The 2011 real estate season may be mercifully winding down, but its investment scene continues to heat up.

If you ever dreamed of investing in a short sale, foreclosure, tax lien or any other type of distressed real estate situation, preparation is the key to success. And the sooner you get up to speed on whatever money-making plan you intend to hatch, the better it will be for your bottom line (savings or profit).

Even in this market climate, in which inventory is high and prices are at rock bottom, you can’t afford to be caught unaware.

It’s all about staying on top of what’s new and what’s changing in the real estate investment arena. That way, when that perfect property lands in your lap — the one that could be your forever home or your next big investment windfall — you’ll be ready to take action and scoop it up before someone else does.

The October 2011 edition of Foreclosure.com’s free educational newsletter, “Investment Exchange,” is now available, which shows you how to get your real estate investment career rolling right now.

New Year’s Eve is right around the corner and you know what that means: Real estate resolutions. Seize the opportunity to get rich with distressed real estate right now before the thousands of well-intentioned “resolutioners” crowd the competition pool come January 2012.

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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No, we’re not talking about anything illegal.

But with these historically-low home prices, it might feel as though you pulled a fast one on a bank if you’re able to negotiate a great deal.

It’s no secret that banks repossess homes when borrowers default on their mortgage loan payments. And when these distressed homes fail to sell at public auctions, the banks take them back and list them as real estate-owned (REO) properties for sale.

Banks are motivated to sell their REO homes quickly, which means that they are often willing to part with them at significantly reduced prices.

So how do you go about planning your own real estate heist? Money.MSN.com provides a basic outline:

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