All contracts, options, or other devices not based upon a substantial consideration, or that are otherwise employed to permit an unlicensed person to sell, lease, or let real estate, the beneficial title to which has not, in good faith, passed to such party for a substantial consideration, are hereby declared void and ineffective in all cases, suits, or proceedings had or taken under this chapter; however, this section shall not apply to irrevocable gifts, to unconditional contracts to purchase, or to options based upon a substantial consideration actually paid and not subject to any agreements to return or right of return reserved.That appears to close the loophole. 

It's like selling a used car...you don't even declare the Sale on your Taxes.

If you are in a field where tips make up a good portion of your income and you have not declared all of that on your taxes, that might be a problem.Good luck!

If I declare this income on my taxes, can it be counted as a year of rental income to help me get past the first 2 years?

One state called it a real estate transfer tax declaration. 

You must actually incur an expense in order for it to be deductible.If you want to pay yourself a management fee, you can do so, but you then need to declare that management fee as self employment income (or into another entity if you like), thus subjecting it to self employment tax.As an individual, you are a cash basis taxpayer (unless you make some pretty specific elections otherwise).  

You are, after all, providing a service in your efforts and can effectively charge a fee for your services under the declaration of a contractor in the form of a Corp or LLC.It gets very convoluted and if not done right, is illegal.

Once you get into declaring assets and doing the 'balance sheet per books' and the capital outlays of each member, tax time gets to be a royal pain and/or expensive.In CA, you'll also have the $800 annual fee per LLC to deal with as well, of course.You'll need more thorough advice than a vague tax book here.  

That was last week, this week I've made another declaration," This is the last time I will shovel someone else's property!"

If you have owned the property longer and are declaring it on your tax returns, there is a slightly more complicated way of calculating your income.