Unaudited Financial Statements

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. However, in the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K. Results of operations for the three months and nine month periods ended September 30, 2023, are not necessarily indicative of the operating results to be attained in the entire fiscal year, or for any subsequent period.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all demand deposits, cashier’s checks, money market accounts and certificates of deposit with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company maintains its cash and cash equivalents at multiple financial institutions. The aggregate amounts held at each institution typically exceeds the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance coverage, and, as a result, there is a concentration of credit risk related to amounts on deposit. The Company does not believe that the risk is significant.

Current Expected Credit Losses Allowance

The Company adopted the current expected credit loss (“CECL”) standard effective January 1, 2023 in accordance with ASU No. 2016-13. The initial CECL allowance adjustment of $2,489,574 was recorded effective January 1, 2023 as a cumulative-effect of change in accounting principle through a direct charge to accumulated deficit on the consolidated statements of shareholders’ equity. Subsequent changes to the CECL allowance will be recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.

The Company records an allowance for credit losses in accordance with the CECL standard on the Company’s loan portfolio, including unfunded construction commitments, on a collective basis by assets with similar risk characteristics. This methodology replaces the probable incurred loss impairment methodology. In addition, interest and fees receivable and amounts included in due from borrowers, other than reimbursements, which include origination, modification and other fees receivable are also analyzed for credit losses in accordance with the CECL standard, as they represent a financial asset that is subject to credit risk. As allowed under the CECL standard used by the Company, as a practical expedient, the fair value of the collateral at the reporting date is compared to the net carrying amount of the loan when determining the allowance for credit losses for loans in pending/pre-foreclosure status, as defined. Fair value of collateral is reduced by estimated cost to sell if the collateral is expected to be sold. The amount of loans in pending/pre-foreclosure including unpaid interest and other charges as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 was approximately $68.1 million and $24.0 million, respectively. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, none of those loans required an allowance for credit loss.

The CECL standard requires an entity to consider historical loss experience, current conditions, and a reasonable and supportable forecast of the economic environment. The Company utilizes a loss-rate method for estimating current expected credit losses. The loss rate method involves applying a loss rate to a pool of loans with similar risk characteristics to estimate the expected credit losses on that pool of loans. In determining the CECL allowance, the Company considers various factors including (1) historical loss experience in its portfolio, (2) loan specific losses for loans deemed collateral dependent based on excess amortized cost over the fair value of the underlying collateral, and (3) its current and future view of the macroeconomic environment. The Company utilizes a reasonable and supportable forecast period equal to the contractual term of the loan plus any applicable short-term extensions that are reasonably expected for construction loans.

Management estimates the allowance for credit losses using relevant information, from internal and external sources, relating to past events, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The allowance for credit losses is maintained at a level sufficient to provide for expected credit losses over the life of the loans based on evaluating historical credit loss experience and to make adjustments to historical loss information for differences in the specific risk characteristics in the current loan portfolio. The CECL allowance related to the principal outstanding is presented within “Mortgages receivable, net” and for unfunded commitments is within accounts payable and accrued liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The CECL allowance related to the late payment fees are presented in “Interest and fees receivable” and “Due from borrowers” in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

As of September 30, 2023, the CECL allowance for mortgages receivable was approximately $2.1 million compared to approximately $2.0 million at January 1, 2023, an increase of approximately $0.1 million.

As of September 30, 2023, the CECL allowance for interest and fees receivable was approximately $23,400 compared to approximately $26,100 at January 1, 2023, a decrease of approximately $2,700.

As of September 30, 2023, the CECL allowance for amounts due from borrowers was approximately $24,400 compared to approximately $19,900 at January 1, 2023, an increase of approximately $4,500.

As of September 30, 2023, the CECL allowance for unfunded commitments was approximately $498,600 compared to approximately $522,000 at January 1, 2023, a decrease of approximately $23,400.

Property and Equipment

Land and building acquired in December 2016 to serve as the Company’s office facilities is stated at cost. The building is being depreciated using the straight-line method over its estimated useful life of 40 years. Expenditures for repairs and maintenance are charged to expense as incurred. The Company relocated its entire operations to this property in March 2019. On August 14, 2023 this property was sold. The Company realized a loss of approximately $184,600 on the sale, which is included in (gain) loss on sale of real estate in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023.

Land and building acquired in 2021 to serve as the Company’s new corporate headquarters is stated at cost. Renovation of the building was completed in the first quarter of 2023 and the Company relocated its operations to the new building in March 2023. The building is being depreciated using the straight-line method over its estimated useful life of 40 years. The new building was placed in service in March 2023 when the Company received the Certificate of Occupancy.

Real Estate Owned

Real estate owned by the Company is stated at cost and is tested for impairment quarterly.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company monitors events or changes in circumstances that could indicate carrying amounts of long-lived assets may not be recoverable. When such events or changes in circumstances occur, the Company assesses the recoverability of long-lived assets by determining whether the carrying value of such assets will be recovered through undiscounted expected future cash flows. If the undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying amount of these assets, the Company recognizes an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying amount over the fair market value of the assets.

Deferred Financing Costs

Costs incurred in connection with the Company’s revolving credit facilities, described in Note 8 – Lines of Credit, Mortgage Payable, and Churchill Facility, are amortized over the term of the applicable facility using the straight-line method.

Costs incurred by the Company in connection with the public offering of its unsecured, unsubordinated notes, described in Note 9 – Unsecured Notes Payable, are being amortized over the term of the respective Notes.

Income Taxes

The Company believes it qualifies as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for federal income tax purposes and operates accordingly. It made the election to be taxed as a REIT on its 2017 Federal income tax return. The Company’s qualification as a REIT depends on its ability to meet on a continuing basis, through actual investment and operating results, various complex requirements under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), relating to, among other things, the sources of its income, the composition and values of its assets, its compliance with the distribution requirements applicable to REITs and the diversity of ownership of its outstanding capital stock. So long as it qualifies as a REIT, the Company, generally, will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its taxable income distributed to its shareholders. However, if it fails to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year and does not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, it will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates and may also be subject to various penalties and may be precluded from re-electing REIT status for the four taxable years following the year during in which it lost its REIT qualification.

The Company has elected, and may elect in the future, to treat certain of its existing or newly created corporate subsidiaries as taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRSs”). In general, a TRS may hold assets that the Company cannot hold directly and generally may engage in any real estate or non-real estate related business. The TRSs generate income, resulting in federal and state income tax liability for these entities. The Company does not expect to incur any corporate federal income tax liability outside of the TRSs, as it believes it has maintained its qualification as a REIT. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, neither the Company nor any of its TRSs, recognized any provisions for federal income tax or state, local and franchise taxes on the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.

The income tax provision for the Company differs from the amount computed by applying the statutory federal income tax rate to income before income taxes due to non-taxable REIT income and other permanent differences including the non-deductibility of acquisition costs of business combinations for federal income tax reporting.

FASB ASC Topic 740-10 “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes” prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return and disclosure required. Under this standard, an entity may only recognize or continue to recognize tax positions that meet a “more likely than not” threshold. The Company recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense. The Company has determined that there are no uncertain tax positions requiring accrual or disclosure in the accompanying consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2023 and 2022.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments”, (ASU 2016-13), which changes accounting requirements for the measurement and recognition of expected credit losses from an incurred or probable methodology to a current expected credit loss methodology. Mortgages receivable, unfunded loan commitments, interest and fees receivable and amounts included in due from borrowers, other than reimbursements, which include origination, modification and other fees receivable are the only items currently held by the Company that are within the scope of ASU 2016-13. The Company adopted this ASU effective January 1, 2023 and applied a modified retrospective approach through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings upon adoption. At transition on January 1, 2023, the cumulative effect of adopting this ASU resulted in a decrease in retained earnings of $2,489,574 and an increase in the allowance for credit losses. The increase in the allowance is driven by the fact that the allowance under CECL covers expected credit losses over the full expected life of the loan portfolios and takes into account forecasts of expected future economic conditions.

In March 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-02, “Financial Instruments-Credit Losses” (Topic 326): Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures, which eliminates the accounting guidance for troubled debt restructurings (“TDR”) for creditors that have adopted the CECL standard and requires enhanced disclosures for loan modifications made to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty in the form of interest rate reductions, principal forgiveness, other-than-insignificant payment delays, or term extensions. In addition, the new guidance requires presentation in the vintage disclosures of current-period gross write-offs by year of origination. The amendments in this update became effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022. This update did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements, except for requiring additional disclosure relating to loan modifications to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty.

In June 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-03, “Fair Value Measurement of Equity Securities Subject to Contractual Sale Restrictions.” ASU 2022-03 was issued to (1) to clarify the guidance in FASB ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement”, when measuring the fair value of an equity security subject to contractual restrictions that prohibit the sale of an equity security, (2) to amend a related illustrative example, and (3) to introduce new disclosure requirements for equity securities subject to contractual sale restrictions that are measured at fair value in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 820. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company does not anticipate that this update will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.