Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases: Amendments to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification” (“ASU 2016-02”), The new standard requires lessees to apply a dual approach, classifying leases as either finance or operating leases based on the principle of whether or not the lease is effectively a financed purchase by the lessee. This classification will determine whether lease expense is recognized based on an effective interest method or on a straight line basis over the term of the lease, respectively. A lessee is also required to record a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases with a term of greater than 12 months regardless of their classification. Leases with a term of 12 months or less will be accounted for similar to existing guidance for operating leases today. The new standard requires lessors to account for leases using an approach that is substantially equivalent to existing guidance for sales-type leases, direct financing leases and operating leases. ASU 2016-02 is expected to minimally impact our consolidated financial statements as we have four operating ground lease arrangement for which we are the lessee. We also expect to our legal expense to increase as the new standard requires us to expense indirect leasing costs that were previously capitalized to leasing commissions. ASC 2016-02 supersedes the previous leases standard, ASC 840 Leases. The standard is effective on January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. We are in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance.

We have entered into interest rate cap agreements that cap the interest rate on certain of our notes payable when one-month LIBOR is in excess of 3.0%. We have adopted the fair value measurement provisions for our financial instruments recorded at fair value. The fair value guidance establishes a three-tier value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions. Generally, we will estimate the fair value of our interest rate caps, in the absence of observable market data, using estimates of value including estimated remaining life, counterparty credit risk, current market yield and interest rate spreads of similar securities as of the measurement date. At March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, our interest rate cap agreements were valued using Level 2 inputs.

The fair value of the interest rate cap agreements is recorded in other assets on our accompanying consolidated balance sheets. We record changes in the fair value of the interest rate cap agreements quarterly based on the current market valuations at quarter end as interest expense on our accompanying consolidated statements of operations. The following table summarizes the key terms of each interest rate cap agreement (dollars in thousands):