Being a real estate professional comes with a lot of benefits, especially on tax. Most countries including the US have a progressive taxation method. This implies that your tax increases as you continue increasing your wealth. However, as a real estate professional, you can enjoy reduced tax rates. Read on to learn more about tax benefits of being a real estate professional. But first, let’s discover how you can qualify as a real estate professional.

How to Qualify as a Real Estate Professional

To become a professional in real estate, you don’t have to be a realtor with a license. You even don’t have to have a real estate educational background. Here are some of the guidelines that the IRS has put in place to qualify as a professional.

•Number of hours

You have to spend more than 750 hours of actively participating in real estate businesses. The 750 hours threshold is the minimum number. IRS often audits any professional and doesn’t give any reductions in the event some hours are missing.

•Active involvement

About 50 percent of your time needs to be spent in the management and service provision of the rental property. Unless you’re actively involved in the activities of your rental property, you cannot claim passive loss tax reductions.

•Not engaged in another job

You cannot become a real estate professional if you’re in another full time job. As such, most people make use of their spouses who don’t have formal employment to enjoy the benefits. Of course, you cannot afford 50 percent of your time in real estate while still serving another boss.

Tax Benefits of a Real Estate Professional

•Loss deductions

As a real estate professional, you can deduct 100 percent of all losses incurred in real estate against your active income. This means that you get to have a rental property earning your rental income, and still enjoy tax deductions.

For a real estate professional, any income earned through real estate activities is considered an active income for tax purposes only. This implies that a professional can offset their losses using their active income. For instance, if you earn $ 200,000 in a tax year and make losses amounting to $ 50,000, your adjusted gross income is $ 150,000.

Remodeling your bathroom may seem straightforward, and many homeowners are tempted to take on the project as it can make a big difference when selling a home. To make sure you don't have problems, here is what not to do when remodeling bathrooms:

Keep space in mind when planning your new look bathroom, as most bathrooms have only a limited amount. A shower door needs to be able to open without having to squeeze past it, and there should be plenty of room for cabinets to open and of course to use the toilet easily.

When replacing surfaces or other bathroom features, use materials that won't warp or attract mold in the moist environment. And they should be able to withstand the often strong cleaning chemicals that most people use to clean their bathroom.

It's always a good thing to incorporate as much space as possible into any new design, based on how many people routinely use it.

Despite much speculation over whether they would move back to Chicago, Barack and Michelle Obama have decided to stay in the nation's capital, in the very house they have been renting.

A spokesperson for Obama, Kevin Lewis, pointed out that it made sense for the Obamas to buy, rather than rent, given that they will be staying in DC for at least a couple of years, until daughter Sasha graduates from Sidwell Friends School. The neighborhood they have chosen is the affluent and upmarket D.C. neighborhood Kalorama, making other homes there appealing to anyone wanting the ultimate celebrity neighbors.

Buying an investment property is equal parts daunting and exciting. In fact, your first investment property can feel like a real roller coaster of emotions. Like with all things, there will be a learning curve to walk through, but these 4 simple steps can help to ensure that you are on the right course as you journey ahead into this thrilling new time in your life...

Prepare for interest rates and down payment. They will be different from what you are used to.

Investment properties work much differently than an owner-occupied home. You should expect to make a down payment of at least 20%. Likewise, your interest rates will be different than your home interest rates as well. For this reason, you will want to research the interest rates for investment properties.

Decide if you want to flip or rent.

It is possible to save money on your new construction home, despite such expenses as closing costs, earnest money and moving expenses.

Appliances

As soon as you have an idea of your closing date, start shopping around for appliances, especially as a washer, dryer and refrigerator often isn't included in your home price. You can often delay your delivery date with the store if you find some appliances you like.

Renters often face the decision of continuing in their current housing situation or buying their first home. While rental prices have increased over the past 20 years, there is good news on the horizon in these predictions for renters.

While prices peaked in July 2015, the growth rate in what renters pay has slowed since then. Although prices are not likely to fall, the slower rate makes rental homes more affordable. However, in several hot markets, especially on the west coast, rental prices are likely to continue to rise faster than other locations in the United States.

While home ownership is currently near the historic low, the number of homeowners is expected to grow as millennials begin to start their families. Getting married or having children typically triggers couples to consider home ownership. Recent surveys show millennials to believe ownership is a key to the American Dream.

In the next few years, you can expect some population shifts. While millennials are likely to drive the growth of the suburbs, older generations are embracing the walk able neighborhood concept of urban areas. Thus, the suburbs will see growth in younger homeowners while urban populations grow older.

While home ownership is currently near the historic low, the number of homeowners is expected to grow as millennials begin to start their families. Getting married or having children typically triggers couples to consider home ownership. Recent surveys show millennials to believe ownership is a key to the American Dream.

If you take the plunge to buy a home, you will find newly constructed homes are more expensive. This is explained by higher demand, a shrinking workforce and increased wages. These issues lead builders to focus on more expensive homes to maximize profits and reduces the number of new, entry-level homes.

Selena Gomez's Texas estate, which is a 10,000 square foot mansion, was purchased so that she could entertain her family and friends.

Now Selena Gomez, a pop singer, has put up her Forth Worth mansion, which she bought last year, for sale.

Gomez shared that she fell instantly in love with the media room in this $2.999 million listing when she saw it in a press release coming from Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty. Her agents are Todd Terry and John Zimmerman.

Gomez loves watching movies in her magnificent home theater with her family. In addition, she was intrigued by the house's two master suites.

The Whitehouse, the official residence of every American president since the 1800s was originally referred to as the Presidential Palace or Mansion. Theodore Roosevelt would change all that by referring to the historic building as the Whitehouse. To this day, the name has stuck since 1901.

If you're looking to spend this Halloween in a haunted ghost town, you might want to visit Johnsonville, Connecticut. This deserted mill town, founded in 1802, was once a thriving community, until it was mysteriously struck by lightning in 1972, causing a massive fire. The town was then deserted until Raymond Schmitt, an aerospace manufacturer, purchased the property with the intention of restoring it. Unfortunately, Schmitt died in 1998 and the town has since fallen into disrepair when it was abandoned again.

Recent News on Clintons Chappaqua Home

Bill and Hillary Clinton has recently purchased the home next door to the farmhouse they own in upstate New York. The property is separated by a tall white fence, and the Clintons have reportedly paid 1.16 million for the house. They've effectively created a compound that recalls the Kennedy era. Secretary Clinton has the White House as a goal but is still focusing on the Chappaqua family estate.

The newly purchased property measures 3,631 feet, has three bedrooms, four bathrooms, and has plenty of room for when the rest of the Clinton family visits. The house sits on the same 1.5 acres that they purchased shortly after the end of Bill Clinton's presidency. The ranch style home was renovated to have an open floor plan with hardwood floors and a chef's kitchen plus dining area that recalls the Clinton-era White House of the 90s.