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Foreclosures are simply properties for which the owner has failed to meet his loan payment or other loan term obligations, forcing the lender, if they want to get some of their money back, to take over legal ownership and ownership and control of the property. Althogh more formal in a legal sense and more time consuming, a real estate foreclosure is similar to a lender repossessing the car from an owner who fails to make her monthly car payments.

Not only do apartment buildings generally enjoy healthy long-term appreciation potential, but they also often produce positive cash flow in the early years of ownership. But as with a single-family home, the buck stops with you for maintenance of an apartment building. You may hire a property manager to assist you, but you still have oversight responsibilities.
In the real-estate finacing world, apartment buildings are divided into two groups based on the number of units.
Four or fewer units you can obtain more favorable finacing options and terms for apartment buildings that have four or fewer units because they're treated as residential property.

Article Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condominium

Condominiums are typically apartment-style units stacked on top of and/or beside one another and sold to individual owners. When you purchase a codominim, you're actually purchasing the interior of a specific unit as well as a proportionate interest in the common areas-the pool, tennis courts, grounds, hallways, laundry room, and so on. Although you have full use and enjoyment of the common areas, remember that the homeowner's association actually. owns and maintains the common areas as well as the bilding structures themselves.

As an investment, single-family detached homes generally perform better in the long run than attached or shared housing. In a good real estate market, most housing appreciates, but single-family homes tend to outperform other housing types for the following reasons:
Single-family homes tend to attract more potential buyers-most people, when they can afford it, prefer a detached or stand-alone home, espectally for the increased privacy.

Turning your current home into a rental property when you move is a simple way to buy and own more properties. This approach is an option if you can afford to own two properties. Holding onto your current home when your're buying a new one is more advisable if your're moving within the same area so that your're close by to manage the property. This approach presents a number of positives.
You save the time and cost of finding a separate rental property, not to mention the associated transaction costs.
You know the property and have proably taken good care of it and perhaps made some improvements.
You know the target market because the house appealed to you.

If you lack substantial experience investing in real estate, you should avoid more esoteric and complicated properties and strategies. In particular, residential income property can be an attactive real estate investment for many people. Residential housing is easier to understand, purchase, and manage than most other types of property, such as office, industrial, and retail property. If you're a homeowner, you already have experience locating, purchasing, and maintaining residential property.

Many real estate investors are actually involved in other activities as their primary source of income. Ironically, many of these business owners come to realize the benefits of real estate investing but miss the single greatest opportunity that is right before their eyes-the prospect of being their own landlord. Business owners should purchase the buildings occupied by their own businesses and essentially pay the rent to themselves. If you own a business that rents,become your own landlord.

If you have property that you rent out. You have money coming in every month in the form of rents. Some properties, paticularly larger multiunit complexes, may have some additional sources, such as from coin-operated washers and dryers. When you own investment real estate, you should also expect to incur expenses that include your mortgage payment,property taxes, insuance, and maintenance. The interaction of the revenues coming in and the expenses going out is what tells you whether you realize positive operating profit each month.

In real estate investing, the appreciation of your properties compunds tax-deferred during your years of ownership. You don't pay tax on this profit until you sell your property and even then you can rollover your gain into another investment property and avoid paying taxes

The short sale process can to time-consuming. A lot of demand is placed on the seller, the agent, and sometimes the buyer as well.

Everyone loses something in a preforeclosure short sale. The lender gets less that it is owed and the seller gets a blemished credit report unless a lender agrees not to submit the negative information. If it does report the information, the seller has a short sale on his credit report for seven years like any other judgment.

Many lenders are so busy or so large that they can’t respond to short sale offers in a timely manner. Some properties go to auction because the lender couldn’t get around to responding to the offer fast enough. This is especially true if loss mitigation committees are involved.