Independence Realty Trust, Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to the Q2 2020 Independence Realty Trust Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 1 on your telephone. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. If you require any further assistance, Please press star zero. Thank you. Now I would like to hand the conference over to Ms. Lauren Torres. Ma'am, please go ahead.

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us to review Independence Realty Trust second quarter 2020 financial results. On the call with me today are Scott Schaefer, our chief financial officer, Jim Fibra, our chief financial officer, and Farrell Ender, president of IRC. Today's call is being webcast on our website at www.irtliving.com. There will be a replay of the call available via webcast on our investor relations website and telephonically beginning at approximately 12 p.m. Eastern time today. Before I turn the call over to Scott, I'd like to remind everyone that there may be forward-looking statements made in this call. These forward-looking statements reflect IRT's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. Actual results could differ substantially and materially from what IRT has projected. Such statements are made in good faith pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Please refer to IRT's press release supplemental information, and filings with the SEC for factors that could affect the accuracy of our expectations or cause our future results to differ materially from those expectations. Participants may discuss non-GAAP financial measures during this call. Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most direct comparable GAAP financial measure is attached to IRT's most current report on the Form 8K available at IRT's website under investor relations. IRT's other SEC filings are also available through this link. IRT does not undertake to update forward-looking statements in this call or with respect to matters described herein, except as may be required by law. With that, it's my pleasure to turn the call over to Scott Schaefer.

Thank you, Lauren, and thank you all for joining us this morning. The second quarter was our first full quarter impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and undoubtedly posed challenges to all of our stakeholders. While the path forward remains uncertain, we are encouraged by a gradual road to recovery supported by the dedication and perseverance of our employees. Over the past quarter, we focused on the following key priorities. First and foremost, we directed our efforts towards protecting the health and well-being of our employees and residents and keeping our community safe and clean. Second, we provided flexibility to those residents demonstrating financial hardship with their near-term monthly rental requirements by creating payment plans, waiving late fees, and halting evictions. Third, we focused on driving leasing traffic and maintaining occupancy to support the overall health of our portfolio and to position us to capitalize on the eventual economic recovery. For example, leasing traffic was up 27% in the second quarter of 2020 versus a year ago. And fourth, we took the necessary steps to maintain significant liquidity, including continuing to tightly manage our property operating and capital expenditures, as well as managing the timing of investments as it relates to our value-add program. Staying on the topic of our value-add program, demand for renovated units has rebounded and remained strong, prompting us to restart this initiative at all five communities we had paused during the first quarter. Our Value Add initiative has been and will continue to be foundational to our strategy. Since its inception two and a half years ago, we've completed renovations at 3,252 units, generating a total return on investment of 16%. Our Value Add program also provides us with tremendous flexibility to adjust timing and investment in order to best navigate near-term market conditions. Nevertheless, with 3,884 units remaining to be renovated over the coming years, We see an attractive runway for future growth embedded within our existing portfolio. As we look to the second half of 2020, we remain cautiously optimistic and confident in our ability to manage through the current environment, but we are well aware that the situation remains fluid and plans at the state and local level could be altered at any given time. As of today, total portfolio occupancy stands at 94.1% and 160 basis point improvements since the end of last year. We have collected approximately 97.2% of July rents which is consistent with collections in June. I would also like to highlight that IRT continues to maintain a strong balance sheet. We have ample liquidity with no significant debt maturities until 2023. Our total liquidity position is approximately $248 million at quarter end, which includes unrestricted cash, as well as additional capacity through our unsecured line of credit and future proceeds from the remaining portion of our forward equity offering from February of this year. This reflects our efforts to be financially flexible to not only weather near-term uncertainty, but also move quickly to enhance our portfolio and create long-term value. In summary, and on behalf of the whole IRT team, I'd like to reiterate that we remain committed to our residents, communities, and shareholders. Our long-term aspiration of being the leading middle market multifamily owner and operator across non-gateway markets remains clearly intact. We have set a strategy that over time will continue to yield strong business performance throughout various cycles. On top of that, we must maintain the highest commitment to our most important stakeholders. In particular, we have an obligation to protect our employees, to encourage diversity and inclusion, and create a culture that drives long-term value creation. We are committed to providing our residents with a high-quality and safe community, regardless of the environment outside their door, that they have a place that they are proud to call home. With that, I'll turn the call over to Farrell for an operational update. Farrell.