Claudia Kiernan, Esq. CES®

Yes, you can buy ANY kind of business or investment real estate, anywhere in the US. The “like-kind” requirement does not mean selling and buying the same exact type of property. In an IRC §1031 transaction, you can exchange real property for virtually any other real property in the United States, as long as the property is held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment purposes. You can sell a rental house and buy apartments, commercial, industrial, mini storage, vacant land, agricultural, etc.

No, unless you are eligible for an extension due to a federally declared disaster, the IRS doesn’t have any provisions for extensions or exceptions – not even to the next business day if the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday. The best way to get more time is to start looking for your Replacement Property well before the closing of your sale property or to extend the closing date on your sale property.

Yes. During the 45 days you can change what you’ve identified, but once your identification period has expired, you must buy from only that list. No substitutions or changes after day 45. The rules under section 1031 are very strict.

The day you take title to the property is the end of the exchange for that property. If you have cash left over, that is taxable boot. There is something called a Build-to-Suit or Improvement Exchange, where we, as the intermediary, take title to the property to make the improvements before you take ownership. This is also a more expensive and complicated transaction.