UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011

Commission File No. 1-8923

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE REIT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

(419) 247-2800

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)  

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:  None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes  þ   No  o 

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.  Yes  o   No  þ 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to the filing requirements for at least the past 90 days.  Yes  þ   No  o 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes  þ   No  o 

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment of this Form 10-K.  R 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes  o   No  þ 

 

The aggregate market value of the shares of voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing sales price of such shares on the New York Stock Exchange as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was $9,247,925,006.

 

As of January 31, 2012, the registrant had 192,618,772 shares of common stock outstanding.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for the annual stockholders’ meeting to be held May 3, 2012, are incorporated by reference into Part III.

 

HEALTH CARE REIT, INC.

2011 FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

PART I

 

Item 1.  Business 

 

General

 

Health Care REIT, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that has been at the forefront of seniors housing and health care real estate since the company was founded in 1970.  We are an S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio and our portfolio spans the full spectrum of seniors housing and health care real estate, including seniors housing communities, skilled nursing/post-acute facilities, medical office buildings, inpatient and outpatient medical centers and life science facilities. Our capital programs, when combined with comprehensive planning, development and property management services, make us a single-source solution for acquiring, planning, developing, managing, repositioning and monetizing real estate assets.  More information is available on the Internet at www.hcreit.com.

 

Our primary objectives are to protect stockholder capital and enhance stockholder value. We seek to pay consistent cash dividends to stockholders and create opportunities to increase dividend payments to stockholders as a result of annual increases in rental and interest income and portfolio growth. To meet these objectives, we invest across the full spectrum of seniors housing and health care real estate and diversify our investment portfolio by property type, customer and geographic location.

 

Depending upon the availability and cost of external capital, we believe our liquidity is sufficient to fund operations, meet debt service obligations (both principal and interest), make dividend distributions and complete construction projects in process. We also continue to evaluate opportunities to finance future investments. New investments are generally funded from temporary borrowings under our unsecured line of credit arrangement, internally generated cash and the proceeds from sales of real property. Our investments generate cash from rent and interest receipts, resident fees and services and principal payments on loans receivable. Permanent financing for future investments, which replaces funds drawn under the unsecured line of credit arrangement, has historically been provided through a combination of public and private offerings of debt and equity securities and the incurrence or assumption of secured debt.

 

References herein to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” refer to Health Care REIT, Inc. and its subsidiaries unless specifically noted otherwise.

 

Portfolio of Properties

 

The following table summarizes our portfolio as of December 31, 2011:

 

 

Property Types

 

We invest in seniors housing and health care real estate. We evaluate our business and make resource allocations on our three business segments — seniors housing triple-net, seniors housing operating, and medical facilities. For additional information regarding business segments, see Note 17 to our consolidated financial statements.  The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies (see Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements).  The following is a summary of our various property types.

 

 

Seniors Housing Triple-Net

 

Our seniors housing triple-net properties include independent living/continuing care retirement communities, assisted living facilities, Alzheimer’s/dementia facilities, skilled nursing/post-acute facilities and combinations thereof. We invest in seniors housing triple-net real estate primarily through acquisitions and development. Properties are primarily leased under triple-net leases and we are not involved in property management.  Our properties include stand-alone facilities that provide one level of service, combination facilities that provide multiple levels of service, and communities or campuses that provide a wide range of services.

 

Independent Living Facilities.  Independent living facilities are age-restricted, multifamily properties with central dining facilities that provide residents access to meals and other services such as housekeeping, linen service, transportation and social and recreational activities.

 

Continuing Care Retirement Communities.  Continuing care retirement communities include a combination of detached homes, an independent living facility, an assisted living facility and/or a skilled nursing facility on one campus. These communities are appealing to residents because there is no need for relocating when health and medical needs change. Resident payment plans vary, but can include entrance fees, condominium fees and rental fees. Many of these communities also charge monthly maintenance fees in exchange for a living unit, meals and some health services.

 

Assisted Living Facilities.  Assisted living facilities are state regulated rental properties that provide the same services as independent living facilities, but also provide supportive care from trained employees to residents who require assistance with activities of daily living, including management of medications, bathing, dressing, toileting, ambulating and eating.

 

Alzheimer’s/Dementia Care Facilities.  Certain assisted living facilities may include state licensed settings that specialize in caring for those afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and/or other types of dementia.

 

Skilled Nursing/Post-Acute Facilities.  Skilled nursing/post-acute facilities are licensed daily rate or rental properties where the majority of individuals require 24-hour nursing and/or medical care. Generally, these properties are licensed for Medicaid and/or Medicare reimbursement and are subject to triple-net operating leases.  All facilities offer some level of rehabilitation services.  Some facilities offer rehabilitation units specializing in cardiac, orthopedic, dialysis, neurological or pulmonary rehabilitation, which focus on higher acuity patients.

 

     Our seniors housing triple-net segment accounted for 45%, 57% and 67% of total revenues (including discontinued operations and our pro rata share of unconsolidated entities) for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.  We lease 150 facilities to Genesis HealthCare, LLC pursuant to a long-term, triple-net master lease.  In addition to rent, the master lease requires Genesis to pay all operating costs, utilities, real estate taxes, insurance, building repairs, maintenance costs and all obligations under the ground leases.  All obligations under the master lease have been guaranteed by FC-GEN Operations Investment, LLC.  For the year ended December 31, 2011, our lease with Genesis accounted for approximately 26% of our seniors housing triple-net segment revenues and 12% of our total revenues.

 

Seniors Housing Operating

 

Our seniors housing operating properties include independent living facilities, assisted living facilities, Alzheimer’s facilities and combinations thereof.  Descriptions of these facility types are provided above under Seniors Housing Triple-Net.  We invest in seniors housing operating real estate primarily through acquisitions. Properties are primarily held in consolidated entities with operating partners, structured to take advantage of the REIT Investment Diversification Act of 2007 (“RIDEA”).  Our properties include stand-alone facilities that provide one level of service, combination facilities that provide multiple levels of service, and communities or campuses that provide a wide range of services.

 

     Our seniors housing operating segment accounted for 31%, 7% and 0% of total revenues (including discontinued operations and our pro rata share of unconsolidated entities) for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.  We have partnerships with Merrill Gardens LLC, Benchmark Senior Living, LLC and Silverado Senior Living, Inc. to own and operate portfolios of 48, 34 and 19 facilities, respectively.  In each instance, our partner provides management services to the properties pursuant to an incentive-based management contract.  We rely on our partners to effectively and efficiently manage these properties.  The following table provides information about our seniors housing operating concentration for the year ended December 31, 2011:

 

Partner                                                                                   % of Segment Revenues                    % of Total Revenues

Merrill Gardens LLC                                                                           34%                                                        11%

Benchmark Senior Living, LLC                                                        36%                                                        11%

Silverado Senior Living, Inc.                                                             21%                                                        6%

 

 

 

Medical Facilities

 

Our medical facilities include medical office buildings, hospitals and life science buildings.  Our medical office buildings are typically leased to multiple tenants and generally require a certain level of property management. Our hospital investments are typically structured similar to our seniors housing triple-net investments.  Our life science investments represent investments in an unconsolidated joint venture entity (see Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements).

 

Medical Office Buildings.  The medical office building portfolio consists of health care related buildings that include physician offices, ambulatory surgery centers, diagnostic facilities, outpatient services and/or labs. Our portfolio has a strong affiliation with health systems: Approximately 87% of our medical office building portfolio is affiliated with health systems by having buildings on hospital campuses or serving as satellite locations for the health system and their physicians.

 

Hospitals.  Our hospitals generally include acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, and long-term acute care hospitals. Acute care hospitals provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, including, but not limited to, surgery, rehabilitation, therapy and clinical laboratories. Inpatient rehabilitation hospitals provide inpatient services for patients with intensive rehabilitation needs. Long-term acute care hospitals provide inpatient services for patients with complex medical conditions that require more intensive care, monitoring or emergency support than is available in most skilled nursing facilities.

 

Life Science Buildings.  The life science building portfolio consists of laboratory and office facilities specifically designed and constructed for use by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.  These facilities, located adjacent to The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is a well established market known for pharmaceutical and biotechnology research, are similar to commercial office buildings with advanced HVAC, ventilation, electrical and mechanical systems.

 

     Our medical facilities segment accounted for 24%, 35% and 33% of total revenues (including discontinued operations and our pro rata share of unconsolidated entities) for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

 

Investments

 

We invest in seniors housing and health care real estate primarily through acquisitions and developments. For additional information regarding acquisition and development activity, please see Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements.  We diversify our investment portfolio by property type, customer and geographic location. In determining whether to invest in a property, we focus on the following: (1) the experience of the obligor’s management team; (2) the historical and projected financial and operational performance of the property; (3) the credit of the obligor; (4) the security for the lease or loan; (5) the real estate attributes of the building and its location; and (6) the capital committed to the property by the obligor. We conduct market research and analysis for all potential investments. In addition, we review the value of all properties, the interest rates and covenant requirements of any facility-level debt to be assumed by us at the time of the acquisition and the anticipated sources of repayment of any of the obligor’s existing debt that is not to be assumed by us at the time of the acquisition.

 

We monitor our investments through a variety of methods determined by the type of property. Our asset management process for seniors housing triple-net properties generally includes review of monthly financial statements and other operating data for each property, periodic review of obligor creditworthiness, periodic property inspections and review of covenant compliance relating to licensure, real estate taxes, letters of credit and other collateral. Our internal property management division actively manages and monitors the medical office building portfolio with a comprehensive process including tenant relations, tenant lease expirations, the mix of health service providers, hospital/health system relationships, property performance, capital improvement needs and market conditions among other things. In monitoring our portfolio, our personnel use a proprietary database to collect and analyze property-specific data. Additionally, we conduct extensive research to ascertain industry trends and risks.

 

Through asset management and research, we evaluate the operating environment in each property’s market to determine whether payment risk is likely to increase. When we identify unacceptable levels of payment risk, we seek to mitigate, eliminate or transfer the risk. We categorize the risk as obligor, property or market risk. For obligor risk, we typically find a substitute operator/tenant to run the property. For property risk, we usually work with the operator/tenant to institute property-level management changes to address the risk. Finally, for market risk, we often encourage an obligor to change its capital structure, including refinancing the property or raising additional equity. Through these asset management and research efforts, we are generally able to intervene at an early stage to address payment risk, and in so doing, support both the collectability of revenue and the value of our investment.

 

Depending upon market conditions, we believe that new investments will be available in the future with spreads over our cost of capital that will generate appropriate returns to our stockholders.

 

 

 

 

Investment Types

 

Real Property.  Our properties are primarily comprised of land, building, improvements and related rights.  Our hospitals and seniors housing triple-net properties are generally leased to operators under long-term operating leases.  The leases generally have a fixed contractual term of 12 to 15 years and contain one or more five to 15-year renewal options. Certain of our leases also contain purchase options.  Most of our rents are received under triple-net leases requiring the operator to pay rent and all additional charges incurred in the operation of the leased property. The tenants are required to repair, rebuild and maintain the leased properties. Substantially all of these operating leases are designed with either fixed or contingent escalating rent structures. Leases with fixed annual rental escalators are generally recognized on a straight-line basis over the initial lease period, subject to a collectability assessment. Rental income related to leases with contingent rental escalators is generally recorded based on the contractual cash rental payments due for the period.

 

At December 31, 2011, approximately 93% of our hospitals and seniors housing triple-net properties were subject to master leases. A master lease is a lease of multiple properties to one tenant entity under a single lease agreement. From time to time, we may acquire additional properties that are then leased to the tenant under the master lease. The tenant is required to make one monthly payment that represents rent on all the properties that are subject to the master lease. Typically, the master lease tenant can exercise its right to purchase the properties or to renew the master lease only with respect to all leased properties at the same time. This bundling feature benefits us because the tenant cannot limit the purchase or renewal to the better performing properties and terminate the leasing arrangement with respect to the poorer performing properties. This spreads our risk among the entire group of properties within the master lease. The bundling feature should provide a similar advantage if the master lease tenant is in bankruptcy. Subject to certain restrictions, a debtor in bankruptcy has the right to assume or reject each of its leases. It is our intent that a tenant in bankruptcy would be required to assume or reject the master lease as a whole, rather than deciding on a property by property basis.

 

Our medical office building portfolio is primarily self-managed and consists principally of multi-tenant properties leased to health care providers. Our leases have favorable lease terms that typically include fixed increasers and some form of operating expense reimbursement by the tenant. As of December 31, 2011, 86.6% of our portfolio included leases with full pass through, 11.6% with a partial expense reimbursement (modified gross) and 1.8% with no expense reimbursement (gross). Our medical office building leases are non-cancellable operating leases that have a weighted average remaining term of 8.4 years at December 31, 2011 and are often credit enhanced by guaranties and/or letters of credit.

 

Construction.  We currently provide for the construction of properties for tenants generally as part of long-term operating leases. We capitalize certain interest costs associated with funds used to pay for the construction of properties owned by us. The amount capitalized is based upon the amount advanced during the construction period using the rate of interest that approximates our cost of financing. Our interest expense is reduced by the amount capitalized. We also typically charge a transaction fee at the commencement of construction which we defer and amortize to income over the term of the resulting lease. The construction period commences upon funding and terminates upon the earlier of the completion of the applicable property or the end of a specified period. During the construction period, we advance funds to the tenants in accordance with agreed upon terms and conditions which require, among other things, periodic site visits by a Company representative. During the construction period, we generally require an additional credit enhancement in the form of payment and performance bonds and/or completion guaranties. At December 31, 2011, we had outstanding construction investments of $189,502,000 and were committed to providing additional funds of approximately $282,899,000 to complete construction for investment properties.

 

Real Estate Loans.  Our real estate loans are typically structured to provide us with interest income, principal amortization and transaction fees and are generally secured by a first, second or third mortgage lien, leasehold mortgage, corporate guaranties and/or personal guaranties. At December 31, 2011, we had outstanding real estate loans of $292,507,000. The interest yield averaged approximately 9% per annum on our outstanding real estate loan balances. Our yield on real estate loans depends upon a number of factors, including the stated interest rate, average principal amount outstanding during the term of the loan and any interest rate adjustments. The real estate loans outstanding at December 31, 2011 are generally subject to three to 20-year terms with principal amortization schedules and/or balloon payments of the outstanding principal balances at the end of the term. Typically, real estate loans are cross-defaulted and cross-collateralized with other real estate loans, operating leases or agreements between us and the obligor and its affiliates.

 

Principles of Consolidation

 

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of our wholly-owned subsidiaries and joint venture entities that we control, through voting rights or other means. All material intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

At inception of the joint venture transactions, we identify entities for which control is achieved through means other than voting rights (“variable interest entities” or “VIEs”) and determine which business enterprise is the primary beneficiary of its operations. A variable interest entity is broadly defined as an entity where either (i) the equity investors as a group, if any, do not have a controlling financial interest, or (ii) the equity investment at risk is insufficient to finance that entity's activities without additional subordinated financial support. We consolidate investments in VIEs when we are determined to be the primary beneficiary.  Accounting Standards

 

Codification (“ASC”) 810 requires enterprises to perform a qualitative approach to determining whether or not a VIE will need to be consolidated on a continuous basis. This evaluation is based on an enterprise’s ability to direct and influence the activities of a variable interest entity that most significantly impact that entity’s economic performance.

 

For investments in joint ventures, we evaluate the type of rights held by the limited partner(s), which may preclude consolidation in circumstances in which the sole general partner would otherwise consolidate the limited partnership. The assessment of limited partners' rights and their impact on the presumption of control over a limited partnership by the sole general partner should be made when an investor becomes the sole general partner and should be reassessed if (i) there is a change to the terms or in the exercisability of the rights of the limited partners, (ii) the sole general partner increases or decreases its ownership in the limited partnership interests, or (iii) there is an increase or decrease in the number of outstanding limited partnership interests. We similarly evaluate the rights of managing members of limited liability companies.

 

Investments in Unconsolidated Entities

 

Investments in less than majority owned entities where our interests represent a general partnership interest but substantive participating rights or substantive kick-out rights have been granted to the limited partners, or where our interests do not represent the general partnership interest and we do not control the major operating and financial policies of the entity, are reported under the equity method of accounting. Under the equity method of accounting, our share of the investee’s earnings or losses is included in our consolidated results of operations. To the extent that our cost basis is different from the basis reflected at the entity level, the basis difference is generally amortized over the lives of the related assets and liabilities, and such amortization is included in our share of equity in earnings of the entity.  The initial carrying value of investments in unconsolidated entities is based on the amount paid to purchase the entity interest or the estimated fair value of the assets prior to the sale of interests in the entity. Other equity investments include an investment in available-for-sale securities and an investment in a private company where we do not have the ability to exercise influence over the company, so the investment is accounted for under the cost method. These equity investments represented a minimal ownership interest in these companies. We evaluate our equity method investments for impairment based upon a comparison of the estimated fair value of the equity method investment to its carrying value. When we determine a decline in the estimated fair value of such an investment below its carrying value is other-than-temporary, an impairment is recorded.

 

Borrowing Policies

 

We utilize a combination of debt and equity to fund investments. Our debt and equity levels are determined by management to maintain a conservative credit profile. Generally, we intend to issue unsecured, fixed rate public debt with long-term maturities to approximate the maturities on our leases and loans. For short-term purposes, we may borrow on our unsecured line of credit arrangement. We replace these borrowings with long-term capital such as senior unsecured notes, common stock or preferred stock. When terms are deemed favorable, we may invest in properties subject to existing mortgage indebtedness. In addition, we may obtain secured financing for unleveraged properties in which we have invested or may refinance properties acquired on a leveraged basis. In our agreements with our lenders, we are subject to restrictions with respect to secured and unsecured indebtedness.

 

Competition

 

We compete with other real estate investment trusts, real estate partnerships, private equity and hedge fund investors, banks, insurance companies, finance/investment companies, government-sponsored agencies, taxable and tax-exempt bond funds, health care operators, developers and other investors in the acquisition, development, leasing and financing of health care and seniors housing properties. Some of our competitors are larger with greater resources and lower costs of capital than us. Increased competition inhibits our ability to identify and successfully complete investments. We compete for investments based on a number of factors including rates, financings offered, underwriting criteria and reputation. Our ability to successfully compete is also impacted by economic and population trends, availability of acceptable investment opportunities, our ability to negotiate beneficial investment terms, availability and cost of capital, construction and renovation costs and new and existing laws and regulations.

 

The operators/tenants of our properties compete on a local and regional basis with operators/tenants of properties that provide comparable services. Operators/tenants compete for patients and residents based on a number of factors including quality of care, reputation, physical appearance of properties, services offered, family preferences, physicians, staff and price. We also face competition from other health care facilities for tenants, such as physicians and other health care providers that provide comparable facilities and services.

 

For additional information on the risks associated with our business, please see “Item 1A — Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Employees

 

As of December 31, 2011, we had 308 employees.

 

 

 

Customer Concentrations

 

The following table summarizes certain information about our customer concentrations as of December 31, 2011 (dollars in thousands):

 

_____________________

(1)     Merrill Gardens and Benchmark are in our seniors housing operating segment whereas the other top five customers are in our senior housing triple-net segment.

(2)     Excludes our share of investments in unconsolidated entities.  Please see Note 7 for additional information.

(3)     Investments with our top five customers comprised 32% of total investments at December 31, 2010.

  

Certain Government Regulations

 

Health Law Matters — Generally

 

Typically, operators of seniors housing facilities do not receive significant funding from government programs and are largely subject to state laws, as opposed to federal laws. Operators of skilled nursing facilities and hospitals do receive significant funding from government programs, and these facilities are subject to the federal and state laws that regulate the type and quality of the medical and/or nursing care provided, ancillary services (e.g., respiratory, occupational, physical and infusion therapies), qualifications of the administrative personnel and nursing staff, the adequacy of the physical plant and equipment, reimbursement and rate setting and operating policies.  In addition, as described below, operators of these facilities are subject to extensive laws and regulations pertaining to health care fraud and abuse, including, but not limited to, the Federal Anti-kickback Statute, the Federal Stark Law, and the Federal False Claims Act, as well as comparable state law counterparts.  Hospitals, physician group practice clinics, and other health care providers that operate in our portfolio are subject to extensive federal, state, and local licensure, registration, certification, and inspection laws, regulations, and industry standards. Our tenants’ failure to comply with any of these, and other, laws could result in loss of accreditation; denial of reimbursement; imposition of fines; suspension, decertification, or exclusion from federal and state health care programs; loss of license; or closure of the facility.

 

Licensing and Certification

 

The primary regulations that affect seniors housing facilities with assisted living are state licensing and registration laws. In granting and renewing these licenses, the state regulatory agencies consider numerous factors relating to a property’s physical plant and operations including, but not limited to, admission and discharge standards, staffing, and training. A decision to grant or renew a license is also affected by a property owner’s record with respect to patient and consumer rights, medication guidelines, and rules.  Certain of the seniors housing facilities mortgaged to or owned by us may require the resident to pay an entrance or upfront fee, a portion of which may be refundable.  These entrance fee communities are subject to significant state regulatory oversight, including, for example, oversight of each facility’s financial condition; establishment and monitoring of reserve requirements, and other financial restrictions; the right of residents to cancel their contracts within a specified period of time; lien rights in favor of residents; restrictions on change of ownership; and similar matters.  Such oversight, and the rights of residents within these entrance fee communities, may have an effect on the revenue or operations of the operators of such facilities, and, therefore, may adversely affect us.

 

Certain health care facilities are subject to a variety of licensure and certificate of need (“CON”) laws and regulations.  Where applicable, CON laws generally require, among other requirements, that a facility demonstrate the need for (1) constructing a new facility, (2) adding beds or expanding an existing facility, (3) investing in major capital equipment or adding new services, (4) changing the ownership or control of an existing licensed facility, or (5) terminating services that have been previously approved through the CON process.  Certain state CON laws and regulations may restrict the ability of operators to add new properties or expand an existing facility’s size or services. In addition, CON laws may constrain the ability of an operator to transfer responsibility for operating a particular facility to a new operator.  If we have to replace a property operator who is excluded from participating in a federal or state health care program (as discussed below), our ability to replace the operator may be affected by a particular state’s CON laws, regulations, and applicable guidance governing changes in provider control.

 

 

With respect to licensure, generally our skilled nursing facilities and acute care facilities are required to be licensed and certified for participation in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs.  This generally requires license renewals and compliance surveys on an annual or bi-annual basis. The failure of our operators to maintain or renew any required license or regulatory approval as well as the failure of our operators to correct serious deficiencies identified in a compliance survey could require those operators to discontinue operations at a property.  In addition, if a property is found to be out of compliance with Medicare, Medicaid, or other health care program conditions of participation, the property operator may be excluded from participating in those government health care programs.  Any such occurrence may impair an operators’ ability to meet their financial obligations to us.  If we have to replace an excluded property operator, our ability to replace the operator may be affected by federal and state laws, regulations, and applicable guidance governing changes in provider control. This may result in payment delays, an inability to find a replacement operator, a significant working capital commitment from us to a new operator or other difficulties.

 

Reimbursement

 

Seniors Housing Facilities.  Approximately 53% of our overall revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011 were attributable to seniors housing facilities.  The majority of the revenues received by the operators of our seniors housing facilities are from private pay sources. The remaining revenue source is primarily Medicaid under certain waiver programs. As a part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (“OBRA”) of 1981, Congress established a waiver program enabling some states to offer Medicaid reimbursement to assisted living providers as an alternative to institutional long-term care services. The provisions of OBRA and the subsequent OBRA Acts of 1987 and 1990 permit states to seek a waiver from typical Medicaid requirements to develop cost-effective alternatives to long-term care, including Medicaid payments for assisted living and home health. As of December 31, 2011, seven of our 38 seniors housing operators received Medicaid reimbursement pursuant to Medicaid waiver programs. For the twelve months ended September 30, 2011, approximately 5% of the revenues at our seniors housing facilities were from Medicaid reimbursement. There can be no guarantee that a state Medicaid program operating pursuant to a waiver will be able to maintain its waiver status.

 

Rates paid by self-pay residents are set by the facilities and are determined by local market conditions and operating costs. Generally, facilities receive a higher payment per day for a private pay resident than for a Medicaid beneficiary who requires a comparable level of care. The level of Medicaid reimbursement varies from state to state.  Thus, the revenues generated by operators of our assisted living facilities may be adversely affected by payor mix, acuity level, changes in Medicaid eligibility, and reimbursement levels.  In addition, a state could lose its Medicaid waiver and no longer be permitted to utilize Medicaid dollars to reimburse for assisted living services. Changes in revenues could in turn have a material adverse effect on an operator’s ability to meet its obligations to us.

 

Skilled Nursing Facilities and Hospitals.  Skilled nursing facilities and hospitals typically receive most of their revenues from the Medicare and Medicaid programs, with the balance representing reimbursement payments from private payors, including private insurers.  Consequently, changes in federal or state reimbursement policies may also adversely affect an operator’s ability to cover its expenses, including our rent or debt service. Skilled nursing facilities and hospitals are subject to periodic pre- and post-payment reviews, and other audits by federal and state authorities.  A review or audit of a property operator’s claims could result in recoupments, denials, or delay of payments in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on the operator’s ability to meet its financial obligations to us.  Due to the significant judgments and estimates inherent in payor settlement accounting, no assurance can be given as to the adequacy of any reserves maintained by our property operators to cover potential adjustments to reimbursements, or to cover settlements made to payors.  In fact, in December 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) released a report focusing on skilled nursing facilities’ billing practices for Medicare Part A payments, and found that between 2006-2008 skilled nursing facilities increasingly billed for higher paying Resource Utilization Groups (“RUGs”), the payment classification mechanism for the Medicare program, even though beneficiary characteristics remained largely unchanged.  In particular, from 2006 to 2008, OIG found that the percentage of RUGs for ultra high therapy increased from 17% to 28%, despite the fact that beneficiaries’ ages and diagnoses at admission were largely unchanged during that time period. As a result of the recent attention on skilled nursing billing practices and ongoing government pressure to reduce spending by government health care programs, government health care programs have reduced RUG payments that may be made to skilled nursing facilities for 2012 as discussed in further detail below, and, as a result, an operator’s ability to meet its financial obligations to us may be impaired.  Further reductions in such payments may significantly impair an operator’s ability to meet its financial obligations to us.

 

Medicare Reimbursement and Skilled Nursing Facilities.  For the twelve months ended September 30, 2011, approximately 32% of the revenues at our skilled nursing facilities (which comprised 22% of our overall revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011) were paid by Medicare. Skilled nursing facilities are reimbursed under the Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (“SNF PPS”). There is a risk that some skilled nursing facilities’ costs will exceed the fixed payments under the SNF PPS, and there is also a risk that payments under the SNF PPS may be set below the costs to provide certain items and services, which could result in immediate financial difficulties for skilled nursing facilities, and could cause operators to seek bankruptcy protection. Skilled nursing facilities have faced these types of difficulties since the implementation of the SNF PPS.

 

 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), made a negative payment update for skilled nursing facilities for fiscal year 2012.  For fiscal year 2012, skilled nursing facilities received an 11.1% decrease, or $3.87 billion, in RUG payments, resulting from a 2.7% market basket update less a 1% multi-factor productivity adjustment and a 12.6% reduction, or $4.47 billion, to recalibrate the RUGs-IV therapy payment rates. CMS announced that the reasons for this rate reduction were to correct for the unintended spike in payment levels, particularly those associated with higher paying RUGs, and to align reimbursement with cost. In addition, on November 21, 2011, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, which was created by the Budget Control Act of 2011, concluded its work, and issued a statement that it was not able to make a bipartisan agreement, thus triggering the sequestration process.  The sequestration process will result in spending reductions starting in 2013, including Medicare cuts.  

 

In addition, Section 5008 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 directed the Secretary of HHS to conduct a Post Acute Care Payment Reform Demonstration (“PAC-PRD”) program, for a three year period, beginning January 1, 2008, to assess the costs and outcomes of patients discharged from hospitals in a variety of post-acute care settings, including skilled nursing facilities. The demonstration program’s results and recommendations were reported to Congress in a January 2012 report.  The results and recommendations could lead to future changes in Medicare coverage, reimbursement, and reporting requirements for post-acute care. 

 

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 mandated caps on Medicare reimbursement for certain therapy services. However, Congress imposed various moratoriums on the implementation of those caps. For 2012, the annual payment cap of $1,880 per patient applies to occupational therapy and a separate $1,880 cap applies to speech and physical therapy. Congress has permitted patients exceeding the cap to obtain additional Medicare coverage through a waiver program if the therapy is deemed medically necessary. The waiver program was historically extended and was most recently extended through February 29, 2012 by the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011.

 

If the exception expires, patients will need to use private funds to pay for the cost of therapy above the caps.  If patients are unable to satisfy their out-of-pocket cost responsibility to reimburse an operator for services rendered, the operator’s ability to meet its financial obligations to us could be adversely impacted.

 

Medicare Reimbursement and Hospitals.  For the twelve months ended September 30, 2011, approximately 52% of the revenues at our hospitals (which comprised 5% of our overall revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011) were from Medicare reimbursements. Hospitals, generally, are reimbursed by Medicare under the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (“PPS”), the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”), the Long Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (“LTCH PPS”), or the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System (“IRF PPS”). Acute care hospitals provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services including, but not limited to, surgery, rehabilitation, therapy, and clinical laboratory services. Long-term acute care hospitals provide inpatient services for patients with medical conditions that are often complex and that require more intensive care, monitoring or emergency support than that available in most skilled nursing facilities. Inpatient rehabilitation facilities provide intensive rehabilitation services in an inpatient setting for patients requiring at least three hours of rehabilitation services a day.

 

With respect to Medicare’s PPS for regular hospitals, reimbursement for inpatient services is made on the basis of a fixed, prospective rate, based on the principal diagnosis of the patient.  Hospitals may be at risk to the extent that their costs in treating a specific case exceed the fixed payment amount. The diagnosis related group (“DRG”) reimbursement system was updated in 2008 to expand the number of DRGs from 538 to 745 in order to better distinguish more severe conditions. One additional DRG was added in 2009, for a new total of 746. In some cases, a hospital might be able to qualify for an outlier payment if the hospital’s losses exceed a threshold.

 

President Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013, which begins October 1, 2012, was released on February 13, 2012 and has the potential to further impact Medicare reimbursement rates by proposing to cut Medicare reimbursement to a host of providers, including hospitals, home health agencies, and nursing homes.  These proposals, if implemented, could adversely affect our operators and tenants.

 

Medicaid Reimbursement.  Medicaid is a major payor source for residents in our skilled nursing facilities and hospitals. For the twelve months ended September 30, 2011, approximately 48% of the revenues of our skilled nursing facilities and 11% of the revenues of our hospitals were attributable to Medicaid reimbursement payments. The federal and state governments share responsibility for financing Medicaid. The federal matching rate, known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (“FMAP”), varies by state based on relative per capita income, but is at least 50% in all states. On average, Medicaid is the largest component of total state spending, representing approximately 21% of total state spending. The percentage of Medicaid dollars used for long-term care varies from state to state, due in part to different ratios of elderly population and eligibility requirements. Within certain federal guidelines, states have a fairly wide range of discretion to determine eligibility and reimbursement methodology.  Many states reimburse long-term care facilities using fixed daily rates, which are applied prospectively based on patient acuity and the historical

 

costs incurred in providing patient care. Reasonable costs typically include allowances for staffing, administrative and general expenses, property, and equipment (e.g., real estate taxes, depreciation and fair rental).

 

In most states, Medicaid does not fully reimburse the cost of providing skilled nursing services. Certain states are attempting to slow the rate of growth in Medicaid expenditures by freezing rates or restricting eligibility and benefits. As of the beginning of state fiscal year 2011, states in which we have skilled nursing property investments held rates flat on average for the year. Our skilled nursing portfolio’s average Medicaid rate will likely vary throughout the year as states continue to make interim changes to their budgets and Medicaid funding. In addition, Medicaid reimbursement rates may decline if revenues in a particular state are not sufficient to fund budgeted expenditures.  President Obama’s proposed fiscal year budget for 2013, released on February 13, 2012, includes a proposal to place new limits on state provider taxes that are used to pay the state share of Medicaid and has the potential to further impact Medicaid reimbursement rates.  The President’s budget includes a proposal to phase down the Medicaid provider tax, a tax paid by health care providers to help fund state Medicaid programs, beginning with a reduction from the current law level of 6.0% to 4.5% in fiscal year 2015.  The President’s budget also includes a proposal to replace the Federal matching rate for state Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program with a single matching rate specific to each state.  If the President’s proposals are implemented, the various state Medicaid programs will receive less funds, which could adversely affect our operators and tenants.

 

The Medicare Part D drug benefit became effective January 1, 2006. Since that date, low-income Medicare beneficiaries (eligible for both Medicare and full Medicaid benefits), including those nursing home residents who are dually eligible for both programs, may enroll and receive outpatient prescription drugs under Medicare, not Medicaid. Medicare Part D has resulted in increased administrative responsibilities for nursing home operators because enrollment in Medicare Part D is voluntary and residents must choose between multiple prescription drug plans.  Operators may also experience increased expenses to the extent that a particular drug prescribed to a patient is not listed on the Medicare Part D drug plan formulary for the plan in which the patient is enrolled.

 

The reimbursement methodologies applied to health care facilities continue to evolve.  Federal and state authorities have considered and may seek to implement new or modified reimbursement methodologies that may negatively impact health care property operations.  The impact of any such changes, if implemented, may result in a material adverse effect on our skilled nursing and hospital property operations. No assurance can be given that current revenue sources or levels will be maintained.  Accordingly, there can be no assurance that payments under a government health care program are currently, or will be in the future, sufficient to fully reimburse the property operators for their operating and capital expenses.  As a result, an operator’s ability to meet its financial obligations to us could be adversely impacted.

 

Finally, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which amends the PPACA (collectively, the “Health Reform Laws”) (further discussed below) may have a significant impact on Medicare, Medicaid, other federal health care programs, and private insurers, which impact the reimbursement amounts received by skilled nursing facilities and other health care providers. The Health Reform Laws could have a substantial and material adverse effect on all parties directly or indirectly involved in the health care system.

 

Other Related Laws

 

Skilled nursing facilities and hospitals (and seniors housing facilities that receive Medicaid payments) are subject to federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and applicable guidance that govern the operations and financial and other arrangements that may be entered into by health care providers. Certain of these laws prohibit direct or indirect payments of any kind for the purpose of inducing or encouraging the referral of patients for medical products or services reimbursable by government health care programs. Other laws require providers to furnish only medically necessary services and submit to the government valid and accurate statements for each service. Still, other laws require providers to comply with a variety of safety, health and other requirements relating to the condition of the licensed property and the quality of care provided.  Sanctions for violations of these laws, regulations, and other applicable guidance may include, but are not limited to, criminal and/or civil penalties and fines, loss of licensure, immediate termination of government payments, and exclusion from any government health care program. In certain circumstances, violation of these rules (such as those prohibiting abusive and fraudulent behavior) with respect to one property may subject other facilities under common control or ownership to sanctions, including exclusion from participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as other government health care programs.  In the ordinary course of its business, a property operator is regularly subjected to inquiries, investigations, and audits by the federal and state agencies that oversee these laws and regulations.

 

All health care providers, including, but not limited to skilled nursing facilities and hospitals (and seniors housing facilities that receives Medicaid payments) are also subject to the Federal Anti-kickback Statute, which generally prohibits persons from offering, providing, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce either the referral of an individual or the furnishing of a good or service for which payment may be made under a federal health care program, such as Medicare or Medicaid. Skilled nursing facilities and hospitals are also subject to the Federal Ethics in Patient Referral Act of 1989, commonly referred to as the Stark Law. The Stark Law generally prohibits the submission of claims to Medicare for payment if the claim results from a physician referral for certain designated services and the physician has a financial relationship with the health service provider that does not qualify under one of

 

the exceptions for a financial relationship under the Stark Law. Similar prohibitions on physician self-referrals and submission of claims apply to state Medicaid programs. Further, health care providers, including, but not limited to, skilled nursing facilities and hospitals (and seniors housing facilities that receive Medicaid payments), are subject to substantial financial penalties under the Civil Monetary Penalties Act and the Federal False Claims Act and, in particular, actions under the Federal False Claims Act’s “whistleblower” provisions. Private enforcement of health care fraud has increased due in large part to amendments to the Federal False Claims Act that encourage private individuals to sue on behalf of the government. These whistleblower suits brought by private individuals, known as qui tam actions, may be filed by almost anyone, including present and former patients, nurses and other employees.  Such whistleblower actions have been brought against nursing facilities on the basis of the alleged failure of the nursing facility to meet applicable regulations relating to its operations.  Significantly, if a claim is successfully adjudicated, the Federal False Claims Act provides for treble damages up to $11,000 per claim.  

 

Prosecutions, investigations, or whistleblower actions could have a material adverse effect on a property operator’s liquidity, financial condition, and operations, which could adversely affect the ability of the operator to meet its financial obligations to us.  Finally, various state false claim act and anti-kickback laws may also apply to each property operator. Violation of any of the foregoing statutes can result in criminal and/or civil penalties that could have a material adverse effect on the ability of an operator to meet its financial obligations to us.

 

Other legislative developments, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), have greatly expanded the definition of health care fraud and related offenses and broadened its scope to include private health care plans in addition to government payors. Congress also has greatly increased funding for the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services to audit, investigate and prosecute suspected health care fraud.  Moreover, a significant portion of the billions in health care fraud recoveries over the past several years has also been returned to government agencies to further fund their fraud investigation and prosecution efforts.

 

Additionally, other HIPAA provisions and regulations provide for communication of health information through standard electronic transaction formats and for the privacy and security of health information. In order to comply with the regulations, health care providers often must undertake significant operational and technical implementation efforts.  Operators also may face significant financial exposure if they fail to maintain the privacy and security of medical records and other personal health information about individuals. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act, passed in February 2009, strengthened the HHS Secretary’s authority to impose civil money penalties for HIPAA violations occurring after February 18, 2009. HITECH directs the HHS Secretary to provide for periodic audits to ensure covered entities and their business associates (as that term is defined under HIPAA) comply with the applicable HITECH requirements, increasing the likelihood that a HIPAA violation will result in an enforcement action. CMS issued an interim Final Rule which conformed HIPAA enforcement regulations to the HITECH Act, increasing the maximum penalty for multiple violations of a single requirement or prohibition to $1.5 million.  Higher penalties may accrue for violations of multiple requirements or prohibitions.  HIPAA violations are also potentially subject to criminal penalties.

 

In November 2002, CMS began an ongoing national Nursing Home Quality Initiative (“NHQI”). Under this initiative, historical survey information, the NHQI Pilot Evaluation Report and the NHQI Overview is made available to the public on-line. The NHQI website provides consumer and provider information regarding the quality of care in nursing homes. The data allows consumers, providers, states, and researchers to compare quality information that shows how well nursing homes are caring for their residents’ physical and clinical needs. The posted nursing home quality measures come from resident assessment data that nursing homes routinely collect on the residents at specified intervals during their stay. If the operators of nursing facilities are unable to achieve quality of care ratings that are comparable or superior to those of their competitors, they may lose market share to other facilities, reducing their revenues and adversely impacting their ability to make rental payments.

 

Finally, government investigations and enforcement actions brought against the health care industry have increased dramatically over the past several years and are expected to continue. Some of these enforcement actions represent novel legal theories and expansions in the application of the Federal False Claims Act. The costs for an operator of a health care property associated with both defending such enforcement actions and the undertakings in settling these actions can be substantial and could have a material adverse effect on the ability of an operator to meet its obligations to us.

 

Taxation

 

Federal Income Tax Considerations

 

The following summary of the taxation of the Company and the material federal tax consequences to the holders of our debt and equity securities is for general information only and is not tax advice. This summary does not address all aspects of taxation that may be relevant to certain types of holders of stock or securities (including, but not limited to, insurance companies, tax-exempt entities, financial institutions or broker-dealers, persons holding shares of common stock as part of a hedging, integrated conversion, or

 

constructive sale transaction or a straddle, traders in securities that use a mark-to-market method of accounting for their securities, investors in pass-through entities and foreign corporations and persons who are not citizens or residents of the United States).

 

This summary does not discuss all of the aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to you in light of your particular investment or other circumstances. In addition, this summary does not discuss any state or local income taxation or foreign income taxation or other tax consequences. This summary is based on current U.S. federal income tax law. Subsequent developments in U.S. federal income tax law, including changes in law or differing interpretations, which may be applied retroactively, could have a material effect on the U.S. federal income tax consequences of purchasing, owning and disposing of our securities as set forth in this summary. Before you purchase our securities, you should consult your own tax advisor regarding the particular U.S. federal, state, local, foreign and other tax consequences of acquiring, owning and selling our securities.

 

General

 

We elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (a “REIT”) commencing with our first taxable year. We intend to continue to operate in such a manner as to qualify as a REIT, but there is no guarantee that we will qualify or remain qualified as a REIT for subsequent years. Qualification and taxation as a REIT depends upon our ability to meet a variety of qualification tests imposed under federal income tax law with respect to income, assets, distribution level and diversity of share ownership as discussed below under “— Qualification as a REIT.” There can be no assurance that we will be owned and organized and will operate in a manner so as to qualify or remain qualified.

 

In any year in which we qualify as a REIT, in general, we will not be subject to federal income tax on that portion of our REIT taxable income or capital gain that is distributed to stockholders. We may, however, be subject to tax at normal corporate rates on any taxable income or capital gain not distributed. If we elect to retain and pay income tax on our net long-term capital gain, stockholders are required to include their proportionate share of our undistributed long-term capital gain in income, but they will receive a refundable credit for their share of any taxes paid by us on such gain.

 

Despite the REIT election, we may be subject to federal income and excise tax as follows:

 

•     To the extent that we do not distribute all of our net capital gain or distribute at least 90%, but less than 100%, of our “REIT taxable income,” as adjusted, we will be subject to tax on the undistributed amount at regular corporate tax rates;

 

•     We may be subject to the “alternative minimum tax” (the “AMT”) on certain tax preference items to the extent that the AMT exceeds our regular tax;

 

•     If we have net income from the sale or other disposition of “foreclosure property” that is held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business or other non-qualifying income from foreclosure property, such income will be taxed at the highest corporate rate;

 

•     Any net income from prohibited transactions (which are, in general, sales or other dispositions of property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business, other than dispositions of foreclosure property and dispositions of property due to an involuntary conversion) will be subject to a 100% tax;

 

•     If we fail to satisfy either the 75% or 95% gross income tests (as discussed below), but nonetheless maintain our qualification as a REIT because certain other requirements are met, we will be subject to a 100% tax on an amount equal to (1) the gross income attributable to the greater of (i) 75% of our gross income over the amount of qualifying gross income for purposes of the 75% gross income test (discussed below) or (ii) 95% of our gross income over the amount of qualifying gross income for purposes of the 95% gross income test (discussed below) multiplied by (2) a fraction intended to reflect our profitability;

 

•     If we fail to distribute during each year at least the sum of (1) 85% of our REIT ordinary income for the year, (2) 95% of our REIT capital gain net income for such year (other than capital gain that we elect to retain and pay tax on) and (3) any undistributed taxable income from preceding periods, we will be subject to a 4% excise tax on the excess of such required distribution over amounts actually distributed; and

 

•     We will be subject to a 100% tax on the amount of any rents from real property, deductions or excess interest paid to us by any of our “taxable REIT subsidiaries” that would be reduced through reallocation under certain federal income tax principles in order to more clearly reflect income of the taxable REIT subsidiary. See “— Qualification as a REIT — Investments in Taxable REIT Subsidiaries.”

 

•     We may be subject to the corporate “alternative minimum tax” on any items of tax preference, including any deductions of net operating losses.

 

 

If we acquire any assets from a corporation, which is or has been a “C” corporation, in a carryover basis transaction, we could be liable for specified liabilities that are inherited from the “C” corporation. A “C” corporation is generally defined as a corporation that is required to pay full corporate level federal income tax. If we recognize gain on the disposition of the assets during the ten-year period beginning on the date on which the assets were acquired by us, then, to the extent of the assets’ “built-in gain” (i.e., the excess of the fair market value of the asset over the adjusted tax basis in the asset, in each case determined as of the beginning of the ten-year period), we will be subject to tax on the gain at the highest regular corporate rate applicable. The results described in this paragraph with respect to the recognition of built-in gain assume that the built-in gain assets, at the time the built-in gain assets were subject to a conversion transaction (either where a “C” corporation elected REIT status or a REIT acquired the assets from a “C” corporation), were not treated as sold to an unrelated party and gain recognized.  For the twelve months ending December 31, 2011, we acquired 135 assets with built-in gain that could be subject to built-in gains tax if disposed of prior to December 2021.  For those properties that are subject to the built-in-gains tax, if triggered by a sale within the ten-year period beginning on the date on which the properties were acquired by us, then the potential amount of built-in-gains tax will be an additional factor when considering a possible sale of the properties.  See Note 18 to our consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding the built-in gains tax.

 

Qualification as a REIT

 

A REIT is defined as a corporation, trust or association:

 

(1)     which is managed by one or more trustees or directors;

 

(2)     the beneficial ownership of which is evidenced by transferable shares or by transferable certificates of beneficial interest;

 

(3)     which would be taxable as a domestic corporation but for the federal income tax law relating to REITs;

 

(4)     which is neither a financial institution nor an insurance company;

 

(5)     the beneficial ownership of which is held by 100 or more persons in each taxable year of the REIT except for its first taxable year;

 

(6)     not more than 50% in value of the outstanding stock of which is owned during the last half of each taxable year, excluding its first taxable year, directly or indirectly, by or for five or fewer individuals (which includes certain entities) (the “Five or Fewer Requirement”); and

 

(7)     which meets certain income and asset tests described below.

 

Conditions (1) to (4), inclusive, must be met during the entire taxable year and condition (5) must be met during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months or during a proportionate part of a taxable year of less than 12 months. For purposes of conditions (5) and (6), pension funds and certain other tax-exempt entities are treated as individuals, subject to a “look-through” exception in the case of condition (6).

 

Based on publicly available information, we believe we have satisfied the share ownership requirements set forth in (5) and (6) above. In addition, Article VI of our by-laws provides for restrictions regarding ownership and transfer of shares. These restrictions are intended to assist us in continuing to satisfy the share ownership requirements described in (5) and (6) above. These restrictions, however, may not ensure that we will, in all cases, be able to satisfy the share ownership requirements described in (5) and (6) above.

 

We have complied with, and will continue to comply with, regulatory rules to send annual letters to certain of our stockholders requesting information regarding the actual ownership of our stock. If, despite sending the annual letters, we do not know, or after exercising reasonable diligence would not have known, whether we failed to meet the Five or Fewer Requirement, we will be treated as having met the Five or Fewer Requirement. If we fail to comply with these regulatory rules, we will be subject to a monetary penalty. If our failure to comply was due to intentional disregard of the requirement, the penalty would be increased. However, if our failure to comply were due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, no penalty would be imposed.

 

We may own a number of properties through wholly owned subsidiaries. A corporation will qualify as a “qualified REIT subsidiary” if 100% of its stock is owned by a REIT, and the REIT does not elect to treat the subsidiary as a taxable REIT subsidiary. A “qualified REIT subsidiary” will not be treated as a separate corporation, and all assets, liabilities and items of income, deductions and credits of a “qualified REIT subsidiary” will be treated as assets, liabilities and items (as the case may be) of the REIT. A “qualified REIT subsidiary” is not subject to federal income tax, and our ownership of the voting stock of a qualified REIT subsidiary will not violate the restrictions against ownership of securities of any one issuer which constitute more than 10% of the value or total voting power of such issuer or more than 5% of the value of our total assets, as described below under “— Asset Tests.”

 

 

If we invest in a partnership, a limited liability company or a trust taxed as a partnership or as a disregarded entity, we will be deemed to own a proportionate share of the partnership’s, limited liability company’s or trust’s assets. Likewise, we will be treated as receiving our share of the income and loss of the partnership, limited liability company or trust, and the gross income will retain the same character in our hands as it has in the hands of the partnership, limited liability company or trust. These “look-through” rules apply for purposes of the income tests and assets tests described below.

 

Income Tests.  There are two separate percentage tests relating to our sources of gross income that we must satisfy for each taxable year.

 

•     At least 75% of our gross income (excluding gross income from certain sales of property held primarily for sale) must be directly or indirectly derived each taxable year from “rents from real property,” other income from investments relating to real property or mortgages on real property or certain income from qualified temporary investments.

 

•     At least 95% of our gross income (excluding gross income from certain sales of property held primarily for sale) must be directly or indirectly derived each taxable year from any of the sources qualifying for the 75% gross income test and from dividends (including dividends from taxable REIT subsidiaries) and interest.

 

As to transactions entered into in taxable years beginning after October 22, 2004, any of our income from a “clearly identified” hedging transaction that is entered into by us in the normal course of business, directly or indirectly, to manage the risk of interest rate movements, price changes or currency fluctuations with respect to borrowings or obligations incurred or to be incurred by us, or such other risks that are prescribed by the Internal Revenue Service, is excluded from the 95% gross income test.

 

For transactions entered into after July 30, 2008, any of our income from a “clearly identified” hedging transaction that is entered into by us in the normal course of business, directly or indirectly, to manage the risk of interest rate movements, price changes or currency fluctuations with respect to borrowings or obligations incurred or to be incurred by us is excluded from the 95% and 75% gross income tests.

 

For transactions entered into after July 30, 2008, any of our income from a “clearly identified” hedging transaction entered into by us primarily to manage risk of currency fluctuations with respect to any item of income or gain that is included in gross income in the 95% and 75% gross income tests is excluded from the 95% and 75% gross income tests.

 

In general, a hedging transaction is “clearly identified” if (1) the transaction is identified as a hedging transaction before the end of the day on which it is entered into and (2) the items or risks being hedged are identified “substantially contemporaneously” with the hedging transaction. An identification is not substantially contemporaneous if it is made more than 35 days after entering into the hedging transaction.

 

As to gains and items of income recognized after July 30, 2008, “passive foreign exchange gain” for any taxable year will not constitute gross income for purposes of the 95% gross income test and “real estate foreign exchange gain” for any taxable year will not constitute gross income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Real estate foreign exchange gain is foreign currency gain (as defined in Internal Revenue Code section 988(b)(1)) which is attributable to: (i) any qualifying item of income or gain for purposes of the 75% gross income test; (ii) the acquisition or ownership of obligations secured by mortgages on real property or interests in real property; or (iii) becoming or being the obligor under obligations secured by mortgages on real property or on interests in real property. Real estate foreign exchange gain also includes Internal Revenue Code section 987 gain attributable to a qualified business unit (a “QBU”) of a REIT if the QBU itself meets the 75% income test for the taxable year and the 75% asset test at the close of each quarter that the REIT has directly or indirectly held the QBU. Real estate foreign exchange gain also includes any other foreign currency gain as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. Passive foreign exchange gain includes all real estate foreign exchange gain and foreign currency gain which is attributable to: (i) any qualifying item of income or gain for purposes of the 95% gross income test; (ii) the acquisition or ownership of obligations; (iii) becoming or being the obligor under obligations; and (iv) any other foreign currency gain as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.

 

Generally, other than income from “clearly identified” hedging transactions entered into by us in the normal course of business, any foreign currency gain derived by us from dealing, or engaging in substantial and regular trading, in securities will constitute gross income which does not qualify under the 95% or 75% gross income tests.

 

Rents received by us will qualify as “rents from real property” for purposes of satisfying the gross income tests for a REIT only if several conditions are met:

 

•     The amount of rent must not be based in whole or in part on the income or profits of any person, although rents generally will not be excluded merely because they are based on a fixed percentage or percentages of receipts or sales.

 

 

•     Rents received from a tenant will not qualify as rents from real property if the REIT, or an owner of 10% or more of the REIT, also directly or constructively owns 10% or more of the tenant, unless the tenant is our taxable REIT subsidiary and certain other requirements are met with respect to the real property being rented.

 

•     If rent attributable to personal property leased in connection with a lease of real property is greater than 15% of the total rent received under the lease, then the portion of rent attributable to such personal property will not qualify as “rents from real property.”

 

•     For rents to qualify as rents from real property, we generally must not furnish or render services to tenants, other than through a taxable REIT subsidiary or an “independent contractor” from whom we derive no income, except that we may directly provide services that are “usually or customarily rendered” in the geographic area in which the property is located in connection with the rental of real property for occupancy only, or are not otherwise considered “rendered to the occupant for his convenience.”

 

•     For taxable years beginning after July 30, 2008, the REIT may lease “qualified health care properties” on an arm’s-length basis to a taxable REIT subsidiary if the property is operated on behalf of such subsidiary by a person who qualifies as an “independent contractor” and who is, or is related to a person who is, actively engaged in the trade or business of operating health care facilities for any person unrelated to us or our taxable REIT subsidiary, an “eligible independent contractor.” Generally, the rent that the REIT receives from the taxable REIT subsidiary will be treated as “rents from real property.”  A “qualified health care property” includes any real property and any personal property that is, or is necessary or incidental to the use of, a hospital, nursing facility, assisted living facility, congregate care facility, qualified continuing care facility, or other licensed facility which extends medical or nursing or ancillary services to patients and which is operated by a provider of such services which is eligible for participation in the Medicare program with respect to such facility.

 

A REIT is permitted to render a de minimis amount of impermissible services to tenants and still treat amounts received with respect to that property as rent from real property. The amount received or accrued by the REIT during the taxable year for the impermissible services with respect to a property may not exceed 1% of all amounts received or accrued by the REIT directly or indirectly from the property. The amount received for any service or management operation for this purpose shall be deemed to be not less than 150% of the direct cost of the REIT in furnishing or rendering the service or providing the management or operation. Furthermore, impermissible services may be furnished to tenants by a taxable REIT subsidiary subject to certain conditions, and we may still treat rents received with respect to the property as rent from real property.

 

The term “interest” generally does not include any amount if the determination of the amount depends in whole or in part on the income or profits of any person, although an amount generally will not be excluded from the term “interest” solely by reason of being based on a fixed percentage of receipts or sales.

 

If we fail to satisfy one or both of the 75% or 95% gross income tests for any taxable year, we may nevertheless qualify as a REIT for such year if we are eligible for relief.  These relief provisions generally will be available if (1) following our identification of the failure, we file a schedule for such taxable year describing each item of our gross income, and (2) the failure to meet such tests was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect.

 

It is not now possible to determine the circumstances under which we may be entitled to the benefit of these relief provisions. If these relief provisions apply, a 100% tax is imposed on an amount equal to (a) the gross income attributable to (1) 75% of our gross income over the amount of qualifying gross income for purposes of the 75% income test and (2) 95% of our gross income over the amount of qualifying gross income for purposes of the 95% income test, multiplied by (b) a fraction intended to reflect our profitability.

 

The Secretary of the Treasury is given broad authority to determine whether particular items of income or gain qualify or not under the 75% and 95% gross income tests, or are to be excluded from the measure of gross income for such purposes.

 

Asset Tests.  Within 30 days after the close of each quarter of our taxable year, we must also satisfy several tests relating to the nature and diversification of our assets determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. At least 75% of the value of our total assets must be represented by real estate assets, cash, cash items (including receivables arising in the ordinary course of our operation), government securities and qualified temporary investments. Although the remaining 25% of our assets generally may be invested without restriction, we are prohibited from owning securities representing more than 10% of either the vote (the “10% vote test”) or value (the “10% value test”) of the outstanding securities of any issuer other than a qualified REIT subsidiary, another REIT or a taxable REIT subsidiary. Further, no more than 25% of the total assets may be represented by securities of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries (the “25% asset test”) and no more than 5% of the value of our total assets may be represented by securities of any non-governmental issuer other than a qualified REIT subsidiary (the “5% asset test”), another REIT or a taxable REIT subsidiary. Each of the 10% vote test, the 10% value test and the 25% and 5% asset tests must be satisfied at the end of each

 

quarter. There are special rules which provide relief if the value related tests are not satisfied due to changes in the value of the assets of a REIT.

 

Certain items are excluded from the 10% value test, including: (1) straight debt securities of an issuer (including straight debt that provides certain contingent payments); (2) any loan to an individual or an estate; (3) any rental agreement described in Section 467 of the Internal Revenue Code, other than with a “related person”; (4) any obligation to pay rents from real property; (5) certain securities issued by a state or any subdivision thereof, the District of Columbia, a foreign government, or any political subdivision thereof, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; (6) any security issued by a REIT; and (7) any other arrangement that, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, is excepted from the definition of security (“excluded securities”). Special rules apply to straight debt securities issued by corporations and entities taxable as partnerships for federal income tax purposes. If a REIT, or its taxable REIT subsidiary, holds (1) straight debt securities of a corporate or partnership issuer and (2) securities of such issuer that are not excluded securities and have an aggregate value greater than 1% of such issuer’s outstanding securities, the straight debt securities will be included in the 10% value test.

 

A REIT’s interest as a partner in a partnership is not treated as a security for purposes of applying the 10% value test to securities issued by the partnership. Further, any debt instrument issued by a partnership will not be a security for purposes of applying the 10% value test (1) to the extent of the REIT’s interest as a partner in the partnership and (2) if at least 75% of the partnership’s gross income (excluding gross income from prohibited transactions) would qualify for the 75% gross income test.  For purposes of the 10% value test, a REIT’s interest in a partnership’s assets is determined by the REIT’s proportionate interest in any securities issued by the partnership (other than the excluded securities described in the preceding paragraph).

 

For taxable years beginning after July 30, 2008, if the REIT or its QBU uses a foreign currency as its functional currency, the term “cash” includes such foreign currency, but only to the extent such foreign currency is (i) held for use in the normal course of the activities of the REIT or QBU which give rise to items of income or gain that are included in the 95% and 75% gross income tests or are directly related to acquiring or holding assets qualifying under the 75% asset test, and (ii) not held in connection with dealing or engaging in substantial and regular trading in securities.

 

With respect to corrections of failures as to violations of the 10% vote test, the 10% value test or the 5% asset test, a REIT may avoid disqualification as a REIT by disposing of sufficient assets to cure a violation that does not exceed the lesser of 1% of the REIT’s assets at the end of the relevant quarter or $10,000,000, provided that the disposition occurs within six months following the last day of the quarter in which the REIT first identified the assets. For violations of any of the REIT asset tests due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect that exceed the thresholds described in the preceding sentence, a REIT can avoid disqualification as a REIT after the close of a taxable quarter by taking certain steps, including disposition of sufficient assets within the six month period described above to meet the applicable asset test, paying a tax equal to the greater of $50,000 or the highest corporate tax rate multiplied by the net income generated by the non-qualifying assets during the period of time that the assets were held as non-qualifying assets and filing a schedule with the Internal Revenue Service that describes the non-qualifying assets.

 

Investments in Taxable REIT Subsidiaries.   REITs may own more than 10% of the voting power and value of securities in taxable REIT subsidiaries. We and any taxable corporate entity in which we own an interest are allowed to jointly elect to treat such entity as a “taxable REIT subsidiary.”

 

Certain of our subsidiaries have elected to be treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary. Taxable REIT subsidiaries are subject to full corporate level federal taxation on their earnings but are permitted to engage in certain types of activities that cannot be performed directly by REITs without jeopardizing their REIT status. Our taxable REIT subsidiaries will attempt to minimize the amount of these taxes, but there can be no assurance whether or the extent to which measures taken to minimize taxes will be successful. To the extent our taxable REIT subsidiaries are required to pay federal, state or local taxes, the cash available for distribution as dividends to us from our taxable REIT subsidiaries will be reduced.

 

The amount of interest on related-party debt that a taxable REIT subsidiary may deduct is limited. Further, a 100% tax applies to any interest payments by a taxable REIT subsidiary to its affiliated REIT to the extent the interest rate is not commercially reasonable. A taxable REIT subsidiary is permitted to deduct interest payments to unrelated parties without any of these restrictions.

 

The Internal Revenue Service may reallocate costs between a REIT and its taxable REIT subsidiary where there is a lack of arm’s-length dealing between the parties. Any deductible expenses allocated away from a taxable REIT subsidiary would increase its tax liability. Further, any amount by which a REIT understates its deductions and overstates those of its taxable REIT subsidiary will, subject to certain exceptions, be subject to a 100% tax. Additional taxable REIT subsidiary elections may be made in the future for additional entities in which we own an interest.

 

Annual Distribution Requirements.  In order to avoid being taxed as a regular corporation, we are required to make distributions (other than capital gain distributions) to our stockholders which qualify for the dividends paid deduction in an amount at least equal to (1) the sum of (i) 90% of our “REIT taxable income” (computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and our net capital gain) and (ii) 90% of the after-tax net income, if any, from foreclosure property, minus (2) a portion of certain items of non-cash income. These distributions must be paid in the taxable year to which they relate, or in the following taxable year if declared before

 

we timely file our tax return for that year and if paid on or before the first regular distribution payment after such declaration. The amount distributed must not be preferential. This means that every stockholder of the class of stock to which a distribution is made must be treated the same as every other stockholder of that class, and no class of stock may be treated otherwise than in accordance with its dividend rights as a class. To the extent that we do not distribute all of our net capital gain or distribute at least 90%, but less than 100%, of our “REIT taxable income,” as adjusted, we will be subject to tax on the undistributed amount at regular corporate tax rates. Finally, as discussed above, we may be subject to an excise tax if we fail to meet certain other distribution requirements. We intend to make timely distributions sufficient to satisfy these annual distribution requirements.

 

It is possible that, from time to time, we may not have sufficient cash or other liquid assets to meet the 90% distribution requirement, or to distribute such greater amount as may be necessary to avoid income and excise taxation, due to, among other things, (1) timing differences between (i) the actual receipt of income and actual payment of deductible expenses and (ii) the inclusion of income and deduction of expenses in arriving at our taxable income, or (2) the payment of severance benefits that may not be deductible to us. In the event that timing differences occur, we may find it necessary to arrange for borrowings or, if possible, pay dividends in the form of taxable stock dividends in order to meet the distribution requirement.

 

Under certain circumstances, in the event of a deficiency determined by the Internal Revenue Service, we may be able to rectify a resulting failure to meet the distribution requirement for a year by paying “deficiency dividends” to stockholders in a later year, which may be included in our deduction for distributions paid for the earlier year. Thus, we may be able to avoid being taxed on amounts distributed as deficiency dividends; however, we will be required to pay applicable penalties and interest based upon the amount of any deduction taken for deficiency dividend distributions.

 

The Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2008-68, which provided temporary relief to publicly traded REITs seeking to preserve liquidity by electing cash/stock dividends. Under Revenue Procedure 2008-68, a REIT may treat the entire dividend, including the stock portion, as a taxable dividend distribution, thereby qualifying for the dividends-paid deduction, provided certain requirements are satisfied. The cash portion of the dividend may be as low as 10%. Revenue Procedure 2008-68, as amplified by Revenue Procedure 2010-12, applies to dividends declared on or before December 31, 2012, and with respect to a taxable year ending on or before December 31, 2011.

 

Failure to Qualify as a REIT

 

If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT in any taxable year, we will be subject to federal income tax, including any applicable alternative minimum tax, on our taxable income at regular corporate rates. Distributions to stockholders in any year in which we fail to qualify as a REIT will not be deductible nor will any particular amount of distributions be required to be made in any year. All distributions to stockholders will be taxable as ordinary income to the extent of current and accumulated earnings and profits allocable to these distributions and, subject to certain limitations, will be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate stockholders. Unless entitled to relief under specific statutory provisions, we also will be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which qualification was lost. It is not possible to state whether in all circumstances we would be entitled to statutory relief. Failure to qualify for even one year could result in our need to incur indebtedness or liquidate investments in order to pay potentially significant resulting tax liabilities.

 

In addition to the relief described above under “— Income Tests” and “— Asset Tests,” relief is available in the event that we violate a provision of the Internal Revenue Code that would result in our failure to qualify as a REIT if: (1) the violation is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect; (2) we pay a penalty of $50,000 for each failure to satisfy the provision; and (3) the violation does not include a violation described under “— Income Tests” or “— Asset Tests” above. It is not now possible to determine the circumstances under which we may be entitled to the benefit of these relief provisions.

 

Federal Income Taxation of Holders of Our Stock

 

Treatment of Taxable U.S. Stockholders.  The following summary applies to you only if you are a “U.S. stockholder.” A “U.S. stockholder” is a holder of shares of stock who, for United States federal income tax purposes, is:

 

•     a citizen or resident of the United States;

 

•     a corporation, partnership or other entity classified as a corporation or partnership for these purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or of any political subdivision of the United States, including any state;

 

•     an estate, the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

 

•     a trust, if, in general, a U.S. court is able to exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration and one or more U.S. persons, within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code, has the authority to control all of the trust’s substantial decisions.

 

 

So long as we qualify for taxation as a REIT, distributions on shares of our stock made out of the current or accumulated earnings and profits allocable to these distributions (and not designated as capital gain dividends) will be includable as ordinary income for federal income tax purposes. None of these distributions will be eligible for the dividends received deduction for U.S. corporate stockholders.

 

Generally, for taxable years ending after May 6, 2003 through December 31, 2012, the maximum marginal rate of tax payable by individuals on dividends received from corporations that are subject to a corporate level of tax is 15%. Except in limited circumstances, this tax rate will not apply to dividends paid to you by us on our shares, because generally we are not subject to federal income tax on the portion of our REIT taxable income or capital gains distributed to our stockholders. The reduced maximum federal income tax rate will apply to that portion, if any, of dividends received by you with respect to our shares that are attributable to: (1) dividends received by us from non-REIT corporations or other taxable REIT subsidiaries; (2) income from the prior year with respect to which we were required to pay federal corporate income tax during the prior year (if, for example, we did not distribute 100% of our REIT taxable income for the prior year); or (3) the amount of any earnings and profits that were distributed by us and accumulated in a non-REIT year.

 

Distributions that are designated as capital gain dividends will be taxed as long-term capital gains (to the extent they do not exceed our actual net capital gain for the taxable year), without regard to the period for which you held our stock. However, if you are a corporation, you may be required to treat a portion of some capital gain dividends as ordinary income.

 

If we elect to retain and pay income tax on any net long-term capital gain, you would include in income, as long-term capital gain, your proportionate share of this net long-term capital gain. You would also receive a refundable tax credit for your proportionate share of the tax paid by us on such retained capital gains, and you would have an increase in the basis of your shares of our stock in an amount equal to your includable capital gains less your share of the tax deemed paid.

 

You may not include in your federal income tax return any of our net operating losses or capital losses. Federal income tax rules may also require that certain minimum tax adjustments and preferences be apportioned to you. In addition, any distribution declared by us in October, November or December of any year on a specified date in any such month shall be treated as both paid by us and received by you on December 31 of that year, provided that the distribution is actually paid by us no later than January 31 of the following year.

 

We will be treated as having sufficient earnings and profits to treat as a dividend any distribution up to the amount required to be distributed in order to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax discussed under “— General” and “— Qualification as a REIT — Annual Distribution Requirements” above. As a result, you may be required to treat as taxable dividends certain distributions that would otherwise result in a tax-free return of capital. Moreover, any “deficiency dividend” will be treated as a dividend (an ordinary dividend or a capital gain dividend, as the case may be), regardless of our earnings and profits. Any other distributions in excess of current or accumulated earnings and profits will not be taxable to you to the extent these distributions do not exceed the adjusted tax basis of your shares of our stock. You will be required to reduce the tax basis of your shares of our stock by the amount of these distributions until the basis has been reduced to zero, after which these distributions will be taxable as capital gain, if the shares of our stock are held as capital assets. The tax basis as so reduced will be used in computing the capital gain or loss, if any, realized upon sale of the shares of our stock. Any loss upon a sale or exchange of shares of our stock which were held for six months or less (after application of certain holding period rules) will generally be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent you previously received capital gain distributions with respect to these shares of our stock.

 

Upon the sale or exchange of any shares of our stock to or with a person other than us or a sale or exchange of all shares of our stock (whether actually or constructively owned) with us, you will generally recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized on the sale or exchange and your adjusted tax basis in these shares of our stock. This gain will be capital gain if you held these shares of our stock as a capital asset.

 

If we redeem any of your shares in us, the treatment can only be determined on the basis of particular facts at the time of redemption. In general, you will recognize gain or loss (as opposed to dividend income) equal to the difference between the amount received by you in the redemption and your adjusted tax basis in your shares redeemed if such redemption: (1) results in a “complete termination” of your interest in all classes of our equity securities; (2) is a “substantially disproportionate redemption”; or (3) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to you. In applying these tests, you must take into account your ownership of all classes of our equity securities (e.g., common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares and warrants). You also must take into account any equity securities that are considered to be constructively owned by you.

 

If, as a result of a redemption by us of your shares, you no longer own (either actually or constructively) any of our equity securities or only own (actually and constructively) an insubstantial percentage of our equity securities, then it is probable that the redemption of your shares would be considered “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” and, thus, would result in gain or loss to you. However,

 

whether a distribution is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” depends on all of the facts and circumstances, and if you rely on any of these tests at the time of redemption, you should consult your tax advisor to determine their application to the particular situation.

 

Generally, if the redemption does not meet the tests described above, then the proceeds received by you from the redemption of your shares will be treated as a distribution taxable as a dividend to the extent of the allocable portion of current or accumulated earnings and profits. If the redemption is taxed as a dividend, your adjusted tax basis in the redeemed shares will be transferred to any other shareholdings in us that you own. If you own no other shareholdings in us, under certain circumstances, such basis may be transferred to a related person, or it may be lost entirely.

 

Gain from the sale or exchange of our shares held for more than one year is generally taxed at a maximum long-term capital gain rate of 15% through 2012 in the case of stockholders who are individuals and 35% in the case of stockholders that are corporations.  Pursuant to Internal Revenue Service guidance, we may classify portions of our capital gain dividends as gains eligible for the long-term capital gains rate or as gain taxable to individual stockholders at a maximum rate of 25%.  Capital losses recognized by a stockholder upon the disposition of our shares held for more than one year at the time of disposition will be considered long term capital losses, and are generally available only to offset capital gain income of the stockholder but not ordinary income (except in the case of individuals, who may offset up to $3,000 of ordinary income each year).

 

On March 30, 2010, the President signed into law the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which requires U.S. stockholders who meet certain requirements and are individuals, estates or certain trusts to pay an additional 3.8% tax on, among other things, dividends on and capital gains from the sale or other disposition of stock for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2012. U.S. stockholders should consult their tax advisors regarding the effect, if any, of this legislation on their ownership and disposition of shares of our stock.

 

Treatment of Tax-Exempt U.S. Stockholders.  Tax-exempt entities, including qualified employee pension and profit sharing trusts and individual retirement accounts (“Exempt Organizations”), generally are exempt from federal income taxation. However, they are subject to taxation on their unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”). The Internal Revenue Service has issued a published revenue ruling that dividend distributions from a REIT to an exempt employee pension trust do not constitute UBTI, provided that the shares of the REIT are not otherwise used in an unrelated trade or business of the exempt employee pension trust. Based on this ruling, amounts distributed by us to Exempt Organizations generally should not constitute UBTI. However, if an Exempt Organization finances its acquisition of the shares of our stock with debt, a portion of its income from us will constitute UBTI pursuant to the “debt financed property” rules. Likewise, a portion of the Exempt Organization’s income from us would constitute UBTI if we held a residual interest in a real estate mortgage investment conduit.

 

In addition, in certain circumstances, a pension trust that owns more than 10% of our stock is required to treat a percentage of our dividends as UBTI. This rule applies to a pension trust holding more than 10% of our stock only if: (1) the percentage of our income that is UBTI (determined as if we were a pension trust) is at least 5%; (2) we qualify as a REIT by reason of the modification of the Five or Fewer Requirement that allows beneficiaries of the pension trust to be treated as holding shares in proportion to their actuarial interests in the pension trust; and (3) either (i) one pension trust owns more than 25% of the value of our stock, or (ii) a group of pension trusts individually holding more than 10% of the value of our stock collectively own more than 50% of the value of our stock.

 

Backup Withholding and Information Reporting.  Under certain circumstances, you may be subject to backup withholding at applicable rates on payments made with respect to, or cash proceeds of a sale or exchange of, shares of our stock. Backup withholding will apply only if you: (1) fail to provide a correct taxpayer identification number, which if you are an individual, is ordinarily your social security number; (2) furnish an incorrect taxpayer identification number; (3) are notified by the Internal Revenue Service that you have failed to properly report payments of interest or dividends; or (4) fail to certify, under penalties of perjury, that you have furnished a correct taxpayer identification number and that the Internal Revenue Service has not notified you that you are subject to backup withholding.

 

Backup withholding will not apply with respect to payments made to certain exempt recipients, such as corporations and tax-exempt organizations. You should consult with a tax advisor regarding qualification for exemption from backup withholding, and the procedure for obtaining an exemption. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, the amount of any backup withholding with respect to a payment to a stockholder will be allowed as a credit against such stockholder’s United States federal income tax liability and may entitle such stockholder to a refund, provided that the required information is provided to the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, withholding a portion of capital gain distributions made to stockholders may be required for stockholders who fail to certify their non-foreign status.

 

Taxation of Foreign Stockholders.  The following summary applies to you only if you are a foreign person. The federal taxation of foreign persons is a highly complex matter that may be affected by many considerations.

 

Except as discussed below, distributions to you of cash generated by our real estate operations in the form of ordinary dividends, but not by the sale or exchange of our capital assets, generally will be subject to U.S. withholding tax at a rate of 30%, unless an applicable tax treaty reduces that tax and you file with us the required form evidencing the lower rate.

 

 

In general, you will be subject to United States federal income tax on a graduated rate basis rather than withholding with respect to your investment in our stock if such investment is “effectively connected” with your conduct of a trade or business in the United States. A corporate foreign stockholder that receives income that is, or is treated as, effectively connected with a United States trade or business may also be subject to the branch profits tax, which is payable in addition to regular United States corporate income tax. The following discussion will apply to foreign stockholders whose investment in us is not so effectively connected. We expect to withhold United States income tax, as described below, on the gross amount of any distributions paid to you unless (1) you file an Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI with us claiming that the distribution is “effectively connected” or (2) certain other exceptions apply.

 

Distributions by us that are attributable to gain from the sale or exchange of a United States real property interest will be taxed to you under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (“FIRPTA”) as if these distributions were gains “effectively connected” with a United States trade or business. Accordingly, you will be taxed at the normal capital gain rates applicable to a U.S. stockholder on these amounts, subject to any applicable alternative minimum tax and a special alternative minimum tax in the case of nonresident alien individuals. Distributions subject to FIRPTA may also be subject to a branch profits tax in the hands of a corporate foreign stockholder that is not entitled to treaty exemption.

 

We will be required to withhold from distributions subject to FIRPTA, and remit to the Internal Revenue Service, 35% of designated capital gain dividends, or, if greater, 35% of the amount of any distributions that could be designated as capital gain dividends. In addition, if we designate prior distributions as capital gain dividends, subsequent distributions, up to the amount of the prior distributions not withheld against, will be treated as capital gain dividends for purposes of withholding.

 

Any capital gain dividend with respect to any class of stock that is “regularly traded” on an established securities market will be treated as an ordinary dividend if the foreign stockholder did not own more than 5% of such class of stock at any time during the taxable year. Foreign stockholders generally will not be required to report distributions received from us on U.S. federal income tax returns and all distributions treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes (including any such capital gain dividends) will be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax (unless reduced under an applicable income tax treaty) as discussed above. In addition, the branch profits tax will not apply to such distributions.

 

Unless our shares constitute a “United States real property interest” within the meaning of FIRPTA or are effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business, a sale of our shares by you generally will not be subject to United States taxation. Our shares will not constitute a United States real property interest if we qualify as a “domestically controlled REIT.” We believe that we, and expect to continue to, qualify as a domestically controlled REIT. A domestically controlled REIT is a REIT in which at all times during a specified testing period less than 50% in value of its shares is held directly or indirectly by foreign stockholders. However, if you are a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year and certain other conditions apply, you will be subject to a 30% tax on such capital gains. In any event, a purchaser of our shares from you will not be required under FIRPTA to withhold on the purchase price if the purchased shares are “regularly traded” on an established securities market or if we are a domestically controlled REIT. Otherwise, under FIRPTA, the purchaser may be required to withhold 10% of the purchase price and remit such amount to the Internal Revenue Service.

 

Backup withholding tax and information reporting will generally not apply to distributions paid to you outside the United States that are treated as: (1) dividends to which the 30% or lower treaty rate withholding tax discussed above applies; (2) capital gains dividends; or (3) distributions attributable to gain from the sale or exchange by us of U.S. real property interests. Payment of the proceeds of a sale of stock within the United States or conducted through certain U.S. related financial intermediaries is subject to both backup withholding and information reporting unless the beneficial owner certifies under penalties of perjury that he or she is not a U.S. person (and the payor does not have actual knowledge that the beneficial owner is a U.S. person) or otherwise established an exemption. You may obtain a refund of any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by filing the appropriate claim for refund with the Internal Revenue Service.

 

Recently enacted legislation will impose U.S. withholding tax at a rate of 30% after December 31, 2013 on dividends in respect of, and after December 31, 2014 on gross proceeds from the sale of, shares of our stock held by or through certain foreign financial institutions (including investment funds), unless such institution enters into an agreement with the Secretary of the Treasury to report, on an annual basis, information with respect to shares in the institution held by certain U.S. persons and by certain non-U.S. entities that are wholly or partially owned by U.S. persons, and to withhold on certain payments. Accordingly, the entity through which shares of stock is held will affect the determination of whether such withholding is required. Similarly, dividends in respect of, and gross proceeds from the sale of, shares of our stock held by an investor that is a non-financial non-U.S. entity will be subject to withholding at a rate of 30%, unless such entity either (i) certifies to us that such entity does not have any "substantial United States owners" or (ii) provides certain information regarding the entity's "substantial United States owners," which we will in turn provide to the Secretary of the Treasury. If payment of withholding taxes is required, stockholders that are otherwise eligible for an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. withholding taxes with respect to such dividends and proceeds will be required to seek a refund from the Internal Revenue Service to obtain the benefit of such exemption or reduction.  We will not pay any additional amounts to any stockholders in

 

respect of any amounts withheld. Foreign persons are encouraged to consult with their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of the legislation on their investment in shares of our stock.

 

U.S. Federal Income Taxation of Holders of Depositary Shares

 

Owners of our depositary shares will be treated as if you were owners of the series of preferred stock represented by the depositary shares. Thus, you will be required to take into account the income and deductions to which you would be entitled if you were a holder of the underlying series of preferred stock.

 

Conversion or Exchange of Shares for Preferred Stock.  No gain or loss will be recognized upon the withdrawal of preferred stock in exchange for depositary shares and the tax basis of each share of preferred stock will, upon exchange, be the same as the aggregate tax basis of the depositary shares exchanged. If you held your depositary shares as a capital asset at the time of the exchange for shares of preferred stock, the holding period for your shares of preferred stock will include the period during which you owned the depositary shares.

 

U.S. Federal Income and Estate Taxation of Holders of Our Debt Securities

 

The following is a general summary of the United States federal income tax consequences and, in the case that you are a holder that is a non-U.S. holder, as defined below, the United States federal estate tax consequences, of purchasing, owning and disposing of debt securities periodically offered under one or more indentures (the “notes”). This summary assumes that you hold the notes as capital assets. This summary applies to you only if you are the initial holder of the notes and you acquire the notes for a price equal to the issue price of the notes. The issue price of the notes is the first price at which a substantial amount of the notes is sold other than to bond houses, brokers or similar persons or organizations acting in the capacity of underwriters, placement agents or wholesalers. In addition, this summary does not consider any foreign, state, local or other tax laws that may be applicable to us or a purchaser of the notes.

 

U.S. Holders

 

The following summary applies to you only if you are a U.S. holder, as defined below.

 

Definition of a U.S. Holder.  A “U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of a note or notes that is for United States federal income tax purposes:

 

•     a citizen or resident of the United States;

 

•     a corporation, partnership or other entity classified as a corporation or partnership for these purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or of any political subdivision of the United States, including any state;

 

•     an estate, the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

 

•     a trust, if, in general, a U.S. court is able to exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration and one or more U.S. persons, within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code, has the authority to control all of the trust’s substantial decisions.

 

Payments of Interest.  Stated interest on the notes generally will be taxed as ordinary interest income from domestic sources at the time it is paid or accrues in accordance with your method of accounting for tax purposes.

 

Sale, Exchange or Other Disposition of Notes.  The adjusted tax basis in your note acquired at a premium will generally be your cost. You generally will recognize taxable gain or loss when you sell or otherwise dispose of your notes equal to the difference, if any, between:

 

•     the amount realized on the sale or other disposition, less any amount attributable to any accrued interest, which will be taxable in the manner described under “— Payments of Interest” above; and

 

•     your adjusted tax basis in the notes.

 

Your gain or loss generally will be capital gain or loss. This capital gain or loss will be long-term capital gain or loss if at the time of the sale or other disposition you have held the notes for more than one year. Subject to limited exceptions, your capital losses cannot be used to offset your ordinary income.

 

 

Backup Withholding and Information Reporting.  In general, “backup withholding” may apply to any payments made to you of principal and interest on your note, and to payment of the proceeds of a sale or other disposition of your note before maturity, if you are a non-corporate U.S. holder and: (1) fail to provide a correct taxpayer identification number, which if you are an individual, is ordinarily your social security number; (2) furnish an incorrect taxpayer identification number; (3) are notified by the Internal Revenue Service that you have failed to properly report payments of interest or dividends; or (4) fail to certify, under penalties of perjury, that you have furnished a correct taxpayer identification number and that the Internal Revenue Service has not notified you that you are subject to backup withholding.

 

The amount of any reportable payments, including interest, made to you (unless you are an exempt recipient) and the amount of tax withheld, if any, with respect to such payments will be reported to you and to the Internal Revenue Service for each calendar year. You should consult your tax advisor regarding your qualification for an exemption from backup withholding and the procedures for obtaining such an exemption, if applicable. The backup withholding tax is not an additional tax and will be credited against your U.S. federal income tax liability, provided that correct information is provided to the Internal Revenue Service.

 

Non-U.S. Holders

 

The following summary applies to you if you are a beneficial owner of a note and are not a U.S. holder, as defined above (a “non-U.S. holder”).

 

Special rules may apply to certain non-U.S. holders such as “controlled foreign corporations,” “passive foreign investment companies” and “foreign personal holding companies.” Such entities are encouraged to consult their tax advisors to determine the United States federal, state, local and other tax consequences that may be relevant to them.

 

U.S. Federal Withholding Tax.  Subject to the discussion below, U.S. federal withholding tax will not apply to payments by us or our paying agent, in its capacity as such, of principal and interest on your notes under the “portfolio interest” exception of the Internal Revenue Code, provided that:

 

•     you do not, directly or indirectly, actually or constructively, own 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of our stock entitled to vote;

 

•     you are not (1) a controlled foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes that is related, directly or indirectly, to us through sufficient stock ownership, as provided in the Internal Revenue Code, or (2) a bank receiving interest described in Section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code;

 

•     such interest is not effectively connected with your conduct of a U.S. trade or business; and

 

•     you provide a signed written statement, under penalties of perjury, which can reliably be related to you, certifying that you are not a U.S. person within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code and providing your name and address to:

 

•     us or our paying agent; or

 

•     a securities clearing organization, bank or other financial institution that holds customers’ securities in the ordinary course of its trade or business and holds your notes on your behalf and that certifies to us or our paying agent under penalties of perjury that it, or the bank or financial institution between it and you, has received from you your signed, written statement and provides us or our paying agent with a copy of such statement.

 

Treasury regulations provide that:

 

•     if you are a foreign partnership, the certification requirement will generally apply to your partners, and you will be required to provide certain information;

 

•     if you are a foreign trust, the certification requirement will generally be applied to you or your beneficial owners depending on whether you are a “foreign complex trust,” “foreign simple trust,” or “foreign grantor trust” as defined in the Treasury regulations; and

 

•     look-through rules will apply for tiered partnerships, foreign simple trusts and foreign grantor trusts.

 

If you are a foreign partnership or a foreign trust, you should consult your own tax advisor regarding your status under these Treasury regulations and the certification requirements applicable to you.

 

 

If you cannot satisfy the portfolio interest requirements described above, payments of interest will be subject to the 30% United States withholding tax, unless you provide us with a properly executed (1) Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN claiming an exemption from or reduction in withholding under the benefit of an applicable treaty or (2) Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI stating that interest paid on the note is not subject to withholding tax because it is effectively connected with your conduct of a trade or business in the United States. Alternative documentation may be applicable in certain circumstances.

 

If you are engaged in a trade or business in the United States and interest on a note is effectively connected with the conduct of that trade or business, you will be required to pay United States federal income tax on that interest on a net income basis (although you will be exempt from the 30% withholding tax provided the certification requirement described above is met) in the same manner as if you were a U.S. person, except as otherwise provided by an applicable tax treaty. If you are a foreign corporation, you may be required to pay a branch profits tax on the earnings and profits that are effectively connected to the conduct of your trade or business in the United States.

 

Recently enacted legislation generally will impose U.S. withholding tax at a 30% rate on payments of interest (including original issue discount) and proceeds of sale in respect of debt instruments to certain non-U.S. holders if certain additional disclosure requirements related to U.S. ownership of such non-U.S. holders or certain U.S. accounts maintained by such non-U.S. holders at foreign financial institutions are not satisfied. However, the withholding tax will not be imposed on payments pursuant to debt or other obligations outstanding as of March 18, 2012.  If payment of withholding taxes is required, non-U.S. holders that are otherwise eligible for an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. withholding taxes with respect to such distributions and proceeds of a sale of such notes will be entitled to seek a refund from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) to obtain the benefit of such exemption or reduction. We will not pay any additional amounts to non-U.S. holders in respect of any amounts withheld. These new withholding rules are generally effective with respect to payments of interest made after December 31, 2013 and with respect to proceeds of sales received after December 31, 2014.

 

Sale, Exchange or other Disposition of Notes.  You generally will not have to pay U.S. federal income tax on any gain or income realized from the sale, redemption, retirement at maturity or other disposition of your notes, unless:

 

•     in the case of gain, you are an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year of the sale or other disposition of your notes, and specific other conditions are met;

 

•     you are subject to tax provisions applicable to certain United States expatriates; or

 

•     the gain is effectively connected with your conduct of a U.S. trade or business.

 

If you are engaged in a trade or business in the United States, and gain with respect to your notes is effectively connected with the conduct of that trade or business, you generally will be subject to U.S. income tax on a net basis on the gain. In addition, if you are a foreign corporation, you may be subject to a branch profits tax on your effectively connected earnings and profits for the taxable year, as adjusted for certain items.

 

U.S. Federal Estate Tax.  If you are an individual and are not a U.S. citizen or a resident of the United States, as specially defined for U.S. federal estate tax purposes, at the time of your death, your notes will generally not be subject to the U.S. federal estate tax, unless, at the time of your death (1) you owned actually or constructively 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all our classes of stock entitled to vote, or (2) interest on the notes is effectively connected with your conduct of a U.S. trade or business.

 

Backup Withholding and Information Reporting.  Backup withholding will not apply to payments of principal or interest made by us or our paying agent, in its capacity as such, to you if you have provided the required certification that you are a non-U.S. holder as described in “— U.S. Federal Withholding Tax” above, and provided that neither we nor our paying agent have actual knowledge that you are a U.S. holder, as described in “— U.S. Holders” above. We or our paying agent may, however, report payments of interest on the notes.

 

The gross proceeds from the disposition of your notes may be subject to information reporting and backup withholding tax. If you sell your notes outside the United States through a non-U.S. office of a non-U.S. broker and the sales proceeds are paid to you outside the United States, then the U.S. backup withholding and information reporting requirements generally will not apply to that payment. However, U.S. information reporting, but not backup withholding, will apply to a payment of sales proceeds, even if that payment is made outside the United States, if you sell your notes through a non-U.S. office of a broker that:

 

•     is a U.S. person, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code;

 

•     derives 50% or more of its gross income in specific periods from the conduct of a trade or business in the United States;

 

 

•     is a “controlled foreign corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes; or

 

•     is a foreign partnership, if at any time during its tax year, one or more of its partners are U.S. persons who in the aggregate hold more than 50% of the income or capital interests in the partnership, or the foreign partnership is engaged in a U.S. trade or business, unless the broker has documentary evidence in its files that you are a non-U.S. person and certain other conditions are met or you otherwise establish an exemption. If you receive payments of the proceeds of a sale of your notes to or through a U.S. office of a broker, the payment is subject to both U.S. backup withholding and information reporting unless you provide a Form W-8BEN certifying that you are a non-U.S. person or you otherwise establish an exemption.

 

You should consult your own tax advisor regarding application of backup withholding in your particular circumstance and the availability of and procedure for obtaining an exemption from backup withholding. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules from a payment to you will be allowed as a refund or credit against your U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the required information is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.

 

U.S. Federal Income and Estate Taxation of Holders of Our Warrants

 

Exercise of Warrants.  You will not generally recognize gain or loss upon the exercise of a warrant. Your basis in the debt securities, preferred stock, depositary shares or common stock, as the case may be, received upon the exercise of the warrant will be equal to the sum of your adjusted tax basis in the warrant and the exercise price paid. Your holding period in the debt securities, preferred stock, depositary shares or common stock, as the case may be, received upon the exercise of the warrant will not include the period during which the warrant was held by you.

 

Expiration of Warrants.  Upon the expiration of a warrant, you will recognize a capital loss in an amount equal to your adjusted tax basis in the warrant.

 

Sale or Exchange of Warrants.  Upon the sale or exchange of a warrant to a person other than us, you will recognize gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized on the sale or exchange and your adjusted tax basis in the warrant. Such gain or loss will be capital gain or loss and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the warrant was held for more than one year. Upon the sale of the warrant to us, the Internal Revenue Service may argue that you should recognize ordinary income on the sale. You are advised to consult your own tax advisors as to the consequences of a sale of a warrant to us.

 

Potential Legislation or Other Actions Affecting Tax Consequences

 

Current and prospective securities holders should recognize that the present federal income tax treatment of an investment in us may be modified by legislative, judicial or administrative action at any time and that any such action may affect investments and commitments previously made. The rules dealing with federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department, resulting in revisions of regulations and revised interpretations of established concepts as well as statutory changes. Revisions in federal tax laws and interpretations of these laws could adversely affect the tax consequences of an investment in us.

 

State, Local and Foreign Taxes

 

We, and holders of our debt and equity securities, may be subject to state, local or foreign taxation in various jurisdictions, including those in which we or they transact business, own property or reside. It should be noted that we own properties located in a number of state, local and foreign jurisdictions, and may be required to file tax returns in some or all of those jurisdictions. The state, local or foreign tax treatment of us and holders of our debt and equity securities may not conform to the U.S. federal income tax consequences discussed above. Consequently, you are urged to consult your advisor regarding the application and effect of state, local and foreign tax laws with respect to any investment in our securities.

 

Internet Access to Our SEC Filings

 

Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports, as well as our proxy statements and other materials that are filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission are made available, free of charge, on the Internet at www.hcreit.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Item 1A.  Risk Factors

 

Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors

 

 

This section discusses the most significant factors that affect our business, operations and financial condition. It does not describe all risks and uncertainties applicable to us, our industry or ownership of our securities. If any of the following risks, as well as other risks and uncertainties that are not yet identified or that we currently think are not material, actually occur, we could be materially adversely affected. In that event, the value of our securities could decline.

 

This Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents incorporated by reference contain statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those regarding:

 

•     the possible expansion of our portfolio;

 

•     the sale of properties;

 

•     the performance of our operators/tenants and properties;

 

•     our ability to enter into agreements with new viable tenants for vacant space or for properties that we take back from financially troubled tenants, if any;

 

•     our occupancy rates;

 

•     our ability to acquire, develop and/or manage properties;

 

•     our ability to make distributions to stockholders;

 

•     our policies and plans regarding investments, financings and other matters;

 

•     our ability to successfully manage the risks associated with international expansion and operations;

 

•     our tax status as a real estate investment trust;

 

•     our critical accounting policies;

 

•     our ability to appropriately balance the use of debt and equity;

 

•     our ability to access capital markets or other sources of funds; and

 

•     our ability to meet our earnings guidance.

 

When we use words such as “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate” or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. Our expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from our expectations. This may be a result of various factors, including, but not limited to:

 

•     the status of the economy;

 

•     the status of capital markets, including availability and cost of capital;

 

•     issues facing the health care industry, including compliance with, and changes to, regulations and payment policies, responding to government investigations and punitive settlements and operators’/tenants’ difficulty in cost-effectively obtaining and maintaining adequate liability and other insurance;

 

•     changes in financing terms;

 

•     competition within the health care, seniors housing and life science industries;

 

•     negative developments in the operating results or financial condition of operators/tenants, including, but not limited to, their ability to pay rent and repay loans;

 

•     our ability to transition or sell facilities with profitable results;

 

 

•     the failure to make new investments as and when anticipated;

 

•     acts of God affecting our properties;

 

•     our ability to re-lease space at similar rates as vacancies occur;

 

•     our ability to timely reinvest sale proceeds at similar rates to assets sold;

 

•     operator/tenant or joint venture partner bankruptcies or insolvencies;

 

•     the cooperation of joint venture partners;

 

•     government regulations affecting Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates and operational requirements;

 

•     regulatory approval and market acceptance of the products and technologies of life science tenants;

 

•     liability or contract claims by or against operators/tenants;

 

•     unanticipated difficulties and/or expenditures relating to future acquisitions;

 

•     environmental laws affecting our properties;

 

•     changes in rules or practices governing our financial reporting;

 

•     the movement of U.S. and Canadian exchange rates;

 

•     other legal and operational matters, including REIT qualification and key management personnel recruitment and retention; and

 

•     the risks described below:

 

Risk factors related to our operators’ revenues and expenses

 

Our operators’ revenues are primarily driven by occupancy, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, if applicable, and private pay rates. Expenses for these facilities are primarily driven by the costs of labor, food, utilities, taxes, insurance and rent or debt service. Revenues from government reimbursement have, and may continue to, come under pressure due to reimbursement cuts and state budget shortfalls. Operating costs continue to increase for our operators. To the extent that any decrease in revenues and/or any increase in operating expenses result in a property not generating enough cash to make payments to us, the credit of our operator and the value of other collateral would have to be relied upon.

 

The continued weakened economy may have an adverse effect on our operators and tenants, including their ability to access credit or maintain occupancy rates. If the operations, cash flows or financial condition of our operators are materially adversely impacted by economic conditions, our revenue and operations may be adversely affected.

 

Increased competition may affect our operators’ ability to meet their obligations to us 

 

The operators of our properties compete on a local and regional basis with operators of properties and other health care providers that provide comparable services. We cannot be certain that the operators of all of our facilities will be able to achieve and maintain occupancy and rate levels that will enable them to meet all of their obligations to us. Our operators are expected to encounter increased competition in the future that could limit their ability to attract residents or expand their businesses.

 

Risk factors related to obligor bankruptcies

 

We are exposed to the risk that our obligors may not be able to meet the rent, principal and interest or other payments due us, which may result in an obligor bankruptcy or insolvency, or that an obligor might become subject to bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings for other reasons. Although our operating lease agreements provide us with the right to evict a tenant, demand immediate payment of rent and exercise other remedies, and our loans provide us with the right to terminate any funding obligation, demand immediate repayment of principal and unpaid interest, foreclose on the collateral and exercise other remedies, the bankruptcy and insolvency laws afford certain rights to a party that has filed for bankruptcy or reorganization. An obligor in bankruptcy or subject to insolvency

 

proceedings may be able to limit or delay our ability to collect unpaid rent in the case of a lease or to receive unpaid principal and interest in the case of a loan, and to exercise other rights and remedies.

 

We may be required to fund certain expenses (e.g., real estate taxes and maintenance) to preserve the value of an investment property, avoid the imposition of liens on a property and/or transition a property to a new tenant. In some instances, we have terminated our lease with a tenant and relet the property to another tenant. In some of those situations, we have provided working capital loans to and limited indemnification of the new obligor. If we cannot transition a leased property to a new tenant, we may take possession of that property, which may expose us to certain successor liabilities. Should such events occur, our revenue and operating cash flow may be adversely affected.

 

Transfers of health care facilities may require regulatory approvals and these facilities may not have efficient alternative uses

 

Transfers of health care facilities to successor operators frequently are subject to regulatory approvals or notifications, including, but not limited to, change of ownership approvals under certificate of need (“CON”) or determination of need laws, state licensure laws and Medicare and Medicaid provider arrangements, that are not required for transfers of other types of real estate. The replacement of a health care facility operator could be delayed by the approval process of any federal, state or local agency necessary for the transfer of the facility or the replacement of the operator licensed to manage the facility. Alternatively, given the specialized nature of our facilities, we may be required to spend substantial time and funds to adapt these properties to other uses. If we are unable to timely transfer properties to successor operators or find efficient alternative uses, our revenue and operations may be adversely affected.

 

Risk factors related to government regulations

 

Our obligors’ businesses are affected by government reimbursement and private payor rates. To the extent that an operator/tenant receives a significant portion of its revenues from government payors, primarily Medicare and Medicaid, such revenues may be subject to statutory and regulatory changes, retroactive rate adjustments, recovery of program overpayments or set-offs, administrative rulings, policy interpretations, payment or other delays by fiscal intermediaries or carriers, government funding restrictions (at a program level or with respect to specific facilities) and interruption or delays in payments due to any ongoing government investigations and audits at such property. In recent years, government payors have frozen or reduced payments to health care providers due to budgetary pressures. Health care reimbursement will likely continue to be of paramount importance to federal and state authorities. We cannot make any assessment as to the ultimate timing or effect any future legislative reforms may have on the financial condition of our obligors and properties. There can be no assurance that adequate reimbursement levels will be available for services provided by any property operator, whether the property receives reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid or private payors. Significant limits on the scope of services reimbursed and on reimbursement rates and fees could have a material adverse effect on an obligor’s liquidity, financial condition and results of operations, which could adversely affect the ability of an obligor to meet its obligations to us. See “Item 1 — Business — Certain Government Regulations — Reimbursement” above.

 

Our operators and tenants generally are subject to extensive federal, state, local, and industry-regulated licensure, certification and inspection laws, regulations, and standards.  Our operators’ or tenants’ failure to comply with any of these laws, regulations, or standards could result in loss of accreditation, denial of reimbursement, imposition of fines, suspension or decertification from federal and state health care programs, loss of license or closure of the facility. Such actions may have an effect on our operators’ or tenants’ ability to make lease payments to us and, therefore, adversely impact us. See “Item 1 — Business — Certain Government Regulations — Other Related Laws” above.

 

Many of our properties may require a license, registration, and/or CON to operate. Failure to obtain a license, registration, or CON, or loss of a required license, registration, or CON would prevent a facility from operating in the manner intended by the operators or tenants. These events could materially adversely affect our operators’ or tenants’ ability to make rent payments to us.  State and local laws also may regulate the expansion, including the addition of new beds or services or acquisition of medical equipment, and the construction or renovation of health care facilities, by requiring a CON or other similar approval from a state agency. See “Item 1 — Business — Certain Government Regulations — Licensing and Certification” above.

 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”), which was signed into law on February 17, 2009, provided $87 billion in additional federal Medicaid funding for states’ Medicaid expenditures between October 1, 2008 and December 31, 2010.  On August 10, 2010, the President signed into law H.R. 1586, which mandated a six-month extension of the increase in federal Medicaid funding for states through June 30, 2011, although the enhanced federal Medicaid funding was scaled back for the first two quarters of 2011. Under both the ARRA and H.R. 1586, states meeting certain eligibility requirements temporarily received additional money in the form of an increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (“FMAP”). Thus, for a limited period of time, the share of Medicaid costs that were paid for by the federal government went up, and each state’s share went down.  No similar extension of increased matching has been offered since June 30, 2011, and states’ FMAP rates have returned to levels comparable to pre-ARRA rates. We cannot predict whether states are, or will remain, eligible to receive the additional federal Medicaid funding, or whether the

 

states will have sufficient funds for their Medicaid programs. We also cannot predict the impact that such broad-based, far-reaching legislation will have on the U.S. economy or our business.

 

Risk factors related to liability claims and insurance costs

 

In recent years, skilled nursing and seniors housing operators have experienced substantial increases in both the number and size of patient care liability claims. As a result, general and professional liability costs have increased in some markets. General and professional liability insurance coverage may be restricted or very costly, which may adversely affect the property operators’ future operations, cash flows and financial condition, and may have a material adverse effect on the property operators’ ability to meet their obligations to us.

 

Risk factors related to acquisitions

 

We are exposed to the risk that some of our acquisitions may not prove to be successful. We could encounter unanticipated difficulties and expenditures relating to any acquired properties, including contingent liabilities, and acquired properties might require significant management attention that would otherwise be devoted to our ongoing business. If we agree to provide construction funding to an operator/tenant and the project is not completed, we may need to take steps to ensure completion of the project. Moreover, if we issue equity securities or incur additional debt, or both, to finance future acquisitions, it may reduce our per share financial results. These costs may negatively affect our results of operations.

 

Unfavorable resolution of pending and future litigation matters and disputes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

 

From time to time, we may be directly involved in a number of legal proceedings, lawsuits and other claims. We may also be named as defendants in lawsuits allegedly arising out of our actions or the actions of our operators/tenants or managers in which such operators/tenants or managers have agreed to indemnify, defend and hold us harmless from and against various claims, litigation and liabilities arising in connection with their respective businesses. An unfavorable resolution of pending or future litigation may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Regardless of its outcome, litigation may result in substantial costs and expenses and significantly divert the attention of management. There can be no assurance that we will be able to prevail in, or achieve a favorable settlement of, pending or future litigation. In addition, pending litigation or future litigation, government proceedings or environmental matters could lead to increased costs or interruption of our normal business operations.

 

Risk factors related to joint ventures

 

We have entered into, and may continue in the future to enter into, partnerships or joint ventures with other persons or entities. Joint venture investments involve risks that may not be present with other methods of ownership, including the possibility that our partner might become insolvent, refuse to make capital contributions when due or otherwise fail to meet its obligations, which may result in certain liabilities to us for guarantees and other commitments; that our partner might at any time have economic or other business interests or goals that are or become inconsistent with our interests or goals; that we could become engaged in a dispute with our partner, which could require us to expend additional resources to resolve such disputes and could have an adverse impact on the operations and profitability of the joint venture; and that our partner may be in a position to take action or withhold consent contrary to our instructions or requests. In addition, our ability to transfer our interest in a joint venture to a third party may be restricted. In some instances, we and/or our partner may have the right to trigger a buy-sell arrangement, which could cause us to sell our interest, or acquire our partner’s interest, at a time when we otherwise would not have initiated such a transaction. Our ability to acquire our partner’s interest may be limited if we do not have sufficient cash, available borrowing capacity or other capital resources. In such event, we may be forced to sell our interest in the joint venture when we would otherwise prefer to retain it. Joint ventures may require us to share decision-making authority with our partners, which could limit our ability to control the properties in the joint ventures. Even when we have a controlling interest, certain major decisions may require partner approval, such as the sale, acquisition or financing of a property.

 

Risk factors related to our seniors housing operating properties

 

We are exposed to various operational risks with respect to our seniors housing operating properties that may increase our costs or adversely affect our ability to generate revenues.  These risks include fluctuations in occupancy, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, if applicable, and private pay rates; economic conditions; competition; federal, state, local, and industry-regulated licensure, certification and inspection laws, regulations, and standards; the availability and increases in cost of general and professional liability insurance coverage; state regulation and rights of residents related to entrance fees; the availability and increases in cost of labor (as a result of unionization or otherwise).  Any one or a combination of these factors may adversely affect our revenue and operations.

 

 

Risk factors related to life science facilities

 

Our tenants in the life science industry face high levels of regulation, expense and uncertainty that may adversely affect their ability to make payments to us. Research, development and clinical testing of products and technologies can be very expensive and sources of funds may not be available to our life sciences tenants in the future. The products and technologies that are developed and manufactured by our life science tenants may require regulatory approval prior to being made, marketed, sold and used. The regulatory process can be costly, long and unpredictable. Even after a tenant gains regulatory approval and market acceptance, the product still presents regulatory and liability risks, such as safety concerns, competition from new products and eventually the expiration of patent protection. These factors may affect the ability of our life sciences tenants to make timely payments to us, which may adversely affect our revenue and operations.

 

Risk factors related to indebtedness

 

Permanent financing for our investments is typically provided through a combination of public and private offerings of debt and equity securities and the incurrence or assumption of secured debt. The incurrence or assumption of indebtedness may cause us to become more leveraged, which could (1) require us to dedicate a greater portion of our cash flow to the payment of debt service, (2) make us more vulnerable to a downturn in the economy, (3) limit our ability to obtain additional financing, or (4) negatively affect our credit ratings or outlook by one or more of the rating agencies.

 

Our debt agreements contain various covenants, restrictions and events of default. Among other things, these provisions require us to maintain certain financial ratios and minimum net worth and impose certain limits on our ability to incur indebtedness, create liens and make investments or acquisitions. Breaches of these covenants could result in defaults under the instruments governing the applicable indebtedness, in addition to any other indebtedness cross-defaulted against such instruments. These defaults could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

Risk factors related to our credit ratings

 

We plan to manage the Company to maintain a capital structure consistent with our current profile, but there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our current credit ratings. Any downgrades in terms of ratings or outlook by any or all of the rating agencies could have a material adverse impact on our cost and availability of capital, which could in turn have a material adverse impact on our consolidated results of operations, liquidity and/or financial condition.

 

Risk factors related to interest rate swaps

 

We enter into interest rate swap agreements from time to time to manage some of our exposure to interest rate volatility. These swap agreements involve risks, such as the risk that counterparties may fail to honor their obligations under these arrangements. In addition, these arrangements may not be effective in reducing our exposure to changes in interest rates. When we use forward-starting interest rate swaps, there is a risk that we will not complete the long-term borrowing against which the swap is intended to hedge. If such events occur, our results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

Risk factors related to environmental laws

 

Under various federal and state laws, owners or operators of real estate may be required to respond to the presence or release of hazardous substances on the property and may be held liable for property damage, personal injuries or penalties that result from environmental contamination or exposure to hazardous substances. We may become liable to reimburse the government for damages and costs it incurs in connection with the contamination. Generally, such liability attaches to a person based on the person’s relationship to the property. Our tenants or borrowers are primarily responsible for the condition of the property. Moreover, we review environmental site assessments of the properties that we own or encumber prior to taking an interest in them. Those assessments are designed to meet the “all appropriate inquiry” standard, which we believe qualifies us for the innocent purchaser defense if environmental liabilities arise. Based upon such assessments, we do not believe that any of our properties are subject to material environmental contamination. However, environmental liabilities may be present in our properties and we may incur costs to remediate contamination, which could have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition or the business or financial condition of our obligors.

 

Risk factors related to facilities that require entrance fees

 

Certain of our seniors housing facilities require the payment of an upfront entrance fee by the resident, a portion of which may be refundable by the operator. Some of these facilities are subject to substantial oversight by state regulators relating to these funds. As a result of this oversight, residents of these facilities may have a variety of rights, including, for example, the right to cancel their

 

contracts within a specified period of time and certain lien rights. The oversight and rights of residents within these facilities may have an effect on the revenue or operations of the operators of such facilities and therefore may negatively impact us.

 

Risk factors related to facilities under construction or development

 

At any given time, we may be in the process of constructing one or more new facilities that ultimately will require a CON and license before they can be utilized by the operator for their intended use. The operator also may need to obtain Medicare and Medicaid certification and enter into Medicare and Medicaid provider agreements and/or third party payor contracts. In the event that the operator is unable to obtain the necessary CON, licensure, certification, provider agreements or contracts after the completion of construction, there is a risk that we will not be able to earn any revenues on the facility until either the initial operator obtains a license or certification to operate the new facility and the necessary provider agreements or contracts or we find and contract with a new operator that is able to obtain a license to operate the facility for its intended use and the necessary provider agreements or contracts.

 

In connection with our renovation, redevelopment, development and related construction activities, we may be unable to obtain, or suffer delays in obtaining, necessary zoning, land-use, building, occupancy and other required governmental permits and authorizations. These factors could result in increased costs or our abandonment of these projects. In addition, we may not be able to obtain financing on favorable terms, which may render us unable to proceed with our development activities, and we may not be able to complete construction and lease-up of a property on schedule, which could result in increased debt service expense or construction costs.

 

Additionally, the time frame required for development, construction and lease-up of these properties means that we may have to wait years for significant cash returns. Because we are required to make cash distributions to our stockholders, if the cash flow from operations or refinancing is not sufficient, we may be forced to borrow additional money to fund such distributions. Newly developed and acquired properties may not produce the cash flow that we expect, which could adversely affect our overall financial performance.

 

In deciding whether to acquire or develop a particular property, we make assumptions regarding the expected future performance of that property. In particular, we estimate the return on our investment based on expected occupancy and rental rates. If our financial projections with respect to a new property are inaccurate, and the property is unable to achieve the expected occupancy and rental rates, it may fail to perform as we expected in analyzing our investment. Our estimate of the costs of repositioning or redeveloping an acquired property may prove to be inaccurate, which may result in our failure to meet our profitability goals. Additionally, we may acquire new properties that are not fully leased, and the cash flow from existing operations may be insufficient to pay the operating expenses and debt service associated with that property.

 

We do not know if our tenants will renew their existing leases, and if they do not, we may be unable to lease the properties on as favorable terms, or at all

 

We cannot predict whether our tenants will renew existing leases at the end of their lease terms, which expire at various times. If these leases are not renewed, we would be required to find other tenants to occupy those properties or sell them. There can be no assurance that we would be able to identify suitable replacement tenants or enter into leases with new tenants on terms as favorable to us as the current leases or that we would be able to lease those properties at all.

 

Our ownership of properties through ground leases exposes us to the loss of such properties upon breach or termination of the ground leases

 

We have acquired an interest in certain of our properties by acquiring a leasehold interest in the property on which the building is located, and we may acquire additional properties in the future through the purchase of interests in ground leases. As the lessee under a ground lease, we are exposed to the possibility of losing the property upon termination of the ground lease or an earlier breach of the ground lease by us.

 

Illiquidity of real estate investments could significantly impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our properties

 

Real estate investments are relatively illiquid. Our ability to quickly sell or exchange any of our properties in response to changes in economic and other conditions will be limited. No assurances can be given that we will recognize full value for any property that we are required to sell for liquidity reasons. Our inability to respond rapidly to changes in the performance of our investments could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we are exposed to the risks inherent in concentrating investments in real estate, and in particular, the seniors housing and health care industries. A downturn in the real estate industry could adversely affect the value of our properties and our ability to sell properties for a price or on terms acceptable to us.

 

Risk factors related to reinvestment of sale proceeds

 

 

From time to time, we will have cash available from (1) the proceeds of sales of our securities, (2) principal payments on our loans receivable and (3) the sale of properties, including non-elective dispositions, under the terms of master leases or similar financial support arrangements. In order to maintain current revenues and continue generating attractive returns, we expect to re-invest these proceeds in a timely manner. We compete for real estate investments with a broad variety of potential investors. This competition for attractive investments may negatively affect our ability to make timely investments on terms acceptable to us.

 

Failure to properly manage our rapid growth could distract our management or increase our expenses

 

We have experienced rapid growth and development in a relatively short period of time and expect to continue this rapid growth in the future. This growth has resulted in increased levels of responsibility for our management. Future property acquisitions could place significant additional demands on, and require us to expand, our management, resources and personnel. Our failure to manage any such rapid growth effectively could harm our business and, in particular, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, which could negatively affect our ability to make distributions to stockholders. Our growth could also increase our capital requirements, which may require us to issue potentially dilutive equity securities and incur additional debt.

 

Ownership of property outside the United States may subject us to different or greater risks than those associated with our domestic operations

 

International development, ownership, and operating activities involve risks that are different from those we face with respect to our domestic properties and operations.  These risks include, but are not limited to, any international currency gain recognized with respect to changes in exchange rates may not qualify under the 75% gross income test or the 95% gross income test that we must satisfy annually in order to qualify and maintain our status as a REIT; challenges with respect to the repatriation of foreign earnings and cash; changes in foreign political, regulatory, and economic conditions, including regionally, nationally, and locally; challenges in managing international operations; challenges of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations, including those relating to real estate, corporate governance, operations, taxes, employment and legal proceedings; foreign ownership restrictions with respect to operations in countries; differences in lending practices and the willingness of domestic or foreign lenders to provide financing; regional or country-specific business cycles and economic instability; and changes in applicable laws and regulations in the United States that affect foreign operations.  If we are unable to successfully manage the risks associated with international expansion and operations, our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.

 

Risk factors related to changes in currency exchange rates

 

As we expand our operations internationally, currency exchange rate fluctuations could affect our results of operations and financial position.  We expect to generate an increasing portion of our revenue and expenses in such foreign currencies as the Canadian dollar.  Although we may enter into foreign exchange agreements with financial institutions and/or obtain local currency mortgage debt in order to reduce our exposure to fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies, we cannot assure you that foreign currency fluctuations will not have a material adverse effect on us.

 

We might fail to qualify or remain qualified as a REIT

 

We intend to operate as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code and believe we have and will continue to operate in such a manner. If we lose our status as a REIT, we will face serious income tax consequences that will substantially reduce the funds available for satisfying our obligations and for distribution to our stockholders because:

 

•     we would not be allowed a deduction for distributions to stockholders in computing our taxable income and would be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates;

 

•     we could be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax and possibly increased state and local taxes; and

 

•     unless we are entitled to relief under statutory provisions, we could not elect to be subject to tax as a REIT for four taxable years following the year during which we were disqualified.

 

Since REIT qualification requires us to meet a number of complex requirements, it is possible that we may fail to fulfill them, and if we do, our earnings will be reduced by the amount of U.S. federal and other income taxes owed. A reduction in our earnings would affect the amount we could distribute to our stockholders. If we do not qualify as a REIT, we would not be required to make distributions to stockholders since a non-REIT is not required to pay dividends to stockholders in order to maintain REIT status or avoid an excise tax. See “Item 1 — Business — Taxation — Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a discussion of the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that apply to us and the effects of failure to qualify as a REIT.

 

 

In addition, if we fail to qualify as a REIT, all distributions to stockholders would continue to be treated as dividends to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, although corporate stockholders may be eligible for the dividends received deduction, and individual stockholders may be eligible for taxation at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains (currently at a maximum rate of 15%) with respect to distributions.

 

As a result of all these factors, our failure to qualify as a REIT also could impair our ability to implement our business strategy and would adversely affect the value of our common stock.

 

Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Internal Revenue Code provisions for which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations. The determination of various factual matters and circumstances not entirely within our control may affect our ability to remain qualified as a REIT. Although we believe that we qualify as a REIT, we cannot assure you that we will continue to qualify or remain qualified as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See “Item 1 — Business — Taxation — Federal Income Tax Considerations” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

The 90% annual distribution requirement will decrease our liquidity and may limit our ability to engage in otherwise beneficial transactions

 

To comply with the 90% distribution requirement applicable to REITs and to avoid the nondeductible excise tax, we must make distributions to our stockholders. See “Item 1 — Business — Taxation — Federal Income Tax Considerations — Qualification as a REIT — Annual Distribution Requirements” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Although we anticipate that we generally will have sufficient cash or liquid assets to enable us to satisfy the REIT distribution requirement, it is possible that, from time to time, we may not have sufficient cash or other liquid assets to meet the 90% distribution requirement, or we may decide to retain cash or distribute such greater amount as may be necessary to avoid income and excise taxation. This may be due to timing differences between the actual receipt of income and actual payment of deductible expenses, on the one hand, and the inclusion of that income and deduction of those expenses in arriving at our taxable income, on the other hand. In addition, non-deductible expenses such as principal amortization or repayments or capital expenditures in excess of non-cash deductions may cause us to fail to have sufficient cash or liquid assets to enable us to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement. In the event that timing differences occur, or we deem it appropriate to retain cash, we may borrow funds, issue additional equity securities (although we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so), pay taxable stock dividends, if possible, distribute other property or securities or engage in another transaction intended to enable us to meet the REIT distribution requirements. This may require us to raise additional capital to meet our obligations.

 

The amount of additional indebtedness we may incur is limited by the terms of our line of credit arrangement and the indentures governing our senior unsecured notes. In addition, adverse economic conditions may impact the availability of additional funds or could cause the terms on which we are able to borrow additional funds to become unfavorable. In those circumstances, we may be required to raise additional equity in the capital markets. Our access to capital depends upon a number of factors over which we have little or no control, including rising interest rates, inflation and other general market conditions and the market’s perception of our growth potential and our current and potential future earnings and cash distributions and the market price of the shares of our capital stock. We cannot assure you that we will be able to raise the capital necessary to make future investments or to meet our obligations and commitments as they mature.

 

The lease of qualified health care properties to a taxable REIT subsidiary is subject to special requirements

 

We lease certain qualified health care properties we acquire to taxable REIT subsidiaries (or limited liability companies of which the taxable REIT subsidiaries are members), which lessees contract with managers (or related parties) to manage the health care operations at these properties.  The rents from this taxable REIT subsidiary lessee structure are treated as qualifying rents from real property if (1) they are paid pursuant to an arms-length lease of a qualified health care property with a taxable REIT subsidiary and (2) the manager qualifies as an eligible independent contractor.  If any of these conditions are not satisfied, then the rents will not be qualifying rents.  See “Item 1 — Business — Taxation — Federal Income Tax Considerations — Qualification as a REIT — Income Tests.”

 

If certain sale-leaseback transactions are not characterized by the Internal Revenue Service as “true leases,” we may be subject to adverse tax consequences

 

We have purchased certain properties and leased them back to the sellers of such properties, and we may enter similar transactions in the future. We intend for any such sale-leaseback transaction to be structured in such a manner that the lease will be characterized as a “true lease,” thereby allowing us to be treated as the owner of the property for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, depending on the terms of any specific transaction, the Internal Revenue Service might take the position that the transaction is not a “true lease” but is more properly treated in some other manner. In the event any sale-leaseback transaction is challenged and successfully re-characterized by the Internal Revenue Service, we would not be entitled to claim the deductions for depreciation and cost recovery generally available to an owner of property. Furthermore, if a sale-leaseback transaction were so re-characterized, we

 

might fail to satisfy the REIT asset tests or income tests and, consequently, could lose our REIT status effective with the year of re-characterization.  See “Item 1 — Business — Taxation — Federal Income Tax Considerations — Qualification as a REIT — Asset Tests” and “— Income Tests.” Alternatively, the amount of our REIT taxable income could be recalculated, which may cause us to fail to meet the REIT annual distribution requirements for a taxable year.  See “Item 1 — Business — Taxation — Federal Income Tax Considerations — Qualification as a REIT — Annual Distribution Requirements.”

 

Other risk factors

 

We are also subject to other risks. First, our certificate of incorporation and by-laws contain anti-takeover provisions (restrictions on share ownership and transfer and super majority stockholder approval requirements for business combinations) that could make it more difficult for or even prevent a third party from acquiring us without the approval of our incumbent Board of Directors. Provisions and agreements that inhibit or discourage takeover attempts could reduce the market value of our common stock.

 

Additionally, we are dependent on key personnel. Although we have entered into employment agreements with our executive officers, losing any one of them could, at least temporarily, have an adverse impact on our operations. We believe that losing more than one could have a material adverse impact on our business.

 

Item 1B.  Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

 

Item 2.  Properties 

 

We own our corporate headquarters located at 4500 Dorr Street, Toledo, Ohio 43615. We also own corporate offices in Tennessee, lease corporate offices in Florida and California and have ground leases relating to certain of our properties. The following table sets forth certain information regarding the properties that comprise our consolidated real property and real estate loan investments as of December 31, 2011 (dollars in thousands):