How to do a 1031 exchange

[Jay Bickmore]

I currently have a property and am thinking about doing a 1031 exchange and have a few questions. I will explain the situation a little bit more. If it is a possibility I would like to maybe take a small amount out from the sale and keep it for other bills.

I would like to find a way to sell the property and avoid the capital gains taxes if possible. It was my primary residence for over 2 years and I moved out about 2.5 years ago. I cant remember the right name for the sale of primary residence but would this be eligible to sell and not pay taxes since it was primary residence since it still has been primary residence for 2 out of past 5 years? Or is a 1031 the only route where I can sell and avoid extra taxes? I would like to keep most or all of it in real estate. If it changes things I recently am changing jobs and sold my current primary residence in March.

Hopefully that isn’t too confusing if so please feel free to reach out. Any advice is welcome.

[Glenna Wood]

Did you claim the 121 exclusion on the primary home you said you just sold in March? If yes, you can only claim a 121 once every two years so you could no longer reach back to your former primary home/now rental property and do this again until two years pass from your March primary home sale. By then it looks like the 2 of 5 year rule will be hosed.  Also remember you can only 1031 RE being used as an investment at the time of the exchange and into future investment RE. I'm not a pro just an investor with 1031 experience.