When Should You Start Shopping For a 1031 Exchange Replacement Property?

I have several clients doing 1031 exchanges right now, and this is just stuck in my head and I need to get it out. Let's say you're selling a property and you want to do a 1031 when you sell , for whatever reason!

Maybe you want to hose the government as much as you can… you want to put off capital gains taxes… you want to take advantage of that tax law… because Uncle Sam is never going to spend your money as well as you can… and maybe because you think that the concept of taxation is unlawful at best and pure evil at worst!

Whatever, I digress.

Anyway, when do you start looking for a new property? When you list? When you close? In my opinion, window shop all you want, take note of a few properties, and even make offers on some!

(Side note: PLEASE make your purchase dependent upon the sale of your property when you start making offers!)

But, when your property gets through the due diligence period and feasibility is satisfied, that's when you hit it hard. Call on everything that makes sense, and always ask if the seller is willing to carry a note.

You never know what they're going to say!