[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Back in the old days when we didn't have internet trading, I had a broker, and I remember that he steered me away from REITs. He said that the dividends were good, but that the stock price deteriorates rather than increases over time. Something about depreciating assets. However, I've got two REITs now and they both pay good dividends and have held their own on price. They haven't appreciated, but they've held their own, and that's fine when you get an 8 percent dividend.

And by golly, I think you're right. I'm going to start reinvesting dividends. I've been back and forth on that, but I'm going to do it.

I view real estate exposure as important for diversity. Real estate can hold up while other segments of the market suffer. Of course, we're all a bit gun-shy having seen what went down in 2007, so real estate isn't impervious to market forces, but still, it can be very resilent compared to many stocks in certain situations.