1031 Exchange - Personal Use Definition

[Brady Stout]

Hello,

My wife I are in the process of buying a property through a 1031 Exchange.  This is an investment property in the mountains near Breckenridge, CO.  We intend to use the property as a short-term rental (AirBNB/VRBO).  Before we can lease the property it needs some structural repair and rehab work.  We expect that the repairs will take about 1 month to complete.  We do not currently live in Colorado so we are considering staying at the property during the repairs to manage the process.  However, I know that 1031 Exchange procedure has very strict rules about personal use of the property.  Would it be considered personal use if we were to stay at the property, before we lease it, in order to manage the repair/rehab process for about 1 month?  This would not be a leisurely vacation.  We would be staying there for the sole purpose of preparing the property to rent out via short-term rental services.  Any advice or information would be appreciated!  Thank you!

-Brady

[Brook Appelbaum]

@Brady Stout, we did the exact same thing for our 1031 in Breck (Sept 2020). You should be in the clear if you have receipts and invoices for the work. One huge word of caution, lock your vendors down NOW! Contractors, plumbers etc are in extremely short supply in Breck and many pick and choose what work they do because they can. Hope that helps.