BREIT 2017 Annual Report

23 Our properties are, and any properties we acquire in the future will be, subject to property taxes that may increase in the future, which could adversely affect our cash flow. Our properties are, and any properties we acquire in the future will be, subject to real and personal property taxes that may increase as property tax rates change and as the properties are assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. Some of our leases may provide that the property taxes, or increases therein, are charged to the lessees as an expense related to the properties that they occupy. As the owner of the properties, however, we are ultimately responsible for payment of the taxes to the government. If property taxes increase, our tenants may be unable (or not obligated) to make the required tax payments, ultimately requiring us to pay the taxes. In addition, we are generally responsible for property taxes related to any vacant space. If we purchase residential properties, the leases for such properties typically will not allow us to pass through real estate taxes and other taxes to residents of such properties. Consequently, any tax increases may adversely affect our results of operations at such properties. Certain of our investments are in the form of ground leases, which provide limited rights to the underlying property. We hold and may in the future invest from time to time in real estate properties that are subject to ground leases. As a lessee under a ground lease, we may be exposed to the possibility of losing the property upon termination, or an earlier breach by us, of the ground lease, which may adversely impact our investment performance. Furthermore, ground leases generally provide for certain provisions that limit the ability to sell certain properties subject to the lease. In order to assign or transfer rights and obligations under certain ground leases, we will generally need to obtain consent of the landlord of such property, which, in turn, could adversely impact the price realized from any such sale. Certain properties may require permits or licenses. A license, approval or permit may be required to acquire certain investments and their direct or indirect holding companies (or registration may be required before an acquisition can be completed). There can be no guarantee of when and if such a license, approval or permit will be obtained or if the registration will be effected. Certain properties may require an expedited transaction, which may result in limited information being available about the property prior to its acquisition. Investment analyses and decisions by the Adviser may be required to be undertaken on an expedited basis to take advantage of investment opportunities. In such cases, the information available to the Adviser at the time of making an investment decision may be limited, and the Adviser may not have access to detailed information regarding the investment property, such as physical characteristics, environmental matters, zoning regulations or other local conditions affecting an investment property. Therefore, no assurance can be given that the Adviser will have knowledge of all circumstances that may adversely affect an investment, and we may make investments which we would not have made if more extensive due diligence had been undertaken. We will face risks in effecting operating improvements. In some cases, the success of an investment will depend, in part, on our ability to restructure and effect improvements in the operations of a property. The activity of identifying and implementing restructuring programs and operating improvements at property entails a high degree of uncertainty. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully identify and implement such restructuring programs and improvements. In certain cases, financings for our properties may be recourse to us. Generally, commercial real estate financings are structured as non-recourse to the borrower, which limits a lender’s recourse to the property pledged as collateral for the loan, and not the other assets of the borrower or to any parent of borrower, in the event of a loan default. However, lenders customarily will require that a creditworthy parent entity enter into so-called “recourse carveout” guarantees to protect the lender against certain bad-faith or other intentional acts of the borrower in violation of the loan documents. A “bad boy” guarantee typically provides that the lender can recover losses from the guarantors for certain bad acts, such as fraud or intentional misrepresentation, intentional waste, willful misconduct, criminal acts, misappropriation of funds, voluntary incurrence of prohibited debt and environmental losses sustained by lender. In addition, “bad boy” guarantees typically provide that the loan will be a full personal recourse obligation of the guarantor, for certain actions, such as prohibited transfers of the collateral or changes of control and voluntary bankruptcy of the borrower. It is expected that the financing arrangements with respect to our investments generally will require “bad boy” guarantees from us and/or the Operating Partnership and in the event that such a guarantee is called, our assets could be adversely affected. Moreover, our “bad boy” guarantees could apply to actions of the joint venture partners associated with our investments. While the Adviser expects to negotiate indemnities from such joint venture partners to protect against such risks, there remains the possibility that the acts of such joint venture partner could result in liability to us under such guarantees. We may provide “bad boy” guarantees on behalf of Other Blackstone Accounts investing alongside us and as such guarantees are not for borrowed money, they will typically not be included under our leverage limitations.