Selling SF Home To Buy Miami Home

[Monica Lee]

Hi bigger pockets community,

I was wondering what advice you would give to my family. We have a family house worth around 2.9 million dollars in San Francisco. We are interested in moving to Miami by selling the San Francisco house and using that money to fund the Miami house. The SF house was technically a primary residence, so it might not be able to qualify for 1031 exchange. What do you guys advice on how we can save on taxes, how we can make our money work for us, and where we should look for a single family house? Thank you!

[Ray Hage]

Hi Monica. I imagine your profit will be more than 500k on the sale. You will most likely want to roll the total 2.9m into RE in south FL into your primary residence in the Miami area plus whatever is left over into an investment property. That being said, if you have another useful purpose for the money (say starting a business or investing in stocks), you will have to pay taxes on the excess of 500k and make your money through a different investment. 

I am an investor and realtor and hate paying taxes so I would roll into an investment property but the right answer depends on your age, lifestyle, plans for the money, etc. I'd be happy to have a conversation to help.

Regarding the tax issue, of course, you are going to want to consult with a local accountant in your area for all this.