Company: HOUS
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001398987-25-000020
Chunk: 177

Company: Anywhere Real Estate Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 177
---
 are complex and rapidly evolving, and we face an evolving regulatory landscape. These initiatives may result in new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation, ethical concerns, industry self-regulation standards or other complications, including those associated with potential defects in the design and development of the technologies used to automate processes; misapplication of technologies; the reliance on data, rules or assumptions that may prove inadequate; information security vulnerabilities; and failure to meet customer expectations, among others. Moreover, AI may give rise to litigation risk, including potential bias, intellectual property or privacy liability. Similar risks arise in connection with the use of AI by our third-party vendors or partners. Any of these factors may cause us to experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm, legal liability, new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, and to incur additional costs to resolve such issues.

We may not realize the expected benefits from our existing or future joint ventures or strategic partnerships.

We have entered into several important strategic joint ventures with third party partners. In some of these joint ventures, such as Guaranteed Rate Affinity and our Title Insurance Underwriter Joint Venture, we hold a minority stake and, while we have certain governance rights, we do not have a controlling financial or operating interest. 

There are inherent risks to joint ventures, including execution risks that could arise if our strategic priorities do not align with those of our partners. There can be no assurance that such ventures (or products offered by such ventures) will be 

34

successful or will operate as intended. Our current or future joint venture partners may make decisions which may harm the joint venture or are contrary to our best interests, including by pursuing opportunities outside of the joint venture. Our joint ventures generally are not exclusive and our joint venture partners could expand existing relationships with competitors or pursue relationships with other competitors to our detriment.

Additionally, even when we hold a minority interest in a joint venture, improper actions by the joint venture or our joint venture partners may also lead to direct claims against us based on theories of vicarious liability, negligence, joint operations and joint employer liability, which, if determined adversely, could increase costs, negatively impact our reputation and subject us to liability for their actions. 

Each of our existing joint ventures faces risks specific to their business as well, including regulatory changes, consumer trends and preferences and other market conditions. For example, our mortgage origination joint venture has been materially adversely affected by high mortgage interest rates, high levels of competition, decreases in operating margins and lower gain-on-sale margins. 

In addition, our joint ventures or