I've always disliked the REIT (real estate investment trust) structure in the belief that it forces a company to operate in a highly unnatural way. Mandatory cash distributions forces most REITs to constantly access capital markets. They seem to be in a constant search for cash. In any case, REITs frequently end up over-leveraged, at least to my liking.

The REIT structure is an arbitrary construction of the tax code that provides favorable dividend treatment in exchange for meeting certain obligations. Chief among these is that a company must distribute at least 90% of taxable income to shareholders.