Real Estate Transactions

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Real Estate Transactions [Abstract]

Real Estate Transactions

Note 6 - Real Estate Held for Sale

Real estate held for sale consisted of the following:

	March 31, 2012		December 31, 2011
65 acres in Galveston County, Texas	$	520,382	$	520,382
1.705 acres in Galveston County, Texas		460,000		460,000
Two residential lots in Galveston County, Texas		95,861		95,861
Dawn Condominium units on the waterfront in Galveston, Texas; 12 units and 15 units as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively (a)		1,521,869		1,874,809
14 acres - vacant commercial use land in Houston, Texas		160,925		160,925
5 acres - vacant commercial use land in Houston, Texas		1,303,905		1,303,905
19 acres - vacant mixed use land in Houston, Texas		1,072,833		1,072,833
12 acres - vacant mixed use land in Houston, Texas		742,731		742,731
174 acres in Waller County, Texas		1,684,066		1,684,066
	$	7,562,572	$	7,915,512

(a) Dawn Condominium units on the waterfront in Galveston, Texas - during the three months ended March 31, 2012, 3 units were sold for $340,202, resulting in a loss on sale of assets of $12,738.

American reviewed the accounting standards Real Estate - General (ASC 970-10) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (ASC 360-10) to determine the appropriate classification for these properties.  According to ASC 970-10, real estate that is held for sale in the ordinary course of business is classified as inventory, which is a current asset.  ASC 360-10 provides the following criteria for property to be classified as held for sale:

• Management with the appropriate authority commits to a plan to sell the asset;
• The asset is available for immediate sale in its present condition subject only to terms that are usual and customary for sales of such assets;
• An active program to locate a buyer and other actions required to complete the plan of sale have been initiated;
• The sale of the property or asset within one year is probable and will qualify for accounting purposes as a sale;
• The asset is being actively marketed for sale at a price that is reasonable in relation to its current fair value; and
• Actions required to complete the plan of sale indicate that it is unlikely that significant changes to the plan will be made or that the plan will be withdrawn.

Management consulted with the real estate brokers for these properties and reviewed the recent interest for each property.  Based on our consultations and review, we believe that the sale of these properties within one year is probable.  We concluded that all of these criteria have been met for these properties and that they are appropriately classified as held for sale in current assets.