Good questions...Just some really basic and general ideas to keep it brief (which is tough with some tax concepts): You can deduct the ordinary and necessary business expenses. 

I've read a lot about "passive" vs "active" income and how "passive income" is taxed as capital gain and "active income" is taxed as ordinary income.

Smaller jobs, like those around pools, patios, or a single side of a home's foundation, may run from $500 to $3,000.

Flipping and lending will just give you a bunch more ordinary income to report.Maybe you should pay off your credit cards or that car payment in your driveway. 

My question is: can i require that the dog can not potty in my condo/patio except when on walks outdoor in the common areas?

Ordinary Loss. 

The featured authors and columnists didn't invest in a property that was out of the ordinary (although their timing or foresight might have been earlier) generally the exceptional component to their story is just that..their story.

This is our home and we ask that you respect our privacy like we will respect yours.For ordinary maintenance or issues that do not require an immediate response, send an email to [email protected]. 

Instead be a passive investor and NNN lease a property to a STVR business manager( not an ordinary property manager) and receive 20%+ returns as a passive investor.

If your AGI is under $100k there is a small taxpayer exclusion where you can potentially utilize up to $25k of passive losses against ordinary income (W2) It starts to phase out at $100k, goes way completely at $150k.