HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES INC - Quarter Report: 2020 July (Form 10-Q)

HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In Thousands)

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements (unaudited).

HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In Thousands Except Per Share Data)

(Unaudited)

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements (unaudited).

HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY DEFICIT

NINE MONTH PERIOD ENDED July 31, 2020

(In Thousands Except Share Amounts)

(Unaudited)

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements (unaudited).

HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY DEFICIT

NINE MONTH PERIOD ENDED July 31, 2019

(In Thousands Except Share Amounts)

(Unaudited)

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements (unaudited). 

HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In Thousands)

(Unaudited)

HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In Thousands - Unaudited)

(Continued)

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements (unaudited).

Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities:

In accordance with the adoption of ASU 2016-02, in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, we recorded a beginning right-of-use asset of $23.3 million and a right-of-use lease liability of $24.4 million. 

In the first quarter of fiscal 2020, K. Hovnanian, the issuer of our notes, completed a debt for debt exchange whereby it issued $158.5 million aggregate principal amount of 10.0% 1.75 Lien Notes due 2025 in exchange for $23.2 million in aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 10.0% Senior Secured Notes due 2022 and $141.7 million in aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 10.5% Senior Secured Notes due 2024. K. Hovnanian also exchanged $163.0 million in aggregate principal amount of its unsecured term loans for $81.5 million in aggregate principal amount of 1.75 Lien secured term loans made under a new Senior Secured 1.75 Lien Term Loan Credit Facility due January 31, 2028.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2020, K. Hovnanian, the issuer of the notes, completed a debt for debt exchange whereby it issued $59.1 million aggregate principal amount of 11.25% 1.5 Lien Notes due 2026 in exchange for $59.1 million aggregate principal amount of 10.0% Senior Secured Notes due 2022 Notes.

See Note 12 for further information.

HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - UNAUDITED

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (“HEI”) conducts all of its homebuilding and financial services operations through its subsidiaries (references herein to the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” refer to HEI and its consolidated subsidiaries and should be understood to reflect the consolidated business of HEI’s subsidiaries). HEI has reportable segments consisting of six Homebuilding segments (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest and West) and the Financial Services segment (see Note 17).

The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include HEI's accounts and those of all of its consolidated subsidiaries after elimination of all of its significant intercompany balances and transactions. Noncontrolling interest represents the proportionate equity interest in a consolidated joint venture that is not 100% owned by the Company. One of HEI's subsidiaries owns a 99% controlling interest in the consolidated joint venture, and therefore HEI is required to consolidate the joint venture within its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. The 1% that we do not own is accounted for as noncontrolling interest. 

The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X, and accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019. In the opinion of management, all adjustments for interim periods presented have been made, which include normal recurring accruals and deferrals necessary for a fair presentation of our condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows. The preparation of Condensed Consolidated 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 period. Actual results could differ from those estimates, and these differences could have a significant impact on the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results which might be expected for a full year.  

For the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020, the Company’s total stock-based compensation expense was $0.2 million (pre and post-tax) and $38 thousand ($30 thousand net of tax), respectively. These amounts are net of any credits to expense as a result of the cancellation of certain Market Stock Units based on performance conditions which were not met. For the three months ended July 31, 2019, there was stock-based compensation income of $1.0 million (pre and post-tax), as a result of the cancellation of certain Market Stock Units based on performance conditions which were not met. For the nine months ended July 31, 2019, the Company's total stock-based compensation expense was $0.2 million. Included in total stock-based compensation expense was the vesting of stock options of $0.1 million and $0.3 million for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020, respectively, and $0.4 million and $0.7 million for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2019, respectively.

Interest costs incurred, expensed and capitalized were:

We record impairment losses on inventories related to communities under development and held for future development when events and circumstances indicate that they may be impaired and the undiscounted cash flows estimated to be generated by those assets are less than their related carrying amounts. If the expected undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying amount, then the community is written down to its fair value. We estimate the fair value of each impaired community by determining the present value of the estimated future cash flows at a discount rate commensurate with the risk of the respective community. In the first three quarters of fiscal 2020, we did not record any impairment losses. For the nine months ended July 31, 2019, our discount rate used for the impairments recorded ranged from 18.0% to 18.3%. Should the estimates or expectations used in determining cash flows or fair value decrease or differ from current estimates in the future, we may need to recognize additional impairments. 

During the nine months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019, we evaluated inventories of all 354 and 398 communities under development and held for future development or sale, respectively, for impairment indicators through preparation and review of detailed budgets or other market indicators of impairment. We performed undiscounted future cash flow analyses during the nine months ended July 31, 2020 for one of those communities (i.e., it had a projected operating loss or other impairment indicators), with an aggregate carrying value of $0.6 million. As a result of our undiscounted future cash flow analyses, the community did not require a discounted cash flow analysis to be performed, and therefore, no impairment loss was recorded for the nine months ended July 31, 2020. We performed undiscounted future cash flow analyses during the nine months ended July 31, 2019 for seven of the 398 communities (i.e., those which had a projected operating loss or other impairment indicators) with an aggregate carrying value of $52.8 million. As a result of our undiscounted future cash flow analyses, we performed discounted cash flow analysis and recorded aggregate impairment losses of $0.1 million in one community (which had an aggregate pre-impairment value of $1.2 million) for the three months ended July 31, 2019, and $1.1 million in four communities (which had an aggregate pre-impairment value of $11.4 million) for the nine months ended July 31, 2019, which is included in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations on the line entitled “Homebuilding: Inventory impairment loss and land option write-offs” and deducted from inventory. The pre-impairment value represents the carrying value, net of prior period impairments, if any, at the time of recording the impairments. The one community for which we performed undiscounted future cash flow analyses during the nine months ended July 31, 2020, with an aggregate carrying value of $0.6 million, did not have undiscounted future cash flows that exceeded the carrying amount by less than 20%. Of those communities for which we performed undiscounted future cash flow analyses during the nine months ended July 31, 2019, three communities, with an aggregate carrying value of $41.3 million, had undiscounted future cash flows that exceeded the carrying amount by less than 20%.

The Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations line entitled “Homebuilding: Inventory impairment loss and land option write-offs” also includes write-offs of options and approval, engineering and capitalized interest costs that we record when we redesign communities and/or abandon certain engineering costs and we do not exercise options in various locations because the communities' pro forma profitability is not projected to produce adequate returns on investment commensurate with the risk. Total aggregate write-offs related to these items were $2.4 million and $1.3 million for the three months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and $6.2 million and $2.5 million for the nine months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Occasionally, these write-offs are offset by recovered deposits (sometimes through legal action) that had been written off in a prior period as walk-away costs. Historically, these recoveries have not been significant in comparison to the total costs written off. The number of lots walked away from during the three months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019 were 1,131 and 1,852, respectively, and 3,495 and 4,022 during the nine months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The walk-aways were located in all segments in the first three quarters of fiscal 2020 and 2019.

We decide to mothball (or stop development on) certain communities when we determine that the current performance does not justify further investment at the time. When we decide to mothball a community, the inventory is reclassified on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets from “Sold and unsold homes and lots under development” to “Land and land options held for future development or sale.” During the first three quarters of fiscal 2020, we did not mothball any additional communities, or sell any previously mothballed communities, but we re-activated one previously mothballed community and also re-activated a portion of one previously mothballed community. As of   July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019, the net book value associated with our 12 and 13 total mothballed communities was $13.1 million and $13.8 million, respectively, which was net of impairment charges recorded in prior periods of $120.4 million and $138.1 million, respectively.

We sell and lease back certain of our model homes with the right to participate in the potential profit when each home is sold to a third party at the end of the respective lease. As a result of our continued involvement, for accounting purposes in accordance with ASC 606-10-55-68, these sale and leaseback transactions are considered a financing rather than a sale. Therefore, for purposes of our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, at July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019, inventory of $54.9 million and $54.2 million, respectively, was recorded to “Consolidated inventory not owned,” with a corresponding amount of $53.0 million and $51.2 million (net of debt issuance costs), respectively, recorded to “Liabilities from inventory not owned” for the amount of net cash received from the transactions.

We have land banking arrangements, whereby we sell our land parcels to the land bankers and they provide us an option to purchase back finished lots on a predetermined schedule. Because of our options to repurchase these parcels, for accounting purposes, in accordance with ASC 606-10-55-70, these transactions are considered a financing rather than a sale. For purposes of our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, at July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019, inventory of $139.9 million and $136.1 million, respectively, was recorded to “Consolidated inventory not owned,” with a corresponding amount of $91.9 million and $89.8 million (net of debt issuance costs), respectively, recorded to “Liabilities from inventory not owned” for the amount of net cash received from the transactions. 

The Company enters into land and lot option purchase contracts to procure land or lots for the construction of homes. Under these contracts, the Company will fund a stated deposit in consideration for the right, but not the obligation, to purchase land or lots at a future point in time with predetermined terms. Under the terms of the option purchase contracts, many of the option deposits are not refundable at the Company's discretion. Under the requirements of ASC 810, certain option purchase contracts may result in the creation of a variable interest in the entity (“VIE”) that owns the land parcel under option.

In compliance with ASC 810, the Company analyzes its option purchase contracts to determine whether the corresponding land sellers are VIEs and, if so, whether the Company is the primary beneficiary. Although the Company does not have legal title to the underlying land, ASC 810 requires the Company to consolidate a VIE if the Company is determined to be the primary beneficiary. In determining whether it is the primary beneficiary, the Company considers, among other things, whether it has the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance. Such activities would include, among other things, determining or limiting the scope or purpose of the VIE, selling or transferring property owned or controlled by the VIE, or arranging financing for the VIE. The Company also considers whether it has the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the VIE. As a result of its analyses, the Company determined that as of July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019, it was not the primary beneficiary of any VIEs from which it is purchasing land under option purchase contracts.

We will continue to secure land and lots using options, some of which are with VIEs. Including deposits on our unconsolidated VIEs, at July 31, 2020, we had total cash and letters of credit deposits amounting to $79.7 million to purchase land and lots with a total purchase price of $1.2 billion. The maximum exposure to loss with respect to our land and lot options is limited to the deposits plus any pre-development costs invested in the property, although some deposits are refundable at our request or refundable if certain conditions are not met.

General liability insurance for homebuilding companies and their suppliers and subcontractors is very difficult to obtain. The availability of general liability insurance is limited due to a decreased number of insurance companies willing to underwrite for the industry. In addition, those few insurers willing to underwrite liability insurance have significantly increased the premium costs. To date, we have been able to obtain general liability insurance but at higher premium costs with higher deductibles. Our subcontractors and suppliers have advised us that they have also had difficulty obtaining insurance that also provides us coverage. As a result, we have an owner-controlled insurance program for certain of our subcontractors whereby the subcontractors pay us an insurance premium (through a reduction of amounts we would otherwise owe such subcontractors for their work on our homes) based on the risk type of the trade. We absorb the liability associated with their work on our homes as part of our overall general liability insurance at no additional cost to us because our existing general liability and construction defect insurance policy and related reserves for amounts under our deductible covers construction defects regardless of whether we or our subcontractors are responsible for the defect. For the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019, we received $0.8 million and $1.2 million, respectively, and $3.3 million and $3.4 million, respectively, from subcontractors related to the owner-controlled insurance program, which we accounted for as reductions to inventory.

We accrue for warranty costs that are covered under our existing general liability and construction defect policy as part of our general liability insurance deductible. This accrual is expensed as selling, general and administrative costs. For homes delivered in each of fiscal 2020 and 2019, our deductible under our general liability insurance is a $20 million aggregate for construction defect and warranty claims. For bodily injury claims, our deductible per occurrence in each of fiscal 2020 and 2019 is $0.25 million, up to a $5 million limit. Our aggregate retention for construction defect, warranty and bodily injury claims is $20 million for each of fiscal 2020 and 2019. In addition, we establish a warranty accrual for lower cost-related issues to cover home repairs, community amenities and land development infrastructure that are not covered under our general liability and construction defect policy. We accrue an estimate for these warranty costs as part of cost of sales at the time each home is closed and title and possession have been transferred to the homebuyer. Additions and charges in the warranty reserve and general liability reserve for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:

Warranty accruals are based upon historical experience. We engage a third-party actuary that uses our historical warranty and construction defect data to assist our management in estimating our unpaid claims, claim adjustment expenses and incurred but not reported claims reserves for the risks that we are assuming under the general liability and construction defect programs. The estimates include provisions for inflation, claims handling and legal fees. The majority of the charges incurred during the third quarter of fiscal 2020 represented a payment for construction defect reserves related to the settlement of a litigation matter.

Insurance claims paid by our insurance carriers, excluding insurance deductibles paid, were less than $0.1 million for the nine months ended July 31, 2020 and $0.1 million for the nine months ended July 31, 2019 for prior year deliveries.

We are involved in litigation arising in the ordinary course of business, none of which is expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows, and we are subject to extensive and complex laws and regulations that affect the development of land and home building, sales and customer financing processes, including zoning, density, building standards and mortgage financing. These laws and regulations often provide broad discretion to the administering governmental authorities. This can delay or increase the cost of development or homebuilding. The significant majority of our litigation matters are related to construction defect claims. Our estimated losses from construction defect litigation matters, if any, are included in our construction defect reserves.

We also are subject to a variety of local, state, federal and foreign laws and regulations concerning protection of health and the environment, including those regulating the emission or discharge of materials into the environment, the management of storm water runoff at construction sites, the handling, use, storage and disposal of hazardous substances, impacts to wetlands and other sensitive environments, and the remediation of contamination at properties that we have owned or developed or currently own or are developing (“environmental laws”). The particular environmental laws that apply to a site may vary greatly according to the community site, for example, due to the community, the environmental conditions at or near the site, and the present and former uses of the site. These environmental laws may result in delays, may cause us to incur substantial compliance, remediation and/or other costs, and can prohibit or severely restrict development and homebuilding activity. In addition, noncompliance with these laws and regulations could result in fines and penalties, obligations to remediate, permit revocations or other sanctions; and contamination or other environmental conditions at or in the vicinity of our developments may result in claims against us for personal injury, property damage or other losses.

We anticipate that increasingly stringent requirements will continue to be imposed on developers and homebuilders in the future. For example, for a number of years, the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been engaged in rulemakings to clarify the scope of federally regulated wetlands, which included a June 2015 rule many affected businesses contend impermissibly expanded the scope of such wetlands that was challenged in court, stayed, and remains in litigation. A proposal was made in June 2017 to formally rescind the June 2015 rule and reinstate the rule scheme previously in place while the agencies initiate a new substantive rulemaking on the issue. A February 2018 rule purported to delay the effective date of the June 2015 rule until February 2020, but was enjoined nationwide in August 2018 by a federal district court in South Carolina and later by a federal district court in the State of Washington in response to lawsuits (the net result of which, according to the EPA, was that the June 2015 rule applied in 22 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories, and that the pre- June 2015 regime applied in the rest). The EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have since promulgated a new rule, which became effective in December 2019, repealing the June 2015 rule and reinstating for the time being the previous rule scheme nationwide; it is now the subject of several lawsuits contending it is invalid, including one by a coalition of 14 states and several local governments. And in April 2020, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers formally published the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which they characterize as more appropriate for determining the scope of waters subject to federal permitting; it formally took effect in June in all states except Colorado, where a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction against application of the rule in that state. This rule is intended to replace the pre- June 2015 regime; it is being challenged by 17 states in one lawsuit and by a number of environmental advocacy groups in at least three other lawsuits, as well as by at least one group contending that the new rule still exercises permitting authority over too many waters. It is unclear how these and related developments, including at the state or local level, ultimately may affect the scope of regulated wetlands where we operate. Although we cannot reliably predict the extent of any effect these developments regarding wetlands, or any other requirements that may take effect may have on us, they could result in time-consuming and expensive compliance programs and in substantial expenditures, which could cause delays and increase our cost of operations. In addition, our ability to obtain or renew permits or approvals and the continued effectiveness of permits already granted or approvals already obtained is dependent upon many factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as changes in policies, rules and regulations and their interpretations and application.

In March 2013, we received a letter from the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) requesting information about our involvement in a housing redevelopment project in Newark, New Jersey that a Company entity undertook during the 1990s. We understand that the development is in the vicinity of a former lead smelter and that tests on soil samples from properties within the development conducted by the EPA showed elevated levels of lead. We also understand that the smelter ceased operations many years before the Company entity involved acquired the properties in the area and carried out the re-development project. We responded to the EPA’s request. In August 2013, we were notified that the EPA considers us a potentially responsible party (or “PRP”) with respect to the site, that the EPA will clean up the site, and that the EPA is proposing that we fund and/or contribute towards the cleanup of the contamination at the site. We began preliminary discussions with the EPA concerning a possible resolution but do not know the scope or extent of the Company’s obligations, if any, that may arise from the site and therefore cannot provide any assurance that this matter will not have a material impact on the Company. The EPA requested additional information in April 2014 and again in March 2017 and the Company responded to the information requests. On May 2, 2018 the EPA sent a letter to the Company entity demanding reimbursement for 100% of the EPA’s costs to clean-up the site in the amount of $2.7 million. The Company responded to the EPA’s demand letter on June 15, 2018 setting forth the Company’s defenses and expressing its willingness to enter into settlement negotiations. The parties subsequently executed a tolling agreement to toll the statute of limitations on collection until December 20, 2019 and later amended it to extend it to June 20, 2020 to allow the parties time to discuss settlement. The Company received a letter from the EPA on November 4, 2019 asking if the Company remained interested in settlement negotiations. The Company responded affirmatively and such negotiations are ongoing. Two other PRPs identified by the EPA are now also in negotiations with the EPA and in preliminary negotiations with the Company regarding the site. In the course of negotiations, the EPA informed the Company that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has also incurred costs remediating part of the site. The EPA has since requested that the three PRPs present a joint settlement offer to the EPA. The parties entered into a second amendment to the Tolling Agreement, extending the date until January 15, 2021. We believe that we have adequate reserves for this matter.

In 2015, the condominium association of the Four Seasons at Great Notch condominium community (the “Great Notch Plaintiff”) filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Passaic County (the “Court”) alleging various construction defects, design defects, and geotechnical issues relating to the community. The operative complaint (“Complaint”) asserts claims against Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. and several of its affiliates, including K. Hovnanian at Great Notch, LLC, K. Hovnanian Construction Management, Inc., and K. Hovnanian Companies, LLC. The Complaint also asserts claims against various other design professionals and contractors. The Great Notch Plaintiff has also filed a motion, which remains pending, to permit it to pursue a claim to pierce the corporate veil of K. Hovnanian at Great Notch, LLC to hold its alleged parent entities liable for any damages awarded against it. To date, the Hovnanian-affiliated defendants have reached a partial settlement with the Great Notch Plaintiff as to a portion of the Great Notch Plaintiff’s claims against them for an amount immaterial to the Company. On its remaining claims against the Hovnanian-affiliated defendants, the Great Notch Plaintiff has asserted damages of approximately $119.5 million, which amount is potentially subject to treble damages pursuant to the Great Notch Plaintiff’s claim under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. On August 17, 2018, the Hovnanian-affiliated defendants filed a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of all of the Great Notch Plaintiff’s remaining claims against them, which was withdrawn without prejudice to re-file with supplemental evidence. The trial is currently scheduled for January 12, 2021. An initial court-ordered mediation session took place on November 19, 2019. Additional mediation sessions have been scheduled for September and October of 2020. The Hovnanian-affiliated defendants intend to defend these claims vigorously. 

Cash represents cash deposited in checking accounts. Cash equivalents include certificates of deposit, Treasury bills and government money–market funds with maturities of 90 days or less when purchased. Our cash balances are held at a few financial institutions and may, at times, exceed insurable amounts. We believe we help to mitigate this risk by depositing our cash in major financial institutions. At July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019, $13.2 million and $143.1 million, respectively, of the total cash and cash equivalents was in cash equivalents and restricted cash equivalents, the book value of which approximates fair value.

Homebuilding - Restricted cash and cash equivalents on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets totaled $13.4 million and $20.9 million as of July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019, respectively, which primarily consists of cash collateralizing our letter of credit agreements and facilities as discussed in Note 12.

Financial services restricted cash and cash equivalents, which are included in Financial services assets on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, totaled $27.2 million and $24.8 million as of July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019, respectively. Included in these balances were (1) financial services customers’ deposits of $24.0 million at July 31, 2020 and $22.8 million as of  October 31, 2019, which are subject to restrictions on our use, and (2) $3.2 million at July 31, 2020 and $2.0 million as of October 31, 2019 of restricted cash under the terms of our mortgage warehouse lines of credit.

Total Homebuilding Customers’ deposits are shown as a liability on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. These liabilities are significantly more than the applicable periods’ restricted cash balances because in some states the deposits are not restricted from use and, in other states, we are able to release the majority of these customer deposits to cash by pledging letters of credit and surety bonds.

We lease certain office space for use in our operations. We assess each of these contracts to determine whether the arrangement contains a lease as defined by ASC 842 “Leases” ("ASC 842"). In order to meet the definition of a lease under ASC 842, the contractual arrangement must convey to us the right to control the use of an identifiable asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. We recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term and combine lease and non-lease components for all leases. Our office lease terms are generally from three to five years and generally contain renewal options. In accordance with ASC 842, our lease terms include those renewals only to the extent that they are reasonably certain to be exercised. The exercise of these lease renewal options is generally at our discretion. In accordance with ASC 842, the lease liability is equal to the present value of the remaining lease payments while the right of use (“ROU”) asset is based on the lease liability, subject to adjustment, such as for lease incentives. Our leases do not provide a readily determinable implicit interest rate and therefore, we must estimate our incremental borrowing rate. In determining the incremental borrowing rate, we consider the lease period and our collateralized borrowing rates.

Our lease population at July 31, 2020 is comprised of operating leases where we are the lessee and these leases are primarily real estate for office space for our corporate office, division offices and design centers. As allowed by ASC 842, we adopted an accounting policy election to not record leases with lease terms of twelve months or less on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. 

Lease cost included in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations in Selling, general and administrative expenses and payments on our lease liabilities are presented in the table below. Our short-term lease costs and sublease income are de minimis.

ROU assets are classified within Prepaids and other assets on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, while lease liabilities are classified within Accounts payable and other liabilities on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company recorded a net increase to both its ROU assets and lease liabilities of $1.0 million as a result of lease renewals that commenced during the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020. The following table contains additional information about our leases:

Maturities of our operating lease liabilities as of July 31, 2020 are as follows:

Our wholly owned mortgage banking subsidiary, K. Hovnanian American Mortgage, LLC (“ K. Hovnanian Mortgage”), originates mortgage loans, primarily from the sale of our homes. Such mortgage loans are sold in the secondary mortgage market within a short period of time of origination. Mortgage loans held for sale consist primarily of single-family residential loans collateralized by the underlying property. We have elected the fair value option to record loans held for sale and therefore these loans are recorded at fair value with the changes in the value recognized in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations in “Revenues: Financial services.” We currently use forward sales of mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”), interest rate commitments from borrowers and mandatory and/or best efforts forward commitments to sell loans to third-party purchasers to protect us from interest rate fluctuations. These short-term instruments, which do not require any payments to be made to the counterparty or purchaser in connection with the execution of the commitments, are recorded at fair value. Gains and losses on changes in the fair value are recognized in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations in “Revenues: Financial services.”

At July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019, $83.1 million and $143.2 million, respectively, of mortgages held for sale were pledged against our mortgage warehouse lines of credit (see Note 11). We may incur losses with respect to mortgages that were previously sold that are delinquent and which had underwriting defects, but only to the extent the losses are not covered by mortgage insurance or resale value of the home. The reserves for these estimated losses are included in the “Financial services” balances on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of both   July 31, 2020 and 2019, we had reserves specifically for 21 identified mortgage loans as well as reserves for an estimate for future losses on mortgages sold but not yet identified to us.

The activity in our loan origination reserves during the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019 was as follows: