Equity LifeStyle Properties - 10-K annual report 2015

utilities, including water and sewer service, through municipal or regulated utilities while others provide these services to customers from on-site facilities.

subject to restrictive regulation, we have initiated lawsuits at various times against various municipalities imposing such regulations in an attempt to balance the interests of our stockholders with the interests of our customers. (See Item 3. Legal proceedings).

Please see our risk factors in Item 1A - Risk Factors and financial statements and related notes beginning on page F-1 of this Form 10-K for more detailed information.

Our business faces many risks. The risks described below may not be the only risks we face but are the risks we know or that we believe may be material at this time. Additional risks that we do not yet know of, or that we currently think are immaterial, may also impair our business operations or financial results. This Item 1A. also includes forward-looking statements. You should refer to our discussion of the qualifications and limitations on forward-looking statements included in Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Our success is dependent upon economic conditions in the U.S. generally and in the geographic areas in which a substantial number of our Properties are located. Adverse changes in national economic conditions and in the economic conditions of the regions in which we conduct substantial business may have an adverse effect on the real estate values of our Properties, our financial performance and the market price of our common stock. As we have a large concentration of properties in certain markets, most notably Florida, California, and Arizona, adverse market and economic conditions in these areas of high concentration, which significantly affect such factors as occupancy and rental rates, could have a significant impact on our revenues, cash flows, financial condition and ability to make distributions. In a recession or under other adverse economic conditions, non-earning assets and write-downs are likely to increase as debtors fail to meet their payment obligations. Although we maintain reserves for credit losses and an allowance for doubtful accounts in amounts that we believe should be sufficient to provide adequate protection against potential write-downs in our portfolio, these amounts could prove to be insufficient.

Some of our RV Resorts are used primarily by vacationers and campers. These Properties experience seasonal demand, which generally increases in the spring and summer months and decreases in the fall and winter months. As such, results for a certain quarter may not be indicative of the results of future quarters. In addition, as our RV Resorts are primarily used by campers and vacationers, economic cyclicality resulting in a downturn that affects discretionary spending and disposable income for leisure-time activities, as well as unfavorable weather conditions during the spring and summer months, could adversely affect our cash flows.

We expect that other real estate investors with significant capital will compete with us for attractive investment opportunities. These competitors may include other publicly traded REITs, private REITs, individuals, corporations, and other types of real estate investors. Such competition increases prices for Properties and can also result in increased fixed costs, such as real estate taxes. To the extent we are unable to effectively compete or acquire properties at a lower purchase price, our business may be adversely affected. Further, we expect to acquire Properties with cash from sources including but not limited to secured or unsecured financings, proceeds from offerings of equity or debt, offerings of OP Units, undistributed funds from operations and sales of investments. We may not be in a position or have the opportunity in the future to make suitable Property acquisitions on favorable terms. Increased competition can cause difficulties obtaining new financing or securing favorable financing terms.

We intend to continue to acquire Properties. However, newly acquired Properties may fail to perform as expected and could pose risks for our ongoing operations including the following

As a result of the foregoing, we may underestimate the costs necessary to bring an acquired Property up to standards established for our intended market position. As such, we cannot assure you that any acquisitions that we make will be accretive to us in the near term or at all. Furthermore, if we fail to realize the intended benefits of an acquisition, the market price of our common stock could decline to the extent that the market price reflects those benefits.

Real estate investments generally cannot be sold quickly. We may not be able to vary our portfolio promptly in response to economic or other conditions, forcing us to accept lower than market value. This inability to respond promptly to changes in the performance of our investments could adversely affect our financial condition and ability to service debt and make distributions to our stockholders.

We have joint ventures with other investors. We currently and may continue in the future to acquire properties or make investments in joint ventures with other persons or entities when we believe circumstances warrant the use of such structures. Joint venture investments involve risks not present with respect to our wholly owned properties, including the following:

At times we have entered into agreements providing for joint and several liability with our partners. Frequently, we and our partners may each have the right to trigger a buy-sell arrangement, which could cause us to sell our interest, or acquire our partners' interest, at a time when we otherwise would not have initiated such a transaction. Any of these risks could materially and adversely affect our ability to generate and recognize attractive returns on our joint venture investments, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and distributions to our stockholders.

We own Properties in certain areas of the country where the rental rates in our Properties have not increased as fast as the real estate values either because of locally imposed rent control or long term leases. In such areas, certain local government entities have at times investigated the possibility of seeking to take our Properties by eminent domain at values below the value of the underlying land. While no such eminent domain proceeding has been commenced, and we would exercise all of our rights in connection with any such proceeding, successful condemnation proceedings by municipalities could adversely affect our financial condition. Moreover, certain of our Properties located in California are subject to rent control ordinances, some of which not only severely restrict ongoing rent increases but also prohibit us from increasing rents upon turnover. Such regulations allow customers to sell their homes for a premium representing the value of the future rent discounts resulting from rent-controlled rents.

Tenant groups have filed lawsuits against us seeking to limit rent increases and/or seeking large damage awards for our alleged failure to properly maintain certain Properties or other tenant related matters, such as the case currently pending in the California Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District, Case No. H041913, involving our California Hawaiian manufactured home property. (See Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional detail regarding our current litigation matters).

Many of the states in which we do business have laws regulating right-to-use or campground membership sales. These laws generally require comprehensive disclosure to prospective purchasers, and usually give purchasers the right to rescind their purchase between three to five days after the date of sale. Some states have laws requiring us to register with a state agency and obtain a permit to market. We are subject to changes, from time to time, in the application or interpretation of such laws that can affect our business or the rights of our members.

In some states, including California, Oregon and Washington, laws place limitations on the ability of the owner of a campground property to close the property unless the customers at the property receive access to a comparable property. The impact of the rights of customers under these laws is uncertain and could adversely affect the availability or timing of sale opportunities or our ability to realize recoveries from Property sales.

The government authorities regulating our activities have broad discretionary power to enforce and interpret the statutes and regulations that they administer, including the power to enjoin or suspend sales activities, require or restrict construction of additional facilities and revoke licenses and permits relating to business activities. We monitor our sales and marketing programs and debt collection activities to control practices that might violate consumer protection laws and regulations or give rise to consumer complaints.

Certain consumer rights and defenses that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction may affect our portfolio of contracts receivable. Examples of such laws include state and federal consumer credit and truth-in-lending laws requiring the disclosure of finance charges, and usury and retail installment sales laws regulating permissible finance charges.

In certain states, as a result of government regulations and provisions in certain of the right-to-use or campground membership agreements, we are prohibited from selling more than ten memberships per site. At the present time, these restrictions do not preclude us from selling memberships in any state. However, these restrictions may limit our ability to utilize Properties for public usage and/or our ability to convert Sites to more profitable or predictable uses, such as annual rentals.

In the event the cost to power recreational vehicles increases, customers may reduce the amount of time spent traveling in their RVs. This may negatively impact revenues at our Properties that target these customers.

We have Properties located in geographic areas that are dependent on the energy industry for jobs. In the event the local economies in these areas are negatively impacted by declining oil prices, we may experience reduced property occupancy or be unable to increase rental rates at such Properties.

Federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment may require a current or previous owner or operator of real property to investigate and clean up hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum product releases at such property. The owner or operator may have to pay a governmental entity or third parties for property damage and for investigation and clean-up costs incurred by such parties in connection with the contamination. Such laws typically impose clean-up responsibility and liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of or caused the presence of the contaminants. Even if more than one person may have been responsible for the contamination, each person covered by the environmental laws may be held responsible for all of the clean-up costs incurred. In addition, third parties may sue the owner or operator of a site for damages and costs resulting from environmental contamination emanating from that site.

Environmental laws also govern the presence, maintenance and removal of asbestos. Such laws require that owners or operators of property containing asbestos properly manage and maintain the asbestos, that they notify and train those who may come into contact with asbestos and that they undertake special precautions, including removal or other abatement, if asbestos would be disturbed during renovation or demolition of a building. Such laws may impose fines and penalties on real property owners or operators who fail to comply with these requirements and may allow third parties to seek recovery from owners or operators for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos fibers.

We cannot predict with certainty whether climate change is occurring and, if so, at what rate. However, the physical effects of climate change could have a material adverse effect on our Properties, operations and business. For example, many of our properties are located in the southeast and southwest regions of the United States, particularly in Florida, California and Arizona. To the extent climate change causes changes in weather patterns, our markets could experience increases in storm intensity and rising sea-levels. Over time, these conditions could result in declining demand for space in our Properties or our inability to operate them. Climate change may also have indirect effects on our business by increasing the cost of (or making unavailable) property insurance on terms we find acceptable, increasing the cost of energy and increasing the cost of snow removal or related costs at our Properties.  Proposed legislation to address climate change could increase utility and other costs of operating our Properties which, if not offset by rising rental income, would reduce our net income. There can be no assurance that climate change will not have a material adverse effect on our Properties, operations or business.

Lenders' demands on borrowers as to the quality of the collateral and related cash flows may make it challenging to secure financing on attractive terms or at all. If terms are no longer attractive or if financing proceeds are no longer available for any reason, these factors may adversely affect cash flow and our ability to service debt and make distributions to stockholders.

If a Property is mortgaged to secure payment of indebtedness, and we are unable to meet mortgage payments, the mortgagee could foreclose on the Property, resulting in loss of income and asset value. The mortgages on our Properties contain customary negative covenants, which among other things limit our ability, without the prior consent of the lender, to further mortgage the Property and to discontinue insurance coverage. In addition, our unsecured credit facilities contain certain customary restrictions, requirements and other limitations on our ability to incur indebtedness, including total debt-to-assets ratios, debt service coverage ratios and minimum ratios of unencumbered assets to unsecured debt. Foreclosure on mortgaged Properties or an inability to refinance existing indebtedness would likely have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Certain provisions of our charter and bylaws may delay or prevent a change of control or other transactions that could provide our stockholders with a premium over the then-prevailing market price of their common stock or Series C Preferred Stock or which might otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders. These include the Ownership Limit described below. Also, any future series of preferred stock may have certain voting provisions that could delay or prevent a change of control or other transaction that might involve a premium price or otherwise be beneficial to our stockholders.

Certain provisions of Maryland law prohibit "business combinations" (including certain issuances of equity securities) with any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of our outstanding common stock, or with an affiliate of ours, who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the owner of 10% or more of the voting power of our outstanding voting stock (an "Interested Stockholder"), or with an affiliate of an Interested Stockholder. These prohibitions last for five years after the most recent date on which the Interested Stockholder became an Interested Stockholder. After the five-year period, a business combination with an Interested Stockholder must be approved by two super-majority stockholder votes unless, among other conditions, our common stockholders receive a minimum price for their shares and the consideration is received in cash or in the same form as previously paid by the Interested Stockholder for shares of our common stock. The Board of Directors has exempted from these provisions under the Maryland law any business combination with Samuel Zell, who is our Chairman of the Board, certain holders of OP Units who received them at the time of our initial public offering, and our officers who acquired common stock at the time we were formed and each and every affiliate of theirs.

In addition, Mr. Zell and his affiliates continue to be involved in other investment activities. Mr. Zell and his affiliates have a broad and varied range of investment interests, including interests in other real estate investment companies owning manufactured home communities and involving other forms of housing, including multifamily housing. Mr. Zell and his affiliates may acquire interests in other companies. Mr. Zell may not be able to control whether any such company competes with us. Consequently, Mr. Zell's

continued involvement in other investment activities could result in competition to us as well as management decisions that might not reflect the interests of our stockholders.

Substantially all of our assets are owned indirectly by the Operating Partnership. As a result, we have no source of cash flow other than distributions from our Operating Partnership. For us to pay dividends to holders of our common stock and preferred stock, the Operating Partnership must first distribute cash to us. Before it can distribute the cash, our Operating Partnership must first satisfy its obligations to its creditors.

One of the factors that investors consider important in deciding whether to buy or sell shares of a REIT is the distribution rates with respect to such shares (as a percentage of the price of such shares) relative to market interest rates. If market interest rates go up, prospective purchasers of REIT shares may expect a higher distribution rate. Higher interest rates would not, however, result in more of our funds to distribute and, in fact, would likely increase our borrowing costs and potentially decrease funds available for distribution. Thus, higher market interest rates could cause the market price of our publicly traded securities to go down.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 requires us to evaluate and report on our internal control over financial reporting. If we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports. which in turn could have an adverse effect on our stock price.

To qualify as a REIT, we must distribute to our stockholders each year at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gain). In addition, we intend to distribute all or substantially all of our net income so that we will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our earnings. Because of these distribution requirements, it is not likely that we will be able to fund all future capital needs, including acquisitions, from income from operations. We therefore will have to rely on third-party sources of debt and equity capital financing, which may or may not be available on favorable terms or at all. Our access to third-party sources of capital depends on a number of things, including conditions in the capital markets generally and the market's perception of our growth potential and our current and potential future earnings. It may be difficult for us to meet one or more of the requirements for qualification as a REIT, including but not limited to our distribution requirement. Moreover, additional equity offerings may result in substantial dilution of stockholders' interests, and additional debt financing may substantially increase our leverage.

To remain qualified as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, not more than 50% in value of our outstanding shares of capital stock may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the federal income tax laws applicable to REITs) at any time during the last half of any taxable year. To facilitate maintenance of our REIT qualification, our charter, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits Beneficial Ownership (as defined in our charter) by any single stockholder of more than 5% (in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our outstanding capital stock. We refer to this as the "Ownership Limit." Within certain limits, our charter permits the Board of Directors to increase the Ownership Limit with respect to any class or series of stock. The Board of Directors, upon receipt of a ruling from the IRS, opinion of counsel, or other evidence satisfactory to the Board of Directors and upon 15 days prior written notice of a proposed transfer which, if consummated, would result in the transferee owning shares in excess of the Ownership Limit, and upon such other conditions as the Board of Directors may direct, may exempt a stockholder from the Ownership Limit. Absent any such exemption, capital stock acquired or held in violation of the Ownership Limit will be transferred by operation of law to us as trustee for the benefit of the person to whom such capital stock is ultimately transferred, and the stockholder's rights to distributions and to vote would terminate. Such stockholder would be entitled to receive, from the proceeds of any subsequent sale of the capital stock we transferred as trustee, the lesser of (i) the price paid for the capital stock or, if the owner did not pay for the capital stock (for example, in the case of a gift, devise or other such transaction), the market price of the capital stock on the date of the event causing the capital stock to be transferred to us as trustee or (ii) the amount realized from such sale. A transfer of capital stock may be void if it causes a person to violate the Ownership Limit. The Ownership Limit could delay or prevent a change in control of us and, therefore, could adversely affect our stockholders' ability to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price for their common stock or adversely affect the best interest of our stockholders.

We believe we have been organized and operated in a manner so as to qualify for taxation as a REIT, and we intend to continue to operate so as to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Our current and continuing qualification as a REIT depends on our ability to meet the various requirements imposed by the Code, which relate to organizational structure, distribution levels, diversity of stock ownership and certain restrictions with regard to owned assets and categories of income. If we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we are generally not subject to U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income that is distributed to our stockholders. However, qualification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes is governed by highly technical and complex provisions of the Code for which there are only limited judicial or administrative interpretations. In connection with certain transactions, we have received, and relied upon, advice of counsel as to the impact of such transactions on our qualification as a REIT. Our qualification as a REIT requires analysis of various facts and circumstances that may not be entirely within our control, and we cannot provide any assurance that the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") will agree with our analysis or the analysis of our tax counsel. In particular, the proper U.S. federal income tax treatment of right-to-use membership contracts and rental income from certain short-term stays at RV communities is uncertain and there is no assurance that the IRS will agree with our treatment of such contracts or rental income. If the IRS were to disagree with our analysis or our tax counsel's analysis of various facts and circumstances, our ability to qualify as a REIT could be adversely affected.

In addition, legislation, new regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions might significantly change the tax laws with respect to the requirements for qualification as a REIT or the U.S. federal income tax consequences of qualification as a REIT. For example, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act (PATH Act) was enacted in December 2015, and included numerous law changes applicable to REITs  The provisions have various effective dates beginning as early as 2016. Investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these changes and the potential impact on their investment in our stock.

If, with respect to any taxable year, we failed to maintain our qualification as a REIT (and if specified relief provisions under the Code were not applicable to such disqualification), we would be disqualified from treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which qualification was lost. If we lost our REIT status, we could not deduct distributions to stockholders in computing our net taxable income at regular corporate rates and we would be subject to U.S. federal income tax (including any applicable alternative minimum tax) on our net taxable incomes. If we had to pay U.S. federal income tax, the amount of money available to distribute to stockholders and pay indebtedness would be reduced for the year or years involved, and we would no longer be required to distribute money to stockholders. Although we currently intend to operate in a manner designed to allow us to qualify as a REIT, future economic, market, legal, tax or other considerations may cause us to revoke the REIT election.

Furthermore, we own a direct interest in certain subsidiary REITs which elected to be taxed as REITs under Sections 856 through 860 of the Code. Provided that each subsidiary REIT qualifies as a REIT, our interest in such subsidiary REIT will be treated as a qualifying real estate asset for purposes of the REIT asset tests, and any dividend income or gains derived by us from such subsidiary REIT will generally be treated as income that qualifies for purposes of the REIT gross income tests. To qualify as a REIT, the subsidiary REIT must independently satisfy all of the REIT qualification requirements. If such subsidiary REIT were to fail to qualify as a REIT, and certain relief provisions did not apply, it would be treated as a regular taxable corporation and its

income would be subject to U.S. federal income tax. In addition, a failure of the subsidiary REIT to qualify as a REIT could have an adverse effect on our ability to comply with the REIT income and asset tests, and thus our ability to qualify as a REIT.

Even if we qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we may be subject to some U.S. federal, foreign, state and local taxes on our income and property. Since January 1, 2001, certain of our corporate subsidiaries have elected to be treated as "taxable REIT subsidiaries" for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and are taxable as regular corporations and subject to certain limitations on intercompany transactions. If tax authorities determine that amounts paid by our taxable REIT subsidiaries to us are greater than what would be paid under similar arrangements among unrelated parties, we could be subject to a 100% penalty tax on the excess payments, and ongoing intercompany arrangements could have to change, resulting in higher ongoing tax payments. To the extent we are required to pay U.S. federal, foreign, state or local taxes or U.S. federal penalty taxes due to existing laws or changes to them, we will have less cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

We carry comprehensive insurance coverage for losses resulting from property damage and environmental liability and business interruption claims on all of our Properties. In addition we carry liability coverage for other activities not specifically related to property operations. These coverages include, but are not limited to, Directors & Officers liability, Employer Practices liability, Fiduciary liability and Cyber liability. We believe that the policy specifications and coverage limits of these policies should be adequate and appropriate. There are, however, certain types of losses, such as punitive damages, lease and other contract claims that generally are not insured. Should an uninsured loss or a loss in excess of coverage limits occur, we could lose all or a portion of the capital we have invested in a Property or the anticipated future revenue from a Property. In such an event, we might nevertheless remain obligated for any mortgage debt or other financial obligations related to the Property.

Our current property and casualty insurance policies, which we plan to renew, expire on April 1, 2016. We have a $100 million loss limit with respect to our all-risk property insurance program including named windstorms, which include, for example, hurricanes. This loss limit is subject to additional sub-limits as set forth in the policy form, including, among others, a $25 million aggregate loss limit for an earthquake in California. Policy deductibles primarily range from a $125,000 minimum to 5% per unit of insurance for most catastrophic events. A deductible indicates our maximum exposure, subject to policy limits and sub-limits, in the event of a loss.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), all public accommodations and commercial facilities must meet certain federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Compliance with the ADA requirements could involve removal of structural barriers to access or use by disabled persons. Other federal, state and local laws may require modifications to or restrict further renovations of our Properties with respect to such accesses. Although we believe that our Properties are in compliance in all material respects with present requirements, noncompliance with the ADA or related laws or regulations could result in the United States government imposing fines or private litigants being awarded damages against us. Such costs may adversely affect our ability to make distributions or payments to our investors.

Many of our southern and northern Properties earn significant revenues from Canadian customers who visit during the winter season. In the event the value of Canadian currency decreases relative to the U.S. dollar, we may see a decline in revenue from these customers.

We rely extensively on internally and externally hosted computer systems to process transactions and manage our business, and our business is at risk from and may be impacted by cybersecurity incidents. These could include attempts to gain unauthorized access to our data and computer systems or steal confidential information, including credit card information from our customers, breaches due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions.  Attacks can be both individual and/or highly organized attempts organized by very sophisticated hacking organizations. We employ a number of measures to prevent, detect and mitigate these threats. While we continue to improve our cybersecurity and take measures to protect our business, there is no guarantee such efforts will be successful in preventing a cyber incident and that our financial results will not be negatively impacted by such an incident. A cybersecurity incident could compromise the confidential information of our employees, customers and vendors to the

extent such information exists on our systems or on the systems of third party providers. Such an incident could result in potential liability, damage our reputation and disrupt and affect our business operations and result in lawsuits against us.

Since 2010, the regulatory environment has made it difficult for purchasers of manufactured homes and RVs to obtain financing. Legislation enacted in 2010 known as the SAFE Act (Safe Mortgage Licensing Act) requires community owners interested in providing financing for customer purchases of manufactured homes to register as a mortgage loan originator in states where they engage in such financing.  In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act has amended the Truth in Lending Act and other consumer protection laws by adding requirements for residential mortgage loans, including limitations on mortgage origination activities, restrictions on high-cost mortgages and new standards for appraisals.  The law also requires lenders to make a reasonable investigation into a borrower's ability to repay a loan.  These requirements make it more difficult for homeowners to obtain affordable financing, and especially for moderate income people to obtain smaller loans to purchase manufactured housing or RVs.

Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to the manner in which we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. Management must exercise judgment in selecting and applying many of these accounting policies and methods in order to ensure that they comply with generally accepted accounting principles and reflect management's judgment as to the most appropriate manner in which to record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, management must select the accounting policy or method to apply from two or more alternatives, any of which might be reasonable under the circumstances yet might result in reporting materially different amounts than would have been reported under a different alternative.

Additionally, the bodies that set accounting standards for public companies, including the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB"), the SEC and others, periodically change or revise existing interpretations of the accounting and reporting standards that govern the way that we report our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. These changes can be difficult to predict and can materially impact our reported financial results. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised accounting standard, or a revised interpretation of an accounting standard, retroactively, which could have a negative impact on reported results or result in the restatement of our financial statements for prior periods.

In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update no. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers," which will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP. (See Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional detail regarding this recently issued guidance).