Qualifying as a real estate professional for tax deduction purposes

[James Park]

I would like to qualify as a real estate professional in 2012, but i know the minimum hours you need to spend on real estate activities is 750 hours. I did not spend 750 hours in RE activities in 2011 to qualify. From the IRS standpoint, is there no way around this if you have a small business that is not real estate related but plan to 750 hours in your small business and 750 hours in real estate activities? If I have my broker license, but my wife does not and she helps me with my real estate business will her hours count towards the 750 hours minimum if she is not on payroll? In 2012 I am trying to build my residential brokerage business and grow my portfolio in my SFR rentals. Is there a minimum rental properties you need for the IRS to qualify you are a real estate professional for tax purposes?

I already have a SCORP for my non-real estate related business. Will it be beneficial for me to create another SCORP for my brokerage business?

Sorry for the lengthy questions. My cpa is very conservative when it comes to this. I had a major flood in one of my rentals where i paid $15,000 out of pocket as i did not have flood insurance. I was not able to deduct any of this loss due to the rental loss phase out at a certain income level.