Selling a property?
Don't write
a tax check.
A 1031 exchange lets you sell your current property, roll the proceeds into a replacement, and defer every dollar of capital gains tax. NNN properties are one of the cleanest ways to complete that exchange — and come out the other side with income you don't have to manage.
You sell. You roll.
You defer the tax.
Section 1031 of the tax code lets real estate investors sell one property and buy another without paying capital gains tax in the year of sale. The tax doesn't disappear — it defers until you eventually sell without exchanging. But if you keep exchanging, or if your heirs inherit the property with a stepped-up basis, that tax may never come due at all.
For people selling apartments, commercial buildings, or land who are tired of managing what they own, NNN is the logical exit. You trade active property for passive property — and you do it without handing 30% of your gain to the IRS this year.
Set up your Qualified Intermediary before you close
Before your current property closes, hire a Qualified Intermediary (QI). Your proceeds must go directly to the QI — if the money touches your bank account, the exchange is disqualified. This step has to happen first.
Contact us as early as possible
The earlier you reach us, the more time we have to find the right NNN property before your 45-day identification deadline. Ideally, before your sale even closes. We'll have options ready to show you.
Identify your replacement property within 45 days
We prepare a short list of NNN properties that fit your budget, timeline, and preferences. You formally identify up to three in writing before the deadline. We handle the paperwork and logistics.
Close within 180 days
We move quickly on NNN deals. From signed purchase contract to closing typically takes 45–75 days. We work to close well before your 180-day window — not right up against it.
Your exchange is complete. The income starts.
Tax deferred. New property owned. Rent starts arriving the month you close. You went from an actively managed property to a hands-off NNN lease — and you kept your full equity working.
1031 exchange basics —
plain and simple
Your replacement must be "like-kind" to what you sold. In practice, almost any investment real estate qualifies — apartments, office, retail, industrial, land, NNN. They all count as like-kind to each other.
To defer all of your gain, you need to buy a replacement property worth at least as much as what you sold, and reinvest all of your net proceeds. Buy less, and the difference is taxable.
Your exchange proceeds must be held by a neutral third party — a QI — between your sale and your purchase. You cannot receive the money yourself. This is not optional.
Both properties — what you're selling and what you're buying — must be held for investment or business use. Personal residences don't qualify. Vacation homes are complicated. NNN investment property qualifies clearly.
Under the Three Property Rule, you can identify up to three replacement properties regardless of their total value. We recommend identifying at least two NNN options so you have a backup if one falls through.
If you reinvest less than your full proceeds, you pay tax on the difference ("boot") but defer tax on the rest. A partial 1031 exchange still puts real money back to work for you.
What the math
actually looks like
Say you sell an apartment building for $5,000,000. You have $2,000,000 in capital gains. At a combined federal and state rate of around 30%, that's a $600,000 tax bill — paid in cash, out of proceeds that could be earning income instead.
With a 1031 exchange into NNN, that $600,000 stays invested. At a 6% cap rate, it generates $36,000 per year in additional passive income you wouldn't have had otherwise. Over 20 years, that's $720,000 in income from money that would have gone to the government in year one. If your heirs inherit the property and receive a stepped-up basis, the deferred tax may never come due at all.
This is not a loophole. It is a straightforward provision of the tax code that has been available to U.S. real estate investors since 1921. We've been helping people use it to move into NNN since 1993.
Is your exchange
clock running?
Contact us as soon as possible. The earlier we start, the more options we can put in front of you before your 45-day deadline.
NNN Only · Buyer Brokers · Since 1993 · All 50 States