📈 Stocks & Equities · Lesson 6 of 9 · 8 min
REITs — Landlord Without the Headaches
🏢 Be a landlord across 15,000 buildings — apartments, malls, hospitals — for fifty bucks. Collect the rent. Never once get a 2am call about a clogged toilet. This is the version of landlording that doesn't ruin your weekend.
💡 Key idea
REITs are STOCKS that own real estate. Buy in any brokerage. Collect rent as dividends.
🧠 Why it matters
A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is a company that owns income-producing real estate. By law, REITs must pay 90%+ of profits to shareholders as dividends. Best part: they trade on the stock market like any normal stock.
🌍 In the real world
💰 Realty Income (ticker: O) calls itself 'The Monthly Dividend Company.' It owns 15,500+ properties leased to Walmart, Walgreens, FedEx. It has paid a dividend every single month for 55+ years and raised it 130+ times since 1994. You become a landlord with one click — no tenants calling you at 2am.
📌 Takeaways
- REITs trade on the stock market like normal stocks
- Legally must pay out 90%+ of income as dividends
- Instant real estate exposure — no property management
📖 Terms in this lesson
REIT: A company that owns income-producing property and pays most of its profit out as dividends.
✅ Test yourself
Where do REITs trade?
- Private real estate deals
- The stock market — like any stock
- Only through banks
- Crypto exchanges
Answer: B · The stock market — like any stock
REITs trade on the NYSE and NASDAQ exactly like Apple or Tesla. They're a category of stock — that's why they belong here.
What must a REIT do by law?
- Own 1,000 properties
- Pay out 90%+ of income as dividends
- Be based in New York
- Never sell property
Answer: B · Pay out 90%+ of income as dividends
To qualify as a REIT and get tax advantages, they MUST distribute 90%+ of taxable income. That's why REIT dividends are so juicy.
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