Several years ago I was sold Redwood (home) Mortgage and Kbs (commercial) REITs, about $40K worth of each. For a time, they were really performing, even during the stock market downturn, but when real estate tanked, down they went wiping out ALL previous earnings plus about 1/3 of their original principal values and there was NO WAY out (maybe if I died).
Only recently have they started to pay dividends again and I've finally held them long enough or reached an age when I can start withdrawing principal as well as earnings. Offers to buy them still pop up, but only at a fraction of their stated value. Tons of equity in a home to live in, plus a second/vacation home is the best real estate scenario in my limited experience. Buy 'em, hold 'em and enjoy them.