ITEM 1. BUSINESS
General
We are engaged in the design, construction, and sale of new homes in markets in Texas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, South Carolina, North Carolina, Colorado, Washington, Tennessee, and Minnesota. Our management team has been in the residential land development business since the mid-1990s. Since commencing home building operations in 2003, we have constructed and closed over
22,000
homes. During the year ended
December 31, 2017
, we had
5,845
home closings, compared to
4,163
home closings in
2016
.
LGI Homes, Inc. is a Delaware corporation incorporated on July 9, 2013. Our principal executive offices are located at 1450 Lake Robbins Drive, Suite 430, The Woodlands, Texas 77380, and our telephone number is (281) 362-8998. Information on or linked to our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K unless expressly noted.
Unless otherwise indicated or the context requires, “LGI,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer collectively to LGI Homes, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
Business Opportunities
Since our initial public offering in November 2013, we have grown substantially by expanding our operations from 9 markets in 4 states to 25 markets in 16 states. We believe there is an opportunity to continue to grow in our existing markets. Given our knowledge of and proven success in these markets, as well as the favorable demographic and economic trends forecasted for these markets, we expect to continue to grow in our current markets.
We intend to continue to expand into new markets where we identify opportunities to build homes and develop communities that meet our profit and return objectives. One of the keys to our successful geographic expansion is our operating model which enables us to enter new markets efficiently and effectively. During 2018, we expect to open new communities and have homes for sale in additional markets, including Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Sacramento, California, Birmingham, Alabama, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
We see opportunities to develop properties with multiple product lines and within the same communities which we believe will enable us to grow our business by increasing the number of price points in some of our existing markets. Our current product offerings include entry-level homes, including both detached homes and townhomes, and move-up homes sold, which are sold under our LGI Homes brand, and our luxury series homes, which are sold under our Terrata Homes brand. In 2017, we completed our first wholesale home closings primarily through a bulk sales agreement, pursuant to which we sold homes within several of our existing LGI Homes brand communities and markets. At
December 31, 2017
, we had
72
active communities with our LGI Homes brand and
six
with our Terrata Homes brand.
Our Terrata Homes brand allows us to leverage our systems and process approach, including our customer centric sales system, to deliver move-in ready homes with standardized features. In 2017, we added three additional Terrata Homes communities: (i) Estrella in Phoenix, Arizona, (ii) The Woodlands in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, and (iii) Sterling Lakes in Houston, Texas. During
2017
, we closed
108
Terrata Homes, which had an average sales price of
$409,000
compared to
44
Terrata Homes, which had an average sales price of
$455,000
in
2016
.
Our townhome product enables us to keep our entry-level price point within reach of more new homebuyers. We believe that our townhome product helps to counter rising land and home costs, and support our expansion into densely populated markets.
Similarly, we believe our wholesale home closings provide opportunities for us to leverage our systems and processes to meet the needs of companies looking to acquire multiple homes for rental purposes, primarily thorough bulk sales agreements.
We expect to continue to pursue a flexible land acquisition strategy of purchasing or optioning finished lots, if they can be acquired at attractive prices, or purchasing raw land for residential development. We generally target land acquisitions that are further away from urban centers than many other suburban communities but have access to major thoroughfares, retail districts and centers of business. These target areas that are further away from urban centers generally result in a better value for the homeowner through either lower price points or larger lot sizes. We consider development opportunities that meet our profit and return objectives, including opportunities which may involve the sale of home sites as a part of the product mix. We will continue to focus primarily on entry-level home buyers. We expect our home closings in communities with our luxury series will be less than
5%
of our annual home closings during
2018
and that our wholesale closings will be approximately 5% of our annual home closings during 2018.
Sales and Marketing
We utilize a well-defined sales and marketing approach to identify leads for our communities and to educate potential buyers on the process and benefits of homeownership. For many of our communities, our marketing efforts are focused on converting renters of apartments and single-family homes into homeowners.
We use extensive print and digital advertising to attract potential homebuyers. We employ various marketing techniques such as direct mail, newspaper advertisements, social media and interactive online media as well as directional signage and billboards to attract and drive potential homebuyers to our information centers.
Our advertising methods are extensive and have proven to be effective in placing potential homebuyers in front of our trained sales professionals. These methods have proven to be effective in reaching our target market and communicating our core message of value and dream fulfillment.
With respect to our communities with higher price points or that include the sale of home sites, our sales and marketing approaches are tailored to the potential purchasers of such homes and home sites and include more involvement by real estate agents and brokers.
Across all price points, our marketing strategy calls for a balanced approach of corporate support and local expertise to attract potential homebuyers in a focused, efficient and cost-effective manner. Our proprietary customer relationship management system provides our management team with tools to continually monitor and measure the performance level of every sales professional through each phase of the sales process. Utilization of these tools allows us to assess the cost effectiveness of a particular advertising campaign and marketing medium as well as the strengths and weaknesses of every member of our sales team.
Our marketing efforts are generally designed to encourage the prospective homebuyer to call our information centers to schedule an appointment and our primary objective is to establish direct communication between the prospective homebuyer and the salesperson. Our professional salespeople are well-trained to determine specific needs and wants of the potential homebuyer and to provide the potential homebuyer with all information required to make a buying decision.
Our information centers are open approximately 12 hours per day, 359 days per year, and generally staffed by two to five sales professionals and supported by an independent on-site loan officer. Our commission-based sales professionals provide potential homebuyers with a comprehensive and thorough understanding of the steps required to achieve homeownership. Throughout the sales process, our sales professionals learn about the current housing situation of the potential homebuyers and seek to understand their individual needs while also educating them on the value we provide through superior quality and affordable prices.
We provide information regarding floor plans and pricing, credit and income qualifications and conduct tours of our homes based on the potential homebuyer’s budget. In addition, we provide each potential homebuyer with a comprehensive introduction to the community and the surrounding area, providing them with detailed information regarding utilities, schools, homeowners association dues and restrictions, local entertainment and nearby dining and shopping options. We provide our potential homebuyers with a clear understanding of who we are by sharing our history, vision and values. As a result of our transparent approach, potential homebuyers receive all this information before making a buying decision, which we believe eliminates confusion during the home buying process and sets clear expectations. In addition, the potential home buyers benefit from the availability of move-in ready homes by seeing the completed or near-completed home that they will own.
Recruitment, Training and Development
We focus on identifying and attracting the best talent and providing them with world-class training and continuous development. We directly invest in our sales professionals by conducting an intensive 100-day introductory training program consisting of 30 days of initial in-depth, in-house education about our time-proven selling strategies, which includes a two-week training program at our headquarters, and an additional 70 days of secondary training at the local division. Our continued commitment to our sales personnel is reflected in the ongoing weekly training sessions held in each of our information centers coupled with quarterly regional training events. We also work closely with our subcontractors and construction managers, training them using a comprehensive construction manual that outlines the most efficient way to build an LGI home. Many of our subcontractors have worked on our homes since we commenced homebuilding operations in 2003, and therefore, are familiar with our business model.
Homebuilding Operations
Our homebuilding operations are organized and managed by six divisions: Central, Southwest, Southeast, Florida, Northwest, and Midwest.
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Central
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Southwest
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Southeast
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Florida
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Northwest
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Midwest
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Houston, TX
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Phoenix, AZ
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Atlanta, GA
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Tampa, FL
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Seattle, WA
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Minneapolis, MN
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Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
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Tucson, AZ
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Charlotte, NC/SC
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Orlando, FL
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Portland, OR
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San Antonio, TX
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Albuquerque, NM
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Nashville, TN
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Fort Myers, FL
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Sacramento, CA
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Austin, TX
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Denver, CO
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Raleigh, NC
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Jacksonville, FL
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Oklahoma City, OK
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Colorado Springs, CO
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Winston-Salem, NC
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Las Vegas, NV
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Birmingham, AL
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Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2017, we changed our one reportable segment to Central, Southwest, Southeast, Florida, Northwest, and Midwest. These segments reflect the way the Company evaluates its business performance and manages its operations. Additional information on our operating segments and product information is contained in
Note 14
“
Segment Information
” to our consolidated financial statements included in
Part II. Item 8
of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our even-flow, or continuous, construction methodology enables us to build and maintain an inventory of move-in ready homes that are available for immediate sale. We offer a set number of floor plans in each community with standardized features that commonly include upgrades such as granite countertops, appliances and ceramic tile flooring. Our homes are designed to meet the preferences of our target market of potential homebuyers and enable cost efficient and effective construction processes. We have developed a collection of home designs, which can be modified for local conditions and market preferences, and implemented across multiple communities to maximize efficiency. We maintained an average home completion time of approximately 55 to 74 da
ys d
uring
2017
; the homes closed during
2017
ranged from 1,035 to 4,055 square feet with prices ranging from the $140,000’s to the $600,000’s.
We expect to continue to utilize our even flow construction methodology in communities with homes at all of our price points and will maintain our focus on marketing complete or move-in ready homes with standardized features. We also plan to strategically pursue single-family rental buyers if the transactions meet or exceed our return hurdles and allow us to optimize our land investment.
We employ experienced construction management professionals to perform the tasks of general contractors for home construction in each of our communities. Our employees provide the purchasing, construction management and quality assurance for the homes we build, while third-party subcontractors provide the material and labor components of our homes. In each of our markets, we employ construction managers with local market knowledge and expertise. Additionally, our construction managers monitor our compliance with zoning and other regulations, production schedules, and quality standards for our projects.
We endeavor to obtain favorable pricing from subcontractors through long-term relationships and consistent workflow. As we have expanded into new markets outside of Texas, the employees that we have hired in those markets have brought long-term relationships with several subcontracting firms. We have expanded upon existing relationships with subcontracting firms also located in Texas. A number of our trade partners have subcontracted on our projects since we commenced homebuilding operations in 2003. We purchase some components and materials centrally to leverage our purchasing power to achieve volume discounts, a practice that often reduces costs and ensures timely deliveries. We typically do not store significant inventories of construction materials, except for work in progress materials for homes under construction. Consistency of our trade partners is an integral part of our homebuilding operations that also leads us to reduced warranty costs. We believe in building long lasting relationships with our trade partners in order to provide consistent, quality and timely deliveries across our markets. We also work closely with our construction managers and subcontractors and train them using a comprehensive construction manual that outlines the most efficient way to build an LGI home.
Throughout our homebuilding operations, we utilize a paperless purchase order system to conduct business with our subcontractors and suppliers. Our master build schedule allows our trade partners to receive their specific task from our electronic system and plan several weeks in advance before starting their work. This means of communication allows our subcontractors to schedule their crews efficiently, thereby allowing for better pricing and better quality of work. Typically, our contractors are paid every week, which contributes to the strength of our business relationships with them.
Land Acquisition Policies and Development
We continue to be an active and opportunistic acquirer of land for residential development in our markets. We source land from a wide range of landowners, brokers, lenders, builders and other land development companies. We generally acquire finished lots and raw land in affordable locations that are further away from urban centers than many other suburban communities but have
access to major thoroughfares, retail districts and centers of business. We conduct thorough due diligence on each of our potential land acquisitions, and we look at numerous opportunities before finding one that meets our requirements. We test the market and speak with potential homebuyers before committing to purchase land. We also maintain a pipeline of desirable land positions for replacement communities and new communities. We increased our active communities from
63
as of
December 31, 2016
to
78
as of
December 31, 2017
. We also increased our lot inventory from
29,460
owned or controlled lots as of
December 31, 2016
to
39,709
owned or controlled lots as of
December 31, 2017
.
Our allocation of capital for land investment is performed at the corporate level with a disciplined approach to portfolio management. Our Acquisitions Committee meets periodically and consists of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Executive Vice President of Acquisitions. Annually, our divisions prepare a strategic plan for their respective geographic areas. Supply and demand are analyzed to ensure land investment is targeted appropriately. The long-term plan is compared on an ongoing basis to our experience in the marketplace and is then adjusted to the extent necessary.
We have also purchased larger tracts of land across our markets which will provide us with more opportunities to build homes with multiple price points in our communities. We believe that our land development expertise will allow us to meet our growth and profit objectives with respect to opportunities in which we are the developer. Similar to our home building operations, our personnel oversee the contractors who perform the development work. Our land development projects may include the sale of home sites or commercial property as a part of the project.
We have strong relationships with the land brokerage community in many of our markets. We believe that in the brokerage community, we have a reputation for knowing our business, having the capital to close deals, and making accurate and timely decisions that benefit both the buyer and seller. For these reasons, we believe that brokers routinely notify us when desirable tracts of land are available for purchase.
In our land acquisition process, projects of interest are evaluated at the division level using an extensive due diligence checklist which includes assessing the permitting and regulatory requirements, environmental considerations, local market conditions, and anticipated floor plans, pricing, and financial returns. We also determine the number of residents in the market and rental households that are within driving distance to the proposed project and, in many cases, conduct test marketing which includes mailings to prospective homebuyers to get their feedback on our potential land acquisition. By testing the market before entering it and acquiring land in it, we are able to assess the level of interest in the location and amenities, determine the cost of rent in the area, and assess the size of the market opportunity. The amount of information that we are able to ascertain about potential home buyers, including renters, allows us to better identify the opportunity to sell move-in ready homes.
The table below shows (i) home closings by division for the year ended
December 31, 2017
and (ii) our owned or controlled lots by division as of
December 31, 2017
.
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Year Ended December 31, 2017
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As of December 31, 2017
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Division
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Home Closings
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Owned
(1)
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Controlled
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Total
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Central
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2,613
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11,811
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8,173
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19,984
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Southwest
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942
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2,184
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775
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2,959
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Southeast
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973
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4,518
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6,052
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10,570
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Florida
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1,014
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1,613
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2,372
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3,985
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Northwest
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300
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643
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1,253
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1,896
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Midwest
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3
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182
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133
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315
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Total
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5,845
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20,951
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18,758
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39,709
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(1)
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Of the
20,951
owned lots as of
December 31, 2017
,
11,722
were raw/under development lots and
9,229
were finished lots.
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Homes in Inventory
When entering a new community, we build a sufficient number of move-in ready homes to meet our budgets. We base future home starts on closings. As homes are closed, we start more homes to maintain our inventory. As of
December 31, 2017
, we had a total of
1,378
completed homes, including information centers, and
1,630
homes in progress.
The following is a summary of our homes in inventory by division as of
December 31, 2017
(dollar values in thousands):
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Division
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Homes in Inventory
(1)
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Inventory Value
(1)
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Central
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1,041
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$
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134,414
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Southwest
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565
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91,672
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Southeast
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586
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68,239
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Florida
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476
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66,881
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Northwest
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181
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34,204
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Midwest
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64
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10,644
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Total
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2,913
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$
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406,054
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(1)
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Includes homes in progress and completed homes; excludes information centers.
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Backlog
Raw Materials and Labor
When constructing homes, we use various materials and components. We generally contract for our materials and labor at a fixed price for the anticipated construction period of our homes. This allows us to mitigate the risks associated with increases in building materials and labor costs between the time construction begins on a home and the time it is closed. Typically, the raw materials and most of the components used in our business are readily available in the United States. In addition, the majority of our raw materials is supplied to us by our subcontractors, and is included in the price of our contract with such contractors. Most of the raw materials necessary for our subcontractors are standard items carried by major suppliers. Substantially all of our construction work is done by third-party subcontractors, most of whom are non-unionized. We continue to monitor the supply markets to achieve the best prices available. Typically, the price changes that most significantly influence our operations are price increases in labor, commodities, and lumber.
Seasonality
Government Regulation and Environmental Matters
We are subject to numerous local, state, federal and other statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations concerning zoning, development, building design, construction and similar matters which impose zoning and density requirements, the result of which is to limit the number of homes or mandate the type of structure that can be built, within the boundaries of a particular area. Projects that are not entitled may be subjected to periodic delays, changes in use, less intensive development or elimination of development in certain specific areas due to government regulations. We may also be subject to periodic delays or may be precluded entirely from developing in certain communities due to building moratoriums or “slow-growth” or “no-growth” initiatives that could be implemented in the future. Local governments also have broad discretion regarding the imposition of development fees for projects in their jurisdiction. Projects for which we have received land use and development entitlements or approvals may still require a variety of other governmental approvals and permits during the development process and can also be impacted adversely by unforeseen health, safety and welfare issues, which can further delay these projects or prevent their development.
We are also subject to a variety of local, state, federal and other statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations concerning the environment. The particular environmental laws which apply to any given homebuilding site vary according to multiple factors, including the site’s location, its environmental conditions and the present and former uses of the site, as well as adjoining properties. Environmental laws and conditions may result in delays, may cause us to incur substantial compliance and other costs, and can prohibit or severely restrict homebuilding activity in environmentally sensitive regions or areas. In addition, in those cases where an endangered or threatened species is involved, environmental rules and regulations can result in the restriction or elimination of development in identified environmentally sensitive areas. From time to time, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) and similar federal or state agencies review homebuilders’ compliance with environmental laws and may levy fines and penalties for failure to strictly comply with applicable environmental laws or impose additional requirements for future compliance as a result of past failures. Any such actions taken with respect to us may increase our costs. Further, we expect
that increasingly stringent requirements may be imposed on homebuilders in the future. Environmental regulations can also have an adverse impact on the availability and price of certain raw materials such as lumber.
Under various environmental laws, current or former owners of real estate, as well as certain other categories of parties, may be required to investigate and clean up hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum product releases, and may be held liable to a governmental entity or to third parties for related damages, including for bodily injury, and for investigation and clean-up costs incurred by such parties in connection with the contamination. A mitigation system may be installed during the construction of a home if a cleanup does not remove all contaminants of concern or to address a naturally occurring condition such as methane. Some homebuyers may not want to purchase a home with a mitigation system.
Competition
The U.S. homebuilding industry is highly competitive. We compete in each of our markets with numerous other national, regional and local homebuilders for homebuyers, desirable properties, raw materials and skilled labor. We also compete with sales of existing homes and with the rental housing market. Our homes compete on the basis of quality, price, design, mortgage financing terms and location. There has been some consolidation among national homebuilders in the United States, and we expect that this trend may continue.
Employees
As of
December 31, 2017
, we employed
726
people of whom
84
were located at our corporate headquarters,
434
were on-site sales and support personnel, and
208
were involved with construction. None of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. We believe we have good relations with our employees.
Available Information
We make available, as soon as reasonably practicable, on our website,
www.lgihomes.com
, all of our reports required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These reports can be found on the “Investor Relations” page of our website under “SEC Filings” and include our annual and quarterly reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q (including related filings in XBRL format), current reports on Form 8-K, beneficial ownership reports on Forms 3, 4, and 5, proxy statements and amendments to such reports. Our SEC filings are also available to the public on the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov
, and the public may read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s public reference room located at 100 F Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Further information on the operation of the public reference room can be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition to our SEC filings, our corporate governance documents, including our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, are available on the “Investor Relations” page of our website under “Corporate Governance” at
https://investor.lgihomes.com/corporate-governance
. Our stockholders may also obtain these documents in paper format free of charge upon request made to our Investor Relations department.
Executive Officers
The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers as of
February 27, 2018
:
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Name
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Age
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Position
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Eric Lipar
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47
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Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board
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Michael Snider
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46
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President and Chief Operating Officer
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Charles Merdian
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48
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Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
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Jack Lipar
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49
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Executive Vice President of Acquisitions
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Rachel Eaton
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36
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Chief Marketing Officer
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Margaret Britton
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55
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Chief Administrative Officer and Secretary
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Eric Lipar.
Mr. Lipar is our Chief Executive Officer and serves as Chairman of our Board of Directors. He has served as our Chief Executive Officer since 2009, as a director since June 2013 and as Chairman of the Board since July 2013. Previously, Mr. Lipar served as our President from 2003 until 2009. Mr. Lipar has been in the residential land development business since the mid-1990s and is one of our founders. He has overseen land acquisition, development and the sales of over 22,000 homes since our inception. Mr. Lipar currently serves on the Residential Neighborhood Development Council for the Urban Land Institute and is a Policy Advisor Board Member for the Harvard Joint Center of Housing Studies.
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Michael Snider.
Mr. Snider has served as our President since 2009 and our Chief Operating Officer since July 2013. He oversees all aspects of our sales, construction, and product development. Prior to serving as our President, Mr. Snider was Executive Vice President of Homebuilding (2005-2009) and in the role of Homebuilding Manager (2004). Before joining the Company in 2004, Mr. Snider was a Project Manager for Tadian Homes, a homebuilder based in Troy, Michigan.
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Charles Merdian.
Mr. Merdian has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since 2013, and served as our Secretary from 2013 to 2016. Prior to becoming our Chief Financial Officer in 2010, Mr. Merdian was our Controller from 2004 through 2010. Prior to joining us in 2004, Mr. Merdian served as Accounting and Finance Manager for The Woodlands Operating Company where he specialized in accounting and financial analysis of real estate ventures, focusing primarily on residential and commercial developments. Prior to The Woodlands Operating Company, Mr. Merdian served as an accounting manager working at the Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co. and as a senior auditor for Coopers & Lybrand, LLP. Mr. Merdian has worked in residential real estate and homebuilding finance since 1998. Mr. Merdian is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants.
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Jack Lipar.
Mr. Lipar has served as our Executive Vice President of Acquisitions since March 2013. He previously served as Vice President of Acquisitions from December 2010 through February 2013, and Acquisitions Manager from 2006 to December 2010. Mr. Lipar oversees land acquisitions and development for the Company. Prior to joining us, Mr. Lipar worked at HP Pelzer, an auto parts manufacturing company based in Germany, as the Vice President of Purchasing and Director of Operations. Mr. Lipar was also the General Manager and a member of the Board of Directors at Alliance Interiors, an affiliate of HP Pelzer. Prior to HP Pelzer, Mr. Lipar was a worldwide Purchasing Manager for Cooper Standard, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of automotive parts.
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Rachel Eaton.
Ms. Eaton serves as our Chief Marketing Officer and is responsible for the overall growth and direction of our marketing initiatives, brand image, and social media. Prior to becoming our Chief Marketing Officer in June 2013, Ms. Eaton served as our Vice President of Marketing and Administration from May 2012 through May 2013 and Director of Marketing & Special Events from 2007 to May 2012. Ms. Eaton joined the Company in 2003.
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Margaret Britton.
Ms. Britton has served as our Chief Administrative Officer since August 2013 and has served as our Secretary since May 2016. She is responsible for various corporate areas, including governance, risk, and compliance matters. From 2008 to 2012, Ms. Britton was a Director at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, LLP, where she provided advisory services and was a leader in their national environmental consulting practice. She worked as a consultant from 2003 to 2007 and, among other things, assisted two multinational energy companies with the implementation and oversight of their Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirements. Prior to 2002, Ms. Britton was an assurance partner at Arthur Andersen LLP. Ms. Britton is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Board of Directors of Archway Insurance LTD, a captive insurance company, and the Girls Scouts of San Jacinto Council.
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Board of Directors of LGI Homes, Inc.
Mr. Eric Lipar
- Chief Executive Officer of LGI Homes, Inc. and serves as Chairman of our Board of Directors.
Mr. Bryan Sansbury
-
Chief Operating Officer and a founding partner of AEGIS Energy Risk, LLC. and serves as our Lead Independent Director.
Mr. Ryan Edone
- Chief Financial Officer of Petroleum Wholesale L.P., a distributor of branded and wholesale motor fuel products and operator of retail convenience stores/travel centers.
Mr. Duncan Gage
- Retired. Former President and CEO of Giant Cement Holdings, Inc. and currently manages his personal investments.
Mr. Steven Smith
- Shareholder of Baker Donelson, a law firm.
Mr. Robert Vahradian
- Senior Managing Director of GTIS Partners, LP, a global real estate investment firm.
ITEM 1A.
RISK FACTORS
Discussion of our business and operations included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be read together with the risk factors set forth below. They describe various risks and uncertainties we are or may become subject to, many of which are difficult to predict or beyond our control. These risks and uncertainties, together with other factors described elsewhere in this report, have the potential to affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, strategies or prospects in a material and adverse manner.
Risks Related to Our Business
Tightening of mortgage lending standards and mortgage financing requirements and rising interest rates could adversely affect the availability of mortgage loans for potential purchasers of our homes and thereby reduce our sales.
Almost all purchasers of our homes finance their acquisition through lenders that provide mortgage financing. According to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), the 30-year average mortgage rate was approximately
4.03%
in January
2018
and is expected to increase during
2018
. If mortgage interest rates increase, the ability of prospective homebuyers to finance home purchases may be adversely affected, and, as a result, our operating results may be significantly negatively impacted. Our homebuilding activities are dependent upon the availability of mortgage financing to homebuyers. The availability of mortgage financing is expected to be impacted by continued regulatory changes and risk appetite of lenders. The financial documentation, down payments amounts and income to debt ratios requirements are subject to change and could become more restrictive. First-time homebuyers are generally more affected by the availability of mortgage financing than other potential homebuyers. These homebuyers are a key source of demand for our new homes. A limited availability of home mortgage financing may adversely affect the volume and sales price of our home sales.
The federal government has a significant role in supporting mortgage lending through its conservatorship of Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) and Freddie Mac, both of which purchase or insure mortgage loans and mortgage loan-backed securities, and its insurance of mortgage loans through or in connection with the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”), the Veterans Administration (“VA”) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”). FHA and USDA backing of mortgage loans has been particularly important to the mortgage finance industry and to our business. If either the FHA or USDA raised their down payment requirements or lowered maximum loan amounts, our business could be materially affected. Increased lending volume and losses insured by the FHA have resulted in a reduction of the FHA insurance fund. The USDA rural development program provides for zero down payment and 100% financing for homebuyers in qualifying areas. If the USDA program was discontinued or if funding was decreased, then our business could be adversely affected. In addition, if the USDA changed its determination of areas that are eligible to qualify for the program, it could have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, changes in governmental regulation with respect to mortgage lenders could adversely affect demand for housing.
The availability and affordability of mortgage loans, including interest rates for such loans, could also be adversely affected by a scaling back or termination of the federal government’s mortgage loan-related programs or policies. Because Fannie Mae-, Freddie Mac-, FHA-, USDA- and VA-backed mortgage loans have been an important factor in marketing and selling many of our homes, any limitations or restrictions in the availability of, or higher consumer costs for, such government-backed financing could reduce our business, prospects, liquidity, and financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. The elimination or curtailment of state bonds to assist homebuyers could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act established several new standards and requirements relating to the origination, securitizing and servicing of residential consumer mortgage loans. These and other laws and regulations could further restrict the availability and affordability of mortgage loans, which could adversely affect our home sales, financial condition and results of operations.
The long-term sustainability and growth in our home closings depends in part upon our ability to acquire finished lots and land parcels suitable for residential homebuilding at reasonable prices.
The long-term sustainability of our operations as well as future growth depends in large part on the price at which we are able to obtain suitable finished lots and land parcels for development to support our homebuilding operation. We target having at least five years of absorption in our owned and controlled lot inventory. Our ability to acquire finished lots and land parcels for new single-family homes and other projects may be adversely affected by changes in the general availability of land parcels, the willingness of land sellers to sell land parcels at reasonable prices, competition for available land parcels, availability of financing to acquire land parcels, zoning, regulations that limit housing density, the ability to obtain building permits, environmental requirements and other market conditions and regulatory requirements. If suitable lots or land at reasonable prices become less available, the number of homes we may be able to build and sell could be reduced, and the cost of land could be increased substantially, which could adversely impact us. As competition for suitable land increases, the cost of undeveloped lots and the cost of developing owned land could also rise and the availability of suitable land at acceptable prices may decline, which could
adversely impact us. The availability of suitable land assets could also affect the success of our land acquisition strategy, which may impact our ability to maintain or increase the number of our active communities, as well as to sustain and grow our revenue and margins, and achieve or maintain profitability. Additionally, developing undeveloped land is capital intensive and time consuming and we may develop land based upon forecasts and assumptions that prove to be inaccurate, resulting in projects that are not economically viable.
Risks associated with our land and lot inventories could adversely affect our business or financial results.
Risks inherent in controlling, purchasing, holding and developing land for new home construction are substantial. The risks inherent in purchasing and developing land parcels increase as consumer demand for housing decreases and the holding period increases. As a result, we may buy and develop land parcels on which homes cannot be profitably built and sold. In certain circumstances, a grant of entitlements or development agreement with respect to a particular parcel of land may include restrictions on the transfer of such entitlements to a buyer of such land, which would negatively impact the price of such entitled land by restricting our ability to sell it for its full entitled value. In addition, inventory carrying costs can be significant and can result in reduced margins or losses in a poorly performing community or market. Developing land and constructing homes takes a significant amount of time and requires a substantial cash investment. Land development is a key part of our operations and we develop land in all of our markets. The time and investment required for development may adversely impact our business. We have substantial real estate inventories which regularly remain on our balance sheet for significant periods of time, during which time we are exposed to the risk of adverse market developments, prior to their sale. Our business model is based on building homes before a sales contract is executed and a customer deposit is received. Because interest and other expenses are capitalized only during construction, we recognize interest and maintenance expense on unsold completed homes in inventory. As of December 31,
2017
, we had
1,378
completed homes in inventory and
1,630
homes in progress in inventory. In the event there is a downturn in housing sales in our markets, our inventory of completed homes could increase, leading to additional financing costs and lower margins, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results and operations. In the event of significant changes in economic or market conditions, we may have to sell homes at significantly lower margins or at a loss, if we are able to sell them at all. Additionally, deteriorating market conditions could cause us to record significant inventory impairment charges. The recording of a significant inventory impairment could negatively affect our reported earnings per share and negatively impact the market perception of our business.
Because real estate investments are relatively illiquid, our ability to promptly sell one or more properties for reasonable prices in response to changing economic, financial and investment conditions may be limited and we may be forced to hold non-income producing properties for extended periods of time.
Real estate investments are relatively difficult to sell quickly. As a result, our ability to promptly sell one or more properties in response to changing economic, financial and investment conditions is limited and we may be forced to hold non-income producing assets for an extended period of time or sell homes or land at a loss either of which may require us to record impairment charges. We cannot predict whether we will be able to sell any property for the price or on the terms that we set or whether any price or other terms offered by a prospective purchaser would be acceptable to us. We also cannot predict the length of time needed to find a willing purchaser and to close the sale of a property.
Labor and raw material shortages and price fluctuations could delay or increase the cost of home construction, which could materially and adversely affect us.
The residential construction industry experiences serious labor and raw material shortages from time to time, including shortages in qualified tradespeople, and supplies of insulation, drywall, cement, steel and lumber. These labor and raw material shortages can be more severe during periods of strong demand for housing or during periods following natural disasters that have a significant impact on existing residential and commercial structures. Our markets may exhibit a reduced level of skilled labor relative to increased homebuilding demand in these markets. We have experienced increased labor costs over the past few years, including 2017 during which we also experienced increased materials and construction costs. Some of the pressure on labor and material availability and costs were attributed to the hurricanes and natural disasters in Texas and Florida during 2017. It is uncertain whether these shortages will continue as is, improve or worsen. Labor and raw material shortages and any resulting price increases could cause delays in and increase our costs of home construction, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business and results of operations are dependent on the availability, skill and performance of subcontractors.
We engage subcontractors to perform the construction of our homes, and, in many cases, to select and obtain the raw materials. Accordingly, the timing and quality of our construction depend on the availability and skill of our subcontractors. While we anticipate being able to obtain sufficient materials and reliable subcontractors and believe that our relationships with subcontractors are good, we do not have long-term contractual commitments with any subcontractors, and we can provide no assurance that skilled subcontractors will continue to be available at reasonable rates and in our markets. The inability to contract with skilled
subcontractors at reasonable rates on a timely basis could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Despite our quality control efforts, we may discover that our subcontractors have engaged in improper construction practices or have installed defective materials in our homes. When we discover these issues, we utilize our subcontractors to repair the homes in accordance with our new home warranty and as required by law. The adverse costs of satisfying our warranty and other legal obligations in these instances may be significant and we may be unable to recover the costs of warranty-related repairs from subcontractors, suppliers and insurers, which could have a material impact on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. We may also suffer reputational damage from the actions of subcontractors, which are beyond our control.
We could be adversely affected by efforts to impose joint employer liability on us for labor law violations committed by our subcontractors.
Our homes are constructed by employees of subcontractors and other parties. We do not have the ability to control what these parties pay their employees or the rules they impose on their employees. However, various governmental agencies have taken actions to hold parties like us responsible for violations of wage and hour laws and other labor laws by subcontractors. Governmental rulings that hold us responsible for labor practices by our subcontractors could create substantial exposures for us under our subcontractor relationships, which could have a material impact on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Any limitation on, or reduction or elimination of, tax benefits associated with homeownership would have an adverse effect upon the demand for homes, which could be material to our business.
Changes in federal and state income tax laws may affect demand for new homes. Current tax laws generally permit significant expenses associated with homeownership, primarily mortgage interest expense and real estate taxes, to be deducted for the purpose of calculating an individual’s federal and, in many cases, state taxable income. If the federal government or a state government changes or further changes its income tax laws, by eliminating, limiting or substantially reducing these income tax benefits without offsetting provisions, the after-tax cost of owning a new home would increase for many of our potential homebuyers. Enactment of any such proposal may have an adverse effect on the homebuilding industry in general, as the loss or reduction of homeowner tax deductions could decrease the demand for new homes.
The recent growth in the housing market may not continue at the same rate, and any decline in the growth rate in our served housing markets or for the homebuilding industry may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.
Although the housing markets in the geographic areas in which we operate are generally stronger than they have been in recent years, we cannot predict whether and to what extent this will continue, particularly if interest rates for mortgage loans, land costs, and construction costs continue to rise. Other factors which might impact growth in the homebuilding industry include uncertainty in domestic and international financial, credit and consumer lending markets amid slow growth or recessionary conditions in various regions or industries around the world; tight lending standards and practices for mortgage loans that limit consumers’ ability to qualify for mortgage financing to purchase a home, including increased minimum credit score requirements, credit risk/mortgage loan insurance premiums and/or other fees and required down payment amounts, higher home prices, more conservative appraisals, changing consumer preferences, higher loan-to-value ratios and extensive buyer income and asset documentation requirements, changes to mortgage regulations, slower rates of population growth or population decline in our markets, or Federal Reserve policy changes. Given these factors, we can provide no assurance that present housing market trends will continue, whether overall or in our markets.
If there is limited economic growth or declines in employment and consumer income and/or tightening of mortgage lending standards, practices and regulation in the geographic areas in which we operate or if interest rates for mortgage loans or home prices rise, there could likely be a corresponding adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations, including, but not limited to, the number of homes we sell, our average selling prices, the amount of revenues or profits we generate, and the effect may be material.
If we are unable to develop our communities successfully or within expected time-frames, our results of operations could be adversely affected.
Before a community generates any revenue, time and material expenditures are required to acquire land, obtain development approvals and construct significant portions of project infrastructure, amenities and sales facilities. It can take several years from the time we acquire control of an undeveloped property to the time we make our first home sale on the site. Delays in the development of communities, including delays associated with subcontractors performing the development activities or entitlements, expose us to the risk of changes in market conditions for homes. A decline in our ability to develop and market one of our new undeveloped communities successfully and to generate positive cash flow from these operations in a timely manner could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations and on our ability to service our debt and to meet our working capital
requirements. In addition, higher than expected absorption rates in existing communities may result in lower than expected inventory levels until the development for replacement communities is completed.
Third-party lenders may not complete mortgage loan originations for our homebuyers in a timely manner or at all, which can lead to cancellations and a lower backlog of orders, or to significant delays in our closing homes sales and recognizing revenues from those homes.
Our homebuyers may obtain mortgage financing for their home purchases from any lender or other provider of their choice. If, due to credit or consumer lending market conditions, reduced liquidity, increased risk retention or minimum capital level obligations and/or regulatory restrictions related to the Dodd-Frank Act or other laws, or other factors or business decisions, these lenders refuse or are unable to provide mortgage loans to our homebuyers, or increase the costs to borrowers to obtain such loans, the number of homes we close and our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
We may be unable to obtain suitable bonding for the development of our housing projects.
We are often required to provide bonds, letters of credit or guarantees to governmental authorities and others to ensure the completion of our projects. As a result of market conditions, some surety providers have been reluctant to issue new bonds and providers may require credit enhancements (such as cash deposits or letters of credit) in order to maintain existing bonds or to issue new bonds. If we are unable to obtain required bonds in the future for our projects, or if we are required to provide credit enhancements with respect to our current or future bonds or in place of bonds, our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
We may incur a variety of costs to engage in future growth or expansion of our operations and the anticipated benefits may never be realized.
We intend to grow our operations in existing markets, and we may expand into new markets or acquire other home builders. We may be unable to achieve the anticipated benefits of any such growth or expansion, including through acquisition, the anticipated benefits may take longer to realize than expected or we may incur greater costs than expected in attempting to achieve the anticipated benefits. In such cases, we will likely need to employ additional personnel or consultants that are knowledgeable of such markets. There can be no assurance that we will be able to employ or retain the necessary personnel, to successfully implement a disciplined management process and culture with local management, or that our expansion operations will be successful. This could disrupt our ongoing operations and divert management resources that would otherwise focus on developing our existing business, or that we will be able to successfully integrate any acquired homebuilder or new market. Accordingly, any such expansion could expose us to significant risks, beyond those associated with operating our existing business, and may adversely affect our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
The homebuilding industry is highly competitive and, if our competitors are more successful or offer better value to our customers, our business could decline.
We operate in a very competitive environment which is characterized by competition from a number of other homebuilders and land developers in each market in which we operate. Additionally, there are relatively low barriers to entry into our business. We compete with large national and regional homebuilding companies, many of which have greater financial and operational resources than us, and with smaller local homebuilders and land developers, some of which may have lower administrative costs than us. We may be at a competitive disadvantage with regard to certain of our large national and regional homebuilding competitors whose operations are more geographically diversified than ours, as these competitors may be better able to withstand any future regional downturn in the housing market. Furthermore, we generally have a lower market share in each of our markets as compared to many of our competitors. Many of our competitors may also have longer operating histories and longstanding relationships with subcontractors and suppliers in the markets in which we operate. This may give our competitors an advantage in marketing their products, securing materials and labor at lower prices and allowing their homes to be delivered to customers more quickly and at more favorable prices. We compete for, among other things, homebuyers, desirable land parcels, financing, raw materials and skilled management and labor resources. Our competitors may independently develop land and construct homes that are substantially similar to our products.
Increased competition could hurt our business, as it could prevent us from acquiring attractive land parcels on which to build homes or make such acquisitions more expensive, hinder our market share expansion and cause us to increase our selling incentives and reduce our prices. An oversupply of homes available for sale or discounting of home prices could adversely affect pricing for homes in the markets in which we operate. Oversupply and price discounting have periodically adversely affected certain markets, and it is possible that our markets will be adversely affected by these factors in the future.
If we are unable to compete effectively in our markets, our business could decline disproportionately to our competitors, and our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. We can provide no assurance that we will be
able to continue to compete successfully in any of our markets. Our inability to continue to compete successfully in any of our markets could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.
We cannot make any assurances that our growth or expansion strategies will be successful or not expose us to additional risks.
We have expanded our business through selected investments in new geographic markets and by diversifying our products in certain markets. Investments in land, lots and home inventories can expose us to risks of economic loss and inventory impairments if housing conditions weaken or we are unsuccessful in implementing our growth strategies.
We may develop communities in which we build townhomes or other multi-family homes in addition to single-family homes, sell acreage home sites as a part of the development, sell homes to investors or portfolio management companies, or develop commercial properties that may be complementary to our communities. We might acquire another homebuilder or developer in order to accomplish our growth or expansion strategies. We can give no assurance that we will be able to successfully identify, acquire or implement these new strategies in the future. Accordingly, any such expansion, including through acquisition, could expose us to significant risks, beyond those associated with operating our existing business, including understanding and complying with the laws and regulations of new jurisdictions, diversion of our management’s attention from ongoing business concerns, difficulties in integrating an acquired business, and incurrence of unanticipated liabilities and expenses and may materially adversely affect our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
New and existing laws and regulations or other governmental actions may increase our expenses, limit the number of homes that we can build or delay completion of our projects.
We are subject to numerous local, state, federal and other statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations concerning zoning, development, building design, construction and other matters which among other things, impose restrictive zoning and density requirements, the result of which is to limit the number of homes that can be built within the boundaries of a particular area. We may encounter issues with entitlement, not identify all entitlement requirements during the pre-development review of a project site, or encounter zoning changes that impact our operations. Projects that are not entitled may be subjected to periodic delays, changes in use, less intensive development or elimination of development in certain specific areas due to government regulations. We may also be subject to periodic delays or may be precluded entirely from developing in certain communities due to building moratoriums or zoning changes. Such moratoriums generally relate to insufficient water supplies, sewage facilities, delays in utility hook-ups, or inadequate road capacity within specific market areas or subdivisions. Local governments also have broad discretion regarding the imposition of development fees for projects in their jurisdiction. Projects for which we have received land use and development entitlements or approvals may still require a variety of other governmental approvals and permits during the development process and can also be impacted adversely by unforeseen health, safety and welfare issues, which can further delay these projects or prevent their development. As a result of any of these statutes, ordinances, rules or regulations, our home sales could be delayed, could decline and/or our costs could increase, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to environmental laws and regulations, which may increase our costs, result in liabilities, limit the areas in which we can build homes and delay completion of our projects.
We are subject to a variety of local, state, federal and other laws, statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations concerning the environment, hazardous materials, the discharge of pollutants and human health and safety. The particular environmental requirements which apply to any given site vary according to multiple factors, including the site’s location, its environmental conditions, the current and former uses of the site, the presence or absence of endangered plants or animals or sensitive habitats, and conditions at nearby properties. We may not identify all of these concerns during any pre-acquisition or pre-development review of project sites. Environmental requirements and conditions may result in delays, may cause us to incur substantial compliance and other costs, and can prohibit or severely restrict development and homebuilding activity in environmentally sensitive regions or in areas contaminated by others before we commence development. We are also subject to third-party challenges, such as by environmental groups or neighborhood associations, under environmental laws and regulations to the permits and other approvals for our projects and operations. Sometimes regulators from different governmental agencies do not concur on development, remedial standards or property use restrictions for a project, and the resulting delays or additional costs can be material for a given project.
From time to time, the EPA and similar federal, state or local agencies review land developers’ and homebuilders’ compliance with environmental laws and may levy fines and penalties or other enforcement actions for failure to strictly comply with applicable environmental laws, including those applicable to control storm water discharges during construction, or impose additional requirements for future compliance as a result of past failures. Any such actions taken with respect to us may increase our costs and result in project delays. We expect that increasingly stringent requirements will be imposed on land developers and homebuilders in the future. We cannot assure you that environmental, health and safety laws will not change or become more stringent in the future in a manner that could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Environmental regulations can also have an adverse impact on the availability and price of certain raw materials, such as lumber.
There is a variety of new legislation being enacted, or considered for enactment at the federal, state and local level relating to energy and climate change. This legislation relates to items such as carbon dioxide emissions control and building codes that impose energy efficiency standards. New building code requirements that impose stricter energy efficiency standards could significantly increase our cost to construct homes. As climate change concerns continue to grow, legislation and regulations of this nature are expected to continue and become costlier to comply with. Similarly, energy-related initiatives affect a wide variety of companies throughout the U.S. and because our operations are heavily dependent on significant amounts of raw materials, such as lumber, steel, and concrete, they could have an indirect adverse impact on our operations and profitability to the extent the manufacturers and suppliers of our materials are burdened with expensive cap and trade and similar energy related regulations.
Ownership, leasing or occupation of land and the use of hazardous materials carries potential environmental risks and liabilities.
We are subject to a variety of local, state and federal statutes, rules and regulations concerning easements, land use and the protection of health and the environment, including those governing discharge of pollutants to soil, water and air, including asbestos, the handling of hazardous materials and the cleanup of contaminated sites. We may be liable for the costs of removal, investigation or remediation of man-made or natural hazardous or toxic substances located on, under or in a property currently or formerly owned, leased or occupied by us, whether or not we caused or knew of the pollution.
The particular impact and requirements of environmental laws that apply to any given community vary greatly according to the site, its environmental conditions and the present and former uses of the site. We expect that increasingly stringent requirements may be imposed on land developers and homebuilders in the future. Environmental laws may result in delays, cause us to implement time consuming and expensive compliance programs and prohibit or severely restrict development in certain environmentally sensitive regions or areas, such as wetlands. Concerns could arise due to post-acquisition changes in laws or agency policies, or the interpretation thereof.
Furthermore, we could incur substantial costs, including cleanup costs, fines, penalties and other sanctions and damages from third-party claims for property damage or personal injury, as a result of our failure to comply with, or liabilities under, applicable environmental laws and regulations. In addition, we are subject to third-party challenges, such as by environmental groups or neighborhood associations, under environmental laws and regulations to the permits and other approvals required for our projects and operations. These matters could adversely affect our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
As a homebuilding and land development business with a wide variety of historic ownership, development, homebuilding and construction activities, we could be liable for future claims for damages as a result of the past or present use of hazardous materials, including building materials or fixtures known or suspected to be hazardous or to contain hazardous materials or due to use of building materials or fixtures which are associated with mold. Any such claims may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. Insurance coverage for such claims may be limited or nonexistent.
Difficulties with appraisal valuations in relation to the proposed sales price of our homes could force us to reduce the price of our homes for sale.
Each of our home sales may require an appraisal of the home value before closing. These appraisals are professional judgments of the market value of the property and are based on a variety of market factors. If our internal valuations of the market and pricing do not line up with the appraisal valuations and appraisals are not at or near the agreed upon sales price, we may be forced to reduce the sales price of the home to complete the sale. These appraisal issues could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Because of the seasonal nature of our business, our quarterly operating results fluctuate.
As discussed under “
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Seasonality
,” we have historically experienced, and in the future expect to continue to experience, variability in our results on a quarterly and monthly basis. We close more homes in our second, third and fourth quarters. Thus, our revenue may fluctuate on a quarterly basis and we may have higher capital requirements in our second, third and fourth quarters. Accordingly, there is a risk that we will invest significant amounts of capital in the acquisition and development of land and construction of homes that we do not sell at anticipated pricing levels or within anticipated time frames. If, due to market conditions, construction delays or other causes, we do not complete home sales at anticipated pricing levels or within anticipated time frames, our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected. We expect this seasonal pattern to continue over the long term but we can make no assurances as to the degree to which our historical seasonal patterns will occur in the future.
Adverse weather and geological conditions may increase costs, cause project delays and reduce consumer demand for housing, all of which could materially and adversely affect us.
As a homebuilder and land developer, we are subject to the risks associated with numerous weather-related and geologic events. These weather-related and geologic events include but are not limited to hurricanes, tornados, droughts, floods, brushfires, wildfires, prolonged periods of precipitation, landslides, soil subsidence and earthquakes and other natural disasters. For example, in September 2017, Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma caused disruption and delays in Houston and Florida. The occurrence of any of these events could damage our land parcels and projects, cause delays in completion of our projects, reduce consumer demand for housing, and cause shortages and price increases in labor or raw materials, any of which could affect our sales and profitability. In addition to directly damaging our land or projects, many of these natural events could damage roads and highways providing access to those assets or affect the desirability of our land or projects, thereby adversely affecting our ability to market homes or sell land in those areas and possibly increasing the costs of homebuilding completion.
There are some risks of loss for which we may be unable to purchase insurance coverage. For example, losses associated with hurricanes, landslides, prolonged periods of precipitation, earthquakes and other weather-related and geologic events may not be insurable and other losses, such as those arising from terrorism, may not be economically insurable. A sizeable uninsured loss could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Our geographic concentration could materially and adversely affect us if the homebuilding industry in our current markets should experience a decline.
Our business strategy is focused on the acquisition of suitable land and the design, construction and sale of primarily single-family homes in residential subdivisions, including planned communities, in Texas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Tennessee, Minnesota and Oklahoma as well as our expansion states of Alabama, California, Oregon, and Nevada. Because our operations are currently concentrated in these areas, a prolonged economic downturn in the future in one or more of these areas or a particular industry that is fundamental to one of these areas, particularly within Texas or a specific geographical region, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations, and a disproportionately greater impact on us than other homebuilders with more diversified operations. To the extent the oil and gas industries, which can be very volatile, are negatively impacted by declining commodity prices, climate change, legislation or other factors, a result could be a reduction in employment, or other negative economic consequences, which in turn could adversely impact our home sales and activities in Texas and certain of our other markets.
Moreover, certain insurance companies doing business in Florida and Texas have restricted, curtailed or suspended the issuance of homeowners’ insurance policies on single-family homes. This has both reduced the availability of hurricane and other types of natural disaster insurance in Florida and Texas, in general, and increased the cost of such insurance to prospective purchasers of homes in Florida and Texas. Mortgage financing for a new home is conditioned, among other things, on the availability of adequate homeowners’ insurance. There can be no assurance that homeowners’ insurance will be available or affordable to prospective purchasers of our homes offered for sale in the Florida and Texas markets. Long-term restrictions on, or unavailability of, homeowners’ insurance in the Florida and Texas markets could have an adverse effect on the homebuilding industry in that market in general, and on our business within that market in particular. Additionally, the availability of permits for new homes in new and existing developments has been adversely affected by the significantly limited capacity of the schools, roads, and other infrastructure in that market.
If adverse conditions in these markets develop in the future, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, if buyer demand for new homes in these markets decreases, home prices could decline, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.
Difficulty in obtaining sufficient capital could result in an inability to acquire land for our developments or increased costs and delays in the completion of development projects, increase home construction costs or delay home construction entirely.
The homebuilding and land development industry is capital-intensive and requires significant up-front expenditures to acquire land parcels and begin development. In addition, if housing markets are not favorable or permitting or development takes longer than anticipated, we may be required to hold our investments in land for extended periods of time. If internally generated funds are not sufficient, we may seek additional capital in the form of equity or debt financing from a variety of potential sources, including additional bank financings and/or securities offerings. The availability of borrowed funds, especially for land acquisition and construction financing, may be constrained regionally or nationally, and the lending community may require increased amounts of equity to be invested in a project by borrowers in connection with both new loans and the extension of existing loans. Since the global recession in 2008, credit and capital markets have, from time to time, experienced unusual volatility. If we are required to seek additional financing to fund our operations, continued volatility in these markets may restrict our flexibility to access such financing. If we are not successful in obtaining sufficient funding for our planned capital and other expenditures, we may be unable to acquire additional land for development and/or to construct new housing. Additionally, if we cannot obtain additional financing to fund the purchase of land under our purchase contracts, we may incur contractual penalties, fees and increased expenses from
the write-off of due diligence and pre-acquisition costs. Any difficulty in obtaining sufficient capital for planned development expenditures could also cause project delays and any such delay could result in cost increases. Any one or more of the foregoing events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Our industry is cyclical and adverse changes in general and local economic conditions could reduce the demand for homes and, as a result, could have a material adverse effect on us.
Our business can be substantially affected by adverse changes in general economic or business conditions that are outside of our control, including changes in short-term and long-term interest rates; employment levels and job and personal income growth; housing demand from population growth, household formation and other demographic changes, among other factors; availability and pricing of mortgage financing for homebuyers; consumer confidence generally and the confidence of potential homebuyers in particular; financial system and credit market stability; private party and government mortgage loan programs (including changes in FHA, USDA, VA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming mortgage loan limits, credit risk/mortgage loan insurance premiums and/or other fees, down payment requirements and underwriting standards), and federal and state regulation, oversight and legal action regarding lending, appraisal, foreclosure and short sale practices; federal and state personal income tax rates and provisions, including provisions for the deduction of mortgage loan interest payments, real estate taxes and other expenses; supply of and prices for available new or resale homes (including lender-owned homes) and other housing alternatives, such as apartments, single-family rentals and other rental housing; homebuyer interest in our current or new product designs and new home community locations; general consumer interest in purchasing a home compared to choosing other housing alternatives; interest of financial institutions or other businesses in purchasing wholesale homes; and real estate taxes. Adverse changes in these conditions may affect our business nationally or may be more prevalent or concentrated in particular submarkets in which we operate. Inclement weather, natural disasters (such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, prolonged periods of precipitation, droughts and fires), other calamities and other environmental conditions can delay the delivery of our homes and/or increase our costs. Civil unrest or acts of terrorism can also have a negative effect on our business. Although the homebuilding market has improved in the last few years, the volume of 2017 housing starts is still just above previous volume troughs in historical cycles, and our business, liquidity, and results of operations continue to be impacted by the lasting effects of the significant and sustained downturn, and it may continue to materially adverse our business and results of operations in future years. If the homebuilding industry experiences another significant or sustained downturn, it would materially adversely affect our business and results of operations in future years.
The potential difficulties described above can cause demand and prices for our homes to fall or cause us to take longer and incur more costs to develop the land and build our homes. We may not be able to recover these increased costs by raising prices because of market conditions. The potential difficulties could also lead some homebuyers to cancel or refuse to honor their home purchase contracts altogether.
Inflation could adversely affect our business and financial results.
Inflation could adversely affect our business and financial results by increasing the costs of land, raw materials and labor needed to operate our business. If our markets have an oversupply of homes relative to demand, we may be unable to offset any such increases in costs with corresponding higher sales prices for our homes. Inflation may also accompany higher interests rates, which could adversely impact potential customers’ ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, thereby further decreasing demand. If we are unable to raise the prices of our homes to offset the increasing costs of our operations, our margins could decrease. Furthermore, if we need to lower the price of our homes to meet demand, the value of our land inventory may decrease. Inflation may also raise our costs of capital and decrease our purchasing power, making it more difficult to maintain sufficient funds to operate our business.
Interest rate changes may adversely affect us.
We currently do not hedge against interest rate fluctuations. We may obtain in the future one or more forms of interest rate protection in the form of swap agreements, interest rate cap contracts or similar agreements to hedge against the possible negative effects of interest rate fluctuations. However, we cannot assure you that any hedging will adequately relieve the adverse effects of interest rate increases or that counterparties under these agreements will honor their obligations thereunder. In addition, we may be subject to risks of default by hedging counterparties. Adverse economic conditions could also cause the terms on which we borrow to be unfavorable. We could be required to liquidate one or more of our assets at times which may not permit us to receive an attractive return on our assets in order to meet our debt service obligations.
We are subject to warranty and liability claims arising in the ordinary course of business that can be significant.
As a homebuilder and developer, we are subject to construction defect, product liability and home and other warranty claims, including moisture intrusion and related claims, arising in the ordinary course of business. These claims are common to the homebuilding industry and can be costly. There can be no assurance that any developments we undertake will be free from defects once completed and any defects attributable to us may lead to significant contractual or other liabilities. We maintain, and require
our subcontractors to maintain, general liability insurance (including construction defect and bodily injury coverage) and workers’ compensation insurance and generally seek to require our subcontractors to indemnify us for liabilities arising from their work. While these insurance policies, subject to deductibles and other coverage limits, and indemnities protect us against a portion of our risk of loss from claims related to our land development and homebuilding activities, we cannot provide assurance that these insurance policies and indemnities will be adequate to address all our home and other warranty, product liability and construction defect claims in the future, or that any potential inadequacies will not have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Additionally, the coverage offered by and the availability of general liability insurance for completed operations and construction defects are currently limited and costly. We cannot provide assurance that coverage will not be further restricted, increasing our risks and financial exposure to claims, and/or become costlier.
We may suffer uninsured losses or suffer material losses in excess of insurance limits.
We could suffer physical damage to property and liabilities resulting in losses that may not be fully recoverable by insurance. Insurance against certain types of risks, such as terrorism, earthquakes or floods or personal injury claims, may be unavailable, available in amounts that are less than the full market value or replacement cost of investment or underlying assets or subject to a large deductible or self-insurance retention amount. In addition, there can be no assurance certain types of risks which are currently insurable will continue to be insurable on an economically feasible basis. Should an uninsured loss or a loss in excess of insured limits occur or be subject to deductibles or self-insurance retention, we could sustain financial loss or lose capital invested in the affected property as well as anticipated future income from that property. Furthermore, we could be liable to repair damage or meet liabilities caused by risks that are uninsured or subject to deductibles. We may be liable for any debt or other financial obligations related to affected property. Material losses or liabilities in excess of insurance proceeds may occur in the future.
If the market value of our land inventory decreases, our results of operations could be adversely affected by impairments and write-downs.
The market value of our land and housing inventories depends on market conditions. We acquire land for expansion into new markets and for replacement of land inventory and expansion within our current markets. There is an inherent risk that the value of the land owned by us may decline after purchase. The valuation of property is inherently subjective and based on the individual characteristics of each property. We may have acquired options on or bought and developed land at a cost we will not be able to recover fully or on which we cannot build and sell homes profitably. In addition, our deposits for lots controlled under purchase, option or similar contracts may be put at risk.
Factors such as changes in regulatory requirements and applicable laws (including in relation to building regulations, taxation and planning), political conditions, the condition of financial markets, both local and national economic conditions, the financial condition of customers, potentially adverse tax consequences, and interest and inflation rate fluctuations are subject to uncertainty. Moreover, our valuations are made on the basis of assumptions that may not prove to reflect economic or demographic reality.
If housing demand fails to meet our expectations when we acquired our inventory, our profitability may be adversely affected and we may not be able to recover our costs when we build and sell houses. We regularly review the value of our land holdings and continue to review our holdings on a periodic basis. Material write-downs and impairments in the value of our inventory may be required, and we may in the future sell land or homes at a loss, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Fluctuations in real estate values may require us to write-down the book value of our real estate assets.
The homebuilding and land development industries are subject to significant variability and fluctuations in real estate values. As a result, we may be required to write-down the book value of our real estate assets in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and some of those write-downs could be material. Any material write-downs of assets could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Acts of war or terrorism may seriously harm our business.
Acts of war, any outbreak or escalation of hostilities between the United States and any foreign power or acts of terrorism may cause disruption to the U.S. economy, or the local economies of the markets in which we operate, cause shortages of building materials, increase costs associated with obtaining building materials, result in building code changes that could increase costs of construction, result in uninsured losses, affect job growth and consumer confidence, or cause economic changes that we cannot anticipate, all of which could reduce demand for our homes and adversely impact our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
A major health and safety incident relating to our business could be costly in terms of potential liabilities and reputational damage.
Building sites are inherently dangerous, and operating in the homebuilding and land development industry poses certain inherent health and safety risks. Due to health and safety regulatory requirements and the number of projects we work on, health and safety performance is critical to the success of all areas of our business.
Any failure in health and safety performance may result in penalties for non-compliance with relevant regulatory requirements or litigation, and a failure that results in a major or significant health and safety incident is likely to be costly in terms of potential liabilities incurred as a result. Such a failure could generate significant negative publicity and have a corresponding impact on our reputation and our relationships with relevant regulatory agencies, governmental authorities and local communities, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
We may become subject to litigation, which could materially and adversely affect us.
In the future, we may become subject to litigation or enforcement actions, including claims relating to our operations, securities offerings and otherwise in the ordinary course of business. Some of these claims may result in significant defense costs and potentially significant judgments against us, some of which are not, or cannot be, insured against. We cannot be certain of the ultimate outcomes of any claims that may arise in the future. Resolution of these types of matters against us may result in our having to pay significant fines, judgments, or settlements, which, if uninsured, or if the fines, judgments and settlements exceed insured levels, could adversely impact our earnings and cash flows, thereby materially and adversely affecting us. Certain litigation or the resolution of certain litigation may affect the availability or cost of some of our insurance coverage, which could materially and adversely impact us, expose us to increased risks that would be uninsured, and materially and adversely impact our ability to attract directors and officers.
Poor relations with the residents of our communities could negatively impact sales, which could cause our revenue or results of operations to decline.
Residents of communities we develop rely on us to resolve issues or disputes that may arise in connection with the operation or development of their communities. Efforts made by us to resolve these issues or disputes could be deemed unsatisfactory by the affected residents and subsequent actions by these residents could adversely affect our sales or our reputation. In addition, we could be required to make material expenditures related to the settlement of such issues or disputes or to modify our community development plans, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
An information systems interruption or breach in security could adversely affect us.
We rely on accounting, financial and operational management information systems to conduct our operations. Any disruption in these systems could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business. Furthermore, any security breach of information systems or data could result in a violation of applicable privacy and other laws, significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation, and a loss of confidence in our security measures, which could harm our business.
Termination of the employment agreement with our Chief Executive Officer could be costly and prevent a change in control of our company.
The employment agreement with our Chief Executive Officer, Eric Lipar, provides that if his employment with us terminates under certain circumstances, we may be required to pay him a significant amount of severance compensation, thereby making it costly to terminate his employment. Furthermore, these provisions could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control of our company that might involve a premium paid for shares of our common stock or otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
Any future government shutdowns or slowdowns may materially adversely affect our business or financial results.
The U.S. federal government shutdown in the first part of October 2013 which impacted FHA and the USDA, among other federal agencies, and their backing of mortgage loans, negatively affected our closings in October 2013. Any future government shutdowns or slowdowns may materially adversely affect our business or financial results. We can make no assurances that potential closings affected by any such shutdown or slowdown will occur after the shutdown or slowdown has ended.
Negative publicity could adversely affect our reputation as well as our business, financial results and stock price.
Unfavorable media related to our industry, company, brands, marketing, personnel, operations, business performance, or prospects may affect our stock price and the performance of our business, regardless of its accuracy or inaccuracy. The speed at which negative publicity can be disseminated has increased dramatically with the capabilities of electronic communication, including social media outlets, websites, blogs, or newsletters. Our success in maintaining, extending and expanding our brand image depends on our ability to adapt to this rapidly changing media environment. Adverse publicity or negative commentary
from any media outlet could damage our reputation and reduce the demand for our homes, which would adversely affect our business.
Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure
We depend on key management personnel and other experienced employees.
Our success depends to a significant degree upon the contributions of certain key management personnel including, but not limited to, Eric Lipar, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our board of directors. Although we have entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Lipar, there is no guarantee that Mr. Lipar will remain employed by us. If any of our key management personnel were to cease employment with us, our operating results could suffer. Our ability to retain our key management personnel or to attract suitable replacements should any members of our management team leave is dependent on the competitive nature of the employment market. The loss of services from key management personnel or a limitation in their availability could materially and adversely impact our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. Further, such a loss could be negatively perceived in the capital markets. We have not obtained key man life insurance that would provide us with proceeds in the event of death or disability of any of our key management personnel.
Experienced employees in the homebuilding, land acquisition, development, and construction industries are fundamental to our ability to generate, obtain and manage opportunities. In particular, local knowledge and relationships are critical to our ability to source attractive land acquisition opportunities. Experienced employees working in the homebuilding, development and construction industries are highly sought after. Failure to attract and retain such personnel or to ensure that their experience and knowledge is not lost when they leave the business through retirement, redundancy or otherwise may adversely affect the standards of our service and may have an adverse impact on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. The loss of any of our key personnel could adversely impact our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
We may change our operational policies, investment guidelines and our business and growth strategies without stockholder consent, which may subject us to different and more significant risks in the future.
Our board of directors will determine our operational policies, investment guidelines and our business and growth strategies. Our board of directors may make changes to, or approve transactions that deviate from, those policies, guidelines and strategies without a vote of, or notice to, our stockholders. This could result in us conducting operational matters, making investments or pursuing different business or growth strategies than those contemplated in this Annual Report on the Form 10-K. Under any of these circumstances, we may expose ourselves to different and more significant risks in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Changes in accounting rules, assumptions and/or judgments could materially and adversely affect us.
Accounting rules and interpretations for certain aspects of our financial reporting are highly complex and involve significant assumptions and judgment. These complexities could lead to a delay in the preparation and dissemination of our financial statements. Furthermore, changes in accounting rules and interpretations or in our accounting assumptions and/or judgments, such as asset impairments, could significantly impact our financial statements. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in restating prior period financial statements. Any of these circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
We expect to use leverage in executing our business strategy, which may adversely affect the return on our assets.
We expect to employ prudent levels of leverage to finance the acquisition and development of our lots and construction of our homes. Our existing indebtedness is recourse to us and we anticipate that future indebtedness will likewise be recourse. As of December 31,
2017
, we had a
$600.0 million
revolving credit facility (the “Credit Facility”
or “Credit Agreement”) to finance our construction and development activities. As of December 31,
2017
, we had outstanding borrowings of
$400.0 million
under the Credit Facility and we could borrow an additional
$161.3 million
under the Credit Facility. As of December 31,
2017
, borrowings under the Credit Facility bore interest at a rate of LIBOR plus
3.15%
per annum. In November 2014, the Company issued
$85.0 million
aggregate principal amount of its
4.25%
Convertible Notes due 2019 (the “Convertible Notes”).
Our board of directors will consider a number of factors when evaluating our level of indebtedness and when making decisions regarding the incurrence of new indebtedness, including the purchase price of assets to be acquired with debt financing, if any, the estimated market value of our assets and the ability of particular assets, and our company as a whole, to generate cash flow to cover the expected debt service. As a means of sustaining our long-term financial health and limiting our exposure to unforeseen dislocations in the debt and financing markets, we currently expect to remain conservatively capitalized. However, our certificate of incorporation does not contain a limitation on the amount of indebtedness we may incur and our board of directors may change our target debt levels at any time without the approval of our stockholders.
Incurring substantial indebtedness could subject us to many risks that, if realized, would adversely affect us, including the risk that:
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our cash flow from operations may be insufficient to make required payments of principal of and interest on the debt which is likely to result in acceleration of such indebtedness;
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our indebtedness may increase our vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions with no assurance that our profitability will increase with higher financing cost;
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we may be required to dedicate a portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our indebtedness, thereby reducing funds available for operations and capital expenditures, future investment opportunities or other purposes; and
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the terms of any refinancing may not be as favorable as the terms of the indebtedness being refinanced.
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If we do not have sufficient funds to repay our indebtedness at maturity, it may be necessary to refinance the indebtedness through additional debt or additional equity financings. If, at the time of any refinancing, prevailing interest rates or other factors result in higher interest rates on refinancings, increases in interest expense could adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations. If we are unable to refinance our indebtedness on acceptable terms, we may be forced to dispose of our assets on disadvantageous terms, potentially resulting in losses. To the extent we cannot meet any future debt service obligations, we will risk losing some or all of our assets that may be pledged to secure our obligations to foreclosure. Unsecured debt agreements may contain specific cross-default provisions with respect to specified other indebtedness, giving the unsecured lenders the right to declare a default if we are in default under other indebtedness in some circumstances. Defaults under the Credit Facility and our other debt agreements, if any, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Access to financing sources may not be available on favorable terms, or at all, especially in light of current market conditions, which could adversely affect our ability to maximize our returns.
Our access to additional third-party sources of financing will depend, in part, on:
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general market conditions;
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the market’s perception of our growth potential;
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with respect to acquisition and/or development financing, the market’s perception of the value of the land parcels to be acquired and/or developed;
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our current debt levels;
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our current and expected future earnings;
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the market price per share of our common stock.
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Since the global recession in 2008, domestic financial markets have, from time to time, experienced unusual volatility, uncertainty and a tightening of liquidity in both the high yield debt and equity capital markets. Credit spreads for major sources of capital widened significantly during the U.S. credit crisis as investors demanded a higher risk premium. Given such possible volatility and weakness in the capital and credit markets, potential lenders may be unwilling or unable to provide us with financing that is attractive to us or may increase collateral requirements or may charge us prohibitively high fees in order to obtain financing. Consequently, our ability to access the credit market in order to attract financing on reasonable terms may be adversely affected. Investment returns on our assets and our ability to make acquisitions could be adversely affected by our inability to secure additional financing on reasonable terms, if at all.
Depending on market conditions at the relevant time, we may have to rely more heavily on additional equity financings or on less efficient forms of debt financing that require a larger portion of our cash flow from operations, thereby reducing funds available for our operations, future business opportunities and other purposes. We may not have access to such equity or debt capital on favorable terms at the desired times, or at all.
Our current financing arrangements contain, and our future financing arrangements likely will contain, restrictive provisions.
Our current financing arrangements contain, and the financing arrangements we enter into in the future likely will contain, provisions that limit our ability to do certain things. In particular, the Credit Agreement requires us to maintain a tangible net worth of not less than
$300.0 million
plus
75%
of the net proceeds of any equity issuances plus
50%
of the amount of our net income in any fiscal quarter after the date of the Credit Agreement, a leverage ratio of not greater than
60.0%
, liquidity of at least
$50.0 million
and a ratio of EBITDA to interest expense for the most recent four quarters of at least
2.50 to 1.0
. The Credit Agreement also prohibits us from making any investments other than those permitted under the Credit Agreement. In addition, the Credit Agreement contains various covenants that, among other restrictions, limit the amount of our additional debt.
If we fail to meet or satisfy any of these provisions, we would be in default under the Credit Agreement and our lenders could elect to declare outstanding amounts due and payable, terminate their commitments, require the posting of additional collateral and enforce their respective interests against existing collateral. A default also could limit significantly our financing alternatives, which could cause us to curtail our investment activities and/or dispose of assets when we otherwise would not choose to do so. In addition, future indebtedness may contain financial covenants limiting our ability to, for example, incur additional indebtedness, make certain investments, reduce liquidity below certain levels and pay dividends to our stockholders, and otherwise affect our operating policies. If we default on one or more of our debt agreements, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, upon the occurrence of a “Fundamental Change” (as defined in the indenture governing the Convertible Notes), subject to certain conditions, the Convertible Notes include terms that allow a holder of the Convertible Notes to require to purchase all or a portion of such holder’s Convertible Notes for cash at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes to be purchased, plus any then accrued, but unpaid, interest.
Interest expense on debt we incur may limit our cash available to fund our growth strategies.
As of
December 31, 2017
, we had a
$600.0 million
revolving credit facility, outstanding borrowings of
$400.0 million
under the Credit Facility and we could borrow an additional
$161.3 million
under the Credit Facility. As of
December 31, 2017
, borrowings under the Credit Facility bore interest at a rate of LIBOR plus
3.15%
per annum. During November 2014, the Company issued
$85.0 million
aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Notes. If our operations do not generate sufficient cash from operations at levels currently anticipated, we may seek additional capital in the form of debt financing. Our current indebtedness includes, and any additional indebtedness we subsequently incur may have, a floating rate of interest. Higher interest rates could increase debt service requirements on our current floating rate indebtedness and on any floating rate indebtedness we subsequently incur, and could reduce funds available for operations, future business opportunities or other purposes. If we need to repay existing indebtedness during periods of rising interest rates, we could be required to refinance our then-existing indebtedness on unfavorable terms or liquidate one or more of our assets to repay such indebtedness at times which may not permit realization of the maximum return on such assets and could result in a loss. The occurrence of either such event or both could materially and adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations.
We are a holding company, and we are accordingly dependent upon distributions from our subsidiaries to pay dividends, if any, taxes and other expenses.
We are a holding company and will have no material assets other than our ownership of membership interests or limited partnership interests in our subsidiaries. We have no independent means of generating revenue. We intend to cause our subsidiaries to make distributions to their members or partners in an amount sufficient to cover all applicable taxes payable and dividends, if any, declared by us. Future financing arrangements may contain negative covenants, limiting the ability of our subsidiaries to declare or pay dividends or make distributions. To the extent that we need funds, and our subsidiaries are restricted from making such dividends or distributions under applicable law or regulations, or otherwise unable to provide such funds, for example, due to restrictions in future financing arrangements that limit the ability of our operating subsidiaries to distribute funds, our liquidity and financial condition could be materially harmed.
The obligations associated with being a public company will require significant resources and management attention.
As a public company with listed equity securities, we must comply with laws, regulations and requirements, including the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, certain corporate governance provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, related regulations of the SEC and requirements of the NASDAQ Global Select Market. The Exchange Act requires that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we establish and maintain effective internal controls and procedures for financial reporting.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“Section 404”) requires our management and independent auditors to report annually on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. As of December 31, 2017, we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” and, therefore, we are no longer subject to emerging growth company exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies, including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404. As of December 31, 2017 when we became a “large accelerate filer” (as defined in the relevant SEC rules), we are required to include an opinion from our independent auditors on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.
These reporting and other obligations place significant demands on our management, administrative, operational and accounting resources and cause us to incur significant expenses. We may need to upgrade our systems or create new systems, implement additional financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures, create or outsource an internal audit function, and hire additional accounting and finance staff. If we are unable to accomplish these objectives in a timely and effective
fashion, our ability to comply with the financial reporting requirements and other rules that apply to reporting companies could be impaired. Any failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately determine our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, investors could lose confidence in our financial results, which could materially and adversely affect us.
Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud. We may in the future discover areas of our internal controls that need improvement. We cannot be certain that we will be successful in maintaining adequate internal control over our financial reporting and financial processes. Furthermore, as we grow our business, our internal controls will become more complex, and we will require significantly more resources to ensure our internal controls remain effective. Additionally, the existence of any material weakness or significant deficiency would require management to devote significant time and incur significant expense to remediate any such material weakness or significant deficiency and management may not be able to remediate any such material weakness or significant deficiency in a timely manner. The existence of any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting could also result in errors in our financial statements that could require us to restate our financial statements, cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, all of which could materially and adversely affect us.
Any joint venture investments that we make could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision making authority, our reliance on the financial condition of our joint venture partners and disputes between us and our joint venture partners.
We may co-invest in the future with third parties through partnerships, joint ventures or other entities, acquiring non-controlling interests in or sharing responsibility for managing the affairs of a land acquisition and/or a development. In this event, we would not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding the acquisition and/or development, and our investment may be illiquid due to our lack of control. Investments in partnerships, joint ventures, or other entities may, under certain circumstances, involve risks not present were a third-party not involved, including the possibility that our joint venture partners might become bankrupt, fail to fund their share of required capital contributions, make poor business decisions or block or delay necessary decisions. Our joint venture partners may have economic or other business interests or goals which are inconsistent with our business interests or goals, and may be in a position to take actions contrary to our policies or objectives. Such investments may also have the potential risk of impasses on decisions, such as a sale, because neither we nor our joint venture partners would have full control over the land acquisition or development. Disputes between us and our joint venture partners may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses and prevent our officers and/or directors from focusing their time and effort on our business. In addition, we may in certain circumstances be liable for the actions of our joint venture partners.
Cautionary Statement about Forward-Looking Statements
From time to time we make statements concerning our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance and underlying assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. You can generally identify our forward-looking statements by the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “projection,” “should,” “will” or other similar words.
We have based our forward-looking statements on our management’s beliefs and assumptions based on information available to our management at the time the statements are made. We caution you that assumptions, beliefs, expectations, intentions and projections about future events may, and often do, vary materially from actual results. Therefore, we cannot assure you that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements.
The following are some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements:
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adverse economic changes either nationally or in the markets in which we operate, including, among other things, increases in unemployment, volatility of mortgage interest rates and inflation and decreases in housing prices;
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a slowdown in the homebuilding industry;
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volatility and uncertainty in the credit markets and broader financial markets;
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the cyclical and seasonal nature of our business;
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our future operating results and financial condition;
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our business operations;
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changes in our business and investment strategy;
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the success of our operations in recently opened new markets and our ability to expand into additional new markets;
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our ability to successfully extend our business model to building homes with higher price points, developing larger communities and producing and selling multi-unit products, townhouses, wholesale products, and acreage home sites;
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our ability to develop our projects successfully or within expected timeframes;
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our ability to identify potential acquisition targets and close such acquisitions;
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our ability to successfully integrate any acquisitions with our existing operations;
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availability of land to acquire and our ability to acquire such land on favorable terms or at all;
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availability, terms and deployment of capital;
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decisions of the lender group of our revolving credit facility;
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the occurrence of the specific conversion events that enable early conversion of our 4.25% Convertible Notes due 2019;
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decline in the market value of our land portfolio;
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disruption in the terms or availability of mortgage financing or increase in the number of foreclosures in our markets;
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shortages of or increased prices for labor, land, or raw materials used in land development and housing construction;
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delays in land development or home construction resulting from natural disasters, adverse weather conditions or other events outside our control;
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uninsured losses in excess of insurance limits;
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the cost and availability of insurance and surety bonds;
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changes in, liabilities under, or the failure or inability to comply with, governmental laws and regulations;
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the timing of receipt of regulatory approvals and the opening of projects;
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the degree and nature of our competition;
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increases in taxes or government fees;
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poor relations with the residents of our projects;
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future litigation, arbitration or other claims;
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availability of qualified personnel and third-party contractors and subcontractors;
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our ability to retain our key personnel;
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our leverage and future debt service obligations;
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the impact on our business of any future government shutdown;
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other risks and uncertainties inherent in our business; and
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You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. We expressly disclaim any intent, obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.