Notes Payable

12 Months Ended

Nov. 30, 2021

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Notes Payable

Notes Payable

Notes payable consisted of the following (in thousands):

	November 30,
	2021		2020
Mortgages and land contracts due to land sellers and other loans (at interest rates of 4.5% at November 30, 2021 and 4.5% to 6.0% at November 30, 2020)	$	5,327	$	4,667
7.00% Senior notes due December 15, 2021	—		449,029
7.50% Senior notes due September 15, 2022	349,471		348,846
7.625% Senior notes due May 15, 2023	350,788		351,281
6.875% Senior notes due June 15, 2027	297,161		296,757
4.80% Senior notes due November 15, 2029	296,905		296,595
4.00% Senior notes due June 15, 2031	385,375		—
Total	$	1,685,027	$	1,747,175

The carrying amounts of our senior notes listed above are net of debt issuance costs and premiums, which totaled $10.3 million at November 30, 2021 and $7.5 million at November 30, 2020.

Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility. We have an $800.0 million Credit Facility that will mature on October 7, 2023. The Credit Facility contains an uncommitted accordion feature under which its aggregate principal amount of available loans can be increased to a maximum of $1.00 billion under certain conditions, including obtaining additional bank commitments. The Credit Facility also contains a sublimit of $250.0 million for the issuance of letters of credit. Interest on amounts borrowed under the Credit Facility is payable at least quarterly in arrears at a rate based on either a Eurodollar or a base rate, plus a spread that depends on our Leverage Ratio, as defined under the Credit Facility. The Credit Facility also requires the payment of a commitment fee at a per annum rate ranging from .20% to .35% of the unused commitment, based on our Leverage Ratio. Under the terms of the Credit Facility, we are required, among other things, to maintain compliance with various covenants, including financial covenants relating to our consolidated tangible net worth, Leverage Ratio, and either an Interest Coverage Ratio or a minimum level of liquidity, each as defined therein. The amount of the Credit Facility available for cash borrowings and the issuance of letters of credit depends on the total cash borrowings and letters of credit outstanding under the Credit Facility and the maximum available amount under the terms of the Credit Facility. As of November 30, 2021, we had no cash borrowings and $8.6 million of letters of credit outstanding under the Credit Facility. Therefore, as of November 30, 2021, we had $791.4 million available for cash borrowings under the Credit Facility, with up to $241.4 million of that amount available for the issuance of letters of credit.

LOC Facility. On August 12, 2021, we entered into an amendment to our LOC Facility that increased the limit of letters of credit we may issue under it from $50.0 million to $75.0 million, and extended the expiration date from February 13, 2022 to February 13, 2025. Under the LOC Facility, we obtain letters of credit from time to time in the ordinary course of operating our business. As of November 30, 2021 and 2020, we had letters of credit outstanding under the LOC Facility of $34.6 million and $29.7 million, respectively.

Mortgages and Land Contracts Due to Land Sellers and Other Loans. As of November 30, 2021, inventories having a carrying value of $20.8 million were pledged to collateralize mortgages and land contracts due to land sellers and other loans.

Shelf Registration. On July 9, 2020, we filed the 2020 Shelf Registration with the SEC. The 2020 Shelf Registration registers the offering of securities that we may issue from time to time in amounts to be determined. Our ability to issue securities is subject to market conditions. The 2020 Shelf Registration replaced our previously effective universal shelf registration statement filed with the SEC on July 14, 2017.

Senior Notes. All of the senior notes outstanding at November 30, 2021 and 2020 represent senior unsecured obligations that are guaranteed by certain of our subsidiaries and rank equally in right of payment with all of our existing and future indebtedness. All of our senior notes were issued in underwritten public offerings. Interest on each of these senior notes is payable semi-annually.

The key terms of each of our senior notes outstanding as of November 30, 2021 were as follows (dollars in thousands):

					Redeemable Prior to Maturity	Effective Interest Rate
Notes Payable	Principal		Issuance Date	Maturity Date
7.50% Senior notes	$	350,000	July 31, 2012	September 15, 2022	Yes (a)	7.7	%
7.625% Senior notes	350,000		February 17, 2015/February 20, 2019	May 15, 2023	Yes (b)	7.5
6.875% Senior notes	300,000		February 20, 2019	June 15, 2027	Yes (b)	7.1
4.80% Senior notes	300,000		November 4, 2019	November 15, 2029	Yes (b)	5.0
4.00% Senior notes	390,000		June 9, 2021	June 15, 2031	Yes (b)	4.2

(a)At our option, these notes may be redeemed, in whole at any time or from time to time in part, at a redemption price equal to the greater of (i) 100% of the principal amount of the notes being redeemed and (ii) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the notes being redeemed (exclusive of interest accrued to the applicable redemption date), discounted to the redemption date at a defined rate, plus, in each case, accrued and unpaid interest on the notes being redeemed to the applicable redemption date.

(b)At our option, these notes may be redeemed, in whole at any time or from time to time in part, at a redemption price equal to the greater of (i) 100% of the principal amount of the notes being redeemed and (ii) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the notes being redeemed (exclusive of interest accrued to the applicable redemption date), discounted to the redemption date at a defined rate, plus, in each case, accrued and unpaid interest on the notes being redeemed to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date, except that six months prior to the stated maturity date for these notes and until their maturity, the redemption price will be equal to 100% of the principal amount of the notes being redeemed, plus, in each case, accrued and unpaid interest on the notes being redeemed to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date.

If a change in control occurs as defined in the instruments governing our senior notes, we would be required to offer to purchase all of our outstanding senior notes at 101% of their principal amount, together with all accrued and unpaid interest, if any.

On June 9, 2021, we completed the underwritten public offering of $390.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 4.00% Senior Notes due 2031 at 100% of their aggregate principal amount. Net proceeds from this offering totaled $385.2 million, after deducting the underwriting discount and our expenses relating to the offering. The 4.00% Senior Notes due 2031 represent senior unsecured obligations of ours and rank equally in right of payment with all of our existing unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness. Interest on the 4.00% Senior Notes due 2031 is payable semi-annually in arrears on June 15 and December 15, commencing on December 15, 2021. These notes will mature on June 15, 2031.

On June 9, 2021, we used a portion of the net proceeds from the issuance of the 4.00% Senior Notes due 2031 to purchase, pursuant to a tender offer that expired the previous day, $269.8 million in aggregate principal amount of our outstanding $450.0 million of 7.00% Senior Notes due 2021. We paid $274.9 million to purchase the notes and recorded a charge of $5.1 million for the early extinguishment of debt in the 2021 third quarter due to a premium paid under the tender offer and the unamortized original issue discount associated with these senior notes.

On September 15, 2021, we redeemed the remaining $180.2 million in aggregate principal amount of the 7.00% Senior Notes due 2021 at par value pursuant to the terms of the notes.

The indenture governing our senior notes does not contain any financial covenants. Subject to specified exceptions, the indenture contains certain restrictive covenants that, among other things, limit our ability to incur secured indebtedness, or engage in sale-leaseback transactions involving property above a certain specified value. In addition, our senior notes contain certain limitations related to mergers, consolidations, and sales of assets.

As of the date of this report, we were in compliance with the applicable terms of all our covenants and other requirements under the Credit Facility, the senior notes, the indenture, and the mortgages and land contracts due to land sellers and other loans. Our ability to access the Credit Facility for cash borrowings and letters of credit and our ability to secure future debt financing depend, in part, on our ability to remain in such compliance. There are no agreements that restrict our payment of dividends other than the Credit Facility, which would restrict our payment of certain dividends, such as cash dividends on our common stock, if a default under the Credit Facility exists at the time of any such payment, or if any such payment would result in such a default (other than dividends paid within 60 days after declaration, if there was no default at the time of declaration).

Principal payments on senior notes, mortgages and land contracts due to land sellers and other loans are due during each year ending November 30 as follows: 2022 — $353.6 million; 2023 — $351.1 million; 2024 — $.6 million; 2025 — $0; 2026 — $0; and thereafter — $990.0 million.