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DATE

Friday, May 1, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

  • Founder and Chairman — Eugene Landy
  • President and Chief Executive Officer — Samuel Landy
  • Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer — Anna Chew
  • Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer — Brett Taft
  • Vice President of Capital Markets — James Lykins
  • Executive Vice President — Daniel Andy

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TAKEAWAYS

  • Normalized FFO -- $19.4 million or $0.23 per diluted share, up 3% in dollars but flat on a per-share basis.
  • Rental and Related Income -- $59.5 million, a 9% increase attributable to same property occupancy improvements, new rental homes, higher rents, and recent acquisitions.
  • Home Sales Revenue -- $7.1 million, up 6%, including Honey Ridge joint venture contributions.
  • Same Property NOI -- Increased 7.1%, driven by rent increases of 5% and 412 more occupied units.
  • Occupancy -- Rose by 184 units to approximately 88% overall, with 166 homes converted from inventory and a 94.6% rental home occupancy rate.
  • Community Operating Expenses -- Climbed 10% mainly due to 2025 acquisitions, payroll, taxes, utilities, and severe winter-related costs.
  • Interest Expense -- Elevated mainly from refinancing at higher rates and investments in expansion sites and rental homes not yet producing income.
  • Debt Structure -- $760 million total debt at quarter end, 99% fixed rate, 4.92% average rate, and 5.9-year weighted average maturity on mortgage debt.
  • Liquidity -- $37.4 million cash and equivalents, $260 million available on unsecured revolver (up to $500 million with accordion), and $183 million available on other lines for sales and inventory financing.
  • Preferred Equity -- $325 million in perpetual preferred equity, with $1.2 billion equity market cap and $2.3 billion total market cap.
  • Guidance Update -- Tightened NFFO guidance to $0.98–$1.04 per share, midpoint $1.01, compared to prior $0.97–$1.05.
  • Expansion -- $45 million invested in 600 vacant, developed expansion sites, enabling growth with minimal further capex.
  • Sales Financing -- 63% of home sales financed, with notes receivable portfolio performing well.
  • Marketable Securities Portfolio -- $26.4 million at quarter end, 1.2% of undepreciated assets, with ongoing sales reducing exposure.
  • Home Rental Program Efficiency -- Annual turnover rate about 20%, per-unit expense around $400, and expectation to fill 800-plus new homes during the year.
  • Major Legislative Developments -- Pending regulatory changes may allow two-story manufactured homes and expanded Title I financing access.

SUMMARY

UMH Properties (UMH +0.70%) management reported stable normalized FFO per share, with growth in dollar terms balancing increased interest and operating expenses. Home sales and rental revenue each advanced, aided by higher occupancy and effective portfolio expansion. Updates to guidance signaled greater confidence in projected mid-single-digit normalized FFO per share growth for the year.

  • The capital structure was characterized by high fixed-rate debt and robust balance sheet liquidity, providing ample financial flexibility.
  • UMH Properties emphasized strong demand, particularly at expansion sites and in joint ventures, with expectations of further occupancy and sales gains as seasonal conditions improve.
  • Ongoing development and the full utilization of vacant, developed sites were cited as drivers for increased long-term earnings and potential margin benefits through economies of scale.
  • Emerging federal regulatory changes may facilitate the introduction of two-story and duplex homes, broadening the addressable market and operational efficiency.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

  • NOI (Net Operating Income): Property-level income from operations, calculated as rental and related income minus community operating expenses.
  • NFFO (Normalized Funds from Operations): Cash-based REIT earnings metric, excluding amortization and nonrecurring items.
  • Title I Program: Federal housing regulation providing financing for manufactured home purchases through FHA-insured loans.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Eugene Landy, founder and chairman, Samuel Landy, president and chief executive officer, Anna Chew, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Brett Taft, executive vice president and chief operating officer, James Lykins, vice president of capital markets, and Daniel Andy, executive vice president. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to UMH Properties, Inc.’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Samuel Landy.

Samuel Landy: Thank you, Craig, and good morning, everyone. We are pleased to report solid operational results for the quarter, which we expect to continue to grow throughout the year. Normalized FFO for the first quarter of 2026 was $0.23 per share, as compared to $0.23 per share last year. Our earnings per share were impacted by increased interest rates and increased investment in rental units and expansion lots that are not yet occupied. Additionally, we faced seasonal headwinds which impacted our sales volume and increased our community operating expenses. During the quarter, occupancy improved meaningfully, same property NOI grew by 7%, and home sales revenue was stable.

These gains were partially offset by higher interest costs associated with refinancing debt, bringing expansion lots online, adding rental homes, and the seasonal impact on home sales and operating expenses which together moderated earnings per share growth. Normalized FFO per share came in essentially in line with last year's first quarter, reflecting the strength of our core rental business offset by those financing and seasonal pressures. As we continue to fill rental homes and generate increased sales profits, our earnings should increase in the quarters to come. We have invested in rental homes, expansions, and acquisitions for which we currently incur interest expense but which will later become accretive to earnings.

The fundamentals of our business remain strong, with growing occupancy and improving community operating results. We are tightening our NFFO guidance range to $0.98 to $1.04 per share, or $1.01 per share at the midpoint, compared to our previous guidance of $0.97 to $1.05 per share. UMH Properties, Inc. continues to experience strong demand throughout our portfolio of quality manufactured housing communities. This demand is being translated into increased occupancy rates and improved community operating results. During the quarter, overall occupancy improved by 184 units to approximately 88%. This increase was the result of the conversion of 166 homes from inventory to revenue-producing rental homes and an increase in occupancy of our existing rental homes.

Additionally, sales of manufactured homes increased by 6% to $7.1 million for the quarter. This increase in sales includes the sales at Honey Ridge which is owned through our joint venture with Nuveen. We continue to execute our long-term strategy of driving organic growth across our high-quality manufactured home communities. This organic growth translates to increased property values and, over time, increased earnings. Rental and related income grew to $59.5 million for the quarter, representing a 9% increase over last year. Sales for the quarter were $7.1 million, including the sales at Honey Ridge, representing a 6% increase over the first quarter of last year. Our same property results continue to demonstrate the effectiveness of our long-term business plan.

We generally acquire underperforming communities with vacancies and in need of capital improvements. Our team and our platform have proven time and time again that we can preserve and increase the supply of affordable housing while delivering solid and sustainable operating results. In the first quarter of 2026, we delivered same property revenue growth of 7.6% or $4.1 million and same property NOI growth of 7.1% or $2.3 million. This growth in same property revenue and same property NOI was driven by site rent increases of 5% and the increase in occupancy of 412 units over last year. Our expenses elevated as a result of the bad winter as well as an increase in real estate taxes.

This increase in community NOI substantially increases the value of our communities and our portfolio. We can realize this increase in value through our refinancing efforts, which generate additional capital to invest in our platform. Our occupancy gains continue to be driven by the successful implementation of our rental home program. During the quarter, we added and rented 166 new homes across our portfolio, including those in our joint venture communities, bringing our total rental home inventory to approximately 11,200 units with a 94.6% occupancy rate. Our home rental program continues to operate efficiently with a turnover rate of approximately 20%. Our expenses per unit per year are approximately $400.

Our capitalized turnover costs vary, but we are generally able to increase rents to earn 10% on any additional investment in rental homes. We are well positioned to fill 800 or more new rental homes this year. We currently have 80 homes on-site and ready for occupancy, 400 homes being set up, and 160 homes on order. The 480 homes that are on-site have already been paid for and, once occupied, each home increases revenue and starts to earn our expected return on investment.

Our home sales business also performed well, despite the challenging winter, generating a 6% increase from $6.7 million in gross sales in the first quarter of 2025 to $7.1 million for the current quarter, including contributions from our new Honey Ridge community, our joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate. During the quarter, we financed 63% of our home sales, including sales at Honey Ridge. Our notes receivable portfolio continues to perform well. We have acquired and developed communities in strong locations which should allow us to further increase our gross sales and sales profitability in the coming quarters. On the expansion and development front, we plan to develop 300 or more sites in 2026.

Over the past four years, we have developed an average of approximately 200 sites per year. Expansions greatly increase the value of our existing communities. A larger asset generally operates with better margins as a result of economies of scale. We currently have $45 million invested in 600 vacant, well-located expansion sites that have been developed over the past few years. These sites will allow us to grow home sales revenue and community operating income. These sites have been paid for, so each site we occupy will increase revenue with limited additional investments. The interest is already being expensed. Additionally, these expansion sites are well located and have the potential to greatly increase our sales and sales profits.

As we fill our recently developed sites, our earnings can grow substantially. Expansions and development require patient capital but lead to strong returns over time. We will continue to work on expanding our existing communities in addition to exploring the highest and best uses of our vacant land. UMH Properties, Inc. is well positioned to capitalize on the progress we have made on our investments over the past few years. We have well-located communities that are experiencing strong demand, which should result in increased occupancy, revenue, and sales. Our communities in the Marcellus and Utica Shale areas continue to experience strong tailwinds as a result of the additional investment in these areas.

Additionally, we are starting to see more interest in the leasing of our oil and gas rights, which can result in additional revenue. We have built a best-in-class operating platform that continues to produce results year after year. The fundamentals of our business remain strong. There is pent-up demand for affordable housing, and our product serves that need in each market that we operate in. Our quality income stream is derived from our 24,000 families that have chosen to make UMH Properties, Inc. communities their home. This income stream has proven resilient through all economic cycles.

As we move through the stronger spring and summer selling seasons, we remain confident in our ability to deliver full year normalized FFO per share growth in the mid-single-digit range which, if coupled with our current dividend yield, can easily drive a double-digit total return for our investors. Our communities are well positioned, our balance sheet is solid, and our team continues to perform at a high level. Overall, these accomplishments demonstrate the resilience and growth potential of our business model. I will now turn the call over to Anna Chew, our CFO, to review our financial results in more detail.

Anna Chew: Thank you, Sam. Normalized FFO, which excludes amortization and nonrecurring items, was $19.4 million or $0.23 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2026 compared to $18.8 million or $0.23 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2025, resulting in a 3% increase on a dollar basis and remaining flat on a diluted per share basis. Rental and related income for the quarter was $59.5 million compared to $54.6 million a year ago, representing an increase of 9%. This increase was primarily due to acquisitions made in 2025, an increase in same property occupancy, the addition of rental homes, and an increase in rental rates. Community operating expenses increased 10% during the quarter.

This increase was mainly due to the acquisitions made in 2025 and an increase in payroll and related costs, real estate taxes, and water and sewer expenses. Our community net operating income, or NOI, which is our rental and related income less our community operating expenses, increased 8%. Our same property results continue to meet our expectations. Same property income increased by 8% for the quarter, and despite the 8% increase in community operating expenses, community NOI increased by 7% for the quarter from $32.6 million in 2025 to $34.9 million in 2026.

As we turn to our capital structure, at quarter end, we had approximately $760 million in debt, of which $554 million was community-level mortgage debt, $28 million was loans payable, $102 million was our 4.72% Series A bonds, and $76 million was our 5.85% Series B bonds. Total debt was 99% fixed rate at quarter end with a weighted average interest rate of 4.92%. The weighted average interest rate on our mortgage debt was 4.75% at quarter end, compared to 4.18% at quarter end last year. The weighted average maturity on our mortgage debt was 5.9 years at quarter end and 4.2 years at quarter end last year.

In this volatile interest rate environment, the weighted average interest rate on our short-term borrowings was 15 basis points lower at 6.35% at the current quarter end as compared to 6.5% at quarter end last year. At quarter end, we had a total of $325 million in perpetual preferred equity. Our preferred stock, combined with an equity market capitalization of over $1.2 billion and our $760 million in debt, results in a total market capitalization of approximately $2.3 billion at quarter end.

During the quarter, we issued and sold 66,000 shares of our Series D preferred stock under the 2025 preferred ATM program at a weighted average price of $22.51 per share, which generated gross and net proceeds after offering costs of $1.5 million. The company also received $2.4 million including dividends reinvested through our DRIP. During the quarter, we did not sell any shares of our common stock under the September 2024 common ATM program. From a credit standpoint, we ended the quarter with net debt to total market capitalization of 31.2%, net debt less securities to total market capitalization of 30.1%, net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 5.5 times, and net debt less securities to adjusted EBITDA of 5.3 times.

Interest coverage was 3.1 times and fixed charge coverage was 2.1 times. From a liquidity standpoint, we ended the quarter with $37.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and $260 million available on our unsecured revolving credit facility, with a potential total availability of up to $500 million pursuant to an accordion feature. Our unsecured revolving credit facility expires in November, and we are currently working on a renewal of this facility. We also had $183 million available on our other lines of credit for the financing of home sales and the purchase of inventory and rental homes. Additionally, we had $26.4 million in our securities portfolio, all of which is unencumbered.

This portfolio represents only approximately 1.2% of our undepreciated assets. We are committed to not increasing our investments in our REIT securities portfolio and have, in fact, continued to sell certain positions. We are tightening our NFFO guidance range to $0.98 to $1.04 per share, or $1.01 per share at the midpoint, compared to our previous guidance of $0.97 to $1.05 per share. We are well positioned to continue to grow the company internally and externally. And now let me turn it over to Gene before we open it up for questions.

Eugene Landy: Thank you, Adam. UMH Properties, Inc. continues on our mission to provide the nation with high-quality affordable housing and doing so while generating strong and growing returns for our shareholders. We have made immense progress over the years building a great portfolio of manufactured housing communities that our existing tenants and our new tenants are proud to call home. We improve our communities by upgrading the collective communities through infrastructure projects, the addition of amenities, security best practices, and further through the expansion of our communities. We are proud to say that each asset we own is in better condition today than the day we bought it.

Over the company's history, we have experienced several economic cycles across our portfolio, and the manufactured housing industry has performed well throughout all of them. Our communities have strong demand in times of economic prosperity and in times of recession. While interest rates have fluctuated over the past few years, our communities still experience strong demand, have experienced growing occupancy, and sales and collections have remained strong. Our earnings have been impacted by rising interest rates; completion of expansions and adding to the rental inventory triggers added interest expense and seasonal fluctuations in sales and operating expenses. We believe that we are poised for meaningful earnings growth this year, and as such, we have tightened our guidance.

Housing is a bipartisan issue with bipartisan support. There is pending legislation that will strengthen the manufactured housing industry. The pending legislation has the potential to improve the availability of financing for our tenants through changes to the Title I program as well as remove the requirement that a manufactured home has to be on a permanent chassis. We have already made substantial progress through the innovation of single and multi-section duplex homes. Additionally, we are hopeful that as we develop more communities, local municipalities will see the benefits of manufactured housing and ease burdensome regulatory requirements that have made getting entitlements nearly impossible. Your major in the manufactured housing industry are in an exciting time with many possibilities.

We have positioned the company to benefit from these changes and anticipate substantial growth of the company and our earnings in the near future. Thank you again for joining us today. Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your touchtone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. Please press star and then two to withdraw your question. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble the roster. The first question will come from Gaurav Mehta with Alliance Global Partners. Please go ahead.

Gaurav Mehta: Thank you. Good morning. I wanted to ask you on your same property NOI and some of the comments around the impact of winters on the same property expenses. So, on a normalized basis, do you still expect to deliver same store NOI in high-single-digit and low-double-digit range as you mentioned on the last earnings call?

Brett Taft: Yeah. Sure. Brett here. As you mentioned, it was a tough winter. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, New York, even Tennessee had deep freezes and extended periods of below-freezing temperatures, which obviously impacts our water and sewer. It impacts our maintenance overtime dealing with freeze-ups. We had a lot of snow and a lot of snow removal-related charges. So, overall, community operating expenses were up 8.2%. I do want to point out that last year our community operating expenses in the first quarter were also elevated, about the 7.5% range. So this year was a little bit higher, but largely in line.

We are very happy with the occupancy growth and the revenue growth we were able to produce in the first quarter. And as we go throughout the rest of the year, we expect that expense growth to moderate. We have always pointed out that we expect expenses to grow in the 5% to 7% range. Nothing changes there, and we are absolutely confident in our ability to deliver high-single-digit same property NOI growth.

Samuel Landy: One of the things we think about, like, why is somebody short 3 million shares of UMH Properties, Inc.? And I do not know what they see or think they see that we see differently. Our 3,240 vacant sites represent incredible opportunity to increase sales and rental revenue, and that will come to the bottom line. And, to me, it is reasonable to believe, someday in the near future, we will sell 320 homes in a year at a $150,000 average price and gross $48 million in sales. So we remain incredibly optimistic, but, obviously, somebody else is pessimistic.

Gaurav Mehta: Thanks for those details. As a follow-up, I want to ask you on the home sales. In the earnings press release, I think you talked about expectation of sales growth as we go into peak selling season. Just wondering if you could comment on the trends that you saw in April for home sales.

Brett Taft: Yeah. The trends in the portfolio look very good. Including Honey Ridge for the first quarter, sales were up year over year. Again, we are absolutely impacted by the cold winter and everybody's ability to move. Our April sales were very strong. They are coming in at about $3.5 million, so we are very happy with that. Our pipeline remains in good shape. We have got a lot of inventory that is now ready for sale or just about ready for sale at a lot of the expansions that we have recently opened.

And as Sam mentioned at the call, we have got several hundred expansion sites built over the past few years that should all generate increased sales in the second and third quarter. I do also want to point out that our New Jersey communities and some of our Eastern Pennsylvania communities were impacted by the winter, but we are expecting and we are seeing a very strong sales pipeline at those locations. Sales in the second quarter of last year were about $10.5 million. We are on track through April. Obviously, there is a long way to go, but we remain confident in our ability to grow sales in the second quarter and year over year.

Operator: The next question will come from Craig Kucera with Lucid. Please go ahead.

Craig Kucera: Good morning. There is a pretty significant swing in your marketable securities portfolio. Not much of an impact on a net basis, but can you give us some color on what was going on there?

Anna Chew: Yes. Hi, Craig. It is Sarah. We had written off one security, and if you think about it, it was already written down in our unrealized gain and loss line. So we just physically wrote it down. We moved it from the unrealized to the realized. So that is all it was.

Craig Kucera: Okay. That is helpful. Changing gears, are there any critical materials sourced from the Middle East that are a component for manufactured housing development? Or maybe aluminum or plastics, or are most of those materials sourced elsewhere?

Samuel Landy: At this moment, I have heard about supply has, you know, remained no issues and no material increases. What do you think, Brett?

Brett Taft: Yeah. Same point here. The main thing that I follow there is the backlog we are seeing from our manufacturers. While they have increased a little bit, I think generally we are still able to get homes in that six- to eight-week range, with limited price increases. I mean, there are some price increases, but overall, it is a pretty stable home ordering environment. We are comfortable with where we are. And if anything changes, we will get back to you. And we believe in the long-term efficiencies of factory-built houses, that the factory-built homes will, in comparison to all other forms of housing, reduce the cost per house based on efficiencies of manufacturing.

Craig Kucera: Got it. And just one more for me. I mean, it was a quiet quarter from a capital raising perspective. You worked down your cash balance. Last year, you funded yourself primarily with debt. How are you thinking about funding the 2026 budget? I mean, is that mostly line of credit? I know you have got about $38 million in mortgages that are maturing, but just curious to get your thoughts on that.

Anna Chew: Well, it all depends on our capital needs. As we always say, we always need about $120 million to $150 million on an annual basis to do our business plan. We do plan on refinancing about $38 million in mortgages. When we refinanced last year, we were able to take out $100 million in additional capital. Now that will not happen again this year because, again, there are fewer mortgages that are coming due. However, we do have approximately 60 communities that are free and clear. We have on hand about $40 million. We have an unsecured line of credit of $260 million, which with an accordion feature will go to $500 million. We have a rental home line.

We have a notes receivable line. So, all in all, we believe that we will be able to obtain the capital necessary. And again, it all depends on our share price. It all depends on the market. What the interest rates will be when we need that capital.

Eugene Landy: We have to understand that UMH Properties, Inc. is a unique company. We have a mission statement we really believe in. The nation needs housing. There is a shortage. The government's recent figures were 10 million units. We used to figure they need 6 million units. So 4 million units, whatever the number we have to reach to beat that shortage, we are not doing it. There will be fewer homes built in 2026 than there were in 2025. But that is not the case with UMH Properties, Inc. Our mission statement is to provide housing. We believe we have a definite advantage in the housing we have. We build houses in factories and ship them to communities.

We have to create the communities. We have to have the capital to do it. And we are using every means we can to expand the company, and we plan— we have units that we want to build in Tennessee, in Florida, in New York. So we are constantly seeking ways to profitably grow this company. And it is important to the company because, in the long run, investing in housing is a good investment. And it is something the nation needs. Okay. Thank you.

Operator: The next question will come from John Massocca with B. Riley. Please go ahead.

John Massocca: Starting on the regulatory front, how does the removal of the chassis requirement rules impact UMH Properties, Inc., if at all?

Samuel Landy: It is not complete yet, but as we have gone to duplex homes, there never used to be such a thing as a one-bedroom manufactured home. In apartments, you did one-bedroom, studio, two-bedroom, three-bedroom, four-bedroom. Manufactured housing was two-, three-, and four-bedroom. Now the duplexes give us one-bedrooms, which there is substantial demand for, and allows us to obtain two rents from one lot, which can increase revenue. The removal of the chassis will allow two-story homes. And those two-story homes will allow bigger families to occupy the same size lot, the 5,000 square foot lot. And there is additional potential that those two-story homes could be duplexed. So two-story is a really big deal.

Manufactured home communities are built for HUD code houses, and the municipality has to allow whatever the HUD code allows. So this will allow two-story homes in the communities and can be a really big deal depending on location.

Eugene Landy: You build 2,000 square feet of homes instead of 1,000 square feet on the same piece of land. It is a very, very important development. When you buy a community that is older, it gives us a means of taking out these older homes and putting in twice as much space, so the space is more valuable. This is a change that is going to help every manufactured home community in the country. And it is going to help the residents because we can provide new and improved housing in the spaces where we had older and obsolete housing and put a better product in. So it is really a major change for the industry.

And I would really like to thank you for that question.

John Massocca: Does it impact the cost if somebody is not on the ground? Does it impact the cost of installation of new homes and the pace at which you can add new homes to existing communities, or is the removal of the chassis not really changing that per se?

Samuel Landy: Removing the chassis allows the house to be at ground level, which is very appealing to 55 and older who do not like walking up steps. So that helps there. Removing the chassis reduces the cost of each unit by $3,000 or more, but then there are increased setup costs which will be worked out over time. Efficiencies will develop in setting up the houses. We have always found setting up 10 homes as opposed to one home at a time, you can save money because you have all the crews ready to do everything, and you can reduce the cost per house. So I assume it will be the same thing when you get rid of the chassis.

In the beginning, there will be inefficiencies. There will be added cost of setting up homes without chassis, but eventually that will get worked out.

John Massocca: And then is there anything else you are seeing on the regulatory front that could change here near term, especially in terms of maybe financing for manufactured homes?

Samuel Landy: Exactly. We have more than $100 million in loans outstanding. We have more than 11,000 rental homes. Many developments are occurring that could make it more favorable for people already renting homes or others to purchase our rental units or purchase additional houses, or for outside finance sources such as Fannie, Freddie. And then, you know, I am learning about in Pennsylvania there are government programs. People may want to do these loans, and if they do the loans, homes we already sold where we have the loan, somebody could refinance and pay us off. That would be cash to us.

We could be selling the rentals under a Title I program or other programs, which would be cash to us. So everything you read about in The Wall Street Journal pertaining to improving credit scores, finding other ways to determine people's credit, that will increase loan approvals. That is beneficial to us. Title I is beneficial. It is 3% down. They are going to increase the loan limits. Fannie and Freddie are trying to do more on the affordable housing front. So all of these things factor in to help increase our sales, sell off existing loans, and sell rental homes.

John Massocca: Maybe switching gears a little bit. As I think about some of your assets in the Southeast, they tend to be a little bit more value-add purchases, especially with some of those not being in the same store pool. How are you thinking about the pace or the potential pace of lease-up at those assets as we come into peak leasing/selling season?

Unknown Speaker: Yeah. So for the OZ fund properties, one in Georgia and one in South Carolina. Both of them have really great demand. The one in Georgia right now, the leasing pace has been around four or five homes a month, so I think we will keep doing that. The one in South Carolina, we have an incredible waiting list. Every home we have set up there is full. Right now, there is a north section that we are trying to get expansions and approvals for. It looks like we will be getting that.

So we will have info there, and we are going to come out with a video showcasing what we are doing in the current OZ fund and in the South, and it will really give you investors a really great view of the positive impact we have made there, the housing supply we have increased, and the level of demand in the Southeast. South Carolina, I think, is the fastest-growing state in the US, and we have done a really good job filling everything we can fill right now, and we are going to keep expanding there.

John Massocca: That is it for me. Thank you very much.

Operator: The next question will come from Richard Anderson with Cantor Fitzgerald. Please go ahead.

Analyst: This is Jeffrey Carr on for Rich. Just wanted to ask about same property occupancy. It looks like it ticked up about 110 bps from last year to 89%. In your view, what is the kind of realistic ceiling or target that you might have for occupancy across the portfolio? And are there any markets that you feel like have the most room to run from this point?

Brett Taft: Great question, first of all, and we are very happy with what we have been able to accomplish. I think, but I am not positive, this is a peak of same property NOI as long as I have been here. So it is nice to get there, and it is really a function of going out, purchasing properties, we know what the problem was when we purchased them, we made the improvements to the communities, we make them nicer and safer places to live, and then we start to implement the rental home program. Just to add some color there, we currently have 430 homes on-site. Some of them are ready for occupancy.

Some of them we are working on getting ready for occupancy. That is all low-hanging fruit that should allow us to continue to grow occupancy into the second and third quarters. I do not see any reason why in the near term, call it the end of the year, we cannot get above 90%. I think that is a very realistic goal. You have always got some move-outs and some home removals that go along with some of these homes, so it does offset the occupancy growth a little bit, but by and large, we have done the majority of that work, and I do expect a lot of occupancy upside here going forward.

As far as regions that are doing very well, Ohio has really led the company over the past few years in occupancy growth, and the good news is we still have quite a few vacant sites at some of our communities that are the best performers. We expect that to continue. Pennsylvania actually had a pretty slow first quarter, but I think that was largely impacted by the winter. And when we are out there working with our community managers and our regional managers, we are expecting a nice uptick in occupancy there. Indiana has always been solid, and we have got some nice expansion sites that we are filling at a pretty rapid clip.

And then I just cannot leave Tennessee out because Tennessee, albeit a smaller portion of the portfolio, always has very strong demand and always fills quite a few sites. The issue in Tennessee is we ran out of sites, but the good news is we have been developing expansion sites. We have got about 50 sites left at our Holiday Village expansion. We are about to complete the next phase of our Duck River expansion, which in the short term will give us 40 new lots to fill. And then we just built 55 units at River Bluff, which is adjoining Allentown. On top of that, we have another 100 units that were just completed at Memphis Blues.

So really, throughout the portfolio, demand is strong. I would just add that New York really does have a very seasonal impact of the weather up there. Our occupancy in New York right now has rebounded, and we are in very good shape up there. So, you know, I hate to say we are doing well everywhere—actually, I love to say we are doing well everywhere—but, really, across the board, we are seeing strong demand, and we are filling a lot of units.

Eugene Landy: Just to give an example, when the mayor of Memphis has said that they need 10,000 affordable homes, and the only people building that there right now are UMH Properties, Inc., and we are expanding there rapidly. And we have a lot of extra land. We plan to buy some more land. I do not know when the third section is—we are going to the fourth section. Memphis is a sleeper. We did very well picking Nashville. Now I think Memphis is going to be an excellent area to develop affordable housing.

Analyst: Great. Thank you. And just as a follow-up, can you walk us through the puts and takes on interest expense for the rest of the year? Just wondering if Q1 is the peak or if we should expect this level to persist throughout 2026.

Anna Chew: I believe that it is pretty much the same that we will expect throughout the year. I do not believe that we will have any big increases in interest or big decreases at this point.

Eugene Landy: Important to note, if I remember the numbers right, which I think I do, $600,000 of the increased interest expense is from refinancing at a higher rate. The rest of the interest expense is from adding rental units and building lots, which cannot possibly earn money until they are occupied, and they are now at this moment becoming occupied, and will become occupied throughout the year. So, to me, you have the maximum interest expense without revenue that you will have during the year.

Brett Taft: Yeah. That is generally correct. I just want to point out that last year we had about $117 million in debt that was refinanced. It was at 4% at the time that it was being paid off. That increased to about 5.65% on average, which increased the interest cost on that batch by just over $2 million, if I remember correctly. On top of that, we did increase the mortgage debt, so that was another $4 million in interest, and then we did the Israeli bond. So that is why interest is elevated.

Anna Chew: But we do not believe that there will be any large fluctuations throughout the rest of the year.

Analyst: Okay. That is all for me. Thank you.

Operator: This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Samuel Landy for any closing remarks.

Samuel Landy: Thank you, operator. I would like to thank the participants on the call for their continued support and interest in our company. As always, Eugene, Anna, Brett, and I are available for any follow-up questions. We look forward to reporting back to you in early August on our second quarter 2026 results. Thank you.

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