In real estate, location is everything. Whether you’re determining where to invest for the first time, where to expand your portfolio, or whether or not your current markets are still best suited for investment growth, you need a set of clear guidelines and metrics to follow.

When it comes to investing in real estate, getting started is the hardest part. This has always been true, but it’s even more evident in an economic climate that puts homeownership out of reach for so many. If you can barely afford to buy your own home, how can you begin to consider saving up to invest in real estate?

Due diligence is a simple concept to understand but challenging to execute. It’s anticipating and mitigating risk, gathering accurate facts and data for informed decision-making, and doing your best to ensure you’re building your wealth and managing risk exposure.

For some, the real estate market has been profoundly confusing. No one could anticipate, after all, the radical impact the pandemic would have on the market. It seems like real estate is frustratingly stubborn in the face of attempts to quell raging prices. The seeming unpredictability of the real estate market may deter some people from joining the fray as buyers and investors.

While certain aspects of investing in real estate can be electric and exciting, the bulk of your investment strategies should be boring. If you’re always on a real estate roller coaster that thrives on hype and risk, you’re not going to achieve what you need for lasting investment success.

Business Insider reports that fraud within the real estate industry is on the rise. This increase is likely a reaction to a somewhat hostile housing environment. Buyers and sellers are feeling desperate, and that desperation is something unsavory characters will take advantage of. Unfortunately, these aren’t all scams we can see a mile away.

The real estate market as we know it seems to be settling into a “new normal,” where sellers recognize their need to make concessions and price adjustments and buyers have reluctantly accepted higher mortgage rates. That’s not to say that things won’t change – the market will continue to correct, albeit slowly.

Investing in anything can be stressful if you allow it to be. While some investments are naturally riskier – and thus, generate more stress and uncertainty – investing in single-family rental properties is one of the less risky moves you can make.

Stability tends to be an undervalued trait in investment assets. Though this seems counter to the nature of investing, investors are guilty of chasing the highs of the industry. Whether it’s knowing that high risk yields high rewards or simply the human need for a thrill, we’re attracted to high-octane investing.

Despite the ups and downs of the real estate market over the past few quarters, the single-family rental market has been on fire. Even though the tide of the market seems to be shifting in favor of buyers again, a robust seller’s market, oppressive asking prices, and tight inventory have left many looking to rent not just for the present, but for the long term.