Fair Value of Financial Instruments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

In accordance with FASB ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosure (“ASC 820”), the Company is required to disclose the estimated fair value of financial instruments. As of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the Company used the following assumptions to estimate the fair value of each type of financial instrument for which it is practicable to estimate:


•	Notes payable—The carrying amount is a reasonable estimate of fair value of the notes payable because market rates are unchanged and/or the outstanding balance at quarter end is expected to be repaid within one year.


•	Subordinated amortizing notes—The Subordinated amortizing notes are traded over the counter and their fair values were based upon quotes from industry sources.


•	5³/₄% Senior Notes due April 15, 2019 —The 5³/4% Senior Notes are traded over the counter and their fair values were based upon quotes from industry sources.


•	8¹/2% Senior Notes due November 15, 2020 —The 8¹/2% Senior Notes are traded over the counter and their fair values were based upon quotes from industry sources.


•	7% Senior Notes due August 15, 2022 —The 7% Senior Notes are traded over the counter and their fair values were based upon quotes from industry sources.

The following table excludes cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, receivables and accounts payable, which had fair values approximating their carrying amounts due to the short maturities and liquidity of these instruments. The estimated fair values of financial instruments are as follows (in thousands):



	March 31, 2016				December 31, 2015
	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Financial liabilities:
Notes payable	$	185,817	$	185,817	$	175,181	$	175,181
Subordinated amortizing notes	$	12,390	$	9,514	$	14,066	$	12,122
5 ³/₄% Senior Notes due 2019	$	148,429	$	143,250	$	148,295	$	147,750
8¹/2% Senior Notes due 2020	$	422,887	$	434,563	$	422,896	$	449,438
7% Senior Notes due 2022	$	345,474	$	334,250	$	345,338	$	350,875

ASC 820 establishes a framework for measuring fair value, expands disclosures regarding fair value measurements and defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. ASC 820 requires the Company to maximize the use of observable market inputs, minimize the use of unobservable market inputs and disclose in the form of an outlined hierarchy the details of such fair value measurements. The Company used Level 3 to measure the fair value of its Notes payable, and Level 2 to measure the fair value of its Senior notes and Subordinated amortizing notes. ASC 820 specifies a hierarchy of valuation techniques based on whether the inputs to a fair value measurement are considered to be observable or unobservable in a marketplace. The three levels of the hierarchy are as follows:


•	Level 1—quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets;


•	Level 2—quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; and model-derived valuations in which significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable in active markets; and


•	Level 3—valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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