To be eligible, a taxpayer must materially participate in the business, perform more than 750 hours of service per year in the real estate activity and be able to demonstrate that more than half of the personal services he or she performs during the year are
for real property trades or businesses.
The relief provision
for real estate professionals applies to individuals who spend considerable time in real property trades or businesses and who materially participate in their rental real estate activities.
"Having to move into a new market too fast to wait
for real estate analysis is one thing.
Incredibly, of the four federal banking agencies in a position tostop the appraisal abuses, only the Federal Home Loan Bank Board has taken the minimal step of even requiring an appraisal
for real estate loans.
Most recently, core inflation dropped, indicating an easing on inflationary pressures--good
for real estate developers as commodity prices decline, and good for residential investors (in the short term), as spending power remains strong, especially for debt service.