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
Number of range grassland acres needed to support one animal unit for a specified period of time or grazing season. ...
Commercial building having several different uses blending together. For example, retail shops are on the first floor, professional offices are on floors two through ten, and a restaurant ...
The term assessed value is used to define the dollar value of a property for the applicable taxes. The evaluator, a tax assessor, determines the property’s assessed value for tax ...
Equals the tax divided by taxable income. Foe example, if the tax is $30,000 on taxable income of $120,000 the effective tax rate if the business is 25% ($30,000/$120,000) ...
Market condition in which sellers exceed buyers, thereby causing prices to fall. In real estate, declining markets may result from unfavorable business conditions and high interest rates. ...
Unequal treatment and denial of opportunity to individuals based on race, color, creed, nationality, age, or sex. The Civil Rights Acts passed by the U.S. Congress included those of 1866, ...
First right of a party, usually a creditor, to hold, keep possession of, or control the property of another to pay a debt, duty, or obligation. ...
Claim on property by an unpaid workman or contractor. The property may be sold to recover the money owed. The legal justification of the mechanic's lien is that the labor and materials ...
You can frequently encounter “circa” in everyday discourse, referring to an approximation as an approximate date. Variations of circa are: about, near, and roughly. The ...
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