For the upcoming year, Brazil is going to be the sports capital of the world. They have quite a few worldwide tournaments coming up. The soonest one being the Confederations Cup, which will be held in Rio de Janerio. As a consequence real estate in the area has turned into a gold mine, which could be a problem or a jackpot, depending on your investment and/or vacation plans.

Five years ago, Rio de Janeiro's "favela" hillside slums had such a bad rap that they were virtual no-go zones, where drug lords laid down the law and outsiders set foot at their peril.

But since 2011, police have seized control of dozens of favelas from drug gangs, and things have changed so dramatically that some of the slums are now seen as hot real estate investments — so hot, in fact, that two Europeans recently locked horns in a legal battle over a battered favela house.

Rio's slum "pacification" program is part of a strategy to make the city safe ahead of the 2014 soccer World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Read More on foxnews.com