Good day, and welcome to the BRT Apartments Corp’s Second Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call for the. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the floor call over to Stephen Swett at ICR. Thank you. You may begin.

Thank you for joining us today for BRT Apartments Corp’s second quarter 2021 earnings conference call. On the call today is Jeffrey Gould, President and Chief Executive Officer. Also available are George Zweier, Chief Financial Officer; and Senior Vice Presidents, David Kalish, and Ryan Baltimore. I would like to remind everyone that this conference call contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on management's current expectations, assumptions, and beliefs. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as believe, expect, estimate, anticipate, intend, and similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding BRT's strategy and expectations for the future. They are not guarantees of future results, and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Listeners should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, and are encouraged to review the company's SEC filings, including its Form 10-K and Form 10-Q for a more complete discussion of risks and other factors that could affect these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, BRT does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. This conference call also includes a discussion of funds from operations, or FFO; adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO; net operating income or NOI; and information regarding our pro rata share of revenues, expenses, NOI, assets and liabilities, of BRT's unconsolidated subsidiaries, all of which are non-GAAP financial measures of performance. These non-GAAP measures should be used as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, net income computed in accordance with GAAP. Unless otherwise indicated, or the context otherwise requires, discussions with respect to operating…

Thank you, and welcome to the call. With the first half of the year completed, we are pleased with our performance thus far in 2021, as our portfolio continued to generate increases in occupancy and rental rates across many of our markets, and we plan to continue our strategic initiatives to invest, grow efficiently, recycle capital, and reduce debt to enhance our financial flexibility. Let me begin with our results for the second quarter of 2021. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $6 million or $0.34 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $4.2 million or $0.25 per diluted share in the same quarter 2020. FFO grew over 20% on a per-diluted share basis. FFO was $5 million or $0.29 per diluted share compared to $4.2 million or $0.24 per diluted share in the same quarter last year. AFFO grew approximately 15% on a per-diluted share basis. AFFO was $5.5 million or $0.31 per diluted share, compared to $4.7 million or $0.27 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2020. The growth in FFO and AFFO, was primarily due to a portfolio NOI increases of 4.9% year-over-year. Turning into our portfolio, at June 30th, 2021, we owned seven multi-family communities, containing approximately 1,600 units. We also owned interest through unconsolidated entities in another 30 communities containing approximately 8,950 units. In the second quarter, total revenues, including our pro rata share of unconsolidated entities, increased to $28 million, up 5.3% compared to $26.6 million in the 2020 quarter. Portfolio NOI increased to $15 million, up 4.9% compared to $14.3 million for the 2020 quarter. Average occupancy was 95.2% for the quarter ended June 30th, 2021, up 210 basis points compared to the 2020 quarter. Average rents in the second quarter of 2021, were $1,129 per month, up…

Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from line of Aaron Hecht with JMP Securities. Please proceed with your question. Aaron Hecht, your line is now live. Please proceed with your question.

Hey, guys, how are you doing? Sorry, I was on mute. Quick one for you, Jeff, on the potential buyout of joint venture partners. What do you think the depth of that opportunity looks like, timeframe and differential in pricing, on buying out those partners versus open market transactions?

Yes. Hi, Aaron. So, yes, we think there is some depth to it. We're working on a number of different possibilities. Timing wise, difficult to say. Every partner is slightly different with their approach, but it's obviously the buyout opportunities, knowing that we have some experience with the properties. We save acquisition costs. It's slightly better yields for sure than market pricing. It's a great opportunity for us. So, we're pushing hard to make some of those opportunities a reality.

Yes. And then just on general market conditions, has this Delta variant had any impact on leasing velocity or foot traffic? Are you seeing upticks in activity just on general economic trends? Got any insights around what you're seeing more recently?

Yes. Frankly, we've seen no negative effects. The last few months have been actually pretty amazingly positive, with increasing occupancy and rental trends, renewal trends. It's been very, very positive. So, we've not seen anything to date. It's been surprisingly good. Obviously, we'll have to see what happens in the future, but the last few months have been excellent.

Got you. And then capital structure-wise, little ATM usage is quarter. Do you expect that to continue? Any thoughts around capital structure and growth initiatives?

Yes. So the ATM is available to us if and when we want it. The reality is, we watch it carefully and decide on a daily basis. We’d like to grow, but grow smart, as we've said before. So in that, that includes us buying new property potentially with partners, or gearing up to buy direct with brokers, and start to buy more of on a direct basis, continue this partner buyout scenario, do some more value-add. So, yes, our hope is to grow and grow smart. And if we need equity, that's a potential use and a potential way to come about it. So, we watch it regularly and it may be used, I would say. We'll have to see.

Great. Thanks for the thoughts. Nice quarter.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of the question-and-answer session, and I would like to turn the call back to management for closing remarks.

Yes. I just want to thank everybody for your time today, and we look forward to continue to push forward and do well for the company and for our shareholders. So, thank you all for your time.

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you all for your participation.