However, if you or your spouse can meet the Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) requirements by working over your w2 hours in real estate and materially participating, the rental losses could offset your active income.

You need to actively participate in order for it to be successful.

He does not own 92 units, he is a participant, and has not been explicit about the degree of his ownership.

Participation trophy culture runs rampant next to abject fragility as a guise to avoid responsibility and ownership.

Quote from @David Cherkowsky: Material Participation: Material participation is the key factor here.

It's part of participation trophy society where people get socially rewarded for just being in the game, but that shouldn't apply to real estate.

I haven't been expanding my business with LMHA since the end of 2016 per my posts above so I don't know exactly what changed, but I expect the outsourcing of inspections to private industry + some executive level leadership + replacement of staff with new faces excited to serve the needs of HUD/Landlords/Those In Need has resulted in an agency I will develop more business with.The HCVP will always be a double edged sword for landlords (See Section 8 Bible discussion) but for now I have discovered it is finally worth the effort to participate in the program.I specialize in Toledo's transition neighborhoods, discounted houses on the edge of nicer areas but also on the edge of trash...the Section 8 program allows me to get long-term tenants who are a good business model provided they are consistently managed and visited/inspected for additional "visitors" (relatives and random dogs/cats) and damage/housekeeping which can destroy a home if left unchecked.You need to know the rules, repair and renovate for long-term durability, prepare for inspections thoroughly and keep a team of contractors who will hold those standards...after 8 years we have been through a hundred inspections.

But you don't qualify for material participation if you are a passive investor in a syndication.  

The whole ecosystem (and trades) is valued at hundreds of billions, but most participants bought in at well below 1/10000th of current prices. 

For my thesis, I'm conducting research into the practices and motivations of small landlords in Ontario to explore how various social and economic factors influence their business strategies, day-to-day property maintenance, and tenant interactions.Could anyone refer me to someone who might be interested in participating?