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
An accessory building is an outdoor structure used by the occupants of the main building or house. They have different functions and can be detached or attached to the main building on the ...
Same as term industrial park: Usually a fairly large site zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development and located outside the main residential area of a city. Industrial ...
The term agricultural property means a type of land that has been designed or is permitted to engage in agricultural activities. Also referred to as agricultural land, agricultural ...
A real estate owner's policy and rules regarding the use of the property by the tenant. In insurance, a contract that provides coverage against given risks. Coverage limits for real ...
Contractual provision specifying a dollar amount or rate an individual to the contract must pay for not conforming to its terms. An example is the fee charged for a late mortgage payment. ...
Periodic expenditures undertaken to preserve or retain a property's operational status for its originally intended use. These expenditures do not improve or extend the life of the property. ...
Written enumeration of the desired selling prices associated with homes or office buildings for sale. The prospective buyer can then determine if the properties for sale are within his ...
A home seller and a home buyer agreed upon a fair market value and the deal is off to closing the sale. One of the next steps is running a title search. But what is a title ...
Private company established in 1957 and headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, providing private mortgage insurance (PMI) to mortgage lenders granting mortgages to mortgagors not having at least a ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.