Realestate Investment Trusts (RIETS)

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum and from reading prior notes it seems you’ll are well informed. I Just wanted to know if anyone knows the good and the bad in investing in reits?

The link below will offer a good definition of a REIT. Generally these stocks can be great investments. They are required by federal law to payout 90% of their earnings as dividends which makes for a great dividend yield. There is debate as to the performance of REIT stocks; do they perform like an equity stock following the market or do they perform like real estate? My belief is they are somewhere in between thus offering diversification benefits. They are also considered interest sensitive meaning their values can fluctuate inversely with general interest rates, similar to bank stocks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate_investment_trust

I’ve made a lot of money on REITs. Some in capital appreciation, but all of them (that I’m in) have great dividends.