Or do I have to have REPs status for this side business to affect my W2 income in any way?

I would say Lewiston is desperately trying to crawl out of Class C status, but it'll take some more years.

This is why it's important to just keep it to their address, don't get things mixed up, have the police going by to give the tenant status updates, because it could cause the calls to be charged to your property. 

But if you have one person who wants high end and new all the time and another who is fine with status quo, it is going to lead to problems.

Getting the REPS status in order to truly leverage the benefits real estate paper losses offsetting your W2 earnings is something that takes very clear logging of approved activities proving your qualification every year.

Your profile mentions that you are a real estate agent - You want to have a conversation to see if you potentially are eligible to claim real estate professional status which would allow you to treat your rental losses as active instead of passive.Also have a conversation if you are required to make estimated tax payments since there is no withholding on your commissions.Lastly, your profile mentions you are in Florida which does not have a state income tax which opens you up to more options for choosing an accountant.

They gave me their sob story about not being able to buy traditionally due to immigration status, they told me how hard they work and how excited they were to finally be able to own their home after 12 years of renting.

You are pre-approved based on your status and employment so if nothing changes, you are good to go.

Create columns for Name, Street Address, City, State, Zip and then contact info: Last Contact, Relationship, Status, Email & Phone.IMPORTANT: do NOT ask people for THEIR business, ask for referrals!

Create columns for Name, Street Address, City, State, Zip and then contact info: Last Contact, Relationship, Status, Email & Phone.IMPORTANT: do NOT ask people for THEIR business, ask for referrals!