If you are a cash buyer seeking income, one can expect income that is triple or quadruple treasuries and CDs, and you are holding a long term appreciating asset.  

If you’ve been in real estate for a while, you’ve probably heard people talk about Real Estate Professional Status (REPS)— but most investors still don’t fully understand what it means or how powerful it can be.Here’s the simple version:If you qualify for REPS, the IRS allows you to treat your rental income and losses as active instead of passive.That means depreciation, cost segregation, and other real estate losses can actually offset your other income — even W-2 income.For full-time investors or spouses who manage their properties, that can mean tens of thousands of dollars in tax savings every single year.To qualify, you need to:- Must materially participate in their rental activities.- Spend over 750 hours a year in real estate activities.- And more than half of your total working time must be in real estate.It’s not for everyone — and you have to document it properly — but for serious investors, it’s one of the most valuable tax tools out there.Most people think wealth in real estate comes from appreciation and cash flow…But the biggest gains often come from how you use the tax code.Curious — have you or your spouse ever tried to qualify for Real Estate Professional Status?

I’ve been seeing more investors use asset utilization loans lately, qualifying based on their liquid assets or portfolio instead of income or tax returns.For experienced investors or self-employed borrowers, this seems like a powerful way to unlock equity and keep scaling even when write-offs limit income on paper.Has anyone here closed a deal using this type of financing?

$112K.That’s double in less than a decade while median incomes barely moved.This isn’t a “high mortgage rate” problem.

Sure, the rental income projections looks good on paper but do you even know WHERE you are buying?

MyRental by CoreLogic is another reputable platform.That said, the real gold is in pairing the credit/background check with income verification from the source—not just a paystub or PDF.

Since you no longer live in Wisconsin, you may face state income tax considerations both in your new state of residence and Wisconsin, especially if you generate rental income or take deductions on the Wisconsin property.You could also explore passive investing with partners in larger properties to grow without managing everything yourself and these don't have to be local.

Suggestions for how to best separate rental income? 

If one spouse qualifies for reps and materially participates in the rental activity, then all the rental activity should be eligible to write off any losses against active income to better help, can you describe how your mom is a real estate professional?

They reduce income in the year incurred and are not “paid back” later.What can you depreciate?