Florida already has “a very broad and very deep pre-emption on vacation rentals,” he said.Poole cited one report that found the vacation-rental industry generated $1.2 billion in revenue through rentals to 6.6 million guests in Florida last year.

I don't want to trigger any amounts above the annual gift tax exclusion that would count towards my lifetime estate/gift tax allowance. 

If so, what salaried jobs are there in the real estate industry?

To clarify, I’m throwing out the idea of a career change (personally), and I’m looking for recommendations that could accelerate my learning and commitment to the industry.

I have 5 years+ of experience in the real estate industry, specializing in property management and commercial Real Estate.

Lot's of investors that do not work in this space day in and day out saying retail watch out etc. are not in tune with the industry.

Demand in the market can be influenced by job growth & net migration, industry breakdown of the market, new product coming online, landlord/tenant laws, and many other factors.Location - is it in a good or bad part of town?

If you want to focus on the Plumbing business while generating double digit passive returns on your cash, I might even suggest being a Private Lender to a successful Real Estate Professional with a proven track record in the industry!

I would verify the rent rate and your exclusions first  (Smoking, pets, etc).

Did you "follow your dreams" and get a degree in an industry with no careers, or get a degree where you can graduate and make $45-55k right away?