Leah Badach: 1031 Exchange Expertise With a Personal Standard
Meet Leah Badach: 11+ years of 1031 exchange experience, with a focus on organization, responsiveness, transparency, and investor education.
Read articleWhat Qualifies as Like-Kind Property in a 1031 Exchange?
Real estate can be like-kind even when the buildings are nothing alike. What the IRS actually requires, what is excluded, and the questions to settle before you close.
Read article1031 Exchange With Seller Financing
A carried note is boot unless the QI is the payee. Four ways to structure it, and the replacement-side version that's not a problem at all.
Read article1031 Exchanges of Mineral Rights and Royalties
Perpetual royalties and working interests are real property and exchange into any real estate. Production payments don't. The rulings and the traps.
Read article1031: One Property Into Several, or Several Into One
Both directions work. Which identification rule fits buying several, and the clock trap when selling several: it starts at the first closing.
Read article7 Legal Ways to Avoid Capital Gains Tax on a Rental
1031, Section 121, installment sale, opportunity zones, DSTs, step-up at death, loss harvesting. What each one actually does and who it fits.
Read articleCan a Corporation Do a 1031 Exchange?
Yes, any entity can. The rule that actually bites is 'same taxpayer sells, same taxpayer buys.' Where corporations, S-corps, and partnerships get stuck.
Read articleCan You 1031 Exchange a Fix-and-Flip?
Usually no: flips are inventory, taxed as ordinary income. The dealer-vs-investor factors, and how renting first converts a flip into exchange property.
Read articleCan You 1031 Exchange a Vacation Home or Airbnb?
Yes, if it's really a rental. The 24-month / 14-day / 10% safe harbor, how Airbnbs fit, and how to convert a personal second home first.
Read articleCan You 1031 Exchange Into Property in Another State?
Yes, any state to any state. What changes: withholding at closing, clawback rules, and which state gets the tax when you finally sell.
Read articleCan You 1031 Into a Cheaper Property?
Yes, and the gap is taxable. The trade-down math, the debt trap, and three ways to close the gap so the whole gain still defers.
Read articleCan You 1031 Into a REIT? The 721 UPREIT Path
Not directly, but there's a two-step path through a DST and Section 721. How it works, why it's one-way, and who it actually suits.
Read articleCan You Do a 1031 After Closing?
Once the money reaches you, no. What the constructive-receipt rule means, the rare rescues, and the fallbacks when the window has closed.
Read articleCan You Move Into Your Rental Property to Avoid Capital Gains Tax?
Yes, with three big catches: post-2008 rental years are prorated out, recapture is never excluded, and 1031 property needs a 5-year hold.
Read articleCan You Use a 1031 Exchange for New Construction?
Three ways it works, one way it doesn't. The 180-day value-in-place rule, build-to-suit mechanics, and the land-you-already-own trap.
Read articleCapital Gains Tax on Selling Land
No recapture, but a dealer trap. The rates on land, the Section 1237 subdividing safe harbor, and how raw land exchanges into rentals.
Read articleHome Turned Rental: The Tax When You Sell
The 3-year window most accidental landlords miss, and how Rev. Proc. 2005-14 lets you stack a 1031 on top of the home-sale exclusion.
Read articleHow Much Tax Do You Pay When You Sell a Rental?
Four separate taxes hit a rental sale, and most owners only budget for one. A worked example, and the move that defers all four.
Read articleInstallment Sale vs 1031 Exchange
One spreads the tax, the other defers all of it. How Section 453 works, where recapture lands, and how to combine both structures.
Read articleIs a 1031 Exchange Worth It?
The break-even logic, what deferred tax is worth compounding, and six situations where I'd tell you not to exchange.
Read articlePartial 1031 Exchange: Cash Out Some, Defer the Rest
Yes, you can take cash out. It's taxable boot, the rest still defers. Timing rules, a worked example, and the refinance alternative.
Read articleRefinancing After a 1031 Exchange
Loan proceeds aren't income. The refinance-before-sale risk, the refinance-at-closing trap, and the waiting period practitioners actually use.
Read articleSelling a Rental Property and Buying Another: How to Do It Without Paying Tax
Selling one rental and buying another is fully taxable unless you follow a specific order of operations. Here it is, step by step.
Read articleSelling an Inherited Rental: Step-Up, Taxes, and 1031
The step-up usually erases the gain, but not always. When you still owe tax, how depreciation restarts, and when a 1031 still makes sense.
Read articleSwap Till You Drop: 1031 Exchanges and Death
Deferred gain is eliminated at death, not paid. How the step-up works, the estate-tax side, and the mistakes that forfeit it.
Read articleWhat Happens If a 1031 Exchange Fails?
It becomes a taxable sale, but when it's taxed depends on the calendar. The straddle-year rule, fund-release timing, and the day-44 backups.
Read articleWhich States Recognize 1031 Exchanges?
All of them, including Pennsylvania since 2023. What actually differs: clawbacks, withholding at closing, and the no-tax states.
Read articleCan You Do a 1031 Exchange When the Property Is Held in an LLC?
Holding investment property in an LLC? A Certified Exchange Specialist explains the same-taxpayer rule, why single-member LLCs work, and the multi-member partnership trap.
Read articleDrop-and-Swap 1031: How Partners Can Go Separate Ways
Partners want different outcomes from a jointly-owned property? A Certified Exchange Specialist explains the drop-and-swap, the holding-period risk, and the reverse swap-and-drop.
Read articleHow to Report a 1031 Exchange on IRS Form 8824 (With a Worked Example)
A Certified Exchange Specialist walks through Form 8824 line by line: which tax year you file it, the dates on lines 5-6, deferred gain, basis carryover, and boot.
Read articleThe Three 1031 Identification Rules Explained (3-Property, 200%, 95%)
A Certified Exchange Specialist breaks down the 45-day clock and the three identification rules: the 3-property rule, the 200% rule, and the 95% rule, with how to identify correctly.
Read articleCan You 1031 Exchange a Rent-Stabilized NYC Building?
Yes. The holding-period, valuation, and replacement-strategy nuances NYC owners need before listing.
Read articleCan You Escape California Taxes With a 1031 Exchange?
Myth vs. reality. The deferral works year to year, but California's clawback changes the long-term math.
Read articleHow California's 1031 Clawback Rule Actually Works
The only state that taxes you later on an exchange you did years ago. What fires it, how Form FTB-3840 works, and the three strategies that defeat it.
Read articleNYC Co-op vs Condo in a 1031 Exchange
Condos qualify. Co-ops are case by case. A decision tree for NYC owners considering an exchange.
Read articleDepreciation Recapture: The Hidden 1031 Tax Saver
Most investors focus on capital gains tax. Depreciation recapture at 25% is often the bigger savings from a 1031 exchange.
Read articleHow Long Do I Have to Hold a 1031 Property? The Real Answer
The IRS doesn't publish a bright-line holding period for 1031 exchanges. Here's what "intent to hold for investment" actually means in practice.
Read articleThe 1031 Exchange Checklist (Pre-Closing Through Tax Filing)
A step-by-step checklist for executing a 1031 exchange. Every action you need to take from pre-closing through filing Form 8824.
Read article1031 Exchange Boot: Cash, Mortgage, and How to Avoid It
Boot is the hidden tax trap in 1031 exchanges. Cash boot, mortgage boot, and how to structure your exchange to avoid all of it.
Read article1031 Exchange for Rental Property: The Complete Guide
How rental property investors use 1031 exchanges to scale, diversify, or retire from active landlording. Strategies, rules, and real examples.
Read article1031 Exchange vs Opportunity Zone: Which Is Better?
Both defer capital gains. Both have strict rules. Here's how 1031 exchanges and Opportunity Zones differ, and which wins in which situation.
Read article7 Mistakes That Kill a 1031 Exchange
The 7 most common mistakes that void a 1031 exchange, from real cases. Avoid these and your exchange will close.
Read articleHow Much Does a 1031 Exchange Cost in 2026?
What drives the cost of a 1031 exchange, broken down by exchange type — what's included, what adds complexity, and what to push back on.
Read articleThe 45-Day Rule: Everything You Need to Know
The 45-day identification deadline kills more 1031 exchanges than any other rule. Here's exactly how it works and how to never miss it.
Read articleWhat is a 1031 Exchange? Complete Overview
If you're new to 1031 exchanges, start here. The mechanics, who qualifies, what you save, and when it makes sense.
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Practical 1031 tips, deadline reminders, and strategy pieces, roughly twice a month. No fluff.