REIT

REIT - Real Estate Investment Trust. Many hard money lenders are formed as a REIT, with either private individual investors or institutions funding the loans the company makes.

Real Estate Investment Trust. A product of federal tax legislation formed as a business trust, under a special state REIT statute or as a corporation for the purpose of investing in real estate or mortgages on real estate.

Example:

REIT stocks did quite well in 2001 and the first half of 2002 despite lackluster fundamentals, because money was flowing into the entire asset class.