Are you a Real Estate Professional?

Whether you have worked with exchanges in the past, been trained on them or have no experience, this page is for you. You are (or will be) part of the professional team of the real estate investor.

We’ve found that one of the best ways to help the investor maximize the benefits of the 1031 exchange is to get all the people on their team up to speed.

What this means is that as soon as we are asked to help, we contact all the parties and find out where they are in their understanding, experience and comfort with the exchange. Then we make sure you know your role and introduce you to some of the strategies that will most benefit the investor, given their situation.

Common elements:

The following is a list of best practices common to every profession:

Training
Get trained on 1031 exchanges, regardless of your experience, stay current on your knowledge

Team
Get to know who’s on your client’s team.  You may need to know who your customer is going to for advice and who you might need to contact to coordinate their transaction.

Role
Know your role in the 1031 process and how it affects your client relative to your profession will help the investor get up to speed faster, reduce any anxiety and allow the investor to focus on gathering the pertinent information needed to make the best business decision for them.

Strategies
To effectively guide your investor, you need to know not only what their goals are, but how those goals relate to the 1031 exchange.  We recommend meeting with your investors as early as possible.

Below we’ll look at two examples and include questions that each professional may want to know to have the investor strategize:

Example #1:
Your investor owns a property in a LLC with 3 members.  They want to sell and go their separate ways.

Does the LLC own other properties?
Which of the members want to do a 1031 exchange?
Are they trading up or down?
How long has the LLC owned the property?
How much time before the sale closes?

Example #2:
An investor owns a shopping center and has to sell it for less than the purchase price.  He doesn’t want to have all his money tied up in one property anymore.

What are the Capital Gains and Recapture taxes due?
Should he do a 1031 exchange?
How long has he owned the property?
Will the title remain the same?
What types of properties does he want to buy?
What areas are he most interested in?
How does this affect the identification period and rules?

Tips for professionals:

Below are some of the best practices we’ve assembled over the years:

Realtors and Brokers:

Add 1031 conversation to your listing appointments
Add 1031 language to all your contracts. Ask us why

Add 1031 exchange to your marketing efforts
Find a Q.I. that with whom you’re comfortable and have them help you educate you, your team and your clients’ teams
Understand how your clients’ goals will affect what you do.  For example, are they looking to buy the same type of property, diversify into several smaller properties or invest in a larger property

Attorneys:

Advise your clients to make sure they have 1031 language in all their contracts
Meet with your clients periodically to discuss their goals, including potential partnerships, protection and tax implications of their decisions
Help them understand the 1031 strategies as they apply to their portfolio, now and in the future
Find a Q.I. that with whom you’re comfortable and have them help you educate you, your team and your clients’ teams

CPAs:

Make sure your clients have a comfortable understanding about the 1031 exchange, including how to use it, when to use it and when NOT to use it
Stay current on how the tax laws affect your clients’ 1031 exchanges
Make sure your clients are up to date on their capital gains and recapture taxes