50 Actionable Tips for Successful REIT Investing

So the book ends with a bonus chapter. And honestly, it’s one of the most practical parts of the whole thing. Mike Hartley drops 50 tips for REIT investors, split across five categories with 10 tips each. Think of it as a cheat sheet for everything the book covered.

I’m not going to list all 50 word for word. That would be a lot, and some overlap with things we’ve already covered in this series. Instead, I’ll hit the highlights from each category and add my own thoughts on what actually stands out.

Let’s get into it.

Category 1: Diversifying Your REIT Portfolio

This first batch of tips is all about not putting all your eggs in one basket. And if you’ve been following this series, you know Hartley is big on diversification. Here’s what matters most.

Spread across property types. Don’t just buy residential REITs because that’s what you understand. Mix in commercial, industrial, healthcare, and specialty sectors. Each type reacts differently to economic shifts, so variety smooths out the bumps.

Go geographic. A portfolio of REITs all based in one city is asking for trouble. Look for different regions, and consider international REITs too. Markets in Europe and Asia don’t always move in lockstep with the US.

Evaluate the management team. A great portfolio of properties can still underperform if the people running things aren’t competent. Look at their track record and whether they’ve delivered on past promises.

Check financial stability before you buy. Debt-to-equity ratios, FFO, and dividend yield are your starting points. If the financials look shaky, it doesn’t matter how nice the properties are.

Use multiple investment vehicles. REIT ETFs and mutual funds give you instant diversification. Hartley suggests mixing individual REIT stocks with broader funds, which is solid advice for most people.

Rebalance regularly. Your portfolio drifts over time as some REITs outperform and others don’t. Check your allocations quarterly or semi-annually and adjust.

My take: the diversification tips are probably the most universally useful in the whole chapter. Even if you ignore everything else, spreading your money across different property types and regions will save you headaches down the road.

Category 2: Researching the REIT Market

The second category is about doing your homework before you invest. And look, I know “do your research” is the most overused advice in investing. But Hartley gets specific about what that research should actually look like.

Know the sectors inside out. Office, retail, industrial, and healthcare REITs all have different dynamics. What’s driving growth in one sector might be killing another.

Stay current on industry trends. Remote work crushed some office REITs. E-commerce boosted industrial and warehouse REITs. If you’re not paying attention to where the economy is heading, you’ll be late to every move.

Study the financial metrics. FFO, AFFO, dividend yield, debt-to-equity. We covered these in earlier posts. Hartley repeats them here because they’re that important.

Compare peers in the same sector. Don’t evaluate a REIT in isolation. How does its occupancy rate stack up against competitors? Is its FFO growth better or worse? Context is everything.

Follow REIT analysts and attend industry events. Analysts who cover REITs full-time catch things casual investors miss. Their research reports can surface opportunities you wouldn’t find on your own.

My take: the “compare peers” tip is probably the most actionable one here. It’s easy to look at a REIT’s numbers and think they look great until you realize every other REIT in the same sector has better numbers. Always compare.

Category 3: Picking the Best REITs

This category overlaps a bit with the research section, but it’s more focused on the actual selection process. What do you look at when you’re about to hit “buy”?

Understand the sector focus. Before anything else, know what kind of properties this REIT invests in and whether that sector has a strong outlook. A perfectly managed REIT in a dying sector is still a risky bet.

Scrutinize the financials. Again with the numbers. FFO, NAV, debt levels, dividend payout ratios. Hartley is basically saying: if you’re not looking at the financials, you’re gambling, not investing.

Look at dividend consistency and growth. A REIT that has paid and grown its dividend for 10+ years is telling you something. It has stable income, disciplined management, and enough cash flow to keep rewarding shareholders. One-time high dividends can be a trap if they’re not sustainable.

Identify competitive advantages. What makes this REIT different from every other one in its sector? Maybe it owns properties in prime locations that are hard to replicate. Maybe it has long-term leases with strong tenants. Maybe its management team has a track record of smart acquisitions. Look for something that gives it an edge.

Commit to ongoing research. Picking a REIT isn’t a one-time thing. You need to keep monitoring it after you buy. Read quarterly reports, track occupancy rates, and watch for changes in management or strategy.

My take: the dividend consistency tip is my favorite in this category. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, obviously. But a REIT that has consistently grown its dividend year after year has proven something about its business model. That track record matters.

Category 4: Yields vs Capital Appreciation

This category gets into the classic investing tension between income now and growth later. And honestly, a lot of these tips come down to knowing yourself.

Clarify your goals first. Are you investing for monthly income or long-term wealth building? High-yield REITs prioritize paying you now. Growth-oriented REITs reinvest more and aim for property value appreciation. Your answer changes everything.

Assess your risk appetite honestly. Higher yields often come with higher risk. If a REIT is paying an unusually high dividend, ask why. Sometimes a “too good to be true” yield is exactly that.

Consider your time horizon. If you’re 25, lean toward growth. If you’re 55 and need income soon, yield matters more. Hartley frames this as one of the most important decisions you’ll make.

Think about tax implications. REIT dividends are usually taxed as ordinary income, not at the lower qualified dividend rate. Holding REITs in tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs can make a real difference.

Diversify across the yield/growth spectrum. You don’t have to pick one or the other. A mix of high-yield REITs for income and growth-focused REITs for appreciation gives you the best of both worlds.

My take: the tax tip is underrated. A lot of newer investors don’t think about this until tax season hits and they’re surprised by the bill. If you’re going to hold REITs, seriously consider putting them in a tax-advantaged account. It makes more difference than you’d think.

Category 5: Managing Fees

The last category is about fees, and it might be the least exciting topic in the book. But fees are one of the few things you can actually control as an investor, so it’s worth paying attention.

Understand every fee you’re paying. Management fees, expense ratios, trading commissions, advisory fees. A lot of investors don’t even know how much they’re losing to fees each year.

Compare expense ratios across similar funds. A 0.1% difference might sound tiny, but compounded over 20 years, it adds up to thousands of dollars.

Consider passive vs active management. Passively managed REIT index funds typically charge much lower fees than actively managed funds. And most active funds don’t consistently beat their passive counterparts over the long run. So you might be paying more for worse results.

Use dollar-cost averaging. Investing a fixed amount on a regular schedule reduces the impact of trading costs and timing mistakes. You buy more shares when prices are low and fewer when prices are high. Simple and effective.

Review your portfolio costs routinely. Fees change. New, cheaper alternatives appear. Check what you’re paying at least once a year.

My take: the passive vs active management tip is the one I’d highlight in bold if I could. The data on this is pretty clear. Most active managers underperform index funds over time, and they charge you more for the privilege. Start with a low-cost REIT index fund and go from there.

Wrapping Up the Tips

Fifty tips is a lot. And honestly, some of them repeat themes we’ve seen throughout the book (diversify, know your metrics, check the management team). But that repetition is kind of the point. These are the fundamentals that Hartley wants you to internalize.

If I had to boil all 50 tips down to just five, it would be these:

1. Diversify across property types, geography, and investment vehicles
2. Always check the financials before you buy (FFO, NAV, debt levels)
3. Know whether you’re investing for income or growth, and build your portfolio accordingly
4. Keep your fees as low as possible
5. Never stop researching, even after you’ve bought

That’s it. None of it is flashy or complicated. But investing rarely is when you do it right.

This post is part of a series retelling the book Real Estate Investment Trust Investing by Mike Hartley (2023). Opinions and commentary are my own.