No one capable is "waiting on the sidelines", they just cannot afford to participate.

@Steve CrispIf you meet the material participation guidelines and qualify for the short term rental loophole you should get a free cost segregation estimate to see how much you would benefit from the accelerated depreciation. 

Now he needs to participate in the payout to investors who lost money when the properties they bought through GEG were never renovated, even after they paid for those renovations.I will be contacting the SEC and FTC so they can take care of it.

These are rural counties so I was not expecting to get this back so quick.. my client e mailed me Tuesday we negotiated the deal ( bare land) I open escrow yesterday .

The house has enough equity to buy a fixer upper and have some left over cash for renovations but just barely enough.

After we drafted a bare-bones plan that considered their timeline, target rents, and capital reserves, they honed in on a medium-sized complex managed by a local group.. from what I’ve heard, these guys had impressed other out-of-state buyers before and delivered on their promises.

Generic, state specific leases are just that, generic and simply covering the bare minimum (if that).

Spend more than half of your total working hours in an RE business in which you materially participate.2.

At the bare minimum, you should do the following to make your bookkeeping easier:Dedicate one checking account and credit card exclusively to real estate.

So again, to be a passive participant is hard for all the reasons you note and more.