Real Estate Professional Designation

[Kristine Eickman]

I have a question. I own 2 rental properties, one long-term and one short-term. With the short term one alone, I work well over 750 hours on it per year. The other one I also put in some time. My issue, however, is that I also have a job working 35 hours a week. If I am reading correctly, I would not qualify as a real estate professional because of the 35 hour a week job, even though I work well over the required time with my rentals. Is this correct? Is there any exception to this rule? It seems silly as it really equates to someone having both a full and part-time job, which lots of people do. Can anyone give me some guidance on this?

Kristine