000
Note L - Income Tax
Income Taxes and Distributions
As a REIT, it generally will not be subject to federal income tax on taxable income distributed to the stockholders. In 2015, MVP REIT Inc. has no distributable taxable income. In addition, MVP REIT Inc. does not have any subsidiaries elected to be treated as TRSs pursuant to the Code to participate in services that would otherwise be considered impermissible for REITS and are subject to federal and state income tax at regular corporate tax rates.
Tax Treatment of Distributions
For federal income tax purposes, distributions to stockholders are characterized as ordinary income, capital gain distributions, or nontaxable distributions. Nontaxable distributions will reduce U.S. stockholders' basis (but not below zero) in their shares. The income tax treatment for distributions reportable for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 is as follows:
Note M - Subsequent Events
The following subsequent events have been evaluated through the date of this filing with the SEC.
As of the date of this filing, the Company has received additional requests for repurchase of 47,005 shares which exceed the amount allowable for 2015 repurchase by approximately $0.4 million. These shares will be redeemed on March 31, 2016.
On January 2, 2016, the Company has entered into a joint venture with MVP REIT II, Inc. to purchase the membership interests of an entity that owns two parking lots located in Minneapo1is for a purchase price of approximately $15,495,000 plus closing costs. The purchase shall be accomplished through a limited liability company owned jointly by the Company and MVP REIT II, Inc (collectively, “MVP”). The Company’s share of the purchase price is approximately $13,495,000 plus closing costs and the Company will own a 87.09% interest in the limited liability company. The first parking lot is located at 1022 Hennepin Avenue (the “Hennepin lot”). The Hennepin lot consists of approximately 90,658 square feet and has approximately 270 parking spaces. The second parking lot is located at 41 10th Street North (the “10th Street lot”). The 10th street lot consists of approximately 107,952 square feet and has approximately 185 parking spaces. Both the Hennepin lot and 10th Street lot will be leased by SP Plus, a Delaware parking operator, under a net lease agreement where MVP will be responsible for property taxes and SP Plus will pay for all insurance and maintenance costs.
On January 15, 2016, the Company through its wholly owned entity MVP Indianapolis Meridian Lot, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, closed on the purchase of a parking lot for approximately $1.665 million. The property is located at 239 S. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana (the “parking lot”). The parking lot consists of approximately 10,290 square feet and has approximately 39 parking spaces. The parking lot is leased to Denison Parking, Inc., an Indianapolis parking operator.
On February 1, 2016, the Company purchased a parking lot for approximately $3.9 million in cash. The property is located at 1124 N. Old World Third Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (the “parking lot”). The parking lot consists of 38,606.50 square feet and has 75 parking spaces. The parking lot is leased by SP Plus Corporation (“SP Plus”), a national parking operator.
On January 20, 2016, MVP REIT, INC (“MVP”) through various wholly owned subsidiaries entered into two loans with Keybank. The first loan is an $8,580,000 loan secured by the following properties in Indianapolis: 110-120 E. Washington Street, and 301 E. Washington Street. The loan has a term of 10 years, is amortized over 25 years and has an interest rate of 4.59% per annum. The second loan is a $3,490,000 loan secured by the following properties in Missouri: 1010 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, 901, 909, 925 Lucas Avenue and 900, 908, 910 & 916 Convention Plaza, St. Louis and 1109 Cherry Street, Kansas City. The loan has a term of 10 years, is amortized over 25 years and has an interest rate of 4.59% per annum.
On February 9, 2016, the Company through its wholly owned entity MVP Clarksburg Lot, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company closed on the purchase of a parking lot for approximately $0.6 million in cash. The parking lot is located at 327 Washington Avenue, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26301 (the “parking lot”). The parking lot is leased by ABM Parking Services Inc. ("ABM"), a national parking operator,
On February 12, 2016, the Company along with MVP REIT II through MVP Denver 1935 Sherman, LLC, ("MVP Denver"), a Nevada limited liability company, an entity owned 75.51% by MVP and 24.49% by MVPII, closed on the purchase of a parking lot for approximately $2.4 million in cash of which MVP’s share was approximately $1.8 million. The parking lot is located at 1935 Sherman Avenue, Denver, Colorado (the “Denver parking lot”). The Denver parking lot is leased by SP Plus Corporation
On January 20, 2016, the Company through its wholly owned entity MVP Milwaukee Clybourn, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, closed on the purchase of a parking lot for approximately $0.2 million. The property is located at 412 E. Clybourn Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The parking lot consists of 15 parking spaces and is leased to Secure Parking USA, LLC.
On February 19, 2016, MVP REIT, Inc., through its wholly owned entity, MVP Bridgeport Fairfield Garage, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, as purchaser, entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Fairfield Avenue Parking Corporation, a Connecticut corporation, or seller, and First American Title Insurance Company, as escrow agent, for the purchase of a multi-level parking garage consisting of approximately 878 parking spaces, together with approximately 4,349 square feet of retail space, located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for a purchase price of $7.8 million, plus closing costs.
On March 7, 2016 the Board of Directors appointed Dan Huberty as its new President. Since January 2015, Mr. Huberty has been the Vice President at JNL Parking, in charge of sales and acquisitions. In addition, since July 2015, he has served as Vice President of Parking Operations for MVP. Prior to his position at JNL Parking, Mr. Huberty served as Senior Vice President of Sales for Central Parking from October 2011 to September 2012. Then from October 2012 till November 2014, he served as Executive Vice President of Operations for SP +, where he oversaw the southern division for the company after helping complete the sale and integration of Central Parking. Prior to that, from July 2009 to September 2011, Mr. Huberty served as a Vice President for Clean Energy Fuels, the largest provider of Compressed Natural Gas in the Country. Mr. Huberty also spent 16 years, from August 1993 to June 2009, with increasing responsibility over operations and sales within the Parking Division at ABM Industries as a Vice President, where he built and ran the sales team for his last two years with ABM. Mr. Huberty received his BBA from Cleveland State University and his MBA from the University of Phoenix, and currently serves as a State Representative in the State of Texas.
On February 19, 2016, the Board of Directors of MVP REIT, Inc. accepted the resignation of Fredrick Leavitt as a director. The Board has decided, at this time, not to fill the vacancy.
SCHEDULE III
REAL ESTATE AND ACCUMULATED DEPRECIATION
December 31, 2015
(1)
The initial costs of buildings are depreciated over 39 years using a straight-line method of accounting; improvements capitalized subsequent to acquisition are depreciated over the shorter of the lease term or useful life, generally ranging from one to 20 years.
The aggregate gross cost of property included above for federal income tax purposes approximated $35.0 million as of December 31, 2015.
The following table reconciles the historical cost of total real estate held for investment for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014:
The following table reconciles the accumulated depreciation for the year ended December 31, 2015 and 2014:
ITEM 9.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.
ITEM 9A.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required financial disclosure. In connection with the preparation of this Report on Form 10-K, management carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our CEO and CFO, as of December 31, 2015, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined under Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based upon management’s evaluation, our CEO and CFO concluded that, as of December 31, 2015, our disclosure controls and procedures are designed at a reasonable assurance level and are effective to provide reasonable assurance that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our CEO and CFO, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues within our company have been or will be detected. Even effective internal control over financial reporting can only provide reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation. Furthermore, because of changes in conditions, the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting may vary over time. Our management, including our CEO and CFO, does not expect that our controls and procedures will prevent all errors.
The certifications of our CEO and CFO required under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have been filed as Exhibits 31.1 and 31.2 to this report.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for our Company, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that: pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our Company; provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, and that receipts and expenditures of our Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of our Company; and provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our Company's assets that could have a material effect on our financial statements. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. In addition, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.
Management has conducted an assessment, including testing, of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015. In making its assessment of internal control over financial reporting, management used the criteria in Internal Control -- Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). Based on this assessment, management, with the participation of the Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officers, believes that, as of December 31, 2015, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective based on those criteria.
Auditor Attestation
This annual report does not include an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our registered public accounting firm pursuant to rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission that permit us to provide only management’s report in this annual report.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
As required by Rule 13a-15(d) under the Exchange Act, our management, including our CEO and CFO, has evaluated our internal control over financial reporting to determine whether any changes occurred during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2015 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. Based on that evaluation, there has been no such change during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2015.
ITEM 9B.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
None.
PART III
ITEM 10.
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
We will rely on our advisor to manage our day-to-day activities and to implement our investment strategy, subject to the supervision of our board of directors. Our advisor performs its duties and responsibilities as our fiduciary pursuant to an advisory agreement. Our advisor is managed by Michael V. Shustek and Tracee Gress.
Directors and Executive Officers
The following table sets forth the names, ages as of March 29, 2016 and positions of the individuals who serve as our directors and executive officers as of March 29, 2016:
(1) Member of the audit committee.
The following table sets forth the names, ages as of March 29, 2016 and positions of the individuals who serve as directors, executive officers and certain significant employees of MVP Realty Advisors (our advisor) or our affiliates:
Name
Age
Title
Michael V. Shustek
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tracee Gress
Chief Financial Officer
Directors, Executive Officers and certain significant employees of MVP Realty Advisors.
Michael V. Shustek has been Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company since its inception. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Vestin Group since April 1999 and a Director and CEO of Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc., and Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc. since January 2006. In July 2012, Mr. Shustek became a principal of MVP AS. During January 2013, Mr. Shustek became the sole owner of MVP AS. In February 2004, Mr. Shustek became the President of Vestin Group. In 2003, Mr. Shustek became the Chief Executive Officer of Vestin Originations, Inc. In 1995, Mr. Shustek founded Del Mar Mortgage, and has been involved in various aspects of the real estate industry in Nevada since 1990. In 1993, he founded Foreclosures of Nevada, Inc., a company specializing in non-judicial foreclosures. In 1997, Mr. Shustek was involved in the initial founding of Nevada First Bank, with the largest initial capital base of any new state charter in Nevada’s history. In 1993, Mr. Shustek also started Shustek Investments, a company that originally specialized in property valuations for third-party lenders or investors.
Mr. Shustek has co-authored two books, entitled “Trust Deed Investments,” on the topic of private mortgage lending, and “If I Can Do It, So Can You.” Mr. Shustek is a guest lecturer at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he also has taught a course in Real Estate Law and Ethics. Mr. Shustek received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As our founder and CEO, Mr. Shustek is highly knowledgeable with regard to our business operations and loan portfolio. In addition, his participation on our board of directors is essential to ensure efficient communication between the Board and management.
On February 27, 2001, the Division of Securities of the Ohio Department of Commerce (the “Division”) issued a temporary suspension order against Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc. (previously known as DM Mortgage Investors, LLC) and Michael Shustek temporarily suspending the offer and sale of its securities in Ohio involving matters related to Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc. (the “Ohio Administrative Action”). The Ohio Administrative Action required Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc. to correct certain statements made by Mr. Shustek in seminars conducted by Mr. Shustek in Ohio in February 2001 and explain that certain newspaper advertisements in Ohio placed by Vestin Mortgage were not intended to reflect the potential performance of Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc. As a result of Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc. agreeing to take these and other certain actions, including making a rescission offer, on March 9, 2001, the Division issued an order revoking the temporary suspension order.
In 2006, the SEC conducted an investigation of certain matters related to Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc., Vestin Mortgage, LLC, Vestin Capital, Inc., Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc., and Vestin Fund III, LLC (“Fund III”). On September 27, 2006, the investigation was resolved through the entry of an Administrative Order by the SEC (the “Order”). Vestin Mortgage and its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Shustek, and Vestin Capital (collectively, the “Respondents”), consented to the entry of the Order without admitting or denying the findings therein.
In the Order, the SEC found that the Respondents violated Section 17(a)(2) and (a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, through the use of certain slide presentations in connection with the sale of units in Fund III and in VRM II’s predecessor, Vestin Fund II, LLC (“Fund II”). The Respondents consented to the entry of a cease and desist order, the payment by Mr. Shustek of a fine of $100,000 and the implementation of undertakings with respect to future sales of securities. In addition, Mr. Shustek agreed to a suspension from association with any broker or dealer for a period of six months, which expired in March 2007. Mr. Shustek has since become licensed as an associated person and principal of MVP AS. In light of the SEC Order, certain states required heightened supervisory arrangements for Mr. Shustek as a condition of such licensing.
Mr. Shustek continues to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer and director of Vestin Group, Inc., and as Chief Executive Officer and director of Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc. and Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc. Accordingly, it is expected that Mr. Shustek will have less than 57% percent of his time available to commit to us while serving as a director and our Chief Executive Officer.
Tracee Gress was appointed as our Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on February 27, 2015. In addition, Ms. Gress was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of VRM I, VRM II and the equivalent of our Chief Financial Officer of Fund III. Ms. Gress is currently an employee of MVP Realty Advisors as of March 1, 2016. Prior to that date, her services were furnished to us pursuant to an accounting services agreement entered into by our manager and Strategix Solutions since January 2013. Prior to January 2013, Ms. Gress was an accountant with L.L. Bradford & Company, LLC from August 2008 to January 2013. Ms. Gress is a Certified Public Accountant and has audited various public and private companies. Additionally, she has also acted as Chief Financial Officer for various private companies. She received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Dan Huberty Prior to joining MVP REIT as Vice President of Parking Operations, Dan spent nearly 25 years in various roles in and supporting the parking industry. In addition to his current role at MVP, Dan also serves as Vice President of Sales and Acquisitions for JNL Parking since January 2015. Most recently, Huberty served as an Executive Vice President of SP Plus, where he oversaw the southern division of the company. He was named to this position after successfully overseeing the transition of his team through the integration of Central Parking and Standard Parking. The company's clients included some of the nation’s largest owners and operators of mixed-use projects, office buildings, hotels, stadiums and arenas, as well as, airports, hospitals and municipalities.
Prior to his role with SP Plus, he served as a Vice President for Clean Energy Fuels, the largest provider of Compressed Natural Gas in the Country focusing on the parking industry, from June 2009 through September 2011. However, the majority of his career was spent with ABM Industries. During his nearly 17 years with ABM, Huberty served in various roles starting as a Facility Manager, working his way up to a Regional Manager, Regional Vice President, and finally Vice President of Sales for ABM’s Parking Division. Huberty earned his BBA from Cleveland State University in 1991, and his MBA from the University of Phoenix in 1998.
Huberty is active in political affairs, serving as a State Representative for Texas House District 127, representing a constituency of more than 160,000 residents. Elected in 2010, he travels to the Capitol in Austin, Texas, every other year to represent them during the legislative session. Huberty also served as a Trustee for the Humble Independent School District from 2006 to 2010.
Huberty serves on the Board for the Be an Angel Fund, which is a non-profit board that supports profoundly deaf and handicap children in Texas. Huberty is also a Board Member of the Lake Houston Chamber of Commerce in Harris County Texas, which has over 1,500 members focusing on growing the North East Region of Harris County. Huberty is active in political affairs, serving as a State Representative for Texas House District 127, representing a constituency of more than 160,000 residents. Elected in 2010, he travels to the Capitol in Austin, Texas, every other year to represent them during the legislative session. Huberty also served as a Trustee for the Humble Independent School District which has 42,000 student, from 2006 to 2010, serving as its President from 2009-2010.
Daryl C. Idler, Jr. has been a director of the Company since its inception. He has been President and Managing General Partner of Premier Golf Properties, LP, dba Cottonwood Golf Club in Rancho San Diego, California, since 2002 and a director of Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc. from January 2008 until he resigned in November 2013. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Idler was Executive Vice President and General Counsel to Global Axcess Corp. (GAXC). From 1973 to 2000, Mr. Idler practiced corporate and real estate law in California, including both transactional aspects and litigation [including litigation in numerous states].
Mr. Idler has significant experience with real estate related transactions. In 2001, Mr. Idler served as President and Managing Partner of the entity that acquired approximately 300 acres in San Diego County, home to the Cottonwood Golf Club, a 36-hole golf course and related facility. In 2005, Mr. Idler was involved in the acquisition of the neighboring historic Ivanhoe Ranch, comprised of 160 acres. During the past 14 years, Mr. Idler have been in charge of all aspects of the golf operations at the Cottonwood Golf Club, including acquisition and financing and real estate developments at the golf course. Most recently he has directed the commencement of processing entitlements for 1272 active adult/age restricted units, to be followed by entitlement of 180 single family units, construction of a new clubhouse, restoration of riverine habitat and creation of a 100+ acre wetland mitigation bank, and upon conclusion, the reduction of the operating golf facility from 36 holes to 18 holes. In addition, Mr. Idler is in the process of pursuing 100-120 estate-size home sites, stables, open space and vineyards at Ivanhoe Ranch.
Between 1973 and 2000, Mr. Idler was involved as a lawyer representing various clients involved in the purchase, acquisition, development and sale of commercial and industrial properties and buildings. Representative projects include small strip-shopping centers, portions of the Otay Mesa industrial park, high-rise building in downtown San Diego and light industrial properties in Rancho Bernardo. During the same period, Mr. Idler was a co-investor in five buildings in downtown San Diego and was involved in all aspects with these acquisitions, including structuring the transactions, preparing documents, conducting due diligence and closing the transactions. Four of the buildings were restored and remain as landmark properties in the historic Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego.
Mr. Idler received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Redlands, California [1967] and his Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law [1973]. Mr. Idler has been an active member of the California Bar since 1973. Mr. Idler is a founding member of the Board of Sonshine Haven in El Cajon, California, and co-founder and Chairman of Youth Choir San Diego. In addition, Mr. Idler sits on the Board of Trustees and Board of Administration for Skyline Wesleyan Church in La Mesa, California, is Legal Advisor and Board Member of Navy Seal Veterans Network, Legal Advisor to Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 10. Past community affiliations include former Chairman of the Board and member, finance and staff parish board of Foothills United Methodist Church, Board Member and Chairman of Youth For Christ, San Diego County, and Legal Advisor to the Chief of Police, Los Coyotes Indian Tribe. Mr. Idler served in the United States Navy Reserve from 1966 to 1973, with active service from 1967 to 1969, including security clearance designation of Top Secret.
Independent Directors of MVP REIT, Inc.
Robert J. Aalberts has been on the board of directors of the Company since its inception, and was a director of Vestin Group, Inc., from April 1999 to December 2005.He was a director for Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc., from January 2006 until he resigned in January 2008 and for Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc. from January 2006 until he resigned in November 2013. Presently, he is Clinical Professor of Business Law in the Smeal College of Business, at the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA. Professor Aalberts held the Ernst Lied Professor of Legal Studies professorship in the Lee College of Business at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas from 1991 to 2014. Before UNLV, Professor Aalberts was an Associate Professor of Business Law at Louisiana State University in Shreveport from 1984 to 1991. From 1982 through 1984, he served as an attorney for Gulf Oil Company in its New Orleans office, specializing in contract negotiations and mineral law. Professor Aalberts has co-authored books relating to the regulatory environment, law and business of real estate; including Real Estate Law (2015), now in its 9th edition, published by the Cengage Book Company. He is also the author of numerous legal articles dealing with various aspects of real estate, business and the practice of law. Since 1992 Professor Aalberts has been the Editor-in-chief of the Real Estate Law Journal published by the Thomson-West Company. Professor Aalberts received his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University, in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Masters of Arts from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences, Geography from the Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota. He was admitted to the State Bar of Louisiana in 1982 (currently inactive status).
Nicholas Nilsen has been a director of the Company since its inception. He has been involved in the financial industry for more than four decades. He has been in retirement during the past five years. Most recently, Mr. Nilsen served as a Senior Vice President of PNC Financial, a bank holding company, where he served from 1960 to 2000. He began his long career with PNC Financial as a stock analyst. Later, he managed corporate and Taft-Hartley pension plans for the bank. Mr. Nilsen served as an executive investment officer at the time of his retirement from PNC Financial. Mr. Nilsen is a CFA charter holder. Mr. Nilsen received a Bachelor’s degree from Denison University and a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University.
John E. Dawson has been a director of the Company since its inception. He was a director of Vestin Group from March 2000 to December 2005, was a director of Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc., from March 2007 until he resigned in November 2013 and was a director for Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc. from March 2007 until January 2008. Since January of 2015 Mr. Dawson has been a Partner at the International law firm of Dickinson Wright PLLC. Mr. Dawson was a partner of the Las Vegas law firm of Lionel Sawyer & Collins from 2005 until its closing in December of 2014. Previous to that, from 1995 to 2005, Mr. Dawson was a partner at the law firm of Marquis & Aurbach. Mr. Dawson received his Bachelor’s Degree from Weber State and his Juris Doctor from Brigham Young University. Mr. Dawson received his Masters of Law (L.L.M.) in Taxation from the University of San Diego in 1993. Mr. Dawson was admitted to the Nevada Bar in 1988 and the Utah Bar in 1989.
Shawn Nelson been a director of the Company since June 2015. Since June, 2010, Mr. Nelson has served as a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors in Orange County California, serving as chairman in 2013 and 2014. Mr. Nelson currently serves as the Chairman of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink), Director of the Orange County Transportation Authority having served as the chair in 2014, and is a director of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Southern California Association of Governments, Transportation Corridor Agency, Foothill/Eastern, Southern California Water Committee, Orange County Council of Governments and Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. From 1994 to 2010 Mr. Nelson was the managing partner of the law firm of Rizio & Nelson. From 1992-1994 he was the Leasing Director/Project Manager of S&P Company. Prior to that, from 1989 to 1992 Mr. Nelson served as the Leasing Director/Acquisitions Analyst for IDM Corp and from 1988 to 1989 he served as a Construction Superintendent for Pulte Home. Mr. Nelson has a Bachelor of Science degree in business with a certificate in real property development from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctor Degree from Western State University College of Law.
Our directors and executive officers will serve until their successors are elected and qualify. Our officers will devote such portion of their time to our affairs as is required for the performance of their duties, but they are not required to devote all of their time to us.
Other Key Employees of our Advisor
As previously disclosed in our quarterly report for the period ended June 30, 2014, our advisor hired John Roy and Lance Miller in August 2014 to serve as its Chief Investment Officer and Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Roy and Mr. Miller are also the co-founders and primary owners of JNL Parking, LP, a brokerage and consulting company specializing in the parking industry. As part of Mr. Roy and Mr. Miller’s employment arrangement with our advisor, each of them, through JNL Parking, has agreed to grant the Company a right of first refusal on all listings by JNL Parking for investments in parking facilities.
As a result of the continued affiliations with JNL Parking, Mr. Roy and Mr. Miller may receive, through JNL Parking, commissions, fees and other compensation from the Company, our advisor and its affiliates, including in the event that the Company exercises its right of first refusal on a listing by JNL Parking. The receipt of such commissions, fees and other compensation through JNL Parking could influence Mr. Roy’s and Mr. Miller’s advice to us, in their capacity as our advisor’s Chief Investment Officer and Chief Technology Officer. Among other matters, these compensation arrangements could affect their judgment by directing the Company’s acquisitions of investments to those parking investments listed by JNL Parking, which will entitle Mr. Roy and Mr. Miller, through their ownership interest in JNL Parking, to commissions, fees and other compensation if the Company acquires such investments. We may also encounter conflicts of interest in enforcing our rights against JNL Parking in the event of a default by or disagreement with JNL Parking or in invoking powers, rights or options pursuant to any agreement between us and JNL Parking. We seek to mitigate these conflicts by requiring that the independent directors who are also otherwise disinterested in the transaction must approve each transaction between us and JNL Parking or any of its affiliates (including the payment of any commissions, fees and other compensation to JNL Parking) as being fair and reasonable to us and on terms and conditions no less favorable to us than those available from unaffiliated third parties.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Board of Directors
We operate under the direction of our board of directors, the members of which are accountable to us and our stockholders as fiduciaries. The board of directors is responsible for directing the management of our business and affairs. The board of directors has retained our advisor to manage our day-to-day affairs and to implement our investment strategy, subject to the board of directors’ direction, oversight and approval.
We have a total of six directors, four of whom are independent of us, our advisor, our sponsor and our respective affiliates as determined in accordance with the North American Securities Administrators Association’s Statement of Policy Regarding Real Estate Investment Trusts, as revised and adopted on May 7, 2007, or the NASAA REIT Guidelines. The NASAA REIT Guidelines require our charter to define an independent director as a director who is not and has not for the last two years been associated, directly or indirectly, with our sponsor or our advisor. A director is deemed to be associated with our sponsor or our advisor if he or she owns any interest in, is employed by, is an officer or director of, or has any material business or professional relationship with our sponsor, our advisor or any of their affiliates, performs services (other than as a director) for us, or serves as a director or trustee for more than three REITs sponsored by our sponsor or advised by our advisor. A business or professional relationship will be deemed material per se if the gross revenue derived by the director from our sponsor, our advisor or any of their affiliates exceeds five percent of (1) the director’s annual gross revenue derived from all sources during either of the last two years or (2) the director’s net worth on a fair market value basis. An indirect relationship is defined to include circumstances in which the director’s spouse, parents, children, siblings, mothers- or fathers-in-law, sons- or daughters-in-law or brothers- or sisters-in-law is or has been associated with us, our sponsor, our advisor or any of its affiliates. Our board has determined that each of Robert J. Aalberts, Nicholas Nilsen, John E. Dawson, Shawn Nelson and Daryl C. Idler, Jr. qualifies as an independent director under the NASAA REIT Guidelines.
On March 7, 2016, our board of directors approved taking all actions to list our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market. Although our shares are not yet listed for trading on the NASDAQ Global Market, our independent directors also meet the current independence and qualifications requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. In making these determinations, the Board of Directors did not rely on any exemptions to The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc.’s requirements.
We refer to our directors who are not independent as our “affiliated directors.” Currently, our affiliated director is Michael V. Shustek. At the first meeting of our board of directors consisting of a majority of independent directors, our charter was reviewed and ratified by a vote of the directors, including at least a majority of the independent directors.
Our charter and bylaws provide that the number of our directors may be established by a majority of the board of directors but may not be fewer than three nor more than fifteen. Our charter also provides that a majority of the directors must be independent directors and that at least one of the independent directors must have at least three years of relevant real estate experience. Our bylaws also provide for a lead independent director, who must be an individual who is not, and has not been during the past five years, an officer, director, employee or business associate of our advisor or any of its affiliates. Our board has designated Nicolas Nilsen as our lead independent director. The independent directors will nominate replacements for vacancies among the independent directors.
Our board of directors is elected by our common stockholders on an annual basis. Any director may resign at any time and may be removed with or without cause by the stockholders upon the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast at least a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast generally in the election of directors. The notice of any special meeting called to remove a director will indicate that the purpose, or one of the purposes, of the meeting is to determine if the director will be removed.
At such time as we are subject to Subtitle 8 of the MGCL, we have elected to provide that a vacancy following the removal of a director or a vacancy created by an increase in the number of directors or the death, resignation, adjudicated incompetence or other incapacity of a director may be filled only by a vote of a majority of the remaining directors and for the remainder of the full term of the directorship in which the vacancy occurred and, in the case of an independent director, the director must also be nominated by the remaining independent directors.
Responsibilities of Directors
The responsibilities of the members of the board of directors include:
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approving and overseeing our overall investment strategy, which will consist of elements such as investment selection criteria, diversification strategies and asset disposition strategies;
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approving and reviewing the investment guidelines that our advisor must follow when acquiring real estate secured loans and real estate debt securities on our behalf without the approval of our board of directors;
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approving and overseeing our debt financing strategies;
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approving joint ventures, limited partnerships and other such relationships with third parties;
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approving a potential liquidity transaction;
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determining our distribution policy and authorizing distributions from time to time; and
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approving amounts available for repurchases of shares of our common stock.
The directors are not required to devote all of their time to our business and are only required to devote such time to our affairs as their duties require. The directors meet quarterly or more frequently as necessary.
We will follow investment guidelines adopted by our board of directors and the investment and borrowing policies described in this report unless they are modified by our directors. Our board of directors may establish further written policies on investments and borrowings and shall monitor our administrative procedures, investment operations and performance to ensure that the policies are fulfilled and are in the best interests of our stockholders. Any change in our investment objectives as set forth in our charter must be approved by the stockholders.
In order to reduce or eliminate and address certain potential conflicts of interest, our charter requires that a majority of our board of directors (including a majority of the independent directors) not otherwise interested in the transaction approve any transaction with any of our directors, our sponsor, our advisor, or any of their affiliates. The independent directors will also be responsible for reviewing from time to time but at least annually (1) the performance of our advisor and determining that the compensation to be paid to our advisor is reasonable in relation to the nature and quality of services performed; (2) that our total fees and expenses are otherwise reasonable in light of our investment performance, our net assets, our net income, the fees and expenses of other comparable unaffiliated REITs and other factors deemed relevant by our independent directors; and (3) that the provisions of the advisory agreement are being carried out. Each such determination shall be reflected in the applicable board minutes.
Board Committees
Our board of directors may establish committees it deems appropriate to address specific areas in more depth than may be possible at a full board of directors meeting, provided that the majority of the members of each committee are independent directors.
Audit Committee
Our audit committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes, internal systems of control, independent auditor relationships and the audits of our financial statements. This committee’s responsibilities include, among other things:
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Selecting and hiring our independent auditors;
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Evaluating the qualifications, independence and performance of our independent auditors;
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Approving the audit and non-audit services to be performed by our independent auditors;
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Reviewing the design, implementation, adequacy and effectiveness of our internal controls and our critical accounting policies;
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Overseeing and monitoring the integrity of our financial statements and our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements as they relate to financial statements or accounting matters; and
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Reviewing with management and our auditors any earnings announcements and other public announcements regarding our results of operations.
The audit committee operates under a written Audit Committee Charter adopted by our board of directors, which is available at www.mpvreits.com. The audit committee is comprised of three directors, all of whom are independent directors and one of whom is deemed an audit committee financial expert meeting the requirements set forth in Section 407 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. Our audit committee consists of Nicholas Nilsen, John Dawson and Robert J. Aalberts. The Board also determined that Mr. Nilsen meets the audit committee financial expert requirements. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the audit committee held four meetings. . Our independent auditors and internal financial personnel regularly meet privately with our audit committee and have unrestricted access to this committee.
Nominating Committee
Our nominating committee was recently established in March 2016 to assist our board of directors by identifying individuals qualified to become directors. Our nominating committee consists of Nicholas Nilsen, John Dawson and Robert J. Aalberts, all of whom are independent directors.
Our nominating committee operates under a charter adopted by our board of directors, which is available at [insert hyperlink]. Responsibilities of the nominating committee include, among other things:
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Evaluating the composition, size, operations and governance of our board of directors and making recommendations regarding the appointment of directors;
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Evaluating the independence of our directors and candidates for election to our board of directors; and
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Evaluating and recommending candidates for election to our board of directors.
Compensation Committee
Our compensation committee was recently established in March 2016 to assist our board of directors relating to compensation of our directors and our advisor and to produce as may be required an annual report on executive officer compensation. Subject to applicable provisions of our bylaws and the advisory agreement with our advisor, our compensation committee is responsible for reviewing and approving compensation paid by us to our advisor. Our compensation committee operates under a charter adopted by our board of directors, which is available at www.mvpreits.com. Our compensation committee consists of Nicholas Nilsen, John Dawson and Robert J. Aalberts, all of whom are independent directors.
Our board of directors may establish other committees to facilitate the management of our business.
Criteria for Selecting Directors
In evaluating candidates, our nominating committee will consider an individual’s business and professional experience, the potential contributions they could make to our Board and their familiarity with our business. Our nominating committee will consider candidates recommended by our directors, members of our management team and third parties. Our nominating committee will also consider candidates suggested by our stockholders. We do not have a formal process established for this purpose.
We do not have a formal diversity policy with respect to the composition of our Board of Directors. However, our nominating committee seeks to ensure that the Board of Directors is composed of directors whose diverse backgrounds, experience and expertise will provide the Board with a range of perspectives on matters coming before the Board.
Stockholders are encouraged to contact our nominating committee if they wish the committee to consider a proposed candidate. Stockholders should submit the names of any candidates in writing, together with background information about the candidate, and send the materials to the attention of the Company’s secretary at the following address: 12730 High Bluff Drive, Suite 110, San Diego, California 92130. Stockholders wishing to directly nominate candidates for election to the Board must provide timely notice in accordance with the requirements of our Bylaws , between the 150th and 120th days prior to the anniversary of the date of mailing of the notice for the preceding year’s annual meeting of stockholders; provided, however, that in connection with our first annual meeting or in the event that the date of the annual meeting is advanced or delayed by more than 30 days from the first anniversary of the date of the preceding year’s annual meeting, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so delivered not earlier than the 150 day prior to the date of such annual meeting and not later than 5:00 p.m., Pacific Time, on the later of the 120 day prior to the date of such annual meeting, as originally convened, or the tenth day following the day on which public announcement of the date of such meeting is first made.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
Other than Michael V. Shustek, no member of our board of directors served as an officer, and no member of our board of directors served as an employee, of the Company or any of its subsidiaries during the year ended December 31, 2015. In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2015, none of our executive officers served as a member of a compensation committee (or other committee of our board of directors performing equivalent functions or, in the absence of any such committee, our entire board of directors) of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving as a member of our board of directors or compensation committee.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, or the Code of Ethics, which contains general guidelines for conducting our business and is designed to help directors, employees and independent consultants resolve ethical issues in an increasingly complex business environment. The Code of Ethics applies to all of our officers, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer, controller and persons performing similar functions and all members of our board of directors. The Code of Ethics covers topics including, but not limited to, conflicts of interest, record keeping and reporting, payments to foreign and U.S. government personnel and compliance with laws, rules and regulations. We will provide to any person without charge a copy of our Code of Ethics, including any amendments or waivers, upon written request delivered to our principal executive office at the address listed on the cover page of this annual report.
Board Meetings and Annual Stockholder Meeting
The board of directors held eight meetings during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. Each director attended at least 75% of his board and committee meetings in 2015. Although we do not have a formal policy regarding attendance by members of our board of directors at our Annual Meeting of Stockholders, we encourage all of our directors to attend.
Independent Directors’ Review of Our Policies
Our independent directors have reviewed our policies described in this annual report, as well as other policies previously reviewed and approved by our board of directors, including policies regarding our investments, leverage, conflicts of interest and disposition, and have determined that they are in the best interests of our stockholders because: (1) they increase the likelihood that we will be able to acquire additional investments to expand our portfolio of parking assets and maintain and manage our current portfolio of investments; (2) there are sufficient opportunities to acquire additional parking assets with the attributes that we seek; (3) our executive officers, directors and affiliates of our advisor have or have developed expertise with the type of real estate investments we seek; (4) borrowings should enable us to purchase assets and earn rental or management fee income more quickly; (5) best practices corporate governance and high ethical standards help promote long-term performance, thereby increasing our likelihood of generating income for our stockholders and preserving stockholder capital; and (6) our disposition policy provides us with the flexibility to time and structure property sales in a manner that will optimize our investment return.
Communication with Directors
We have established procedures for stockholders or other interested parties to communicate directly with our board of directors. Such parties can contact the board by mail at: Nick Neilson, Chairman of the MVP REIT Audit Committee, c/o Corporate Secretary, 8880 W. Sunset Road, Suite 240, Las Vegas, Nevada 89148.
The chairman of the audit committee will receive all communications made by these means, and will distribute such communications to such member or members of our board of directors as he or she deems appropriate, depending on the facts and circumstances outlined in the communication received. For example, if any questions regarding accounting, internal controls and auditing matters are received, they will be forwarded by the chairman of the audit committee to the members of the audit committee for review.
ITEM 11.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Executive Officers
We do not currently have any employees nor do we currently intend to hire any employees who will be compensated directly by us. Each of our executive officers, including each executive officer who serves as a director, is employed by our sponsor and also serves as an executive officer of our advisor. Each of these individuals receives compensation from our sponsor for his services, including services performed for us and for our advisor. As executive officers of our advisor, these individuals will manage our day-to-day affairs and carry out the directives of our board of directors in the review and selection of investment opportunities and will oversee and monitor our acquired investments to ensure they are consistent with our investment objectives. The duties that these executive officers will perform on our behalf will also serve to fulfill the corporate governance obligations of these persons as our appointed officers pursuant to our charter and bylaws. As such, these duties will involve the performance of corporate governance activities that require the attention of one of our corporate officers, including signing certifications required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, for filing with our periodic reports. Although we will reimburse the advisor for certain expenses incurred in connection with providing these services to us, we do not intend to pay any compensation directly to our executive officers. Our executive officers, as key personnel of our advisor, will be entitled to receive awards in the future under our equity incentive plan as a result of their status as key personnel of our advisor, although we do not currently intend to grant any such awards.
Independent Directors
We pay each of our independent directors an annual retainer of $25,000 (to be prorated for a partial term), plus the audit committee chairperson receives an additional $5,000 annual retainer (to be prorated for a partial term). Each independent director also will receive $500 for each meeting of the board of directors attended in-person or by telephone. In addition, our directors may be entitled to receive awards in the future under our equity incentive plan, although we do not currently intend to grant any such awards.
All directors receive reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attending meetings of the board of directors. If a director is also one of our officers, we will not pay any compensation to such person for services rendered as a director. The following table sets forth information with respect to our director compensation during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015:
(1)Amount represents reimbursement of travel and other expenses incurred by directors to attend various director meetings.
(2)On February 19, 2016, the Board of Directors of MVP REIT, Inc. accepted the resignation of Fredrick Leavitt as a director. The Board has decided, at this time, not to fill the vacancy.
Equity Incentive Plan
The Company has adopted an equity incentive plan. The equity incentive plan offers certain individuals an opportunity to participate in the Company’s growth through awards in the form of, or based on, the Company’s common stock. The Company has authorized and reserved an aggregate maximum of 300,000 shares for issuance under the equity incentive plan. The Company has no current intention to issue any awards under the equity incentive plan but may do so in the future in order to attract and retain qualified directors, officers, employees, and consultants.
ITEM 12.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
Security Ownership
Shown below is certain information as of March 29, 2016, with respect to beneficial ownership, as that term is defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), of shares of common stock by the only persons or entities known to us to be a beneficial owner of more than 5% of the outstanding shares of common stock. Unless otherwise noted, the percentage ownership is calculated based on 11,068,487 shares of our common stock as of March 29, 2016.
Name and Address of
Beneficial Owner
Amount and Nature of
Beneficial Ownership
Percent of Class
SERE Holdings, LLC
8880 W. Sunset Road
Las Vegas, NV 89148
Sole voting and investment power of 578,320 shares
5.22%
The following table sets forth the total number and percentage of our common stock beneficially owned as of March 29, 2016, by:
 Each director;
 Our chief executive officer, chief financial officer and the officers of our manager who function as the equivalent of our executive officers; and
 All executive officers and directors as a group.
Unless otherwise noted, the percentage ownership is calculated based on 11,068,487 shares of our total outstanding common stock as of March 29, 2016
All directors and execuitve officers as a group (3 persons)
ITEM 13.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Conflicts of Interests
We are subject to various conflicts of interest arising out of our relationship with our advisor and other affiliates, including (1) conflicts related to the compensation arrangements between our advisor, certain affiliates and us, (2) conflicts with respect to the allocation of the time of our advisor and its key personnel and (3) conflicts with respect to the allocation of investment opportunities. Our independent directors have an obligation to function on our behalf in all situations in which a conflict of interest may arise and will have a fiduciary obligation to act on behalf of the stockholders.
Please refer to Note E - Related Party Transactions and Arrangements in Part II, Item 8 Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for information regarding our related party transactions, which are incorporated herein by reference. Please also see “Risk Factors - Risks Related to Conflict of Interests.”
Certain Conflict Mitigation Measures
In order to reduce or mitigate certain potential conflicts of interests, we have adopted the procedures set forth below.
Advisor Compensation
Our compensation committee will evaluate at least annually whether the compensation that we contract to pay to our advisor and its affiliates is reasonable in relation to the nature and quality of services performed and whether such compensation is within the limits prescribed by our charter. Our compensation committee will supervise the performance of our advisor and its affiliates and the compensation we pay to them to determine whether the provisions of our advisory agreement are being carried out. This evaluation is based on the following factors as well as any other factors they deem relevant:
Term of Advisory Agreement
Each contract for the services of our advisor may not exceed one year, although there is no limit on the number of times that we may retain a particular advisor. Our charter provides that a majority of the independent directors may terminate our advisory agreement with MVP Realty Advisors, LLC without cause or penalty on 60 days’ written notice. MVP Realty Advisors, LLC may terminate our advisory agreement with good reason on 60 days’ written notice. Our board approved a renewal of our advisory agreement for a one year term, effective on March 28, 2016.
Independent Directors
The NASAA REIT Guidelines require our charter to define an independent director as a director who is not and has not for the last two years been associated, directly or indirectly, with our sponsor or our advisor. A director is deemed to be associated with our sponsor or our advisor if he or she owns any interest in, is employed by, is an officer or director of, or has any material business or professional relationship with our sponsor, our advisor or any of their affiliates, performs services (other than as a director) for us, or serves as a director or trustee for more than three REITs sponsored by our sponsor or advised by our advisor. A business or professional relationship will be deemed material per se if the gross revenue derived by the director from our sponsor, our advisor or any of their affiliates exceeds five percent of (1) the director’s annual gross revenue derived from all sources during either of the last two years or (2) the director’s net worth on a fair market value basis. An indirect relationship is defined to include circumstances in which the director’s spouse, parents, children, siblings, mothers- or fathers-in-law, sons- or daughters-in-law or brothers- or sisters-in-law is or has been associated with us, our sponsor, our advisor or any of its affiliates.
A majority of our board of directors, including a majority of the independent directors, must determine the method used by our advisor for the allocation of the acquisition of investments by two or more affiliated programs seeking to acquire similar types of assets is fair and reasonable to us. Our independent directors, acting as a group, will resolve potential conflicts of interest whenever they determine that the exercise of independent judgment by the full board of directors or our advisor or its affiliates could reasonably be compromised. However, the independent directors may not take any action which, under Maryland law, must be taken by the entire board of directors or which is otherwise not within their authority. The independent directors, as a group, are authorized to retain their own legal and financial advisors. Among the matters we expect the independent directors to review and act upon are:
Those conflict of interest matters that cannot be delegated to the independent directors, as a group, under Maryland law must be acted upon by both the board of directors and the independent directors.
Role of the Lead Independent Director
Our bylaws requires that at least one of the members of our board of directors must be an individual who is not, and has not been during the past five years, an officer, director (including an independent director), employee or business associate of our advisor or any of its affiliates, and that only a director who meets this standard may serve as our lead independent director. Under our bylaws, our lead independent director will have authority to convene and chair meetings of our independent directors to address such matters as the lead independent director deems appropriate. The lead independent director does not have any additional authority over the other independent directors, and the Company expects each independent director to participate fully and consider and vote upon all matters where they do not have a conflicting interest. However, if we are considering a transaction with an affiliate and all of our other independent directors are conflicted, then our lead independent director will have sole authority to approve or reject the proposed transaction.
Our Acquisitions
We will not purchase or lease assets in which our sponsor, our advisor, any of our directors or any of their affiliates has an interest without a determination by a majority of our directors (including a majority of the independent directors) not otherwise interested in the transaction that such transaction is fair and reasonable to us and at a price to us no greater than the cost of the asset to our sponsor, the advisor, the director or the affiliated seller or lessor, unless there is substantial justification for the excess amount and such excess is reasonable. In no event may we acquire any such asset at an amount in excess of its current appraised value.
The consideration we pay for real property will ordinarily be based on the fair market value of the property as determined by a majority of the members of the board of directors or the members of a duly authorized committee of the board. In cases in which a majority of our independent directors so determine, and in all cases in which real property is acquired from our sponsor, our advisor, any of our directors or any of their affiliates, the fair market value shall be determined by an independent expert selected by our independent directors not otherwise interested in the transaction.
Real Estate Secured Loans Involving Affiliates
Our charter prohibits us from investing in or making real estate secured loans in which the transaction is with our sponsor, our advisor, our directors or any of their affiliates, unless an independent appraiser appraises the underlying property. We must keep the appraisal for at least five years and make it available for inspection and duplication by any of our common stockholders. In addition, a mortgagee’s or owner’s title insurance policy or commitment as to the priority of the mortgage or the condition of the title must be obtained. However, we may acquire an investment in a loan payable by our advisor or any of its affiliates, when our advisor has assumed the obligations of the borrower under that loan through a foreclosure on the property. In addition, we may invest in loans that were originated by affiliates provided the loan(s) otherwise satisfy all of our lending criteria. Our charter also prohibits us from making or investing in any real estate secured loans that are subordinate to any real estate secured loan or equity interest of our sponsor, our advisor, our directors or any of their affiliates.
In addition, we may participate in loans with our affiliates, but only provided that a majority of our directors (including a majority of our independent directors) not otherwise interested in such transaction approve such transaction as fair and reasonable to us and on terms and conditions no less favorable to us than those available from unaffiliated third parties. Typically, we participate in loans if:
We will not borrow from our sponsor, our advisor, any of our directors or any of their affiliates unless a majority of our directors (including a majority of independent directors) not otherwise interested in such transaction approves the transaction as being fair, competitive and commercially reasonable and no less favorable to us than comparable loans between unaffiliated parties.
As part of our mortgage program, in addition to the limitations in our charter with respect to our investments in mortgage loans as described above, we will not acquire a mortgage in which our sponsor or any of its affiliates has an interest except in accordance with the following requirements of the NASAA Mortgage Program Guideline V.I.A:
• Our sponsor or its affiliate may acquire a mortgage in its own name and temporarily hold title thereto for the purpose of facilitating the acquisition of such mortgage, provided that such mortgage is purchased by us for a price no greater than the cost of such mortgage to the sponsor or its affiliate, except for sponsor compensation permitted in accordance with NASAA Mortgage Program Guideline and the NASAA REIT Program Guidelines, and provided there is no other benefit arising out of such transaction to the sponsor or its affiliates apart from compensation otherwise permitted by the NASAA Mortgage Program Guideline and the NASAA REIT Program Guidelines. Accordingly, all income generated and expenses associated with mortgage so acquired shall be treated as belonging to us. Our sponsor or its affiliate shall not sell a mortgage to us if the cost of the mortgage exceeds the funds reasonably anticipated to be available to us to purchase the mortgage.
• Alternatively, we may purchase a mortgage from a mortgage program formed by the sponsor or its affiliates pursuant to the rights of first refusal required by NASAA Mortgage Program Guideline V.G. In such a case, the purchase price for the mortgage shall be no more than the fair market value as determined by an independent appraisal.
The foregoing restrictions on loans will only apply to advances of cash that are commonly viewed as loans, as determined by our board of directors. By way of example only, the prohibition on loans would not restrict advances of cash for legal expenses or other costs incurred as a result of any legal action for which indemnification is being sought nor would the prohibition limit our ability to advance reimbursable expenses incurred by directors or officers or our advisor or its affiliates.
Other Transactions Involving Affiliates
A majority of our directors, including a majority of the independent directors not otherwise interested in the transaction, must conclude that all other transactions between us and our sponsor, our advisor, any of our directors or any of their affiliates are fair and reasonable to us and on terms and conditions not less favorable to us than those available from unaffiliated third parties. To the extent that we contemplate any transactions with affiliates, members of our board who serve on the board of the affiliated entity will be deemed “interested directors” and will not participate in approving or making other substantive decisions with respect to such related party transactions.
Limitation on Operating Expenses
In compliance with the NASAA REIT Guidelines, our advisor must reimburse us the amount by which our aggregate total operating expenses for the four fiscal quarters then ended exceed the greater of 2% of our average invested assets or 25% of our net income, unless the independent directors have determined that such excess expenses were justified based on unusual and non-recurring factors. “Average invested assets” means the average of the aggregate monthly book value of our assets during a specified period invested, directly or indirectly in equity interests in and loans secured by real estate, before deducting depreciation, bad debts or other non-cash reserves. “Total operating expenses” means all costs and expenses paid or incurred by us, as determined under GAAP, that are in any way related to our operation, including advisory fees, but excluding (i) the expenses of raising capital such as organization and offering expenses, legal, audit, accounting, underwriting, brokerage, listing, registration and other fees, printing and other such expenses and taxes incurred in connection with the issuance, distribution, transfer, registration and stock exchange listing of our stock; (ii) interest payments; (iii) taxes; (iv) non-cash expenditures such as depreciation, amortization and bad debt reserves; (v) incentive fees paid in compliance with the NASAA REIT Guidelines; (vi) acquisition fees and expenses; (vii) real estate commissions on the sale of real property; and (viii) other fees and expenses connected with the acquisition, disposition, management and ownership of real estate interests, mortgage loans or other property (including the costs of foreclosure, insurance premiums, legal services, maintenance, repair and improvement of property).
While our charter permits us to pay our advisor an incentive fee equal to an interest in the gain from the sale of an asset for which full consideration is not paid in cash or property of equivalent value, we do not intend to pay such an incentive fee in the foreseeable future. Our charter provides that amount or percentage of such incentive fee must be reasonable, and is considered presumptively reasonable if it does not exceed 15% of the net proceeds from the sale of the asset remaining after payment to our stockholders, in the aggregate, of an amount equal to 100% of the invested capital, plus an amount equal to six percent of the invested capital per annum cumulative. In the case of multiple advisors, such advisor and any of their affiliates shall be allowed such fees provided such fees are distributed by a proportional method reasonably designed to reflect the value added to the assets by each respective advisor or any affiliate.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that operating expenses payable or reimbursable by us exceed these limits and the independent directors determine that the excess expenses were justified based on unusual and nonrecurring factors which they deem sufficient, our advisor may be reimbursed in future periods for the full amount of the excess expenses or any portion thereof. Within 60 days after the end of any fiscal quarter for which our total operating expenses for the four consecutive fiscal quarters then ended exceed these limits, we will send our stockholders a written disclosure of such fact, together with an explanation of the factors our independent directors considered in arriving at the conclusion that such excess expenses were justified. In addition, our independent directors will review the total fees and expense reimbursements for operating expenses paid to our advisor to determine if they are reasonable in light of our performance, our net assets and our net income and the fees and expenses of other comparable unaffiliated REITs.
Issuance of Options and Warrants to Certain Affiliates
Until our shares of common stock are listed on a national securities exchange, we will not issue options or warrants to purchase our common stock to our advisor, our sponsor or any of their affiliates, except on the same terms as such options or warrants, if any, are sold to the general public. We may issue options or warrants to persons other than our advisor, our sponsor and their affiliates prior to listing our common stock on a national securities exchange, but not at an exercise price less than the fair market value of the underlying securities on the date of grant and not for consideration (which may include services) that in the judgment of our board of directors has a market value less than the value of such option or warrant on the date of grant. Any options or warrants we issue to our advisor, our sponsor or any of their affiliates shall not exceed an amount equal to 10% of the outstanding shares of our common stock on the date of grant. In addition, no option, warrant or any other equity award will be issued under our equity incentive plan or otherwise to our advisor, our sponsor or any of their affiliates, if the issuance of any such award would result in a violation of any applicable NASAA REIT Guidelines, including the limitations imposed under the NASAA REIT Guidelines on our total operating expenses (after giving effect to the expense associated with such equity award).
Reports to Stockholders
We will prepare an annual report and deliver it to our common stockholders within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year. Our directors are required to take reasonable steps to ensure that the annual report complies with our charter provisions. Among the matters that must be included in the annual report or included in a proxy statement delivered with the annual report are:
Director Independence.
The Board of Directors has determined that each of Messrs. Aalberts, Nilsen, Nelson, Dawson, and Idler qualify as “independent directors” as that term is defined in the NASAA Guidelines. Although our shares are not listed for trading on any national securities exchange, our independent directors also meet the current independence and qualifications requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. In making these determinations, the Board of Directors did not rely on any exemptions to The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc.’s requirements.
ITEM 14.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES; AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT
Principal Accounting Fees and Services
During the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 RBSM, LLP (“RBMS”) our independent public accounting firm billed the Company for their professional services rendered as follows:
RBSM did not perform any non-audit services for us in the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.
Audit fees. Consists of fees billed for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of our Form 10-K, review of our interim financial statements included in our Form 10-Q and services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with year-end statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.
Audit-related fees. Consists of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees”, such as review of our Form S-11/A and Form 8-K filings, and services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with non-year-end statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.
Tax fees. Consists of professional services rendered by a company aligned with our principal accountant for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.
Other fees. The services provided by our accountants within this category consisted of advice and other services.
Pre-Approval Policy
The Audit Committee has direct responsibility to review and approve the engagement of the independent auditors to perform audit services or any permissible non-audit services. All audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors must be approved in advance by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee may not engage the independent auditors to perform specific non-audit services proscribed by law or regulation. All services performed by our independent auditors under engagements entered into were approved by our Audit Committee, pursuant to our pre-approval policy, and none was approved pursuant to the de minimis exception to the rules and regulations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 10A(i)(1)(B), on pre-approval.
PART IV
ITEM 15.
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
The following are filed as part of this Report:
(a) 1. Financial Statements
The list of the financial statements contained herein are contained in Part II, Item 8 Financial Statements on this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
(a) 3. Exhibits
Reference is made to the Exhibit Index appearing immediately after the signature page to this report for a list of exhibits filed as part of this report.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature
Capacity
Date
/s/ Michael V. Shustek
Chief Executive Officer and Director
March 30, 2016
Michael V. Shustek
(Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ Tracee Gress
Chief Financial Officer
March 30, 2016
Tracee Gress
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
/s/ John E. Dawson
Director
March 30, 2016
John E. Dawson
/s/ Nicholas Nilsen
Director
March 30, 2016
Nicholas Nilsen
/s/ Robert J. Aalberts
Director
March 30, 2016
Robert J. Aalberts
/s/ Daryl C. Idler, Jr.
Director
March 30, 2016
Daryl C. Idler, Jr.
/s/ Shawn Nelson
Director
March 30, 2016
Shawn Nelson
EXHIBIT INDEX
(1)
Filed concurrently herewith.
(2)
Filed previously with the Registration Statement on Form S-11 on April 16, 2012, and incorporated herein by reference.
(3)
Filed previously with Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-11 on May 21, 2012, and incorporated herein by reference.
(4)
Filed previously with the Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-11 on June 13, 2012, and incorporated herein by reference.
(5)
Filed previously with the Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement on Form S-11 on July 9, 2012, and incorporated herein by reference.
(6)
Filed previously with the Pre-Effective Amendment No. 4 to the Registration Statement on Form S-11 on July 16, 2012, and incorporated herein by reference.
(7)
Filed previously with the Pre-Effective Amendment No. 6 to the Registration Statement on Form S-11 on September 6, 2012, and incorporated herein by reference.
(8)
Filed previously with the Pre-Effective Amendment No. 7 to the Registration Statement on Form S-11 on September 18, 2012, and incorporated herein by reference.
(9)
Filed previously on Form 8-K on August 14, 2013, and incorporated herein by reference.
(10)
Filed previously on Form 8-K on May 7, 2013, and incorporated herein by reference.
(11)
Filed previously on Form 8-K on July 26, 2013, and incorporated herein by reference.
(12)
Filed previously on Form 8-K on July 31, 2013, and incorporated herein by reference.
(13)
Filed previously on Form 10-Q on November 14, 2013, and incorporated herein by reference.
(14)
Filed previously on Form 8-K on November 22, 2013, and incorporated herein by reference.
(15)
Filed previously on Form 8-K on December 26, 2013, and incorporated herein by reference.
(16)
Filed previously with the Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Form S-11 Registration Statement filed on November 21, 2013, and incorporated herein by reference.
(17)
Filed previously on Form 8-K on May 14, 2014, and incorporated herein by reference.
(18)
Filed previously on Form 8-K on August 13, 2014, and incorporated herein by reference.
(19)
Filed previously on Form 8-K on August 27, 2014, and incorporated herein by reference.
(20)
Filed previously on Form 8-K on September 16, 2014, and incorporated herein by reference.