Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

Operations

William Lyon Homes, a Delaware corporation (“Parent” and together with its subsidiaries, the “Company”), is primarily engaged in designing, constructing, marketing and selling single-family detached and attached homes in California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado (under the Village Homes brand), Washington and Oregon (each under the Polygon Northwest Homes brand).

Basis of Presentation

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 March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 and revenues and expenses for the three month periods ended March 31, 2016 and 2015. 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, business combinations, and valuation of deferred tax assets. The current economic environment increases the uncertainty inherent in these estimates and assumptions.

The condensed 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 ("VIEs") in which the Company is considered the primary beneficiary (see Note 2). 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.

The condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared from our books and records without audit and include all adjustments (consisting of only normal recurring accruals) necessary to present a fair statement of results for the interim periods presented. Readers of this quarterly report should refer to our audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015, which are included in our 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K, as certain disclosures that would substantially duplicate those contained in the audited financial statements have not been included in this report.

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 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. From time to time the Company sells land to third parties. The Company does not consider these sales to be core to its homebuilding business, and any gain or loss recognized on these transactions is recorded in other non-operating income. During the three months ended March 31, 2016 the Company sold a parcel of land to a third party that did not result in any gain or loss.

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 a percent of the sales price of its homes, or a set amount per home closed depending on the operating division, against the possibility of future charges relating to its warranty programs 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 continually assesses the adequacy of its recorded warranty liability and adjusts the amounts as necessary. Changes in the Company’s warranty liability for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, are as follows (in thousands):



	Three Months Ended March 31, 2016			Three Months Ended March 31, 2015
Warranty liability, beginning of period	$	18,117		$	18,155
Warranty provision during period	1,429			1,391
Warranty payments during period	(3,290		)	(2,011		)
Warranty charges related to construction services projects	103			180
Warranty liability, end of period	$	16,359		$	17,715

The Company began accruing for warranty costs for units closed in the Washington and Oregon segments at a set rate per home in conjunction with the acquisition of Polygon Northwest Homes during 2014. The Company did not assume any warranty liability for units closed prior to the acquisition date.

Interest incurred under the Company’s debt obligations, as more fully discussed in Note 6, is capitalized to qualifying real estate projects under development. Interest activity for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 are as follows (in thousands):



	Three Months Ended March 31, 2016		Three Months Ended March 31, 2015
Interest incurred	$	20,261	$	18,033
Less: Interest capitalized	20,261		18,033
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized	$	—	$	—
Cash paid for interest	$	14,911	$	11,700

Construction Services

The Company accounts for construction management agreements using the Percentage of Completion Method in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("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 and cash equivalents, restricted cash, receivables, and deposits. The Company typically places its cash and cash equivalents 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 12.

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 March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. The Company monitors the cash balances in its operating accounts, 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 incurred 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 six reporting segments, as discussed in Note 4, and we perform an annual goodwill impairment analysis during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year.

Intangibles

Recorded intangible assets primarily relate to brand names of acquired entities, construction management contracts, homes in backlog, and joint venture management fee contracts recorded in conjunction with FASB ASC Topic 852, Reorganizations ("ASC 852"), or FASB ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations ("ASC 805"). All Intangible assets with the exception of those relating to brand names 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. Our brand name intangible assets are deemed to have an indefinite useful life.

Income per common share

The Company computes income per common share in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 260, Earnings per Share, which requires income 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 between the holders of common stock and a company’s participating security holders.

Basic income 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 per common share, basic income per common share is further adjusted to include the effect of potential dilutive common shares.

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 May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASU 2014-09”), which clarifies existing accounting literature relating to how and when revenue is recognized by an entity. ASU 2014-09 affects any entity that either enters into contracts with customers to transfer goods or services or enters into contracts for the transfer of nonfinancial assets and supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in Topic 605, Revenue Recognition, and most industry-specific guidance. ASU 2014-09 requires an entity to recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In doing so, an entity will need to exercise a greater degree of judgment and make more estimates than under the current guidance. These may include identifying performance obligations in the contract, estimating the amount of variable consideration to include in the transaction price, and allocating the transaction price to each separate performance obligation. ASU 2014-09 also supersedes some cost guidance included in Subtopic 605-35, Revenue Recognition-Construction-Type and Production-Type Contracts. ASU 2014-09 is effective for public companies for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and is to be applied either retrospectively or using the cumulative effect transition method, with early adoption not permitted. The Company has not yet selected a transition method, and is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of ASU 2014-09 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In February 2015, FASB issued ASU No. 2015-02 "Consolidation (Topic 810): Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis" ("ASU 2015-02"). ASU 2015-02 amends the consolidation guidance for variable interest entities and voting interest entities, among other items, by eliminating the consolidation model previously applied to limited partnerships, emphasizing the risk of loss when determining a controlling financial interest and reducing the frequency of the application of related-party guidance when determining a controlling financial interest. ASU 2015-02 is effective for public companies for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2015. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, “Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting” (ASU 2016-09”). ASU 2016-09 simplifies several aspects for the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-09 is effective for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact the adoption of ASU 2016-09 will have on its consolidated financial statements.