management, and loan management and servicing, and within one or more such categories, providing services in respect of asset or investment administration, accounting, technology, tax preparation, finance (including but not limited to budget preparation and preparation and maintenance of corporate models), treasury, operational coordination, risk management, insurance placement, human resources, legal and compliance, valuation and reporting-related services, as well as services related to mortgage servicing, group purchasing, healthcare, consulting/brokerage, capital markets/credit origination, property, title or other types of insurance, management consulting and other similar operational matters. Any fees paid to the Advisor’s affiliates for any such services will not reduce the management fee. Any such arrangements will be at market rates.
We have engaged and expect to continue to engage Highmark Residential (formerly Milestone Management), a portfolio company owned by an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, to provideday-to-day operational and management services (including leasing, construction management, revenue management, accounting, legal and contract management, expense management, and capital expenditure projects and transaction support services) for a portion of the Company’s multifamily properties. The cost for such services is a percentage of the gross receipts and project costs respectively (which will be reviewed periodically and adjusted if appropriate), plus actual costs allocated for transaction support services.
Fees and Expenses for Other Services
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, there were no fees paid to affiliates of the Advisor for other services.
Indemnification Agreements with Directors and Officers
We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and officers. We refer to such indemnification agreements as “Indemnification Agreements” and our directors and officers party thereto as “Indemnitees.” The Indemnification Agreements provide that we will, subject to certain limitations and exceptions, indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted under Maryland law, and advance expenses to, each Indemnitee, in connection with (among other things) the Indemnitee’s capacity as a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company. This obligation includes, subject to certain terms and conditions, indemnification for any expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines, penalties and settlement amounts actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with any threatened or pending action, suit or proceeding. In certain instances, we may be required to advance such expenses, in which case the Indemnitee will be obligated to reimburse us for the amounts advanced if it is later determined that the Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification for such expenses.
Related Party Transaction Policies
In order to reduce or eliminate certain potential conflicts of interest, our charter and the Advisory Agreement contain restrictions and conflict resolution procedures relating to transactions we enter into with our Sponsor, the Advisor, our directors or their respective affiliates. The types of transactions covered thereby include the compensation paid to our Advisor, decisions to renew our Advisory Agreement, acquisitions or leases of assets, mortgages and other types of loans and any other transaction in which our Sponsor, our Advisor or any of our directors have an interest, reimbursement of operating expenses in excess of the 2%/25% Guidelines, issuances of options and warrants and repurchases of shares. Under the restrictions, these transactions, if permitted, must be approved by a majority of our directors, including a majority of our independent directors, not otherwise interested in such transaction. In determining whether to approve or authorize a particular related party transaction, these persons will consider whether the transaction between us and the related party is fair and reasonable to us and has terms and conditions no less favorable to us than those available from unaffiliated third parties.
We have also adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to each of our officers and directors, which we refer to as “covered persons.” The Code of Ethics sets forth certain conflicts of interest policies that limit and govern certain matters among us, the covered persons, our Sponsor, the Advisor and their respective affiliates.
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