UMH Properties Inc. (NYSE:UMH) Q3 2019 Earnings Conference Call - Final Transcript

Good morning and welcome to UMH Properties Third Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] It is now my pleasure to introduce your host Ms. Nelli Madden Director of Investor Relations. Thank you. Ms. Madden you may begin.

Thank you very much operator. In addition to the 10-Q that we filed with the SEC yesterday we have filed an unaudited third quarter supplemental information presentation. This supplemental information presentation along with our 10-Q are available on the company's website at umh.reit. I would like to remind everyone that certain statements made during this conference call which are not historical facts may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements that we make on this call are based on our current expectations and involve various risks and uncertainties. Although the company believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions the company can provide no assurance that its expectations will be achieved.

The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations are detailed in the company's third quarter 2019 earnings release and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company disclaims any obligation to update its forward-looking statements. In addition during today's call we will be discussing non-GAAP financial metrics. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial metrics to the comparable GAAP financial metrics as well as explanatory and cautioning language are included in our earnings release our supplemental information and our historical SEC filings. Having said that I would like to introduce management with us today: Gene Landy Chairman; Samuel Landy President and Chief Executive Officer; Anna Chew Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Brett Taft Vice President.

It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to UMH's President and Chief Executive Officer Samuel Landy.

Thank you very much Nelli. We are pleased to report our results for the third quarter ended September 30 2019. UMH had a busy quarter on the acquisition front. During the quarter we closed on the acquisition of 4 communities containing 1500 homesites for approximately $56 million. These acquisitions bring our total portfolio to 122 communities containing approximately 23000 developed homesites. These communities were acquired at a weighted average occupancy rate of 63%. Two of these communities are in Pennsylvania one in Ohio and one in Michigan. These communities are in markets where we are experiencing strong demand. As we have proven in the past our business plan of upgrading the communities we acquire will over time result in strong occupancy and NOI growth driving significant value creation.

The acquisition market remains challenging. Both one-off acquisitions and portfolio sales continue to trade at historically low cap rates. We are looking at several opportunities and hope to grow our acquisition pipeline soon. We are working to identify deals in our target markets that are immediately accretive to earnings. Our acquisition program has been very successful. Generating strong returns at value-added communities takes time. The longer