Investing in foreclosures has become a popular practice among real estate investors today. Who can blame them? With hundreds of thousands of properties at some stage of foreclosure across the country today, distressed properties provide investors the perfect opportunity to make money in real estate.

So … is investing in foreclosure a profitable business venture? The obvious answer to that question is of course, yes. But you need to know the basics about foreclosure investing before you delve into this highly lucrative niche.

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Americans woke up to a distressing morning on Sunday after news filtered through that a car bomb attempt was foiled in one of New York City’s most famous landmarks. According to reports, the suspect, who has since been arrested, left an SUV filled with propane, gasoline, firecrackers, and homemade detonating devices at Times Square.

Death and significant property damage were averted after street vendors alerted the police of the smoke coming out of the SUV. The authorities acted swiftly on the case, which led to the arrest of the suspect less than 54 hours after the failed car bomb attempt was detected.

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Competition is the shadow of real estate investing. Expect it to be there where the money is. For that reason, especially in areas where the contest is too tight, real estate investors are always looking for new ways to be ahead of the pack. And investors will have a lesson to learn from a major company.

Unilever NV, which is among the biggest consumer products maker in the world, posted a 33% rise in sales for the first quarter of the year. It earned $1.28 billion in that period. You could just imagine how much Lipton tea and Dove soap they sold. Now here’s what real estate investors have been waiting for; the juicy part.

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Mortgage fraud apparently rose again last year, and this could be bad news for the real estate investing world. This might result in home buyers being too careful when buying houses or mortgage companies being too stringent when approving loans. Fraud cases, according to the report, increased 7% last year. The positive thing is they eased significantly from the 26% rise back in 2008.

The report also indicated that one of the more prominent types of fraud possibly involved real estate investors. Known as “false occupancy claims,” it’s a case wherein the buyer claims he will reside in the home but he actually is buying it for investment purposes.

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The real estate investing circle is probably rejoicing because of the good news that Fannie Mae will soon allow home buyers to reapply for new mortgage after just two years of waiting. The previous policy stated that homeowners who lost their homes in a short sale or gave the deed back to the bank due to financial problems should wait for at least four years before they can qualify for mortgage again.

This deserves a two thumbs up! In fact, it’s so good that the thumbs of two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso that are insured for a total of $13 million should be raised for this news. This probably will lead to an increase in home buyers and that means more deals for real estate investors.

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Adding value in real estate investing and even James Cameron’s sci-fi epic “Avatar” would testify to this. Reports said that the movie has already sold 6.7 million DVDs in just four days. Now, this is something rather expected after the “Titanic” director’s hit dominated the big screen. If you read comments about the news though, you’ll notice something important.

It seems that the common complaint about the DVD release is that it does not have any special features. One reader commented that it’s like paying over and over again for watching the same movie. Whether this is a marketing tactic by the studio, it’s obvious that some people are disappointed because the producers did not “value add” their offer. In real estate investing, value-adding is something you might want to practice.

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You might have heard about “war zones” in some real estate investing seminar. Just what are these areas and why are they called such? Should you invest in them?

Before we get on to real estate investing details, let’s define what a war zones is. In layman’s terms, it is simply an area where illicit activities are done in broad daylight. And we can safely assume illegal drug trade, prostitution, and even vandalism as illicit activities. Now, the reason why the phrase “in broad daylight” is there is because it stresses the fact that if illegal things happen during day, what else could happen during night. In short, these are zones where security is an issue. That is why they are aptly called war zones.

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Some investors love driving on a Sunday morning. There are primarily two reasons for this: One is to unwind and relax. The other is to work while relaxing. That seems impossible but in real estate investing, it actually is possible.

How does driving come into the picture of working? Simple. Investors who drive around neighborhoods on a Sunday morning are simply looking for prospective deals. They are looking for houses that could be turned into investment properties. They are in the hunt for properties that have windows boarded up. They look for houses that have overgrown lawn. Simply put, they are looking for real estate investing leads.

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Real estate investors are fast learning that Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites can be used to improve their businesses as a whole. Not only are these sites a good tool for marketing, they can also be used for branding and networking.

As a marketing tool, social media or social networking sites can be used to promote products. If you placed your website in your status box, you can let all your contacts know about it. For example, you can say “Hi people, check out Rehab-Real-Estate.com. Great find!” in your Facebook status box. People can then click the link and view your website or your product.

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It’s safe to say that in real estate investing, or any venture for that matter, you will encounter interference. In the basic communication theory, this is known as “noise.” In REI, there could be interference from various sources. There could be noise and that’s something probably inevitable.

This thing came to light because I read a news report on iPads being banned in an Ivy League school. New Jersey‘s Princeton University said that there was nothing wrong with using Apple Inc.’s gadgets on campus except that they could interfere with the school’s wireless network. They could trigger “malfunctions that can affect the entire school’s computer system,” the university said. That’s why the school banned around 20% of iPads there. Now there’s a real estate investing lesson here somewhere.

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