Dividends paid to holders of common shares were $0.5294 per share and $0.5225 per share for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of June 30, 2020 and 2019, the operating partnership declared dividends of $2,544 and $2,405 respectively, to holders of commons shares which were paid on July 15, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
NOTE 12 – DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN
Our Board of Trustees approved a dividend reinvestment plan to provide existing holders of our common shares with a convenient method to purchase additional common shares without payment of brokerage commissions, fees or service charges. On July 20, 2012, we registered with the Securities Exchange Commission 2,000,000 common shares to be issued under the plan on Form S-3D, which automatically became effective on July 20, 2012. On July 11, 2017, we registered with the Securities Exchange Commission an additional 2,000,000 common shares to be issued under the plan on Form S-3D, which automatically became effective on July 11, 2017. On June 25, 2020 our Board of Trustees approved of an additional 2,000,000 common shares to be issued under the dividend reinvestment plan. We plan to file a Form S-3D registration statement to register the additional shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the near future.
Under this plan, eligible shareholders may elect to have all or a portion (but not less than 25%) of the cash dividends they receive automatically reinvested in our common shares. If an eligible shareholder elects to reinvest cash dividends under the plan, the shareholder may also make additional optional cash purchases of our common shares, not to exceed $10 per fiscal quarter without our prior approval. The purchase price per common share under the plan equals 95% of the estimated value per common share for dividend reinvestments and equals 100% of the estimated value per common share for additional optional cash purchases, as determined by our Board of Trustees. In addition, eligible shareholders may not in any calendar year purchase or receive via transfer more than $40 additional optional cash purchases of Common Shares.
The estimated value per common share was $19.25 and $19.00 at June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. See discussion of determination of estimated value in Note 16.
Therefore, the purchase price per common share for dividend reinvestments was $18.29 and $18.05 and for additional optional cash purchases was $19.25 and $19.00 at June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. The Board, in its sole discretion, may amend, suspend or terminate the plan at any time, without the consent of shareholders, upon a ten-day notice to participants.
In the six months ended June 30, 2020, 175,000 shares were issued pursuant to dividend reinvestments and 94,000 shares were issued pursuant to additional optional cash purchases under the plan, valued at $3,192 and $1,814 respectively. In the six months ended June 30, 2019, 168,000 shares were issued pursuant to dividend reinvestments and 91,000 shares were issued pursuant to additional optional cash purchases under the plan, valued at $3,033 and $1,724 respectively.
NOTE 13 – RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Property Management Fees
During the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, we paid property management fees and administrative fees to GOLDMARK Property Management, Inc. GOLDMARK Property Management is owned in part by Kenneth Regan, James Wieland and Joel Thomsen. For the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, we paid management fees, on-site staff costs and other miscellaneous fees required to run the property of $6,411 and $6,313, respectively, to GOLDMARK Property Management, Inc. Management fees paid during the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, approximated 5% of net collected rents. In addition, during the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, we paid repair and maintenance related payroll and payroll related expenses to GOLDMARK Property Management totaling $3,082 and $3,118, respectively.
