San Francisco-based CMR has been hit with a high level of loan defaults, with much of its properties in foreclosure and/or bankruptcy, according to a newsletter from David Choo, company president. "This is obviously distressing because much of this real estate collateral does not generate the rental income that would allow us to pay operating expenses and distribute net operating income to our investors," Choo wrote. Information on CMR can be obtained by calling 415-974-1100. In short, it seems to me that CMR has become more of a real estate fund and less of a mortgage fund, an unintended consequence, to be sure.

So, real estate investors should look to real estate investment trusts, which I have been touting for years. Their yields are high and strong because they must payout 90 percent of their taxable income to shareholders. I stress equity REITs, not mortgage REITs, which are too similar to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Equity REITs own property that produce rental income; and mortgage REITs, as the name suggests, lend money in the mortgage market. One mortgage REIT, Annaly Capital Management, seems to come off as a survivor. Inexplicably, its price has spiked. But I'm still suspicious. Its dividend yield of 13 percent seems fearfully fat.

Anyway, let me leave you with this thought. Be wary of any product with bond, mortgage, credit or similar terms in the title or in its descriptions — particularly when an inordinately high yield is promised. The lesson I learned from mortgage funds (yes, I'm still learning) is that any investment luring your money should be liquid and transparent. Liquidity means you can get your money out with a phone call or mouse-click. Transparent means that its changing value can be followed in newspaper tables. My mortgage funds are neither liquid nor transparent.

Cliff Pletschet's Personal Finance column appears Friday and Sunday. Send general-interest questions to him at P.O. Box 28147, Oakland, CA 94604. To subscribe to his quarterly newsletter, Investment Educator, send $20, made out to Personal Investment Education, to the above address. Also, visit our Web site, www.investment-educator.com.

Research by AARP's Public Policy Institute showed that 684,000 homeowners age 50 and over were either in foreclosure or delinquent on mortgage payments in the last six months of 2007. Homeowners age 50 and over represented about 28 percent of all delinquencies and foreclosures.

Of the 684,000 homeowners, about 50,000 were in foreclosure or already lost their homes, the study showed.