Real Estate Investment Trusts

A Real Estate Investment Trust or REIT (rhymes with "feet") is a specialized form of investment company in the United States and Canada that effectively allows its (usually public) investors to share the ownership of a group of real estate properties. When organized as a public company, ownership shares in REITs trade on public stock market exchanges like shares of common stock in other firms. REITs generally pay no federal income tax but are subject to a number of special requirements set forth in the Internal Revenue Code, one of which is the requirement to annually distribute at least 90% of its taxable income in the form of dividends to its shareholders. In practice, many REITs distribute substantially all of their current earnings and more, often resulting in dividend yields comparable to bond yields. (If an investment company such as a REIT distributes more than it actually earns in a year, the excess distribution is considered "return of capital" and is treated differently for tax purposes.) The distribution requirement may hamper a REIT's ability to retain earnings and generate growth from internal resources.  (see Legal Kits)

This and other restrictions imposed by the Code generally limit a REIT's suitability for growth-oriented investors, but investors would be well-advised to fully consider a REIT's upside (or downside) potential for changes in its stock price, which can be very sensitive to environmental factors (e.g. changes in prevailing interest rates).

REIT Best Sellers from Amazon.com

FORTY YEARS A SPECULATOR
by FRED CARACH
Amazon Price: $18.48
Customer Review: For grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, I would give "Forty Years" a 3-star review. It became more clear as I continued reading that the manuscript skipped a stage or two in the editing process.

But who cares about that? Really...

Investing in REITs: Real Estate Investment Trusts: Third Edition
by Ralph L Block
Amazon Price: $18.45
Customer Review: After doing lots of reading from investing books, I wanted to learn more about the REIT asset class of investments. This book had some good information, but the main information I was looking for was how taxes are reported and why they are fairly co...

Real Estate Investment Trusts: Structure, Performance, and Investment Opportu...
by Su Han Chan, John Erickson, Ko Wang
Amazon Price: $26.40
Customer Review: This book provides a whole lot of data and facts and commented on them in a very objective manner. The analysis about various aspects of REIT investment is thorough and cautious. Highly recommended and hope to see an updated version addressing the is...

Smart Trust Deed Investment in California
by George Coats
Amazon Price:
Customer Review: If you are into trust deed investment or brokering this is THE BOOK to have. Beg, borrow or steal a copy. Do anything you have to, but get this book!

Wealth Protection Secrets of a Millionaire Real Estate Investor
by William Bronchick
Amazon Price: $18.95
Customer Review: This book tries to cover land trust, C, S, SP, GP, LP, LLC, estate planning, asset protection, and more in 100 pages. Go figure.
I find it touches on all the subjects, but none of the subjects was covered thorough enough. None of the entities ...


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