Item 1. BUSINESS

Overview

Invitation Homes is a leading owner and operator of single-family homes for lease, offering residents high-quality homes in sought-after neighborhoods across America. With approximately 80,000 homes for lease in 16 markets across the country as of December 31, 2019, Invitation Homes is meeting changing lifestyle demands by providing residents access to updated homes with features they value, such as close proximity to jobs and access to good schools. Our mission statement, “Together with you, we make a house a home,” reflects our commitment to high-touch service that continuously enhances residents’ living experiences and provides homes where individuals and families can thrive.

We operate in markets with strong demand drivers, high barriers to entry, and high rent growth potential, primarily in the Western United States, Florida, and the Southeast United States. Through disciplined market and asset selection, as well as through the Mergers, we designed our portfolio to capture the operating benefits of local density as well as economies of scale that we believe cannot be readily replicated. Since our founding in 2012, we have built a proven, vertically integrated operating platform that enables us to effectively and efficiently acquire, renovate, lease, maintain, and manage our homes.

We invest in markets that we expect will exhibit lower new supply, stronger job and household formation growth, and superior net operating income (“NOI”) growth relative to the broader United States housing and rental market. Within our 16 markets, we target attractive neighborhoods in in-fill locations with multiple demand drivers, such as proximity to major employment centers, desirable schools, and transportation corridors. Our homes average approximately 1,870 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, appealing to a resident base that we believe is less transitory than the typical multifamily resident. We invest in the upfront renovation of homes in our portfolio in order to address capital needs, reduce ongoing maintenance costs, and drive resident demand. As a result, our portfolio benefits from high occupancy and low turnover rates, and we are well-positioned to drive strong rent growth, attractive margins, and predictable cash flows.

Our Platform

Our vertically integrated, scalable platform allows greater influence over the experience of our residents while enabling us to better control operating costs and continuously share best practices across functional areas of the business. Our differentiated platform is built upon:

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Resident-centric focus. Our high-touch business model enables us to continuously solicit and integrate resident feedback into our operations and tailor our approach to address their preferences, providing a superior living experience and fostering customer loyalty. We believe this, in turn, drives rent growth, occupancy, and low turnover rates and will enable us to develop significant brand equity in the longer term.

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Local presence and expertise. In-market managers oversee the operations of local leasing management, property management, and maintenance teams, enabling us to provide outstanding resident service, leverage local expertise in managing rental, occupancy, and turnover rates, and improve cost and oversight over renovations and ongoing maintenance. As a result of our concentrated footprint within our markets, our regional managers and in-market teams are able to realize local-operator advantages, while still benefiting from significant economies of scale.

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Scalable, centralized infrastructure. We support local market operations with national strategy, infrastructure, and standards to drive efficiency, consistency, and cost savings. We utilize our extensive scale to ensure the consistent quality of our resident experience and maximize cost efficiencies and purchasing power. On a national level we are also able to standardize resident leases, employ a consistent approach to resident screening and leasing operations, and utilize dynamic, rules-based pricing tools informed by local market conditions.

Our approach to investment and asset management similarly combines local presence and expertise with national oversight. Our investment and asset management teams are located in-market and apply their local market knowledge within the framework of a proprietary and consistent underwriting methodology, with support from national leadership based in our corporate headquarters focused on investment and asset management strategy. Through the integration of investment and asset management and property management functions, our platform enables our teams to incorporate real-time information regarding leasing activity, property operations, maintenance, and capital spending into asset selection. We believe the

advantages of our integrated acquisition platform and local market expertise have driven the quality of our existing portfolio of 79,505 homes as of December 31, 2019. We believe that employing experienced, in-house acquisitions teams at the local level gives us a competitive advantage in selectively acquiring homes that will maximize risk-adjusted total return.

Our Business Activities

Since our founding in 2012, we have built a proven, vertically integrated operating platform that allows us to effectively and efficiently acquire, renovate, lease, maintain, and manage our homes. Our differentiated approach, which combines a resident-centric focus, local market presence and expertise, and national strategy, infrastructure, and standards, informs all areas of our operations.

Property Operations

Property operations encompasses the in-house local market management and execution of marketing, leasing, resident relations, and maintenance functions. We have developed and employ a highly scalable, vertically integrated, and resident-centric property management service platform, referred to as “ProCare.” All of our property management functions have been internally managed since our founding in 2012, and we have implemented an extensive property management infrastructure, including an online resident portal, Smart Home technology, a technology suite to manage work orders and personnel, dedicated in-market personnel, and local offices in each of our markets. All of our local market personnel are supported by our centralized national infrastructure, which allows us to deploy best practices and standardization where appropriate. The combination of our local market presence and national infrastructure enables us to exercise greater control over our property management service platform, allowing us to enhance the experience of our residents, better manage operating costs, and share best practices across various functional areas of our business.

We have organized our in-house property management personnel and operating structure whereby Vice Presidents of Operations in each of our markets are responsible for the operations of local leasing management, property management, and maintenance teams. We believe our operating model differentiates our approach to local market operations and enables us to provide superior, high-touch resident service, maximize the effectiveness of our in-market personnel in managing rental, occupancy, and turnover rates and improve our cost management and oversight over both upfront renovations and ongoing maintenance.

Marketing and Leasing

Our in-house personnel are responsible for establishing rental rates, marketing and leasing properties, and collecting and processing rent. We establish rental rates based on a dynamic, rules-based pricing tool that is informed by local market conditions, including a competitive analysis of market rents for institutional single-family rental properties, growth in single-family and multifamily market rents since a specific home’s last lease commenced, the size, fit and finish, and location of the home, the number of applications received and/or showings a property has experienced since becoming available, and the number of days a home has been available on the market, as well as qualitative factors, such as neighborhood characteristics, community amenities, and proximity to employment centers, desirable schools, transportation corridors, and local services.

We typically begin pre-marketing properties 30 to 60 days in advance of their becoming vacant to maintain high occupancy rates and reduce vacancy losses. We advertise available properties through multiple channels, including our proprietary website, internet listing services (such as Zillow, Trulia, HotPads, and Realtor.com), MLS, yard signs, search engine marketing, social and other digital media, and local brokers. We own internal brokerages to serve each state in which we operate and primarily utilize in-market leasing agents who work with us to lease our homes. In some markets, we also utilize a network of local real estate agents to show homes to prospective residents and offer those agents limited co-broker fees.

Prospective residents may submit an application through the application portal on our website or in person. In order to maintain brand consistency and better track compliance with leasing requirements, we utilize standardized online applications, national lease agreements, move-in and move-out documents, resident communications, and other ancillary documents. We evaluate prospective residents in a standardized manner through the use of a third party resident screening partner. Our resident screening process includes obtaining appropriate identification, a thorough evaluation of credit history and household income, a review of the applicant’s rental history, and a background check for criminal activity. Although we require a minimum income to rent ratio, many additional factors are also taken into consideration during the resident evaluation process, including eviction history, criminal history, and rental and other payment history.

Our disciplined investment strategy and local, in-market approach have given us scale and density of homes in desirable neighborhoods, enabling us to execute demographic and geo-targeted digital advertising. We believe this increases our likelihood of capturing and retaining qualified residents whose lifestyle and purchasing power enhance our opportunity to develop and market other programs and services.

Digital Marketing Initiatives and Branding

We encourage meaningful community interaction across our digital platforms by continuously refreshing the content of our website, blog, and social media accounts with articles, home maintenance advice, contests, and incentives designed to enrich the lives of our residents and protect our homes. For example, we alert our residents to prepare for storms, incentivize them to pay their rent online, offer “Lease Friendly” “Make It Home” design tips, and hold an annual Resident Appreciation Day.

Resident Relations and Property Maintenance

Our in-house personnel in each of our markets are also responsible for property repairs and maintenance and resident relations. In coordination with a third party vendor, we offer a 24/7 emergency telephone line to handle after hours maintenance issues on an expedited basis as needed, and our residents can also contact us through our online resident portal, our call centers, or our local property management offices. As part of our ongoing property management process, we seek to conduct routine repairs and maintenance in a timely manner, as appropriate, by appointment at the resident’s convenience. We seek to utilize quality materials to minimize the recurrence of maintenance requests and maximize long-term rental income and cash flows from our portfolio.

We typically utilize our in-house maintenance personnel in each of our markets to provide ordinary course, “handyman” services, and outsource more complex or extensive repairs, such as roofing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (“HVAC”) systems, plumbing, and electrical work to vetted, pre-approved third party vendor partners. We strive to maximize the number of maintenance calls that are addressed by our in-house maintenance technicians. In cases where we outsource more complex or extensive repairs, our in-house maintenance personnel provide oversight to ensure quality control and cost effectiveness. In addition, our in-house maintenance personnel conduct periodic visits to our properties to help foster positive, long-term relationships with our residents, track and report maintenance needs effectively, conduct preventative maintenance, and ensure compliance with lease terms, local laws, and HOA rules and regulations.

ProCare service, our property management service platform, utilizes a number of policies and programs designed to improve the efficiency of our property maintenance practices and maximize resident satisfaction with our service model. When a new resident moves into one of our homes, our in-house personnel conduct a resident orientation, during which we revisit the terms of the lease, outline what aspects of the home’s upkeep are the resident’s responsibility, walk through all of the home’s major systems in order to familiarize the resident with their safe and proper operation, and inform the resident that we will be conducting a post move-in maintenance visit. Following the move-in orientation, each resident is encouraged to keep a record of any non-emergency service items noted after moving into the home. At the time of the post move-in maintenance visit approximately 45 days after move-in, our in-house property maintenance personnel will address any non-emergency service needs the resident has noted. We believe this process has a number of benefits. First, by conducting an in-person move-in orientation, we are able to ensure that residents understand their obligations under the terms of their lease, as well as how to safely and properly operate the home’s systems, reducing both the likelihood of misaligned expectations and unnecessary wear and tear on the property. Second, by scheduling a post move-in maintenance visit, we are able to address multiple service requests in a single visit, improving the resident experience by avoiding the inconvenience of multiple service appointments and improving the efficiency and productivity of our in-house property maintenance personnel. Finally, the post move-in maintenance visit allows us to more quickly identify residents who may not be adhering to the terms of their lease or may be subjecting the home to undue wear and tear and/or damages as a result of their treatment of the property.

Following the regularly scheduled post move-in maintenance visit described above, our in-house property maintenance personnel in each of our markets also conduct mid-lease preventive maintenance visits. During preventive maintenance visits, our in-house property maintenance personnel inspect the home’s systems, paying particular attention to potential safety hazards as well as potential causes of damage that could result in us incurring significant maintenance costs if left unaddressed. Examples of areas of focus for preventive maintenance visits include smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, air filters, hot water heaters, toilet valves, under-sink plumbing, and garbage disposals, among others.

We also conduct pre move-out visits 15 to 30 days prior to scheduled resident move-outs. These visits allow us to notify residents of any repairs they may need to undertake prior to moving out of the property, such as carpet cleaning or landscaping maintenance, in order to avoid forfeiture of part or all of their security deposit. In addition, these visits allow our in-house property maintenance personnel to begin preparing a scope of work and budget for the turnover work we undertake between residents to prepare our homes to be re-leased to a new resident. These visits also increase our ability to pre-market our homes.

Regardless of the purpose or timing of the visit, our in-house property maintenance personnel are required to conduct a general property condition assessment (“GPCA”) every time they visit one of our homes. The GPCA requires our in-house property maintenance personnel to assess and document interior and exterior condition, whether the resident is adhering to the terms of their lease, as well as any potential safety hazards or potential causes of damage that could result in us incurring significant maintenance costs if left unaddressed. If a deficiency is identified by our in-house property maintenance personnel we endeavor to take prompt action to correct it.

Investment and Asset Management

Acquisition Strategy

We have a disciplined acquisition platform that is capable of deploying capital across multiple acquisition channels and markets simultaneously. Our markets were generally selected through a robust process utilizing an analysis of housing and rental market supply and demand fundamentals, macroeconomic and demographic trends, and risk-adjusted total return potential. Specifically, the process we use to select and, on an ongoing basis, evaluate our markets ranks these markets based on relative weightings of factors that include, but are not limited to, forecast population and employment growth, household formation, historical and forecast deliveries of new residential housing supply, discounts to replacement cost for single-family residential housing, size of the addressable market, volume of new and existing home sales, potential yields implied by the relationship between market rental rates and the price of single-family residential housing, forecast home price appreciation, and forecast rental rate growth.

We have amassed significant scale within our 16 markets. In these markets, our acquisition strategy has been, and will continue to be, focused on buying, renovating, and operating high quality single-family homes for lease that we believe will appeal to and attract a high quality resident base, that will experience robust long-term demand, and that will benefit from capital appreciation. In evaluating acquisitions, we analyze numerous factors, including neighborhood desirability, proximity to employment centers, schools, and transportation corridors, community amenities, construction type, and required ongoing capital needs, among others.

We target submarkets and neighborhoods in undersupplied high-growth markets and leverage our in-house acquisition and operations teams’ local market expertise to acquire homes in in-fill locations that we believe will experience above average rental rate growth and home price appreciation. Our in-house acquisition teams are comprised of dedicated professionals located in our markets and at our corporate headquarters who provide strategic direction and broad oversight. Our acquisition teams have significant local market experience and expertise in single-family investments and sales, which enables us to target specific submarkets, neighborhoods, individual streets, and homes that meet our selection and underwriting criteria. To date, we have underwritten more than one million individual homes which gives us a substantial proprietary database on which we can draw as we evaluate future acquisition opportunities in our markets. The number of homes underwritten represents the total number of acquisition opportunities that we have considered and of which we have conducted preliminary analysis, including acquisition opportunities that were ultimately not pursued or completed. As a result of our selective and disciplined investment approach, we have analyzed and considered a far greater number of potential acquisitions than the number of homes we have actually acquired. As a result of our large existing portfolio and volume of acquisitions to date, we believe we have a high degree of visibility into rental rates and fixed and controllable operating expenses, which allows us to more accurately underwrite expected net yields of homes prior to acquisition. We also collaborate with local market real estate brokers and others, and leverage these relationships to source off-market acquisition opportunities. Within our markets, our approach allows us to screen broadly and rapidly to identify potential acquisitions in highly targeted submarkets at the neighborhood and street levels. Our in-house team of acquisition professionals coordinates with our in-house renovation, maintenance, and property management teams to ensure that feedback from historical acquisitions is shared across functions so that our ongoing investment activities are informed by, and benefit from, insight from prior experience.

Property Renovations

We have an in-house team of dedicated personnel located in our markets who oversee our upfront property renovation process and the ongoing maintenance of our homes, with support from centralized construction experts and infrastructure. This team works in collaboration with our in-house investment and property management teams to maximize the total return of our upfront investment and minimize ongoing maintenance costs. To this end, our professionals evaluate: the structural needs and major systems of a property (e.g., examining roofs, HVAC systems, and siding); other maintenance-reducing improvements and repairs (e.g., installing durable hard-surface flooring, removing carpet from high-traffic areas, and testing plumbing and pipes both in the home and out to the street); and the level of fit and finish required to maintain consistency with our brand standards and maximize rental demand (e.g., selecting cabinet and countertop finishes and appliances designed to improve resident demand).

In general, before a home is acquired or when an acquired home first becomes vacant, our in-house teams begin the renovation process by preparing a detailed renovation budget and scope of work based on an assessment of each property’s major systems and structural features. These include HVAC, roofs, pools, and plumbing and electrical systems. In addition, we also evaluate other features of our homes’ fit and finish, including appliances, landscaping, decks and/or patios, and fixtures. During our initial assessment, we also determine the potential for, and potential return on, any value-additive upgrades that may reduce future operating costs or enhance rental demand and, by extension, our ability to realize more attractive rental, occupancy, or turnover rates.

Through local oversight by in-house personnel of the entire process of renovating our homes, we are able to drive cost efficiencies. Each property’s detailed budget and scope of work prepared by our in-house team of renovation professionals is reviewed and vetted by our in-house asset management and operations teams, and in the case of work we contract directly, presented for bid to one or more of our pre-approved vendor partners in each of our markets. In the case of work for which we rely upon general contractors, we set prices based on the scope of work involved. By establishing and enforcing best practices and quality consistency, and through a constant process of evaluating and grading our vendor partners, we believe that we are able to reduce the costs of both materials and labor. For example, we have negotiated discounts and extended warranties for products that we regularly use during the renovation process, including appliances, HVAC systems and components, carpet and flooring, and paint, among others. We are also able to reduce general contractor fees by working directly with vendors. We believe this approach results in both a larger proportion of our upfront renovation expenditures going toward actual investment in our homes as well as lower overall expenditures than if we were to outsource all elements of vendor selection and oversight to third party general contractors.

Portfolio Optimization

We maintain a sophisticated process to identify and efficiently dispose of homes that no longer fit our investment objectives. We believe we have a proven ability to optimize sales prices while reducing both time to sale and selling costs by utilizing multiple distribution channels, including bulk portfolio sales, our “Resident First Look” program (which facilitates home sales to our current residents), direct-to-market sales, and MLS. We believe the significant local density of our portfolio, which averages approximately 5,000 homes per market as of December 31, 2019, allows us to selectively sell properties without sacrificing the operating efficiency of our concentrated scale.

Environmental, Social, and Governance Initiatives

At Invitation Homes, we believe that integrating environmental, social, and governance initiatives into our strategic business objectives is critical to our long-term success. Through our integrated and ongoing approach to sustainability and corporate responsibility, we seek to drive positive change and create value for our stakeholders.

Corporate social responsibility is vitally important to who we are as a company. Our Corporate Social Responsibility Policy is posted on our website and applies to all activities undertaken by or on behalf of Invitation Homes anywhere we operate. This policy encompasses areas of community and associate engagement, human rights, corporate governance and ethics, and environmental initiatives that reflect existing and emerging standards of corporate social responsibility.

Our mission, vision, and values define our daily actions in delivering on our pledge to be a responsible corporate citizen. Our mission statement “Together with you, we make a house a home” reflects our commitment to a resident-centric business philosophy. The way we carry out that mission on a daily basis is reflected in our company’s core values: Unshakable Integrity; Genuine Care; Continuous Excellence; and Standout Citizenship. Our vision is to be the premier choice in home leasing by continuously enhancing our residents’ living experiences and communities.

Every day, we strive to benefit our residents, our associates, our communities, and our shareholders by deeply embedding our values, ethics, and integrity into all that we do.

Residents

By offering quality homes in attractive neighborhoods, we believe we give residents the choice to lease a home in a community that may not have otherwise been attainable. We strive to provide our residents with a worry-free leasing lifestyle through service that includes welcoming them with an in-person home orientation at move-in, making their lives easier with our Smart Home technology offering, and providing 24/7 maintenance combined with our best-in-class ProCare property management platform.

Associates

Our associates are our most precious resource. From our focus on health and safety to our support for a diverse and inclusive culture, we treat each other fairly and act with honesty, integrity, and respect. We believe passionately that diverse and inclusive companies make for more innovative, engaged, and happy teams. Our organization makes it a priority to celebrate diversity and cultivate a culture of inclusion.

Everyone who works at or with Invitation Homes should feel confident about our high ethical standards, our honesty, and our integrity. Our daily decisions are driven by our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which is posted on our website and demonstrates our commitment to our stakeholders to be a responsible corporate citizen and a good business partner. This code helps guide us as we collaborate to accomplish our goals together, while holding ourselves individually responsible for our work and accountable for our actions. Our Vendor Code of Conduct is an extension of our values to our vendors and serves to highlight our commitment to ethical business practices and regulatory compliance.

Communities

We recognize that the vitality of our business is directly linked to the vitality of the communities in which we operate. As of December 31, 2019, we and our predecessors have invested approximately $2.3 billion in the upfront renovation of homes in our portfolio. We invested approximately $38,000 per home for upfront renovations completed during the year ended December 31, 2019. Further, we maintain our homes to high standards through timely maintenance services as well as through our proprietary ProCare service. ProCare is an innovative maintenance program designed to provide regular opportunities for us to inspect our assets, proactively address issues, and ensure each home continues to meet our standards. We believe that these investments benefit our communities by creating jobs, enhancing neighborhood appearance and liveability, and improving the overall quality of life for our residents and their neighbors. In addition, we believe such investments improve our relationships with local communities and HOAs and enhance our brand recognition and loyalty.

Our commitment to community includes efforts that make us more innovative and sustainable. Protecting the environment is critically important to us, and our sustainability initiatives help limit the carbon footprints and overall environmental impact of our homes. Those initiatives include: Smart Home technology that enables maintenance technicians and residents to control thermostats remotely and reduce energy consumption; routing and optimization technology designed to improve scheduling efficiencies for our maintenance technicians, which may also result in a reduced vehicle emissions footprint; standards of performance that require the use of energy-efficient lighting and appliances; and supply chain management that focuses on our vendors’ sustainability practices and procedures. We believe that we can respond to local and global environmental challenges by combining our strengths in sustainability, innovation, and partnership.

We also encourage our associates to be good neighbors in their local communities by partnering with local organizations to provide support to those in need. In addition, each year Invitation Homes associates receive 20 hours of paid time off to volunteer in their communities and help their local neighbors. Together, associates in our 16 markets used this time in 2019 to deliver food to veterans and elderly citizens, contribute and package food and school supplies, collect and deliver toys, clean

beaches, and provide other needed support in their communities. We also offer an annual “There’s No Place Like Home” scholarship contest, awarding scholarships for higher learning to residents, associates, and community members.

Shareholders

We take very seriously the responsibility that individuals and organizations have chosen to invest in our company, and we strive every day to ensure that our actions result in value for these investors. In addition, we are committed to sound corporate governance practices and adherence to the highest ethical standards. We have structured our corporate governance in a manner we believe closely aligns our interests with those of our shareholders.

Pre-IPO Transactions and Mergers

On January 31, 2017, certain Pre-IPO Transactions were effected that resulted in INVH LP holding, directly or indirectly, all of the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of the Manager and the full portfolio of homes held by the IH Holding Entities. As a result of the Pre-IPO Transactions, INVH LP became a consolidated subsidiary of INVH. A wholly owned subsidiary of INVH, Invitation Homes OP GP LLC, serves as INVH LP’s sole general partner.

The Pre-IPO Transactions have been accounted for as a reorganization of entities under common control utilizing historical cost basis in our 2017 financial statements. Consolidated financial statements during this period include the combined accounts of INVH LP and the IH Holding Entities and their wholly owned subsidiaries. The Pre-IPO Transactions also included amendments to the Invitation Homes Inc. charter which provide for the issuance of up to 9,000,000,000 shares of common stock.

On February 6, 2017, Invitation Homes Inc. changed its jurisdiction of incorporation to Maryland and completed an initial public offering of 88,550,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $20.00 per share (the “IPO”). An additional 221,826,634 shares of common stock were issued to the pre-IPO equity owners, including directors, officers, and employees, as part of the Pre-IPO Transactions.

On November 16, 2017 , we completed the Mergers with SWH. The Mergers were accounted for as a business combination in accordance with ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations, and INVH was designated as the accounting acquirer. In connection therewith, SWH stockholders received an aggregate of 207,448,958 shares of our common stock in exchange for all outstanding SWH common shares.

As of December 31, 2019, INVH owns a 99.4% partnership interest in INVH LP and has the full, exclusive, and complete responsibility for and discretion over the day to day management and control of INVH LP.

Risk Management

We face various forms of risk in our business ranging from broad economic, housing market, and interest rate risks, to more specific factors, such as credit risk related to our residents, re-leasing of properties, and competition for properties. We believe that the systems and processes developed by our board of directors and our experienced executive team allow us to monitor, manage, and ultimately mitigate these risks. For example, we seek to maximize revenue collections through our robust, standardized resident screening process (which includes credit checks, evaluations of household income, and criminal background checks), as well as by utilizing Automated Clearing House, which includes an auto-pay feature, to facilitate the collection of a majority of our rental payments. In addition, we track resident delinquency on a daily basis and assess any late fees promptly in accordance with the terms of our lease (typically between the third and fifth calendar day of the month).

Insurance

We maintain property, casualty, and corporate-level insurance coverage related to our business, including general liability, business auto, umbrella, commercial crime, directors’ and officers’ liability, fiduciary liability, cyber liability, employment practices liability, and workers’ compensation insurance. We believe the policy specifications and insured limits under our insurance program are appropriate and adequate for our business and properties given the relative risk of loss, the cost of the coverage and industry practice. However, our insurance coverage is subject to deductibles and coverage exclusions, and we are self-insured up to the amount of such deductibles and exclusions. See Part I. Item 1A. “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry — We may suffer losses that are not covered by insurance.”

Systems and Technology

Effective systems and technology are essential components of our business. We have made significant investments in our lease management, construction management, property and corporate accounting, and asset management systems. These systems have been designed to be scalable to accommodate continued growth in our portfolio of single-family homes for lease. Our website is fully integrated into our resident accounting and leasing system. From our website, which is accessible from mobile devices, prospective residents can browse homes available for lease, request additional information, and apply to lease a specific home. Through online resident portals and native mobile applications, existing residents can set up automatic payments and request maintenance service. Our system is designed to handle the accounting requirements of residential property accounting, including accounting for security deposits and paying property-level expenses. The system also interfaces with our third party resident screening vendor partner to expedite evaluations of prospective residents’ rental applications. We have worked with a search engine optimization firm to ensure we place high in search engine results and will continue to monitor our placement on search engines. In addition, sponsored key words are generally purchased in selected markets as needed.

Competition

We face competition from different sources in each of our two primary activities: acquiring properties and leasing our properties. We believe our competitors in acquiring properties for investment purposes are individual investors, small private investment partnerships looking for one-off acquisitions of investment properties that can either be leased or restored and sold, and larger investors, including private equity funds and other real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), that are seeking to capitalize on the same market opportunity that we have identified. Our primary competitors in acquiring portfolios include large and small private equity investors, public and private REITs, and other sizable private institutional investors. These same competitors may also compete with us for residents. Competition may increase the prices for properties that we would like to purchase, reduce the amount of rent we may charge for our properties, reduce the occupancy of our portfolio, and adversely impact our ability to achieve attractive total returns. However, we believe that our acquisition platform, our extensive in-market property operations infrastructure, and local expertise in our markets provide us with competitive advantages.

Seasonality

Our business and related operating results have been, and we believe that they will continue to be, impacted by seasonal factors throughout the year. In particular, we have experienced higher levels of resident move-outs during the summer months, which impacts both our rental revenues and related turnover costs. Further, our property operating costs are seasonally impacted in certain markets by increases in expenses such as HVAC repairs and landscaping expenses during the summer season.

Regulation

General

Our business operations and properties are subject to various covenants, laws, ordinances, and rules. We believe that we are in material compliance with such covenants, laws, ordinances, and rules, and we also require that our residents agree to comply with such covenants, laws, ordinances, and rules in their leases with us.

Fair Housing Act

The Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) and its state law counterparts, and the regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and various state agencies, prohibit discrimination in housing on the basis of race or color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people in the process of adopting a child or securing custody of children under the age of 18), disability or, in some states, financial capability. We train our associates on a regular basis regarding such laws and regulations and we believe that our properties are in compliance with the FHA and other such regulations.

Municipal Regulations and Homeowners’ Associations

Our properties are subject to various municipal regulations and orders, and county and city ordinances, including without limitation, use, operation and maintenance of our properties. Certain of our properties are subject to the rules of the various HOAs where such properties are located. HOA rules and regulations are commonly referred to as “covenants, conditions and restrictions,” or CC&Rs, and typically consist of various restrictions or guidelines regarding use and maintenance of the property, including, among others, noise restrictions or guidelines as to how many cars may be parked on the property.

Broker Licensure

We own internal brokerages to serve each state in which we operate, and primarily utilize in-market leasing agents who work with us to lease our homes. Our internal brokerages are subject to numerous federal, state, and local laws and regulations that govern the licensure of real estate brokers and affiliate brokers and set forth standards for, and prohibitions on, the conduct of real estate brokers. Such standards and prohibitions include, among others, those relating to fiduciary and agency duties, administration of trust funds, collection of commissions, and advertising and consumer disclosures, as well as compliance with federal, state, and local laws and programs for providing housing to low-income families. Under applicable state law, we generally have a duty to supervise and are responsible for the conduct of our internal brokerages.

Environmental Matters

As a current or prior owner of real estate, we are subject to various federal, state, and local environmental laws, regulations, and ordinances, and we could be liable to third parties as a result of environmental contamination or noncompliance at our properties, even if we no longer own such properties. We are not aware of any environmental matters that would have a material adverse effect on our financial position. See Part I. Item 1A. “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry — Contingent or unknown liabilities could adversely affect our financial condition, cash flows, and operating results.”

Laws and Regulations Regarding Privacy and Data Protection

We are subject to a variety of laws and regulations that involve matters such as privacy, data protection, content, consumer protection, and other matters. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act and the Nevada Privacy Law, which took effect in January 2020, establish certain transparency rules and create new data privacy rights for users, including more ability to control how their data is shared with third parties. See Part I. Item 1A. “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry — Our business is subject to laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection, consumer protection, and other matters.” Many of these laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and could result in claims, changes to our business practices, monetary penalties, or otherwise harm our business.”

Segment Reporting

Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise for which discrete financial information is available that is evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. Our CODM is the Chief Executive Officer.

Under the provision of ASC 280, Segment Reporting, we have determined that we have one reportable segment related to acquiring, renovating, leasing, and operating single-family homes as rental properties. The CODM evaluates operating performance and allocates resources on a total portfolio basis. The CODM utilizes NOI as the primary measure to evaluate performance of the total portfolio. The aggregation of individual homes constitutes the total portfolio. Decisions regarding acquisitions and dispositions of homes are made at the individual home level with a focus on growing accretively in high-growth locations where we have greater scale and density.

Employees

As of December 31, 2019, we had 1,140 dedicated full-time personnel, which we supplement with temporary and contract resources. None of our personnel are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

REIT Qualification

We have elected to qualify as a REIT for United States federal income tax purposes. So long as we qualify as a REIT, we generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax on net taxable income that we distribute annually to our stockholders. In order to qualify as a REIT for United States federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the real estate qualification of sources of our income, the composition and values of our assets, the amounts we distribute to our stockholders, and the diversity of ownership of our stock. In order to comply with REIT requirements, we may need to forego otherwise attractive opportunities and limit our expansion opportunities and the manner in which we conduct our operations.

History

Invitation Homes Inc., a Maryland corporation, was incorporated in Delaware on October 4, 2016, and changed its jurisdiction of incorporation to Maryland on February 6, 2017. Through certain of the IH Holding Entities, we commenced operations in 2012. Our principal executive offices are located at 1717 Main Street, Suite 2000, Dallas, Texas 75201 and our telephone number is (972) 421-3600.

Website and Availability of SEC filings

We file annual, quarterly, and current reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

We maintain an internet site at IR.InvitationHomes.com, where we make our SEC filings available as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. Our website and the information contained on or through that site are not incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We use our website IR.InvitationHomes.com as a channel of distribution of material company information. For example, financial and other material information regarding our company is routinely posted on and accessible at IR.InvitationHomes.com. Accordingly, investors should monitor the website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, and public conference calls and webcasts. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about Invitation Homes when you enroll your email address by visiting the Email Notification section at IR.InvitationHomes.com under the Investor Resources tab. The contents of our website and social media channels are not, however, a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and are not incorporated by reference herein.