Also, I took the NASCLA seminar and exam, was told it was easier than the NC test.

In Md its an open book test , its contract law , selling , and performance questions .

I'm still testing out one now.

If you don't pass this first test, you're stuck.

Raw land 'could be potentially good', also, if in an area that is growing fast, has easy access to the interstate- to buy and hold and sell to farmers maybe (maybe at first, while the area is 'growing up around it) or eventually to builders- but you'd have a lot of due diligence to do before buying, then you have to determine the highest and best use for the property in the end- before buying, paying for and performing perc tests every 12 feet or so, determining if the area can be serviced by city water and sewer or if the tracts would have to have well and septic permits pulled for each lot, etc.- you may lose some acreage if you find unsuitable soil or creeks or wetlands, so land can be a risky investment.

During the oil sweep testing we were made aware of a 550 gallon tank in front of the property under cement.

The material participation tests under these special rules for real estate professionals are the same as those that apply for purposes of classifying other activities as passive or nonpassive—i.e., the taxpayer is considered to have materially participated in an activity by meeting one of the seven tests (or three tests for a limited partner interest) outlined in section. 

Also be aware that many states require Property Manager licensing, which generally requires a 40 hour class and testing.

We've been sending these for about 30 years and it works great.But...for trying to get properties cheap, we did about 50,000 mail pieces and got zero.So...test the water with maybe 1,000 pieces and see what happens.We do all our direct main in-house with a software we developed with MS Access.

No exam or skill tests?