On REIT's

Investment Analysis Clubs Saul’s Investing Discussions
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Look guys, this isn’t a board for the discussion of REIT’s! This has turned into an argument about the details of REITs that has gone on for almost 40 posts now!!! It starts to hog the board and discourage other people from looking in on the board. We’ve been patient, and suggesting a move after 38 posts isn’t cutting off the discussion too quickly, BUT IT IS TIME to move it on to a board that discusses REITS. Thanks for your understanding.

I’ve asked before. Remember that you are guests here. If you won’t comply, I’ll have the Fool remove the whole thread and then it’ll be gone for good and won’t be available for reference. It’s time to move the discussion! Drop it!

Saul

PS From the Basic Rules of the Board

There are also companies that don’t belong on the board. Like a company that has seen decreasing revenue and decreasing earnings over a number of years, and now is being considered as a take-over, or a sell-off-the-parts candidate. That’s simply not what this board is about. There are other boards for this kind of situation. Another example would be an early stage biotech, with no actual revenue, but great ideas. Or a new IPO of a company that has revenue, but still has large losses and hopes of breaking even two years from now. You can weed those out yourself.

Discussiona and arguments about the details of REITs fit there too.

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Suggested board for REIT discussions:

http://discussion.fool.com/real-estate-inv-trusts-reits-100061.a…

This posters there are knowledgable and the discussions lively. Check it out if you are interested in REITS.

DT

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100% with you on this Saul. You are the creator, and therefore the best moderator of this board.

There have been a few times when things seemed to get way off topic and rambled on endlessly in the past. You made some gentle remarks about moving on or elsewhere which were ignored or even snubbed. While I’m not into authoritarian control, you have exercised ample patience. When it’s time to end it, it’s time to end it.

Thanks for providing leadership and making an effort to keep the board reasonably focused while tolerating minor digressions which can be interesting, but basically irrelevant if they carry on too long.

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Certainly it’s Saul’s board and whatever he says goes. I just think that if REITs are not fair game for discussion, then “Saul’s Investing Discussions” is too broad-brush of a name for the board, and I certainly don’t see anything in the Basic Rules that even remotely excludes REITs either.

If I may say one last thing on the subject: people dismissing REITs might be better served to not do it so quickly.

My annualized (annualized for comparison purposes because I haven’t held all of them for the full 2 years) returns over the past 2 years for stocks that are or were commonly discussed here:

BOFI +88.3%
SWIR -32.5%
SKX -35.6%
SWKS -3.2%

And my REITS during the same time:

DLR +27.7%
DEI +16.0%
HCP +8.0%
HASI +28.8%
O +15.3%
STWD +8.8%
VTR +10.9%

To each their own…

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PS From the Basic Rules of the Board

There are also companies that don’t belong on the board. Like a company that has seen decreasing revenue and decreasing earnings over a number of years, and now is being considered as a take-over, or a sell-off-the-parts candidate. That’s simply not what this board is about. There are other boards for this kind of situation. Another example would be an early stage biotech, with no actual revenue, but great ideas. Or a new IPO of a company that has revenue, but still has large losses and hopes of breaking even two years from now. You can weed those out yourself.

Discussions and arguments about the details of REITs fit there too.

None of that describes REITs, in my opinion. REITs are extremely profitable organizations that have some tax advantages, but also strict guidelines to follow in order to get those. If it is a trust that is buying up massive amounts of properties, profiting heavily off them, and using 10% to buy new properties and expand, how is that not a Saul-like stock? The only difference between that and LGIH is that LGIH sells the houses and doesn’t pay a dividend, whereas a REIT rents/leases the properties out and has to pay out 90% of earnings in the form of dividends to avoid being taxed. LGIH has better growth because they can reinvest more money into the business, though a REIT can have better returns because of the dividends plus price appreciation. Granted, many people don’t know much about REIT funds, and should do their due diligence and understand what they’re investing in.

To be fair, B&W was responding to questions people had for the most part, individual people asking him questions on why HASI dropped, and other questions. TMF’s boards are extremely outdated compared to newer boards or forums with significantly less upkeep, and more importantly much better functionality with threading. Additionally, I recall someone lashing out at B&W, because HASI is relatively new as a traded fund, but not new as a company, while the person didn’t understand how REITs work.

The board that DT linked is a good one for REITs.

My grandfather has averaged 32.5% annualized from his REIT investments, though he doesn’t buy funds through the stock market, he buys directly into REITs that have a $100,000 minimum usually. He’s done pretty well with those investments in Connecticut. Dividends from them are between 7% and 22%, while he has gotten some massive payouts from properties being sold (3-5x his original investment).

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Certainly it’s Saul’s board and whatever he says goes.

Saul is fully capable of speaking for himself; however, In my humble opinion, and as someone who respects Saul and this board, I think you are disrespecting him by questioning him on this…as you said yourself, it is his board.

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