The listing you're not getting is often the one where the owner is worried about the tax bill.

Listings that are already on your list

Most agents have them: past clients who bought a rental years ago and never sold. The property has appreciated, the rent hasn’t kept up, and the owner is tired of managing it. They aren’t calling anyone, because selling has meant writing a large check to the IRS.

A 1031 exchange can change that. When the owner can sell, defer the tax and move into real property that suits them better, the conversation becomes a listing, and you’re the one who brought them the option.

You arrive as a problem-solver, not another agent asking for a listing.

Know your lane

• You list and sell the property, and keep the client relationship.
• Tax Deferred Wealth coordinates the plan and introduces replacement options, through the program’s licensed partners.
• Institutional 1031 is the qualified intermediary for exchanges in this program. It holds exchange funds under written exchange agreements and does not advise on the suitability of any replacement property.
• The owner’s CPA or attorney gives the tax advice.

You don’t need to be a tax expert, and you shouldn’t act as one. Your job is to spot the owner and start the conversation.

Five questions before the listing agreement

1. Is this property held for investment or business use? A primary residence follows different rules.
2. Roughly when was it bought, and has it been depreciated? Long-held, depreciated rentals tend to carry the largest tax bill.
3. Is there a loan on it, and about how much? Debt paid off on the sale generally needs to be offset on the replacement side.
4. Has the owner talked to a CPA about selling? If not, now is the time.
5. Would the owner consider property elsewhere if the tax could be deferred? If the answer is “maybe,” that’s a conversation worth having.

One timing point matters more than the rest: the exchange needs to be set up before the sale closes. If a past client might exchange, raise it before the listing agreement, not at escrow.

What your client can exchange into

We partner with a curated network of specialists focused exclusively on single-family residential, multifamily, self-storage and select triple-net assets. See the four property types.

What we give you

• A short guide to raising the exchange with a past client.
• A one-page handout you can give the owner.
• Someone to call when the owner has questions you’d rather not answer yourself.

Agent briefings

We’re starting short briefings for agents. They cover how the exchange works, how to raise it with a past client, and what to send them afterward. The first ones are being scheduled now. Leave your details and we’ll tell you when the next one is.