1031 cash boot - please help!

[Natalie Hahn]

I have a question for 1031 tax experts out there. Let's say I buy an investment property for $200k and then after some years it appreciates to $300k, making me liable for getting taxed on $100k of gains if I sold it. If instead I were to do a 1031 and exchanged it with a replacement property worth $250k and took a $50k for myself, would I still have to pay capital gains taxes on the $50k? Or can I avoid it because I purchased the house originally for $200k and the $50k is under this amount?