The short answer: If you sold investment property and need a replacement in Louisville or Southern Indiana, Rob Bergeron and Winner Realty work the buy side of your 1031 exchange. We build your shortlist inside the 45-day identification window, underwrite every option, pull in off-market inventory most agents never see, and coordinate with your qualified intermediary, CPA and lender until you close inside 180 days. Call or text (502) 305-8915.

Most 1031 advice online explains the rules. That's the easy part. The hard part is finding two or three properties worth identifying while the calendar is running and every listing agent knows you're on a deadline. That's the job we do.

Who this is for

• You just sold (or are about to sell) a rental house, a duplex, a small apartment building, land or a commercial building and want to defer the gain.
• You're trading up: single-family rentals into a fourplex, a fourplex into a 12-unit, or management-heavy rentals into something easier to own.
• You're selling in another state, like California, and want more cash flow per dollar in Kentucky or Indiana.
• You're inside the window right now and don't have a shortlist yet.

The two dates that run everything

The day your relinquished property closes is day zero. From there:

• Day 45: your replacement properties have to be identified in writing, signed, and delivered to your qualified intermediary (or another allowed party). No extensions for weekends or holidays.
• Day 180: you have to close on the replacement, or by your tax-return due date for that year if that comes first. File an extension if you need the full 180 days.

Worked example: you close the sale of a rental on March 3. Day 45 lands on April 17, and day 180 lands on August 30. If you sold late in the year, your tax-return due date can cut the window short unless you file an extension. Run your own numbers in our capital gains and 1031 estimator, and if you're already close to day 45, read what to do when you're up against a 1031 deadline.

How we run your replacement search

Before your sale closes (or in the first week)

• A 30-minute buy-box call: property types, price range, target cash flow, how hands-on you want to be, and how much debt you need to replace.
• We do the math on what "equal or greater" means for you. To defer all of the gain, you generally buy at least as much as you sold, reinvest all net proceeds, and replace the debt you paid off (with new debt or added cash). Your CPA confirms the final numbers; we make sure the properties we show you actually meet them.
• We set up MLS alerts, check our off-market inventory, and reach out to owners in our network who may sell quietly to the right buyer.

Days 1 to 30: build the shortlist

• Every candidate gets a one-page underwriting sheet: price, rents, expenses, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, debt service coverage, and the questions we still need answered. Our investment property analyzer and DSCR calculator are the same tools we use.
• Tours in person or by live video if you're out of town.
• Lender conversations early, so financing doesn't become the thing that blows day 180.

Days 30 to 45: identify on purpose

• Most buyers use the three-property rule: name up to three properties of any value.
• If you want more options, the 200% rule lets you name any number of properties as long as their combined value isn't more than twice what you sold. The 95% rule exists, but it's rarely practical.
• We push to get your first choice under contract before day 45, with backups identified, so a bad inspection doesn't sink the whole exchange.

Days 45 to 180: close it

• Inspections, appraisal, title, estoppels and rent rolls on multi-unit deals, insurance quotes, and a closing date with margin before day 180.
• We coordinate the paperwork with your qualified intermediary so the funds move from your intermediary straight to closing. You never touch the money. If you do, the exchange is blown.

Where the replacement property comes from

Deadline buyers lose when they only see what's on the MLS. We look in four places at once:

• The MLS across Louisville Metro, the surrounding Kentucky counties and Southern Indiana.
• Off-market inventory: owners who'd rather sell quietly, including deals posted through OffMarket.deals, the investor marketplace Rob runs.
• Owner outreach: direct asks to owners of the exact type of building you want.
• Agent-to-agent: pocket listings and "coming soon" deals from agents we've done business with for years.

What you can exchange into here

• Single-family rentals and small portfolios.
• Duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. We treat anything with two or more units as commercial, and we underwrite it that way. See Louisville multifamily investment properties.
• Small and mid-size apartment buildings.
• Retail, office, industrial and flex buildings, plus single-tenant net-lease properties if you want less management. See 1031 exchanges for commercial real estate in Kentucky.
• Land and farms. See 1031 exchanges for Kentucky farm and land sellers.
• Southern Indiana property in Clark and Floyd counties, a bridge away from downtown. See Southern Indiana commercial real estate.

Since 2018, only real property qualifies for a 1031 exchange, and it has to be held for investment or business use. Your personal residence doesn't count. Real property generally trades for any other real property, so a rental house can become a strip center and land can become a fourplex.

Selling in California and buying here?

You can exchange a California property into Kentucky or Indiana real estate. California will still track the deferred gain: you file FTB Form 3840 every year until the gain is recognized, and California taxes that gain when you eventually sell the replacement property without exchanging again. Plan for it with your CPA. Our guide for California investors buying in Kentucky walks through the rest.

Why investors use us for the buy side

• 13 years in the business and 2,000+ residential and commercial transactions since 2013.
• One team for both residential and commercial, so you can move from rental houses to a fourplex to a 20-unit building without changing agents.
• Kentucky and Southern Indiana coverage.
• Real underwriting on every property, not just a list of addresses.
• Our 15-Minute Response Rule: text or call and you'll hear back within 15 minutes. Deadlines don't wait for callbacks.
• Se habla español. Rob speaks conversational Spanish.

We're not your qualified intermediary, CPA or attorney, and nothing here is tax or legal advice. We work alongside the professionals you choose, or we'll introduce you to people we trust.

Start your replacement search

Call or text (502) 305-8915, or send us your sale details: what you sold, the closing date, your net proceeds, the debt paid off, and what you want to own next. We'll send back a first list of options and your day-45 and day-180 dates.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a buyer's agent for a 1031 exchange?

The law doesn't require one, but the 45-day window is short. A buyer's agent who knows the local inventory, underwrites quickly and can reach off-market owners gives you more real options to identify. How the buyer's agent gets paid is agreed in writing up front, and in many purchases the seller ends up covering it.

Can I identify a property before my sale closes?

Your formal identification happens after your relinquished property closes, but nothing stops you from searching, touring and negotiating ahead of time. Starting before you close is the single best way to avoid a deadline scramble.

Can a 1031 replacement property be in Indiana if I sold in Kentucky?

Yes. Like-kind real property anywhere in the United States qualifies, so Kentucky-to-Indiana and Indiana-to-Kentucky exchanges both work. Each state has its own income tax rules, so loop in your CPA.

Can I exchange single-family rentals into a duplex or apartment building?

Yes. Investment real estate is generally like-kind to other investment real estate, so trading rental houses up into multi-unit or commercial property is one of the most common exchanges we work on.

What if I can't find a property I like by day 45?

If nothing is identified by day 45, the exchange fails and the sale becomes taxable. That's why we line up backups early. Some investors also identify a Delaware Statutory Trust interest as a fallback. Talk with your CPA and qualified intermediary about whether that fits you.

Do you work with investors who aren't in Louisville?

Yes. We regularly work with out-of-state buyers using video tours, e-signatures, and remote online closings, which Kentucky allows.