Leah Badach, Certified Exchange Specialist
Leah Badach is a Certified Exchange Specialist (CES) at The Sontag Group, a qualified intermediary based in Brooklyn, New York. She has 11+ years of experience guiding property owners through 1031 exchanges, including reverse, improvement, and New York City co-op and condo exchanges.
On this page
What Leah actually handles
A qualified intermediary is the party that holds your sale proceeds between the sale and the purchase so that you never have actual or constructive receipt of them. In practice, Leah’s work runs from before your sale closes until Form 8824 is filed:
- Before closing: reviewing the sale contract and closing timeline, preparing the exchange agreement and assignment documents, and coordinating with the settlement attorney or title company so proceeds wire to the exchange account rather than to you.
- Days 1–45: receiving and date-stamping your written identification, and flagging identification-rule problems (three-property, 200 percent, or 95 percent rules) before the deadline.
- Days 45–180: coordinating the replacement closing, wiring funds to the closing, and handling multi-property or partial exchanges.
- Structures: reverse exchanges through an exchange accommodation titleholder, improvement exchanges, exchanges into Delaware Statutory Trusts, and New York City co-op and condo exchanges.
- After closing: providing the exchange closing statement your CPA needs to complete Form 8824.
Leah is not your CPA or attorney and does not give tax or legal advice. The firm works alongside your existing advisers: your CPA determines the tax treatment and files the return, your attorney handles the contracts, and Leah runs the exchange mechanics and the deadlines between them.
What happens after you reach out
- Your inquiry goes directly to Leah’s inbox at The Sontag Group. It is not routed through a call center.
- Leah reviews your situation (property type, expected closing date, what you hope to buy) and follows up by email or phone.
- If an exchange fits, you receive the exchange documents to review with your attorney before anything is signed and before any funds move. If it does not fit, she will say so.
Watch Leah explain the rules
These are short technical explainers from Leah’s YouTube channel, not personal welcome messages. Each one links to a written, source-checked breakdown.
45 Days. That’s the Rule.
It’s Not Six Months. It’s 180 Days.
If the Funds Hit Your Account, It’s Over.
How this site is written and checked
Guides and updates on this site cite primary sources (the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury regulations, IRS publications and revenue procedures) and separate official facts from editorial context. Trust claims about Leah and the firm are attributed to their source, and unverified figures are removed rather than rounded up. Read the editorial policy or report an error to [email protected].
Discuss your exchange before you close
The exchange agreement has to be in place before the sale closes. A short conversation now costs nothing and can keep every dollar of equity working.
Talk to Leah What a qualified intermediary doesMedia inquiries: see the press and media page.
Read the profile: Leah's personal approach to 1031 exchange expertise.