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Nature of Business and Financial Statement Presentation (Policies)
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Use of Estimates in Preparation of Financial Statements

Use of Estimates in Preparation of Financial Statements

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the year. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Unaudited Interim Financial Statements

Unaudited Interim Financial Statements

These financial statements have been prepared by the Company in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, they do not include all information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. However, in the opinion of management, the interim financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of the results of the periods presented. The results of operations for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, as amended.

Principles of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the results of the Company and all entities in which the Company has a controlling interest or has been determined to be the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity (“VIE”). Investments in joint ventures that the Company does not control are accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

All significant inter-company balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Investments in real estate joint ventures and companies in which the Company has the ability to exercise significant influence, but does not have financial or operating control, are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. Accordingly, the Company’s share of the earnings (or loss) of these joint ventures and companies is included in consolidated net income.

Discontinued Operations

Discontinued Operations

In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued a final standard that changed the criteria for determining which disposals are presented as discontinued operations. The revised definition of a discontinued operation is “a component or group of components that has been disposed of or is classified as held for sale, together as a group in a single transaction,” and “represents a strategic shift that has (or will have) a major effect on an entity’s financial results.” The FASB agreed that a strategic shift includes “a disposal of (i) a separate major line of business, (ii) a separate major geographical area of operations, or (iii) a combination of parts of (i) or (ii) that make up a major part of an entity’s operations and financial results.” A business that, upon acquisition, qualifies as held for sale will also be a discontinued operation. The FASB also reaffirmed its decision to no longer preclude presentation of a disposal as a discontinued operation if (a) there is significant continuing involvement with a component after its disposal, or (b) there are operations and cash flows of the component that have not been eliminated from the reporting entity’s ongoing operations. The guidance may be applied prospectively to new disposals and new classifications of disposal groups classified as held for sale after the effective date. Public entities will be required to apply the standard in annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014, and interim periods within those annual periods. The Company is currently assessing the impact, if any, that the adoption of this standard will have on its future disposals.