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, Washington (under the Polygon Northwest brand), Oregon (under the Polygon Northwest brand) and Texas.

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, 2019 and December 31, 2018 and revenues and expenses for the three month periods ended March 31, 2019 and 2018. 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, 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 3). 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, 2018, which are included in our 2018 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.

Revenue Recognition

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASU 2014-09” or “ASC 606”).

Home Sales

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 606, "Revenue Recognition" ("ASC 606"). Under ASC 606, revenue was recorded when a sale is consummated, the buyer’s initial and continuing investments is adequate, any receivables are not subject to future subordination, and the usual risks and rewards of ownership have transferred to the buyer. Revenue is recorded upon the close of escrow, at which point home sales are considered in the scope of a contract. Accordingly, the Company does not record homebuilding revenue for performance obligations that are unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied. No revenue was recorded in the 2019 period that did not result from current period performance.

Construction Services

The Company accounts for construction management agreements using the Percentage of Completion Method in accordance with ASC 606. Under ASC 606, 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.

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, 2019, the Company did not have any land parcel sales. During the three months ended March 31, 2018, the Company had one land parcel sale, that resulted in a negligible loss for the period then ended.

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, 2019 and 2018, are as follows (in thousands):



	Three Months Ended March 31, 2019			Three Months Ended March 31, 2018
Warranty liability, beginning of period	$	13,000		$	13,643
Warranty provision during period (1)	2,416			2,504
Warranty payments, net of insurance recoveries during period	(3,815		)	(4,395		)
Warranty charges related to construction services projects	(17		)	7
Warranty liability, end of period	$	11,584		$	11,759


(1)	In connection with the RSI Acquisition (see Note 2) in 2018, the Company assumed warranty liability of $0.6 million for units closed prior to the RSI Acquisition date and for which has been included in this line item for purposes of this table.

Interest incurred under the Company’s debt obligations, as more fully discussed in Note 7, is capitalized to qualifying real estate projects under development. Interest activity for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 are as follows (in thousands):



	Three Months Ended March 31, 2019		Three Months Ended March 31, 2018
Interest incurred	$	24,081	$	19,258
Less: Interest capitalized	24,081		19,258
Interest expense, net of amounts capitalized	$	—	$	—
Cash paid for interest	$	40,858	$	31,489

Financial Instruments

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk are primarily cash and cash equivalents, 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, including letters of credit, with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of business which exposes it to credit risks. These off-balance sheet financial instruments are described in more detail in Note 13.

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, 2019 and December 31, 2018. 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.

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 seven reporting segments, as discussed in Note 5, 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

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2016-15, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments” (“ASU 2016-15”). ASU 2016-15 provides guidance on how certain cash receipts and cash payments are to be presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements or notes to its consolidated financial statements.

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-18, "Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force)" (“ASU 2016-18”). ASU 2016-18 requires restricted cash to be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning and ending amounts on the statement of cash flows. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements or notes to its consolidated financial statements.