This week I bought 7 shares of Agree Realty (ADC) at $68.73. That's $481.

Those 7 shares will pay me about $22 a year in dividends and a little bit lands in my account every month.

Here's the part I want you to think about. Agree has raised its dividend about 5.3% a year over the last 10 years.

If that keeps up, those dividends will pay back my full $481 in about 15 years. I'll be 63.

If I turn on DRIP and let the dividends buy more shares, it's closer to 12 years. My 5 shares would grow to about 8, and I never added another dollar.

After that, the income is free money. And I still own the shares.

You might notice a dip in that chart around 2011. Agree did cut its dividend back then. It's grown every year since, but it's a good reminder that nothing is guaranteed.

So why buy Agree now? I love buying alongside Joey Agree. His dad, Richard, started the company in 1971. Joey took over as CEO in 2013. This is the family business and aside from his dad, nobody probably has a better understanding of it.

And he keeps buying and has never sold a share he personally bought. Since August 2025, Joey has bought shares five times with about $2.2 million of his own money. His most recent buy was at $68.06 on September 16. I paid $68.73. Pretty good company to be in, I think.

Quick interesting note about his February transaction: Those shares were held back to cover taxes on his stock pay. It happens with most CEOs.

So, how big is Agree for me? It's just 2.68% of my total portfolio. Add in VICI, and REITs make up about 4.3%. Most of my money is still in funds... 84.5% to be exact.

Here's the big idea: A REIT is a different kind of investment. Most of them own buildings or land and collect rent. I buy it for income first and a rising stock price second.

That means it will often trail funds like VOO, which are top-heavy with fast-growing tech stocks. That's okay because they have different jobs. If you're young, most of your money probably belongs in growth. But a small REIT with DRIP turned on can quietly pay for itself while you're not looking.

And most importantly, someday I'd rather pay my bills with dividends than sell shares to do it.

REITs have been falling lately. The Fed just raised rates for the first time in three years. REITs borrow money to buy buildings, so higher rates hurt. But when the price drops and the dividend doesn't, the yield goes up. Agree yields 4.71% today, higher than its 5-year average of 4.21%.

So how do I know it's safe and not just cheap? I check two things.

First, is the cash per share growing? That's called AFFO per share. Think of it as the rent money left over after the bills, split among all the shares. Agree's went from $2.51 in 2016 to $4.49 today, and it's up every single year.

Second, is the dividend a safe slice of that cash? For REITs, under 90% is good. Agree pays out about 70% and it's slowly trended down over the years.

One last tip: most REIT dividends are taxed like a paycheck, not at the lower dividend rate. That's why I hold mine in an IRA. And in a Roth, qualified withdrawals aren't taxed at all.

Hold a good REIT long enough, and it pays for itself.

Are you buying any REITs lately?

Talk soon,
Russ

Not financial advice. I'm an affiliate of Simply Safe Dividends.

Video I'm Watching

Ryne Williams shared three dividend stocks that he's NEVER selling and I own two of them, but the last one is high on my buy list. Check it out!

Podcast I'm Listening To

Look at REITs as dividend in...

Sep 17 · Investing Experts

42:38

This was the inspiration for the newsletter, and Seeking Alpha's own REIT expert David Auerbach shared several REIT picks to put on your radar right now and why you should consider them.

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. Do your own research before making any investment decisions.

😁THANK YOU to all who responded to the last newsletter!!

Check out the portfolio on Blossom, the podcast, or see what’s cooking on YouTube.

And now, here is this week's portfolio activity...

Dividends Received This Week ~$113.42

Main Street Capital (MAIN) | $39.75
Agree Realty (ADC) | $64.35
Home Depot (HD) | $9.32

Dividends Received 2026 (Schwab Only)~

$3,439.50

Stocks Sold (AVERAGE)

2 Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) | $374.50

Stocks Bought (AVERAGE)

1 VICI properties (VICI) | $24.10
7 Agree Realty (ADC) | $68.73
1 McDonald's (MCD) | $248.95
3 Schwab Intl. Dividend ETF (SCHY) | $32.47

💰 GOING EX-DIVIDEND THIS WEEK 💰

9/21 Universal Health REIT (UHT), 7.54% | 50BS
9/21 Meta Platforms (META), 0.32% | 70S
9/22 Amphenol (APH), 0.64% | 87S
9/25 Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (CP), 0.87% | 76S
9/25 Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS), 3.59% | 80S
9/25 Medtronic (MDT), 3.13% | 99VS

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