Received today a notification in the mail about the financial stability of one of my investments. Specifically it is a REIT, a Real Estate Investment Trust. A company that owns a part of something (land, buildings, etc.) that makes money off of it either through mortgages, selling, renting, or leasing it out. All the profit they make is taxed...unless they pay out a certain amount as dividends to their shareholders.

My REIT dividend dropped by $1.45 per share to $0.05 per share in a 3 month span, or one financial quarter. What happened? Well, they sold some investments in Maryland and made a huge profit after making very little for a while. This meant they had to pay out big dividends on their profits. The next dividend is a now a nickle per share because there's no more profit from the sell.

The problem? They sold rental property, in Maryland. You don't sell rental property if you are a REIT, it is steady income and thus ensures the financial health of your company. Even in hard times, you hold on for future hope. Unless, of course, there's no income in the foreseeable future, ever. REIT's often plan for this, they call it Uncollectible Debt, and they have a reserve to deal with it. This one Uncollectible Debt became such that it drained my REIT's cash reserves and they sold it just to get rid of it, not to recoup their losses.

Wonder what the fuck happened in Maryland.