adversely affected. For example, following the termination or expiration of a tenant’s lease there may be a period of time before we will begin receiving rental payments under a replacement lease. During that period, we will continue to bear fixed expenses such as interest, real estate taxes, maintenance, security, repairs and other operating expenses. In addition, declining economic conditions may impair our ability to attract replacement tenants and achieve rental rates equal to or greater than the rents paid under previous leases. Increased competition for tenants may require us to make capital improvements to properties which would not have otherwise been planned. Any unbudgeted capital improvements that we undertake may divert cash that would otherwise be available for distributions or for satisfying repurchase requests. Ultimately, to the extent that we are unable to renew leases or re-let space as leases expire, decreased cash flow from tenants will result, which could adversely impact our operating results. We may be required to expend funds to correct defects or to make improvements before a tenant can be found for a property at an attractive lease rate or an investment in a property can be sold. No assurance can be given that we will have funds available to correct those defects or to make those improvements. In acquiring a property, we may agree to lock-out provisions that materially restrict us from selling that property for a period of time or impose other restrictions, such as a limitation on the amount of debt that can be placed on that property. These factors and others that could impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our properties could significantly affect our financial condition and operating results. Our properties face significant competition. We face significant competition from owners, operators and developers of properties. Substantially all of our properties will face competition from similar properties in the same market. This competition may affect our ability to attract and retain tenants and may reduce the rents we are able to charge. These competing properties may have vacancy rates higher than our properties, which may result in their owners being willing to lease available space at lower prices than the space in our properties. If one of our properties were to lose an anchor tenant, this could impact the leases of other tenants, who may be able to modify or terminate their leases as a result. Our properties may be leased at below-market rates under long-term leases. We may seek to negotiate longer-term leases to reduce the cash flow volatility associated with lease rollovers, provided that contractual rent increases are included. In addition, where appropriate, we will seek leases that provide for operating expenses, or expense increases, to be paid by the tenants. These leases may allow tenants to renew the lease with pre-defined rate increases. If we do not accurately judge the potential for increases in market rental rates, we may set the rental rates of these long-term leases at levels such that even after contractual rental increases, the resulting rental rates are less than then-current market rental rates. Further, we may be unable to terminate those leases or adjust the rent to then-prevailing market rates. As a result, our income and distributions to our stockholders could be lower than if we did not enter into long-term leases. We may experience material losses or damage related to our properties and such losses may not be covered by insurance. We may experience losses related to our properties arising from natural disasters and acts of God, vandalism or other crime, faulty construction or accidents, fire, outbreaks of an infectious disease, pandemic or any other serious public health concern, war, acts of terrorism or other catastrophes. We plan to carry insurance covering our properties under policies the Advisor deems appropriate. The Advisor will select policy specifications and insured limits that it believes to be appropriate and adequate given the relative risk of loss, the cost of the coverage and industry practice. Insurance policies on our properties may include some coverage for losses that are generally catastrophic in nature, such as losses due to terrorism, earthquakes and floods, but we cannot assure our stockholders that it will be adequate to cover all losses and some of our policies will be insured subject to limitations involving large deductibles or co-payments and policy limits that may not be sufficient to cover losses. In general, losses related to terrorism are becoming harder and more expensive to insure against. Most insurers are excluding terrorism coverage from their all-risk policies. In some cases, the insurers are offering significantly limited coverage against terrorist acts for additional premiums, which can greatly increase the total costs of casualty insurance for a property. As a result, not all investments may be insured against terrorism. If we or one or more of our tenants experience a loss that is uninsured or that exceeds policy limits, we could lose the capital invested in the damaged properties as well as the anticipated future cash flows from those properties. In addition, if the damaged properties are subject to recourse indebtedness, we would continue to be liable for the indebtedness, even if these properties were irreparably damaged. We could become subject to liability for environmental violations, regardless of whether we caused such violations. We could become subject to liability in the form of fines or damages for noncompliance with environmental laws and regulations. These laws and regulations generally govern wastewater discharges, air emissions, the operation and removal of underground and above-ground storage tanks, the use, storage, treatment, transportation and disposal of solid hazardous materials, the remediation of contaminated property associated with the disposal of solid and hazardous materials and other health and safety-related concerns. Some of these laws and regulations may impose joint and several liability on tenants, owners or managers for the costs of investigation or remediation of contaminated properties, regardless of fault or the legality of the original disposal. Under various federal, state and local environmental laws, ordinances, and regulations, a current or former owner or manager of real property may be liable for the cost to remove or remediate hazardous or toxic substances, wastes, or petroleum products on, under,
27
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker