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Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2011
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies |
NOTE 1. | ORGANIZATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
FASB Accounting Standards Codification. The company presents its financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"). In June 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") completed its accounting guidance codification project. The FASB Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") became effective for the Company's financial statements issued subsequent to June 30, 2009 and is the single source of authoritative accounting principles recognized by the FASB to be applied by nongovernmental entities in the preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP. As of the effective date, the company will no longer refer to the authoritative guidance dictating its accounting methodologies under the previous accounting standards hierarchy. Instead, the Company will refer to the ASC Codification as the sole source of authoritative literature. Organization and business. ARL was organized in 1999. In August 2000, the Company acquired American Realty Trust, Inc., a Georgia corporation ("ART") and National Realty L.P.; a Delaware limited partnership ("NRLP"). ART was the successor to a District of Columbia business trust organized in 1961. The business trust was merged into ART in 1988. NRLP was organized in 1987 and subsequently acquired all of the assets and assumed all of the liabilities of several public and private limited partnerships. NRLP also owned a portfolio of real estate and mortgage loan investments. ARL is a "C" corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The Company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and its common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") under the symbol ("ARL"). Approximately 87.4% of ARL's stock is owned by affiliated entities. ARL subsidiaries own approximately 82.7% of the outstanding shares of common stock of Transcontinental Realty Investors, Inc., a Nevada corporation ("TCI") whose common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") under the symbol ("TCI"). ARL has consolidated TCI's accounts and operations since March 2003. On July 17, 2009, TCI, a subsidiary of ARL, acquired from Syntek West, Inc., ("SWI"), 2,518,934 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share of IOT at an aggregate price of $17,884,431 (approximately $7.10 per share), the full amount of which was paid by TCI through an assumption of an aggregate amount of indebtedness of $17,884,431 on the outstanding balance owed by SWI to IOT. The 2,518,934 shares of IOT common stock acquired by TCI constituted approximately 60.4% of the issued and outstanding common stock of IOT. TCI had owned for several years an aggregate of 1,037,184 shares of common stock of IOT (approximately 25% of the issued and outstanding stock). After giving effect to the transaction on July 17, 2009, TCI owned an aggregate of 3,556,118 shares of IOT common stock which constituted over 80% of the shares of common stock of IOT outstanding. As of December 31, 2011, TCI owned 82.6% of the outstanding IOT common shares. Shares of IOT are traded on the American Stock Exchange ("AMEX") under the symbol ("IOT"). With TCI's acquisition of the additional shares on July 17, 2009, which increased the aggregate ownership to in excess of 80%, beginning in July 2009, IOT's results of operations are now consolidated with those of TCI for tax and financial reporting purposes. At the time of the acquisition, the historical accounting value of IOT's assets was $112 million and liabilities were $43 million. In that the shares of IOT acquired by TCI were from a related party, the values recorded by TCI are IOT's historical accounting values at the date of transfer. The Company's fair valuation of IOT's assets and liabilities at the acquisition date approximated IOT's book value. The net difference between the purchase price and historical accounting basis of the assets and liabilities acquired was $26.9 million and has been reflected by TCI as deferred income. The deferred income will be recognized upon the sale of the land that IOT held on its books as of the date of sale, to an independent third party. ARL's Board of Directors represents the Company's shareholders and is responsible for directing the overall affairs of ARL and for setting the strategic policies that guide the Company. As of April 30, 2011, the Board of Directors delegated the day-to-day management of the Company to Pillar Income Asset Management, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company ("Pillar") under a written Advisory Agreement that is reviewed annually by ARL's Board of Directors. The directors of ARL are also directors of TCI and IOT. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of ARL also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of TCI and IOT. The officers of ARL also serve as officers of TCI, IOT and Pillar. Prior to April 30, 2011, the Company's contractual Advisor and Cash Manager was Prime Income Asset Management, LLC ("Prime"). Effective April 30, 2011, Pillar Income Asset Management, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company ("Pillar"), the sole member of which is Realty Advisors, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, the sole member of which is Realty Advisors, Inc., a Nevada corporation, the sole stockholder of which is Realty Advisors Management, Inc., a Nevada corporation which is owned 100% by a Trust known as the May Trust, became the Company's external Advisor and Cash Manager. Pillar's duties include, but are not limited to, locating, evaluating and recommending real estate and real estate-related investment opportunities. Pillar also arranges, for ARL's benefit, debt and equity financing with third party lenders and investors. Pillar also serves as an Advisor and Cash Manager to TCI and IOT. As the contractual advisor, Pillar is compensated by ARL under an Advisory Agreement that is more fully described in Part III, Item 10. "Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—The Advisor". ARL has no employees. Employees of Pillar render services to ARL in accordance with the terms of the Advisory Agreement. Prior to December 31, 2010, Triad Realty Services, L.P. ("Triad"), an affiliate of Prime, provided management services for our commercial properties. Triad subcontracted the property-level management and leasing of our commercial properties (office buildings, shopping centers and industrial warehouses) to Regis Realty I, LLC ("Regis I"). Regis Hotel I, LLC, another Prime affiliate, managed the Company's hotel investments. Effective January 1, 2011, Regis Realty Prime, LLC, dba Regis Property Management, LLC ("Regis"), the sole member of which is Realty Advisors, LLC, manages our commercial and hotel properties, and provides brokerage services under similar terms as the previous agreements with Triad and Regis Realty I. Regis receives property and construction management fees and leasing commissions in accordance with the terms of its property-level management agreement. Regis is also entitled to receive real estate brokerage commissions in accordance with the terms of a non-exclusive brokerage agreement. See Part III, Item 10. "Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Property Management and Real Estate Brokerage". ARL engages third-party companies to lease and manage its apartment properties. Our primary business is the acquisition, development and ownership of income-producing residential and commercial real estate properties. In addition, we opportunistically acquire land for future development in in-fill or high-growth suburban markets. From time to time and when we believe it appropriate to do so, we will also sell land and income-producing properties. We generate revenues by leasing apartment units to residents, and leasing office, industrial and retail space to various for-profit businesses as well as certain local, state and federal agencies, and renting hotel rooms to guests. We also generate revenues from gains on sales of income-producing properties and land. At December 31, 2011, we owned 50 residential apartment communities comprising of 9,317 units, 17 commercial properties comprising an aggregate of approximately 3.9 million square feet, one hotel comprising 161 rooms and an investment in 5,315 acres of undeveloped and partially developed land. Basis of presentation. The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements include our accounts, our subsidiaries, generally all of which are wholly-owned, and all entities in which we have a controlling interest. Arrangements that are not controlled through voting or similar rights are accounted for as a Variable Interest Entity (VIE), in accordance with the provisions and guidance of ASC Topic 810 "Consolidation", whereby we have determined that we are a primary beneficiary of the VIE and meet certain criteria of a sole general partner or managing member as identified in accordance with Emerging Issues Task Force ("EITF") Issue 04-5, Investor's Accounting for an Investment in a Limited Partnership when the Investor is the Sole General Partner and the Limited Partners have Certain Rights ("EITF 04-5"). VIEs are generally entities that lack sufficient equity to finance their activities without additional financial support from other parties or whose equity holders as a group lack adequate decision making ability, the obligation to absorb expected losses or residual returns of the entity, or have voting rights that are not proportional to their economic interests. The primary beneficiary generally is the entity that provides financial support and bears a majority of the financial risks, authorizes certain capital transactions, or makes operating decisions that materially affect the entity's financial results. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In determining whether we are the primary beneficiary of a VIE, we consider qualitative and quantitative factors, including, but not limited to: the amount and characteristics of our investment; the obligation or likelihood for us or other investors to provide financial support; our and the other investors' ability to control or significantly influence key decisions for the VIE; and the similarity with and significance to the business activities of us and the other investors. Significant judgments related to these determinations include estimates about the current future fair values and performance of real estate held by these VIEs and general market conditions. For entities in which we have less than a controlling financial interest or entities where it is not deemed to be the primary beneficiary, the entities are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. Accordingly, our share of the net earnings or losses of these entities is included in consolidated net income. ARI's investments in Gruppa Florentina, LLC and LK-Four Hickory, LLC are accounted for under the equity method. Our investment in Garden Centura, L.P. was accounted for under the equity method until December 28, 2011, when it was sold to a third party Real estate, depreciation, and impairment. Real estate assets are stated at the lower of depreciated cost or fair value, if deemed impaired. Major replacements and betterments are capitalized and depreciated over their estimated useful lives. Depreciation is computed on a straight-line basis over the useful lives of the properties (buildings and improvements—10-40 years; furniture, fixtures and equipment—5-10 years). We continually evaluate the recoverability of the carrying value of its real estate assets using the methodology prescribed in ASC Topic 360, "Property, Plant and Equipment," Factors considered by management in evaluating impairment of its existing real estate assets held for investment include significant declines in property operating profits, annually recurring property operating losses and other significant adverse changes in general market conditions that are considered permanent in nature. Under ASC Topic 360, a real estate asset held for investment is not considered impaired if the undiscounted, estimated future cash flows of an asset (both the annual estimated cash flow from future operations and the estimated cash flow from the theoretical sale of the asset) over its estimated holding period are in excess of the asset's net book value at the balance sheet date. If any real estate asset held for investment is considered impaired, a loss is provided to reduce the carrying value of the asset to its estimated fair value. Real estate held for sale. We periodically classify real estate assets as held for sale. An asset is classified as held for sale after the approval of the Company's board of directors and after an active program to sell the asset has commenced. Upon the classification of a real estate asset as held for sale, the carrying value of the asset is reduced to the lower of its net book value or its estimated fair value, less costs to sell the asset. Subsequent to the classification of assets as held for sale, no further depreciation expense is recorded. Real estate assets held for sale are stated separately on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Upon a decision to no longer market as an asset for sale, the asset is classified as an operating asset and depreciation expense is reinstated. The operating results of real estate assets held for sale and sold are reported as discontinued operations in the accompanying statements of operations. Income from discontinued operations includes the revenues and expenses, including depreciation and interest expense, associated with the assets. This classification of operating results as discontinued operations applies retroactively for all periods presented. Additionally, gains and losses on assets designated as held for sale are classified as part of discontinued operations. Cost Capitalization. Costs related to planning, developing, leasing and constructing a property are capitalized and classified as Real Estate in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. We capitalize interest to qualifying assets under development based on average accumulated expenditures outstanding during the period. In capitalizing interest to qualifying assets, we first use the interest incurred on specific project debt, if any, and next uses the weighted average interest rate of non-project specific debt. We capitalize interest, real estate taxes and certain operating expenses until building construction is substantially complete and the building is ready for its intended use, but no later than one year from the cessation of major construction activity. We capitalize leasing costs which include commissions paid to outside brokers, legal costs incurred to negotiate and document a lease agreement and any internal costs that may be applicable. We allocate these costs to individual tenant leases and amortize them over the related lease term. Fair value measurement. We apply the guidance in ASC Topic 820, "Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures," to the valuation of real estate assets. These provisions define fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in a transaction between market participants at the measurement date, establish a hierarchy that prioritizes the information used in developing fair value estimates and require disclosure of fair value measurements by level within the fair value hierarchy. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable data (Level 3 measurements), such as the reporting entity's own data. The valuation hierarchy is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability as of the measurement date and includes three levels defined as follows:
Level 1 |  | — |  | Unadjusted quoted prices for identical and unrestricted assets or liabilities in active markets.
Level 2 |  | — |  | Quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the financial instrument.
Level 3 |  | — |  | Unobservable inputs that are significant to the fair value measurement.
A financial instrument's categorization within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Recognition of revenue. Our revenues, which are composed largely of rental income, include rents reported on a straight-line basis over the lease term. In accordance with ASC 805 "Business Combinations", we recognize rental revenue of acquired in-place "above-" and "below-market" leases at their fair values over the terms of the respective leases. Reimbursements of operating costs, as allowed under most of our commercial tenant leases, consist of amounts due from tenants for common area maintenance, real estate taxes and other recoverable costs, and are recognized as revenue in the period in which the recoverable expenses are incurred. We record these reimbursements on a "gross" basis, since we generally are the primary obligor with respect to purchasing goods and services from third-party suppliers, have discretion in selecting the supplier and have the credit risk with respect to paying the supplier. Rental income for residential property leases is recorded when due from residents and is recognized monthly as earned, which is not materially different than on a straight-line basis as lease terms are generally for periods of one year or less. For hotel properties, revenues for room sales and guest services are recognized as rooms are occupied and services are rendered. An allowance for doubtful accounts is recorded for all past due rents and operating expense reimbursements considered to be uncollectible. Sales and the associated gains or losses of real estate assets are recognized in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 360-20, "Property, Plant and Equipment—Real Estate Sale". The specific timing of a sale is measured against various criteria in ASC 360-20 related to the terms of the transaction and any continuing involvement in the form of management or financial assistance associated with the properties. If the sales criteria for the full accrual method are not met, the Company defers some or all of the gain recognition and accounts for the continued operations of the property by applying the finance, leasing, deposit, installment or cost recovery methods, as appropriate, until the sales criteria are met. Foreign currency translation. Foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities of subsidiaries with local functional currencies are translated to United States dollars at year-end exchange rates. The effects of translation are recorded in the cumulative translation component of shareholders' equity. Subsidiaries with a United States dollar functional currency re-measure monetary assets and liabilities at year-end exchange rates and non-monetary assets and liabilities at historical exchange rates. The effects of re-measurement are included in income. Exchange gains and losses arising from transactions denominated in foreign currencies are translated at average exchange rates. Non-performing notes receivable. ARL considers a note receivable to be non-performing when the maturity date has passed without principal repayment and the borrower is not making interest payments in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Interest recognition on notes receivable. For notes other than surplus cash notes, we record interest income as earned in accordance with the terms of the related loan agreements. On cash flow notes where payments are based upon surplus cash from operations, accrued but unpaid interest income is only recognized to the extent cash is received. Allowance for estimated losses. We assess the collectability of notes receivable on a periodic basis, of which the assessment consists primarily of an evaluation of cash flow projections of the borrower to determine whether estimated cash flows are sufficient to repay principal and interest in accordance with the contractual terms of the note. We recognize impairments on notes receivable when it is probable that principal and interest will not be received in accordance with the contractual terms of the loan. The amount of the impairment to be recognized generally is based on the fair value of the partnership's real estate that represents the primary source of loan repayment. See Note 3 for details on our Notes Receivable. Cash equivalents. For purposes of the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less are considered to be cash equivalents. Earnings per share. Income (loss) per share is presented in accordance with ASC 620 "Earnings per Share". Income (loss) per share is computed based upon the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each year. Use of estimates. In the preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, it is necessary for management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the Consolidated Financial Statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expense for the year ended. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Income Taxes. ARL is a "C Corporation" for U.S. federal income tax purposes. ARL files an annual consolidated income tax return with TCI and IOT and their subsidiaries. ARL is the common parent for the consolidated group. ARL is part of a tax sharing and compensating agreement with respect to federal income taxes between ARL, TCI and IOT and their subsidiaries that was entered into in July of 2009. Prior to 2009, ARL and TCI and their subsidiaries were in a tax sharing and compensating agreement with respect to federal income taxes and IOT was the parent company of its own consolidated filing group. The agreement specifies the manner in which the group will share the consolidated tax liability and also how certain tax attributes are to be treated among members of the group. Recent Accounting Pronouncements. There were no recent accounting pronouncements that our company has not implemented that materially affect our financial statements.

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