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                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.1
 
                       CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
 
     We consent to the inclusion in this registration statement on Form S-11 of
our reports dated March 25, 1997, except for the first paragraph of Note 1, for
which the date is September 4, 1997, on our audits of the financial statements
and financial statement schedule of Captec Net Lease Realty, Inc. We also
consent to the references to our firm under the captions "Experts" and "Selected
Financial Data."
 
                                            COOPERS & LYBRAND, L.L.P.
 
Detroit, Michigan
September 5, 1997