A REIT's life may be finite or infinite. That is, a REIT may be set up under a charter to dissolve at the end of a specified period, or upon sale of the properties held. On the other hand, a REIT may be ongoing, or infinite, in which case the proceeds from the sale of properties are reinvested continuously as old properties are sold.

In general, it is advantageous to know before investing in real estate what properties have been, or will be, acquired. Thus, specified properties are preferable to blind pools, where money is pooled for future, unspecified investments.

A REIT enjoys essentially the same tax status as a mutual fund. If a REIT meets certain operational requirements, the REIT pays no income tax. Instead, investor-shareholders are taxed on the income passed through to them, thus avoiding the double-taxation problem that corporate stockholders face. Unlike a real estate limited partnership, no net deductions or credits are passed through a REIT to its shareholders. Thus, REITs have a history of being oriented toward income production, and have benefited from tax legislation that has taken away some of the benefits of capital gains and tax losses.