Technology is a beautiful thing. It can also be stressful and confusing, if you’re a little late to the game and unsure of where to start.

Apps, smart phones, iPads and other innovations are all the rage these days. Real estate agents, sellers, buyers and investors are all taking advantage of the latest technology to expedite the marketing and sales of homes at seemingly every turn.

But with the competitive market flooded with so many products, services and short cuts, it can actually hamper your home search rather than make it smoother … and cheaper.

The August 2011 edition of Foreclosure.com’s free educational newsletter, “Investment Exchange,” is now available, which teaches you which technological gadgets are worth the effort of getting to know and how to put them to work so you can save time and make money faster.

We’re also very excited to tell you about a 100 percent free opportunity to learn all about integrating technology into your investment strategies quickly and easily. It’s a crash course in the essential technological tools that, when used correctly, promise to make a real difference in your bottom line.

Learn about the most innovative and intuitive technological tools that will make finding, purchasing and profiting from distressed properties easier than ever before.

To read this month’s free educational newsletter from Foreclosure.com CLICK HERE.

If you can afford it, of course.

Home prices today in your area are likely the cheapest they have been in years. Mortgage rates, too, are hovering around all-time lows. Meanwhile, the cost to rent is around the same it has been and will likely grow year-after- year.

In fact, since 1986 it’s never been this cheap to own a house as compared to the cost of renting.

Mark Zandi with Moody’s Analytics explains the long-term benefits of owning rather than renting:

“I think the arithmetic is such that if you plan to live in your home five or more years, then you should really consider buying a single-family home in most parts of the country at this point in time. Prices have fallen so far, that single-family housing now is very, very attractive; very affordable [...] and it’s now even attractive relative to renting.”

Several buyers are still waiting for the market to hit “bottom.” Those folks might miss the boat entirely … especially if they are in financial positions and personal situations to invest in a home right now.

The fact that not more people are “jumping in” has many housing experts “puzzled,” thinking that a monumental shift in buyer behavior is underway. One theory is that younger professionals are opting to spend their money renting condominiums and apartments in expensive cities — where “homes” are virtually obsolete — until their futures are more certain.

Whatever the case may be, the fact of the matter is that there are incredible real estate deals available throughout the nation. And most of them can be found on Foreclosure.com right here.

Catch them while you can.

That’s the opportunistic approach that many investors in major real estate markets such as Detroit, Mich., Las Vegas, Nevada, Miami, Fla., Phoenix, Ariz., and Tampa, Fla., are taking as home prices plunge at or below 2002 levels.

Foreclosed homes and other discounted distressed deals are being “snapped up” with a quickness, “forcing down” collective home prices and “thinning the supply of homes” by as much as 13 percent, according to BusinessWeek.com.

In fact, the report reveals that 35 percent of previously-owned homes purchased in March 2011 were done so with cold-hard cash, indicating that investors are hoping to buy low today and sell high someday in the future.

Mike Shannon, an agent who specializes in Detroit-area foreclosures, marvels at the recent surge in buyer activity:
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It’s April 18.

Typically, the date doesn’t strike fear in the hearts of ordinary Americans. Today is different, however, because it (not April 15) is the deadline to file individual tax returns.

And for many, 2010 could have been financially difficult, including defaulting on a mortgage loan and losing a home to foreclosure and/or short sale.

The good news is that the  Mortgage Debt Relief Act, passed in 2007 and expiring in 2012, protects most distressed homeowners from being responsible for additional liabilities.

Most, but not all.

CNN.com lays out the exceptions to the rule. Read about them after the jump:
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“… buyers – largely investors – are snapping up homes at bargain prices.”

– Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, National Association of Realtors®

Cash-laden investors are cherry-picking discounted foreclosure, short sale and other distressed real estate deals at an increasing rate, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

In fact, distressed properties accounted for 39 percent of homes sold nationwide in Feb. 2011, which is up two percent from last month and is five percent more than last year at this same time.

Investors accounted for 19 percent of all sales activity during this time and all cash sales reached a record 33 percent in Feb. 2011, too.

What’s it all mean?

It’s pretty simple: If you’re in the market for a home, you need to act fast because the best deals will be gone before you know it.

Cash is king … especially in a housing market like the one. And investors will continue to reign supreme for as long as the competition (that’s you) sits on the sidelines and watches opportunity pass by.

There are programs like Fannie Mae’s “First Look” that offer first-time homebuyers and local communities with opportunities to buy before properties go to market. It’s a clever safety net, but it doesn’t stop all the great deals from landing in the hands of investors.

Not even close.

A fantastic way to stay on top of the latest distressed real estate deals entering the market is to take advatage of our free foreclosure email alerts. When a new foreclosed home for sale in your area becomes available we notify you with an email that same day.

It’s an awesome resource.

Or, you can do what most investors and bargain hunters do and search our database each day for great discounts on real estate. It’s free for seven days! Click here.