Basis Of Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis Of Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
Operations
William Lyon Homes, a Delaware corporation (“Parent” and together with its subsidiaries, the “Company”), are primarily engaged in designing, constructing and selling single family detached and attached homes in California, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado (under the Village Homes brand).
Initial Public Offering
On May 21, 2013, the Company completed its initial public offering of 10,005,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, which consisted of 7,177,500 shares sold by the Company and 2,827,500 shares sold by the selling stockholder. The 10,005,000 shares in the offering were sold at a price to the public of $25.00 per share. The Company raised total net proceeds of approximately $163.7 million in the offering, after deducting the underwriting discount and offering expenses. The Company did not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholder.
In connection with the initial public offering, Parent completed a common stock recapitalization which included a 1-for-8.25 reverse stock split of its Class A Common Stock (the “Class A Reverse Split”), the conversion of all outstanding shares of Parent’s Class C Common Stock, Class D Common Stock and Convertible Preferred Stock into Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis and as automatically adjusted for the Class A Reverse Split, and a 1-for-8.25 reverse stock split of its Class B Common Stock. The effect of the reverse stock split is retroactively applied to the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2012, the Consolidated Statements of Operations for the period from February 25, 2012 through December 31, 2012, and the Consolidated Statements of Equity (Deficit), presented herein. Upon completion of the initial public offering, Parent had 27,146,036 shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding, excluding shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options and restricted shares that have been granted but were unvested, and 3,813,884 shares of Class B Common Stock outstanding, excluding shares underlying a warrant to purchase additional shares of Class B Common Stock. The warrant was amended to extend the term from 5 years to 10 years, and the warrant will now expire on February 24, 2022. The change to the warrant had no corresponding impact on the financial statements.
Basis of Presentation
We applied the accounting under Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 852 (“ASC 852”), “Reorganizations,” as of February 24, 2012 (see Note 3). References to the “Successor” in the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto refer to the Company after giving effect to the reorganization and application of ASC 852. References to the “Predecessor” refer to the Company prior to the reorganization and application of ASC 852.
The preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of the assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2013 and 2012 and revenues and expenses for the year ended December 31, 2013, the period from January 1, 2012 through February 24, 2012, period from February 25, 2012 through December 31, 2012, and year ended December 31, 2011. Accordingly, actual results could differ from those estimates. The significant accounting policies using estimates include real estate inventories and cost of sales, impairment of real estate inventories, warranty reserves, loss contingencies, sales and profit recognition, accounting for variable interest entities, valuation of deferred tax assets, and fresh start accounting. The current economic environment increases the uncertainty inherent in these estimates and assumptions.
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and all majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries and joint ventures, and certain joint ventures and other entities which have been determined to be variable interest entities in which the Company is considered the primary beneficiary (see Note 5). The accounting policies of the joint ventures are substantially the same as those of the Company. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Real Estate Inventories
Real estate inventories are carried at cost net of impairment losses, if any. Real estate inventories consist primarily of land deposits, land and land under development, homes completed and under construction, and model homes. All direct and indirect land costs, offsite and onsite improvements and applicable interest and other carrying charges are capitalized to real estate projects during periods when the project is under development. Land, offsite costs and all other common costs are allocated to land parcels benefited based upon relative fair values before construction. Onsite construction costs and related carrying charges (principally interest and property taxes) are allocated to the individual homes within a phase based upon the relative sales value of the homes. The Company relieves its accumulated real estate inventories through cost of sales for the estimated cost of homes sold. Selling expenses and other marketing costs are expensed in the period incurred. A provision for warranty costs relating to the Company’s limited warranty plans is included in cost of sales and accrued expenses at the time the sale of a home is recorded. The Company generally reserves approximately one to one and one quarter percent of the sales price of its homes against the possibility of future charges relating to its 1 year limited warranty and similar potential claims. Factors that affect the Company’s warranty liability include the number of homes under warranty, historical and anticipated rates of warranty claims, and cost per claim. The Company periodically assesses the adequacy of its recorded warranty liability and adjusts the amounts as necessary. Changes in the Company’s warranty liability for the year ended December 31, 2013, the period from February 25, 2012 through December 31, 2012, period from January 1, 2012 through February 24, 2012, and the year ended December 31, 2011 are as follows (in thousands):
 
 
 
Successor
 
Predecessor
 
 
Year Ended December 31, 2013
 
Period from
February 25
through
December 31,
2012
 
Period from
January 1
through
February 24,
2012
 
Year Ended December 31, 2011
 
 
Warranty liability, beginning of period
$
14,317

 
$
14,000

 
$
14,314

 
$
16,341

 
Warranty provision during period
5,154

 
2,731

 
187

 
2,380

 
Warranty payments during period
(5,676
)
 
(3,216
)
 
(845
)
 
(4,699
)
 
Warranty charges related to pre-existing warranties during period
487

 
146

 
85

 
110

 
Warranty charges related to construction services projects
653

 
656

 
114

 
182

 
Fresh start adjustment

 

 
145

 

 
     Warranty liability, end of period
$
14,935

 
$
14,317

 
$
14,000

 
$
14,314


Interest incurred under the Company’s debt obligations, as more fully discussed in Note 10, is capitalized to qualifying real estate projects under development. Any additional interest charges related to real estate projects not under development are expensed in the period incurred. Interest activity for the year ended December 31, 2013, the period from February 25, 2012 through December 31, 2012, period from January 1, 2012 through February 24, 2012, and the year ended December 31, 2011 are as follows (in thousands):
 
 
Successor
 
Predecessor
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31, 2013
 
Period from
February 25
through
December 31,
2012
 
Period from
January 1
through
February 24,
2012
 
Year Ended December 31, 2011
 
Interest incurred
$
31,875

 
$
30,526

 
$
7,145

 
$
61,464

Less: Interest capitalized
(29,273
)
 
(21,399
)
 
(4,638
)
 
(36,935
)
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized
$
2,602

 
$
9,127

 
$
2,507

 
$
24,529

Cash paid for interest
$
29,769

 
$
26,560

 
$
8,924

 
$
48,018


Construction Services
The Company accounts for construction management agreements using the Percentage of Completion Method in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 605 Revenue Recognition (“ASC 605”). Under ASC 605, the Company records revenues and expenses as a contracted project progresses, and based on the percentage of costs incurred to date compared to the total estimated costs of the contract.
The Company entered into construction management agreements to build, sell and market homes in certain communities. For such services, the Company will receive fees (generally 3 to 5 percent of the sales price, as defined) and may, under certain circumstances, receive additional compensation if certain financial thresholds are achieved. 
Financial Instruments
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk are primarily cash investments, receivables, and deposits. The Company typically places its cash investments in investment grade short-term instruments. Deposits, included in other assets, are due from municipalities or utility companies and are generally collected from such entities through fees assessed to other developers. The Company is an issuer of, or subject to, financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of business which exposes it to credit risks. These financial instruments include letters of credit and obligations in connection with assessment district bonds. These off-balance sheet financial instruments are described in more detail in Note 19.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Short-term investments with a maturity of three months or less when purchased are considered cash equivalents. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents balance exceeds federally insurable limits as of December 31, 2013 and 2012. The Company monitors the cash balances in its operating accounts and adjusts the cash balances as appropriate; however, these cash balances could be negatively impacted if the underlying financial institutions fail or are subject to other adverse conditions in the financial markets. To date, the Company has experienced no loss or lack of access to cash in its operating accounts.
Restricted Cash
Restricted cash consists of deposits made by the Company to a bank account as collateral for the use of letters of credit to guarantee the Company’s financial obligations under certain other contractual arrangements in the normal course of business.
Deferred Loan Costs
Deferred loan costs represent debt issuance costs and are primarily amortized to interest expense using the straight line method which approximates the effective interest method.
Goodwill
In accordance with the provisions of ASC 350, Intangibles, Goodwill and Other, goodwill amounts are not amortized, but rather are analyzed for impairment at the reporting segment level. Goodwill is analyzed on an annual basis, or when indicators of impairment exist. We have determined that we have five reporting segments, as discussed in Note 6, and we will perform an annual goodwill impairment analysis during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year.
Intangible Assets
Recorded intangible assets primarily relate to construction management contracts, homes in backlog, and joint venture management fee contracts recorded in conjunction with ASC 852. Such assets were valued based on expected cash flows related to home closings, and the asset is amortized on a per unit basis, as homes under the contracts close.
Income (loss) per common share
The Company computes income (loss) per common share in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 260, Earnings per Share, which requires income (loss) per common share for each class of stock to be calculated using the two-class method. The two-class method is an allocation of income (loss) between the holders of common stock and a company’s participating security holders.
 
Basic income (loss) per common share is computed by dividing income or loss available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding. For purposes of determining diluted income (loss) per common share, basic income (loss) per common share is further adjusted to include the effect of potential dilutive common shares outstanding.
Income Taxes
Income taxes are accounted for under the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board ASC 740, Income Taxes, using an asset and liability approach. Deferred income taxes reflect the net effects of temporary differences between the carrying amount of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes, and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards measured by applying currently enacted tax laws. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce net deferred tax assets to an amount that is more likely than not to be realized. ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement criteria for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be considered “more-likely-than-not” to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. In addition, the Company has elected to recognize interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in the income tax provision.
Impact of Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-2, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment. The amendments permit an entity first to assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test in accordance with Subtopic 350-30. Previous guidance required an entity to test indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment, on at least an annual basis, by comparing the fair value of the asset with its carrying amount. If the carrying amount of the intangible asset exceeds its fair value, an entity should recognize an impairment loss in the amount of that excess. An entity has the option not to calculate annually the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset if the entity determines that it is not more likely than not that the asset is impaired. For the year ended December 31, 2013 the Company elected to use the qualitative assessment option permitted by this amendment.
Reclassifications
Certain balances on the financial statements and certain amounts presented in the notes have been reclassified in order to conform to current year presentation.