Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
Type of investment company that invests money in mortgages and various types of investment in real estate, in order to earn profits for shareholders. Shareholders receive income from the rents received from the properties and receive capital gains as properties are sold at a profit. REITs have been formed by a number of large financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies. The stocks of many of them are traded on security exchanges, thereby providing investors with a marketable interest in real estate investment portfolio. By law, REITs have to distribute 95 percent of their income to shareholders, and in turn they are exempt from corporate taxes on income or gains. In exchange for this special tax treatment, REITs are subject to numerous qualifications and limitations including:
- Qualified asset and income tests. REITs are required to have at least 75% of their value represented by qualified real estate assets and to earn at least 75% of their income from real estate investments.
- Shareholder qualifications. Generally, REITs are not permitted to be closely held and must have a minimum of 100 shareholders.
Popular Real Estate Terms
Visible area that can be readily seen by outside traffic. This is particularly important for a commercial business. ...
Depressed, poorly kept locality that may include vacant businesses. It may be a high crime area. The people living in the area are typically poor and there may also be homeless people. ...
Legal property rights that don not include possession. Examples of incorporeal property rights are air and mineral rights, riparian rights, easement and access rights. ...
Limitation or prohibition such as on what a tenant in an apartment may not do. Local laws may also restrict certain actions such as failing to use the property for gambling purposes. ...
Legal boundary of property. ...
Same as term appraisal: Valuation assessment of real property by an expert third party for the following purposes: developing a realistic market price. setting a market value at the time ...
(1) Judges remark in a court ruling not in and of itself embodying the law. A dictum merely illustrates or amplifies the ruling. (2) Arbitrator's ruling. ...
When the return on borrowed funds exceed the after-tax interest cost. It is profitably using other people's money. ...
Any lease with a specific starting time and a specific ending time. ...
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