Rental Real Estate Treated as Schedule C Income

You are on the right track with stressing the services they do, but they still sound like routine rental property services.  Some examples of "rentals" that qualify for schedule C  treatrment are"

Bed and breakfasts; motels and hotels; trailer parks with recreational facilities (Note the big difference in the type and volume of services provided to the residents)

AS far as whether they materially participate they rules are more than just leasing and repairing.  Read this link:

 http://www.irs.gov/businesses/...

What is the typical length of rental lease?

SCNEEDSHELP:  The following is the real estate professional requirements:

You are considered to be a real estate professional (i.e., in a real property trade or business) if:

1) more than one-half of the personal services you provided during the year were performed in a real property trade or business in which you materially participated; AND

2) the number of hours in which you materially participated in this real property trade or business was more than 750 hours; AND

3) you must materially participate in each rental real estate activity unless you filed an election to group all rental real estate activities as one (and materially participate in that activity).

A "real property trade or business" means any real property development, redevelopment, construction, reconstruction, acquisition, conversion, or rental operation, management, leasing, or brokerage trade or business.

Personal services performed as an employee are not treated as being performed in a real property trade or business unless you are a more than 5% owner of the trade or business.

For joint return purposes, the eligibility requirements are considered met if either you or your spouse separately satisfy the requirements.

Try this previous discussion for reinforcement use of Sch E, not Sch C

http://community.intuit.com/posts/client-wanting-to-show-rental-income-expenses-on-sch-c

This would be Schedule E and not Schedule C

I appreciate all the help with my question.  I think I know what I'm going to do now.

Your welcome...sorry the Solution was not what you were looking for.