impose restrictions on the conduct of occupants of homes and the use of common areas, and we may have tenants who violate HOA rules and for which we may be liable as the property owner. Additionally, the boards of directors of the HOAs in which we own property may not make important disclosures about the properties or may block our access to HOA records, initiate litigation, restrict our ability to sell our properties, impose assessments or arbitrarily change the HOA rules. Furthermore, in certain jurisdictions, HOAs may have a statutory right of first refusal to purchase certain types of properties we may desire to sell. Moreover, in certain jurisdictions (such as in Florida), HOAs may be entitled to dispute rent increases, which may result in arbitration. We may be unaware of or unable to review or comply with HOA rules before purchasing a property, and any such excessively restrictive or arbitrary regulations may cause us to sell such property at a loss, prevent us from renting such property or otherwise reduce our cash flow from such property, which would have an adverse effect on our returns on these properties. If any credit market disruptions or economic slowdowns occur, any investments in multifamily properties may face increased competition from single-family homes, condominiums for rent and new supply, which could limit our ability to retain residents, lease apartment units or increase or maintain rents. Our multifamily properties may compete with numerous housing alternatives in attracting residents, including single-family homes and condominiums available for rent. Competition can also be impacted by the addition of new supply of multifamily properties. Such competitive housing alternatives may become more prevalent in a particular area in the event of any tightening of mortgage lending underwriting criteria, homeowner foreclosures, declines in single-family home and condominium sales or lack of available credit. The number of single-family homes and condominiums for rent in a particular area could limit our ability to retain residents, lease apartment units or increase or maintain rents. We may not be able to attract desirable tenants for our residential properties and may have difficulty evicting defaulting tenants. Our success with residential rentals will depend, in large part, upon our ability to attract and retain qualified tenants for our residential properties. If we are unable to attract quality tenants our rental revenues will be adversely affected. If certain of our tenants cease paying rent, we may be unable or unwilling to evict such tenants due to legal, regulatory or practical concerns and, as a result, may be unable to enter into a new lease for the applicable unit or property, resulting in lost revenue. In addition, our efforts to evict residential tenants may result in litigation, resulting in increased expenses and potential liability for our residential properties. Rent control and other changes in applicable laws, or noncompliance with applicable laws, could adversely affect our residential properties. Lower revenue growth or significant unanticipated expenditures may result from rent control or rent stabilization laws or other residential landlord/tenant laws. Municipalities may implement, consider or be urged by advocacy groups to consider rent control or rent stabilization laws and regulations or take other actions that could limit our ability to raise rents based on market conditions. These initiatives and any other future enactments of rent control or rent stabilization laws or other laws regulating multifamily housing, as well as any lawsuits against us arising from such rent control or other laws, may reduce rental revenues or increase operating costs. Such laws and regulations may limit our ability to charge market rents, increase rents, evict tenants or recover increases in our operating costs and could make it more difficult or less profitable for us to dispose of properties in certain circumstances. Expenses associated with investments in residential properties, such as debt service, real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance costs, are generally not reduced when circumstances cause a reduction in rental income from such properties. Our industrial properties face unique risks, including risks that can impact our industrial property tenants. Our industrial properties face unique risks, including risks that impact the tenants of these properties. First, our industrial properties may be adversely affected if manufacturing activity decreases in the United States. Trade agreements with foreign countries have given employers the option to utilize less expensive non-U.S. manufacturing workers. Outsourcing manufacturing activities could reduce the demand for our industrial properties, thereby reducing the profitability of our industrial tenants and the demand for and profitability of our industrial properties. In addition, the supply of industrial properties in the United States is expected to increase in the near term. These new properties may be preferable to older buildings as a result of tenant preferences. As a result, this new supply could have a negative impact on our industrial portfolio. We may be adversely affected by trends in the office real estate industry. Some businesses are rapidly evolving to make employee telecommuting, flexible work schedules, open workplaces and teleconferencing increasingly common. These practices enable businesses to reduce their space requirements. A continuation of the movement towards these practices could over time erode the overall demand for office space and, in turn, place downward pressure on occupancy, rental rates and property valuations, each of which could have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make expected distributions to our stockholders.
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