Notes payable consist of the following:

Unsecured Senior Notes

In March 1998, Gables issued $100,000 of senior unsecured notes which bear interest at 6.80%, were priced to yield 6.84%, and mature in March 2005. In October 1998, Gables issued (1)$50,000 of senior unsecured notes which bear interest at 6.55%, were priced to yield 6.59%, and mature in October 2000 and (2) $15,000 of senior unsecured notes which bear interest at 6.60%, were priced at par, and mature in October 2001.

Tax-Exempt Variable-Rate Notes Payable Totaling $44,930

At December 31, 1999 and 1998, the variable-rate mortgage notes payable securing tax-exempt bonds totaling $44,930 were comprised of four loans, each of which is collateralized by an apartment community included in real estate assets. These bonds bear interest at variable rates of interest, adjusted weekly based upon a negotiated rate. The interest rates in effect at December 31, 1999 and 1998 were 5.5% and 4.1%, respectively. Tax-exempt variable rates are, and historically have been, significantly higher at year-end than during the year. The effective interest rates were 3.3%, 3.5% and 3.7% for the years ended December 31, 1999, 1998 and 1997, respectively. The bonds are currently enhanced by four letters of credit provided by a letter of credit facility entered into in October 1997. The fee for the letters of credit under this facility is
0.95% per annum. The letter of credit facility has an initial term of five years with unlimited one-year extension options. Gables has exercised the first of its one-year extension options resulting in a maturity date for the facility of October 2003. Three of the underlying bond issues mature in December 2007 and the fourth matures in August 2024.

Tax-Exempt Variable-Rate Notes Payable Totaling $105,140

On April 1, 1998, Gables assumed five bond issues totaling $105,140 in connection with the South Florida acquisition. At December 31, 1999 and 1998, the interest rates on these bonds ranged from 4.75% to 5.70% (weighted average of
5.31%) and 3.45% to 4.05% (weighted average of 3.81%), respectively. Tax-exempt variable rates are, and historically have been, significantly higher at year-end than during the year. Effective interest rates averaged 3.3% for the year ended December 31, 1999 and 3.6% for the period April 1, 1998 to December 31, 1998. These five bond issues are enhanced by letters of credit provided by a letter of credit facility entered into on April 1, 1998 (the “South Florida Enhancement Facility”). The fee for the letters of credit is 1.0% per annum. The South Florida Enhancement Facility has an initial term of 10 years with three five-year extension options and is collateralized by (1) each apartment community induced for tax-exempt financing for which a letter of credit is issued and outstanding and (2) two additional communities. The maturity dates of the underlying bond issues range from August 2006 to September 2008.

Secured Conventional Fixed-Rate Notes Payable

At December 31, 1999 and 1998, the fixed-rate notes payable were comprised of nine loans collateralized by eleven apartment communities included in real estate assets. The interest rates on these notes payable range from 6.75% to 8.77% (weighted average of 7.80%) and the maturity dates range from December 2000 to December 2015. Principal amortization payments are required based on amortization schedules ranging from 25 to 30 years.

In January 2000, Gables prepaid one of the fixed-rate notes payable scheduled to mature in December 2000 which had a balance of $3,583 at December 31, 1999 and bore interest at a rate of 8.16%.