This is an article that we originally published on BiggerPockets.com and have revised and updated here for our readers.  It is such an important topic for real estate investors and we realize that many of our readers are also active real estate investors and landlords.

Rental fraud is real and is something that we all have to be aware of and prepared to deal with.  It comes in many forms and really requires us to be diligent not only as landlords, but even as property management companies.

Rental fraud. It’s not fun, and reports of it happening have seemed like they’ve been going up all across the country. What’s an owner to do? How do you protect your property against such tactics?

For those of you blessedly unfamiliar with rental fraud, it’s what happens when someone who isn’t you or your manager claims to own your property and then proceeds to rent it out and earn rental income on unknowing tenants.

When they’re inevitably found out, the unfortunate (but still illegal) tenants must be removed and you’re left to with the mess of proving in court that you’re the one that owns the property, on top of other fun complications.

Wouldn’t it be better to avoid the chance of rental fraud in the first place?

Well, we’ve got good news: there are strategies you can employ to greatly reduce your chances to falling victim to such a scam.

There are plenty of virtues that make for a successful, well-rounded real estate investor. We’d argue the one of the most important is patience. In a world that teaches us to crave instant gratification, it’s practically a lost art!

For many, real estate investment is seen as a quick fix: maybe they’re not so naive as to call it a get-quick-rich scheme, but they expect things to work out quick and easy.

Any successful real estate investor will tell you that that’s far from the truth! Any type of real estate investment—even passive real estate investment—takes time and effort before the fruits of your labor really build and begin to multiply.

We all know what they say about Texas. And if it’s true anywhere, it’s true in Houston. Houston is the Lone Star state’s most populated city and the fourth largest city in the United States with a census-estimated population of over 2.2 million as of 2014.

Space City is a rich in art, culture, and innovation. It’s a technological hub, budding with industry. It has the largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions in the world. It’s home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Mission Control Center. It’s a hub for the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation industries.

Constantly attracting millennials, bringing in bright talent and business, Houston is truly a remarkable city.

And it’s no less true when it comes to real estate!

Fear can be a powerful motivator. It can also hold us back from being all that we can be. Achieving anything when we’re afraid of moving forward is no easy feat: but making decisions and moving ahead in spite of our fears is often necessary for success!

When it comes to investing in real estate, you will have moments where you’ll be afraid. Whether it’s risk or uncertainty, fear can make it incredibly difficult for you to know when to take the plunge and when to hold back.

Overcoming fear is harder for some than others—especially if you’re prone to anxiety or worry. But when it comes to your investments, you can’t afford to be fearful. You can only afford to be smart. Here’s how you can begin to overcome the fears that are holding you back from financial freedom.

Who doesn’t love a good book? Ever better is a good book that doesn’t take up any room on your already crowded shelves, and one that you can download and read instantly! For real estate investors on the go, sometimes an e-book is a wonderful solution to getting quick, concise information.

Whether you’re on a plane, a passenger on a road trip, or just relaxing at home, a Kindle is a wonderful portable e-reader to have. (No, this isn’t sponsored. Kindles are just kind of cool.) What’s even better is that there’s a whole library of books out there, many of them free, just for real estate investors!

In the wake of the UK’s decision to depart from the European Union, there’s been a lot of uncertainty and unrest surrounding the economic ramifications of the decision. With Britain’s ties to the global economy, the sense of instability has many—laymen and investors alike—feeling on edge.

Truth be told, no one really knows how the Brexit will ultimately impact the economy, locally and globally. Many are choosing to act with care.

That said, there are some pretty clear results of the Brexit already brewing for the United States—as it stands, U.S. real estate is looking good for our British neighbors, who are looking for secure investments after losing faith in their homeland’s offerings in the midst of upheaval and uncertainty.

It’s pretty clear, according to experts, that the Brexit could bring about a significant boost to U.S. real estate for just about everyone.

Every real estate investor has different goals and a different journey. No one’s really to say what is and isn’t the right or wrong way to do it, unless legalities are in question, or if something can be done more effectively to maximize cash flow.

That said, there are some distinct advantages when it comes to investing in real estate passively. Here’s the thing: investing in real estate only becomes a full-time job when you make it one.

Certain ways of investment might demand more of your time, but you can find great success in this business without dedicating all of your time to it.

We’d even argue that passive real estate investment is the best way to go! You earn money to fuel your financial goals without doing any of the heavy lifting. With the help of a turnkey investment company and a trusted property management team, you can find success in passive real estate investment.

Inc. Magazine released the 2016 version of their annual list of the 5000 Fastest Growing Companies In America....

And the Clothier family was honored to have three Companies on this years' list!

First and foremost, we are so proud of the team at Memphis Invest who is a 5-year honoree.  This is an incredible accomplishment and really highlights the hard work and commitment to excellence exhibited by our entire crew.  Everyone pulls together in support of our mission, which is to create an incredible 'WOW' experience for our clients, tenants, vendors and each other!

To say that many real estate investors are unprepared when they get started is an understatement. Far too many people rely on filling their heads with hypotheticals and booksmarts—which is absolutely a good thing to do—but they forget to take the practical steps that put them in the best possible position from the very beginning.

Real estate investment is a little bit like playing chess. You can’t capture the queen and win the game without setting up the board to make the right moves. It takes careful calculation to get there!

You can have all the head knowledge in the world of how real estate investment should work, but unless you do the work of getting there, no matter how passive you think you are, you’re never going to find the degree of success you want.

The bad news? Action can be scary. Being definitive? Scary. It’s taking a leap, sometimes into the unknown. The good, though, is that it’s all for forward momentum. When you cast off the fear of making mistakes and move from theory to practice, you’re going to get the experience that turns you from a real estate investment novice into a seasoned expert.

If you’re ready to invest, these are the steps you need to take right now to ensure you have a solid footing.

When investing in real estate, all of us want to get better at it. Grow. Start earning more passive income than we were before. For those of us involved in passive real estate investment, feeling progress is a little more difficult. We’re not in the trenches and involved in the day-to-day nitty-gritty that really feels like things are constantly moving.

For the passive investor, it can be all-too easy to allow your investments to get ho-hum, even stagnant.

Here’s the thing, though: there’s plenty of room for passive real estate investors to accelerate and multiply their successes!

You may not be constantly flipping properties for profit or caught up in the buying and selling game, but a lack of a fast pace doesn’t mean you’re not capable of leveling up.

Here are five ways you can move your portfolio forward to start increasing your margins to meet your financial goals.