Considerations for REIT dividends for monthly and quarterly income with Roth IRA

Dividends should not be a concern within an IRA because they are not taxed at all within a Roth IRA, and not taxed until the cash is withdrawn from a Traditional IRA. There is no special tax treatment for dividends at that point - it's all considered ordinary income.

Secondly, dividends are not "income" because the value of the REIT (or fund) drops by an equivalent amount when a dividend is paid. The REIT or fund is just giving you some of the profits in cash, which you ware already entitled to.

If you invested in a REIT or fund worth $100 per unit, and it paid a $10 dividend, you'd then have a $90 REIT/fund and $10 in cash. The growth comes from the income generated by the real estate assets and any appreciation in value. That growth and income is by no means guaranteed (As you seem to have experienced with UNIT), but is typically safer than buying individual stocks.

If you want to invest in REITs because you think they will grow in overall value (including dividends) and/or want some exposure to a real estate market, that's fine, but dividends should not be a consideration.

Finally, note that converting from a Traditional to a Roth IRA is generally a tax-neutral strategy, as you have to pay income tax on the converted amount. It's only of benefit if your marginal tax rate at the time of conversion is lower than when you withdraw it from the Roth, otherwise you're trading paying tax later on a larger amount for paying tax now on a smaller amount.