Apartment Investment & Management (AIV) Risk Analysis

Some of our existing and/or future debt and other securities may contain covenants that restrict our activities. These may include covenants that limit our operations or impact our ability to make distributions or other payments unless certain financial tests or other criteria are satisfied, as well as certain other customary affirmative and negative covenants.

The limitations on the liability of limited partners for the obligations of a limited partnership have not been clearly established in some states. If it were determined that Aimco Operating Partnership had been conducting business in any state without compliance with the applicable limited partnership statute, or that the right or the exercise of the right by the holders of OP Units as a group to make specific amendments to the agreement of limited partnership or to take other action under the agreement of limited partnership constituted participation in the "control" of Aimco Operating Partnership's business, then a holder of OP Units could be held liable under specific circumstances for our operating partnership's obligations to the same extent as the general partner.

REITs are entitled to a United States federal income tax deduction for dividends paid to their stockholders. Through this dividends paid deduction, a REIT may reduce or eliminate its entity-level United States federal income tax liability, which generally results in a lower combined tax liability of the REIT and its stockholders as compared to that of the combined tax liability of other taxable C-corporations and their stockholders. Notwithstanding this combined benefit, as discussed below, dividends payable by REITs may result in marginally higher taxes to the stockholder. C-corporations are generally required to pay a corporate-level United States federal income tax on their income, which will reduce the amount available for distribution to stockholders. Dividends paid by a C-corporation may constitute "qualified dividends." The maximum United States federal tax rate applicable to income from "qualified dividends" payable to United States stockholders that are individuals, trusts, and estates is currently 20%, plus the 3.8% investment tax surcharge. While dividends payable by REITs are generally not eligible for the qualified dividend reduced rates, stockholders that are individuals, trusts, or estates, and meet certain requirements, may generally deduct 20% of the aggregate amount of ordinary dividends from REITs. This deduction is available for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026, and will generally cause the maximum tax rate for ordinary dividends from REITs to be 29.6%, plus the 3.8% investment tax surcharge. The more favorable tax rates applicable to regular corporate qualified dividends could cause investors who are individuals, trusts, and estates to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the shares of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the shares of REITs, including Aimco Common Stock.

We receive, store, handle, transmit, use and otherwise process business information and information related to individuals, including from and about actual and prospective tenants, as well as our employees and service providers. We also depend on a number of third-party vendors in relation to the operation of our business, a number of which we rely on to process personal data on our behalf. While we may not be responsible for the compliance with certain laws, failure by such third parties to comply with those laws could result in harm to our reputation and brand and require us to expend significant resources. We and our vendors are subject to a variety of federal and state data privacy laws, rules, regulations, industry standards and other requirements, including those that apply generally to the handling of information about individuals, and those that are specific to certain industries, sectors, contexts, or locations. These requirements, and their application, interpretation and amendment are constantly evolving and developing. We also are subject to laws, rules, and regulations in the United States, such as the California Consumer Protection Act (the "CCPA" (which became effective on January 1, 2020 and is amended by the California Privacy Rights Act)), relating to the collection, use, disclosure and security of employee and business contact data. For other personal data, including tenant, we rely on our third-party partners to store and process such data. Among other things, the CCPA: requires disclosures to such residents about the data collection, use and disclosure practices of covered businesses; provides such individuals expanded rights to access, delete, and correct their personal information, and opt-out of certain sales or transfers of personal information; and provides such individuals with a private right of action and statutory damages for certain data breaches. The enactment of the CCPA is prompting a wave of similar legislative developments in other states in the United States, which creates the potential for a patchwork of overlapping but different state laws. Evolving compliance and operational requirements under the CCPA and the privacy and data security laws of other jurisdictions in which we operate impose significant costs that are likely to increase over time. Our failure, or the failure of third-party partners we rely on to process data, to comply with laws, rules, and regulations related to privacy and data protection could harm our business or reputation. Additionally, we rely on third-party property managers to run background checks on prospective tenants. Those third-party managers are considered "users" of consumer reports provided by consumer reporting agencies ("CRAs") under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (collectively, "FCRA"). FCRA regulates and protects consumer information and, among other things, imposes specific obligations "users" of consumer reports. Such obligations include notifying consumers when such reports are used to make an adverse decision, and, in the context of completing employee background checks, providing a notice containing certain disclosures to the consumer and obtaining their consent. Noncompliance with the FCRA can lead to civil and even criminal penalties, and it permits consumers to bring a private right of action if they are unsatisfied with the dispute resolution process. Further, laws, regulations, and standards covering marketing, advertising, and other activities conducted by telephone, email, mobile devices, and the internet may be or become applicable to our business, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the "TCPA"), the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (the "CAN-SPAM Act"), and similar state consumer protection and communication privacy laws, such as California's Invasion of Privacy Act. Third-party property managers send short message service, or SMS, text messages to tenants. The actual or perceived improper sending of such text messages may subject us to potential risks, including liabilities or claims relating to consumer protection laws such as the TCPA. Numerous class-action suits under federal and state laws have been filed in recent years against companies who conduct telemarketing and/or SMS texting programs, with many resulting in multi-million-dollar settlements to the plaintiffs. Any future such litigation against us could be costly and time-consuming to defend. In particular, the TCPA imposes significant restrictions on the ability to make telephone calls or send text messages to mobile telephone numbers without the prior consent of the person being contacted. Federal or state regulatory authorities or private litigants may claim that the notices and disclosures we provide, form of consents we obtain or our SMS texting practices are not adequate or violate applicable law. This may in the future result in civil claims against us. Claims that we have violated the TCPA could be costly to litigate, whether or not they have merit, and could expose us to substantial statutory damages or costly settlements. Third-party property managers send marketing messages via email and are subject to the CAN-SPAM Act. The CAN-SPAM Act imposes certain obligations regarding the content of emails and providing opt-outs (with the corresponding requirement to honor such opt-outs promptly). While we strive to ensure that all of our marketing communications comply with the requirements set forth in the CAN-SPAM Act, any violations could result in the FTC seeking civil penalties against us. Moreover, as our third-party property managers accept debit and credit cards for payment, they are subject to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard ("PCI-DSS"), issued by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. PCI-DSS contains compliance guidelines with regard to our security surrounding the physical and electronic storage, processing and transmission of cardholder data. If our third-party property managers or other service providers are unable to comply with the security standards established by banks and the payment card industry, we may be subject to fines, restrictions and expulsion from card acceptance programs, which could materially and adversely affect our business. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with data privacy laws, rules, regulations, industry standards and other requirements could result in proceedings or actions against us by individuals, consumer rights groups, government agencies, or others. We could incur significant costs in investigating and defending such claims and, if found liable, pay significant damages or fines or be required to make changes to our business. Further, these proceedings and any subsequent adverse outcomes may subject us to significant negative publicity and an erosion of trust. If any of these events were to occur, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

Approval to develop real property sometimes requires political support and generally entails an extensive entitlement process involving multiple and overlapping regulatory jurisdictions and often requires discretionary action by local governments. Real estate projects must generally comply with local land development regulations and may need to comply with state and federal regulations. We may incur substantial costs to comply with legal and regulatory requirements. An increase in legal and regulatory requirements may cause us to incur substantial additional costs, or in some cases cause us to determine that the property is not feasible for development. In addition, our competitors and local residents may challenge our efforts to obtain entitlements and permits for the development of properties. The process to comply with these regulations is usually lengthy and costly, may not result in the approvals we seek, and can be expected to materially affect our development activities.

Our properties are managed by third parties. We do not supervise our third-party property managers or their employees on a day-to-day basis and we cannot assure you that they will manage such properties in a manner that is consistent with their obligations under our agreements, that they will not be negligent in their performance or engage in any criminal or fraudulent activity, or that they will not otherwise default on their management obligations to us. If any of the foregoing occurs, the relationships with our tenants at such properties could be damaged, which may cause the tenants not to renew their leases, and we could incur liabilities resulting from loss or injury to the properties or to persons at the properties. If we are unable to lease the properties or we become subject to significant liabilities as a result of our third-party property managers' management performance, our financial condition and results of operations could be substantially harmed.

We are insured for a portion of our real estate assets' exposure to casualty losses resulting from fire, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, flood, and other perils, which insurance is subject to deductibles and self-insurance retention. We recognize casualty losses or gains based on the net book value of the affected asset and the amount of any related insurance proceeds. In many instances, the actual cost to repair or replace the apartment community may exceed its net book value and any insurance proceeds. We recognize the uninsured portion of losses as casualty losses in the periods in which they are incurred. In addition, we are self-insured for a portion of our exposure to third-party claims related to our workers' compensation coverage and general liability exposure. With respect to our exposure to claims of third parties, we establish reserves at levels that reflect our known and estimated losses. The ultimate cost of losses and the impact of unforeseen events may vary materially from recorded reserves, and variances may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. We purchase insurance to reduce our exposure to losses and limit our financial losses on large individual risks. The availability and cost of insurance are determined by market conditions outside our control. No assurance can be made that we will be able to obtain and maintain insurance at the same levels and on the same terms as we do today. If we are not able to obtain or maintain insurance in amounts we consider appropriate for our business, or if the cost of obtaining such insurance increases materially, we may have to retain a larger portion of the potential loss associated with our exposures to risks.

The majority of our properties are located in Florida, Chicago, the Washington, D.C. Metro Area, and in the Northeast region of the United States. As a result, we are particularly susceptible to adverse economic or other conditions in these markets (such as periods of economic slowdown or recession, business layoffs or downsizing, industry slowdowns, relocations of businesses, increases in real estate and other taxes, and the cost of complying with governmental regulations or increased regulation), as well as to natural disasters (including earthquakes, storms, and hurricanes), potentially adverse effects of "global warming," and other disruptions that occur in these markets (such as terrorist activity or threats of terrorist activity and other events), any of which may have a greater impact on the value of our assets or on our operating results than if we owned a more geographically diversified portfolio. We cannot assure you that these markets will grow or that underlying real estate fundamentals will be favorable to owners, operators, and developers of multifamily, retail, or office assets, or future development assets. Our operations may also be affected if competing assets are built in these markets. Moreover, submarkets within our core markets may be dependent upon a limited number of industries. Any adverse economic or other conditions, or any decrease in demand for office, multifamily, or retail assets could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

To the extent that significant changes in the climate occur in areas where our properties are located, we may experience extreme weather and changes in precipitation and temperature, all of which may result in physical damage to or a decrease in demand for properties located in these areas or affected by these conditions. Climate change may also have indirect effects on our business by increasing the costs of (or making unavailable) insurance on favorable terms, or at all, or requiring us to spend funds to repair and protect our properties against such risks. Should the impact of climate change be material in nature, including significant property damage to or destruction of our properties, or occur for lengthy periods of time, our financial condition or results of operations may be adversely affected. In addition, changes in federal, state and local legislation and regulations based on concerns about climate change could result in increased capital expenditures on our properties (for example, to improve their energy efficiency and/or resistance to inclement weather) without a corresponding increase in revenue, resulting in adverse impacts to our net income.