Exchange-Traded Funds For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Chapter 13

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): Becoming a Virtual Landlord

In This Chapter

Understanding what makes a REIT a REIT

Knowing how much to invest

Focusing on the best REIT fund options

Why, land is the only thing in the world worth workin’ for, worth fightin’ for, worth dyin’ for, because it’s the only thing that lasts.

— Spoken by the character Gerald O’Hara in Gone with the Wind

Scarlett’s father said those words long before the U.S. real estate crash at the onset of the 21st century. Unless you happen to have bought into real estate just prior to that crash, you’ve probably done quite well with any investments you’ve made in land.

The value of commercial real estate — just about anywhere in the nation —softened right along with the housing market. But again, unless you bought just prior to the decline that began its serious fall in 2006, any investment in commercial property has probably done well. In fact, if you happen to own some commercial property, perhaps through a real estate investment trust (REIT), you likely made out very well in more recent years after the dust from the crash had at least partially settled.

In a nutshell, real estate investment trusts, ...