Most of my clients over the years have cited the ability to use the home for friends and family members and have it cover some or all of the costs of ownership. 

However, now that it's up and running well, I spend maybe 2-3 hours when I get a new guest just going through the lease up steps and then maybe 1 hour/month after that to deal with service requests and bookkeeping.

Determining whether the venture falls under a service or rental business hinges on the provision of substantial services; for instance, if a bed and breakfast service is offered, it must be reported on Schedule C, triggering a 15.3% self-employment tax.Moreover, personal use plays a crucial role in the classification of the property.

This would be a huge disservice to his client!

Would using services like own it Detroit be a good place to start? 

What strategies have you found most effective in securing the best deal for your clients or yourself?

After working with a lot of lenders over the years, the most important thing for me is their level of customer service (will they provide a lender letter promptly for you when you need to write an offer quickly, call the listing agent to help you get your offer accepted, pick up their phone for you, etc.) and do they close on time?

However, as the owner you still need to spend more than 50% of personal services and more than 750 hours on the real estate business on your own.Alternatively, short-term rentals are generally treated as active business income and therefore are eligible to offset w-2 income.Navigating the Real Estate Professional Rules"When measuring material participation, a married taxpayer is required to count any hours performed by his or her spouse, even if the spouse does not own an interest in the business or if no joint return is filed.32 While this rule is advantageous because it makes it more likely the taxpayer materially participates in the real property trade or business, it is a trap for the unwary in the real estate professional context, as discussed below in Step 3.""

I would approach the mortgagor (owner) and let them know as a private and public service I am informing them that there is a problem.They appreciated the advance notice and information.

I've seen a lot of clients investing in Texas, Florida, New York, Minnesota, and more.