The calendar doesn't care how good the deal was
The 45-day clock
This one hurts because it was self-inflicted, and it's common.
An owner sold a building with a big gain, planning to 1031 into something new and skip the tax. Great plan. But a 1031 gives you exactly 45 days from closing to identify your replacement, in writing, and they treated that clock like a suggestion. They shopped casually, waited for the perfect deal, and blew past day 45.
The perfect deal showed up on day 52. Too late. The exchange was dead, and a tax bill that could have been deferred for years came due that April, for no reason other than the calendar.
What to take from it
A 1031 is a race against a clock that does not move and does not care. Line up your replacement targets before you ever close the sale, not after. The tax savings are enormous, and the only thing standing between you and them is a date on a calendar.
More where this came from. Read the rest of the teardowns →