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
Need to understand what is a real estate contingency? In general, a contingency is a condition for something to happen, so the real estate contingency definition relates to provisions ...
Ownership interest in property that is above the minimum needed to meet uncertainties or a downward trend in real estate market. ...
Refinancing seems easy to understand but is it really? Here’s a lengthy refinancing definition so you can make up your mind once and for all regarding the exquisiteness of the ...
Some real estate sales require court confirmation of purchase to protect heirs and debtors from financial wrongs. These sellers have to sell their property due to unique circumstances. They ...
Waste matter carried off through a series of conduits to a waste disposal facility. ...
Indicators reflecting future changes in economic conditions; referred to as the Composite Index of 11 Leading Indicators. This index indicates the direction of the economy in the next six ...
When you hear a real estate agent talking about a client that's an empty nester, it means said client suffers from empty nest syndrome. But what is Empty nest syndrome? Empty nest ...
Highest amount a property is worth equal to the amount that would have to be paid to buy equivalent property in the market place. ...
An equity-to-value ratio is an excellent tool for those homebuyers that want to understand how profitable an investment is based on the amount of money invested and the actual value of the ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.