FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

NOTE 3 — FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

GAAP defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and requires disclosures about fair value measurements. GAAP emphasizes that fair value is intended to be a market-based measurement, as opposed to a transaction-specific measurement.

Fair value is defined 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 under current market conditions. Depending on the nature of the asset or liability, various techniques and assumptions can be used to estimate the fair value. Assets and liabilities are measured using inputs from three levels of the fair value hierarchy, as follows:

Level 1 — Inputs are quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date. An active market is defined as a market in which transactions for the assets or liabilities occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.

Level 2 — Inputs include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active (markets with few transactions), inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability (i.e., interest rates, yield curves, etc.), and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data correlation or other means (market corroborated inputs).

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs, which are only used to the extent that observable inputs are not available, reflect the Company’s assumptions about the pricing of an asset or liability.

The following describes the methods the Company uses to estimate the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities:

Real estate-related securities — The Company generally determines the fair value of its real estate-related securities by utilizing broker-dealer quotations, reported trades or valuation estimates from pricing models to determine the reported price. Pricing models for real estate-related securities are generally discounted cash flow models that usually consider the attributes applicable to a particular class of security (e.g., credit rating, seniority), current market data, and estimated cash flows for each class and incorporate deal collateral performance such as prepayment speeds and default rates, as available. Depending upon the significance of the fair value inputs used in determining these fair values, these securities are valued using either Level 2 or Level 3 inputs. As of September 30, 2020, the Company concluded that $65.5 million of real estate-related securities fell under Level 2 and $9.7 million of real estate-related securities fell under Level 3.

Credit facilities and notes payable — The fair value is estimated by discounting the expected cash flows based on estimated borrowing rates available to the Company as of the measurement date. Current and prior period liabilities’ carrying and fair values exclude net deferred financing costs. These financial instruments are valued using Level 2 inputs. As of September 30, 2020, the estimated fair value of the Company’s debt was $1.84 billion, compared to a carrying value of $1.85 billion. The estimated fair value of the Company’s debt as of December 31, 2019 was $1.60 billion, compared to a carrying value of $1.61 billion.

Derivative instruments — The Company’s derivative instruments are comprised of interest rate swaps. All derivative instruments are carried at fair value and are valued using Level 2 inputs. The fair value of these instruments is determined using interest rate market pricing models. In addition, credit valuation adjustments are incorporated into the fair values to account for the Company’s potential nonperformance risk and the performance risk of the respective counterparties.

Although the Company has determined that the majority of the inputs used to value its derivatives fall within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, the credit valuation adjustments associated with those derivatives utilize Level 3 inputs, such as estimates of current credit spreads, to evaluate the likelihood of default by the Company and its counterparties. However, as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company assessed the significance of the impact of the credit valuation adjustments on the overall valuation of its derivative positions and determined that the credit valuation adjustments are not significant to the overall valuation of the Company’s derivatives. As a result, the Company has determined that its derivative valuations in their entirety are classified in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

Loans held-for-investment — The Company’s loans held-for-investment are recorded at cost upon origination and adjusted by net loan origination fees and discounts. The Company estimates the fair value of its commercial real estate (“CRE”) loans held-for-investment by performing a present value analysis for the anticipated future cash flows using an appropriate market discount rate taking into consideration the credit risk. As a result, the Company has determined that its CRE loans held-for-investment are classified in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. The Company’s broadly syndicated loans are classified as Level 2 or Level 3 depending on the number of market quotations or indicative prices from pricing services that are available, and whether the depth of the market is sufficient to transact at those prices in amounts approximating the Company’s investment position at the measurement date. As of September 30, 2020, $302.1 million and $107.5 million of the Company’s broadly syndicated loans were classified in Level 2 and Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy, respectively. As of September 30, 2020, the estimated fair value of the Company’s loans held-for-investment was $859.3 million, compared to its carrying value of $857.9 million. As of December 31, 2019, the estimated fair value of the Company’s loans held-for-investment was $302.0 million, compared to its carrying value of $301.6 million.

Other financial instruments — The Company considers the carrying values of its cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, tenant receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses, other liabilities, due to affiliates and distributions payable to approximate their fair values because of the short period of time between their origination and their expected realization as well as their highly-liquid nature. Due to the short-term maturities of these instruments, Level 1 inputs are utilized to estimate the fair value of these financial instruments.

Considerable judgment is necessary to develop estimated fair values of financial assets and liabilities. Accordingly, the estimates presented herein are not necessarily indicative of the amounts the Company could realize, or be liable for, upon disposition of the financial assets and liabilities. As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, there have been no transfers of financial assets or liabilities between fair value hierarchy levels.

Items Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

In accordance with the fair value hierarchy described above, the following tables show the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that are required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 (in thousands):


	Balance as of September 30, 2020		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Financial assets:
CMBS	$	75,212	$	—	$	65,491	$	9,721
Total financial assets	$	75,212	$	—	$	65,491	$	9,721
Financial liabilities:
Interest rate swaps	$	(7,255)	$	—	$	(7,255)	$	—

Total financial liabilities	$	(7,255)	$	—	$	(7,255)	$	—

	Balance as of December 31, 2019		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Financial assets:
Interest rate swaps	$	261	$	—	$	261	$	—
Total financial assets	$	261	$	—	$	261	$	—
Financial liability:
Interest rate swap	$	(4,181)	$	—	$	(4,181)	$	—

Total financial liability	$	(4,181)	$	—	$	(4,181)	$	—

The following are reconciliations of the changes in financial assets with Level 3 inputs in the fair value hierarchy for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 (in thousands):


	CMBS
Beginning Balance, January 1, 2020	$	—
Total gains and losses:
Unrealized gain included in other comprehensive income, net	—
Purchases and payments received:
Purchases	26,883
Premiums (discounts), net	(17,150)
Principal payments received	(12)
Ending Balance, September 30, 2020	$	9,721

Items Measured at Fair Value on a Non-Recurring Basis (Including Impairment Charges)

Certain financial and nonfinancial assets and liabilities are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis and are subject to fair value adjustments in certain circumstances, such as when there is evidence of impairment. The Company’s process for identifying and recording impairment related to real estate assets and intangible assets is discussed in Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.

As discussed in Note 4 — Real Estate Assets, during the nine months ended September 30, 2020, real estate assets related to 11 properties were deemed to be impaired and their carrying values were reduced to an estimated fair value of $71.5 million, resulting in impairment charges of $16.0 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, real estate assets related to 26 properties were deemed to be impaired and their carrying values were reduced to an estimated fair value of $283.1 million, resulting in impairment charges of $57.2 million. The Company estimates fair values using Level 3 inputs and using a combined income and market approach, specifically using discounted cash flow analysis and recent comparable sales transactions. The evaluation of real estate assets for potential impairment requires the Company’s management to exercise significant judgment and to make certain key assumptions, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) terminal capitalization rates; (2) discount rates; (3) the number of years the property will be held; (4) property operating expenses; and (5) re-leasing assumptions, including the number of months to re-lease, market rental income and required tenant improvements. There are inherent uncertainties in making these estimates such as market conditions and the future performance and sustainability of the Company’s tenants. For the Company’s impairment tests for the real estate assets during the nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Company used a range of discount rates from 7.9% to 9.7% and terminal capitalization rates from 7.4% to 9.2%. The following table presents the impairment charges by asset class recorded during the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):


	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2020		2019
Asset class impaired:
Land	$	3,595	$	10,006
Buildings, fixtures and improvements	11,737		44,249
Intangible lease assets	696		3,159

Intangible lease liabilities	(45)		(251)
Total impairment loss	$	15,983	$	57,163

- 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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