Brad Thomas , CONTRIBUTOR

Over the past few weeks, I've written about worthy REIT investments that have dividends over 6%, and 7%. And last week, my column reached for 8% and higher.

So, where do we go, from here?

When yields get stratospheric, plant your feet, and take a lesson from Greek mythology. Icarus, escaping from the isle of Crete, uses wings his father fashioned from feathers and wax. His father warns him to not fly too close to the water, lest the feathers get damp, and not too close to the sun, lest the wings melt. But Icarus, giddy with flying, ignores the instructions, and, as feathers peel off, and the wax melts, it ends badly for Icarus.

This tale can be helpful to remember, that as REIT yields go way up, and up… so does the risk.

Watch out for what I call “sucker yields” - when the underlying security has a flawed or vulnerable business model, or unpredictable, unreliable earnings histories, or unsafe dividend payouts.

Click here to read the full article.