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For brokers, CPAs and attorneys with a client who is selling.

When a client mentions selling investment property, the exchange has to be arranged before closing. Here is when to bring in a qualified intermediary, how an introduction works and what to have ready.

Updated September 30, 2026 · Approved for publication by onezero3one on September 30, 2026

onezero3one acts as the qualified intermediary for your client’s exchange and works alongside you. The tax and legal advice stays with you. The exchange agreement is with the seller, so an introduction ends with your client speaking to us directly.

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When to bring in a qualified intermediary

  • When the client first mentions selling. Nothing has to be signed, and there is time for the client’s tax advisor to decide whether an exchange suits them.
  • When the property goes under contract. The exchange documents and the closing instructions can be prepared while the sale is pending.
  • Before closing, at the latest. The exchange agreement, the assignment of the sale contract and written notice to the buyer have to be in place on or before the day the property transfers. After that, a sale generally cannot be turned into an exchange.
  • Before the purchase contract is signed, if the client needs to buy first. That is a reverse exchange and uses a different structure.

If a closing is days away and nothing is arranged, send the client to the urgent review page or have them call (844) 776-1031.

Why the intermediary is usually not you

The regulations disqualify anyone who has acted as the client’s employee, attorney, accountant, investment banker or broker, or real estate agent or broker within the two years before the sale. If that describes you, you cannot be the intermediary for that client’s exchange. Two kinds of work are not counted: services limited to 1031 exchanges, and routine financial, title insurance, escrow or trust services by a financial institution, title insurance company or escrow company (Treas. Reg. §1.1031(k)-1(k)).

How an introduction works

  1. You or your client get in touch by the form below, by phone or by email, with an outline of the sale.
  2. We speak with the client. The exchange agreement is with the seller. We confirm whether onezero3one can act in the exchange, including whether any state requirements apply.
  3. The client receives the fee in writing and the exchange documents, to review with you before signing anything.
  4. The closing agent receives the exchange instructions. If your client asks, we keep you copied.

What is useful to send

  • The state where the property is, and where the sale stands.
  • The expected closing date, if there is one.
  • How title is held: individually, or through an LLC, partnership, trust or corporation.
  • Whether the client may need to buy first, or plans construction on the replacement property.
  • The closing agent, if one has been chosen.

Please do not send your client’s name, Social Security number, tax identification number or documents through the website. We arrange how to receive those once the client engages us.

Pre-closing checklist

Seven points to confirm before your client’s sale closes. Each one is a short question for the person named.

  • The client’s tax advisor has confirmed that the property is held for investment or business use and that an exchange suits the client. Tax advisor
  • The seller named in the sale contract is the taxpayer who will buy the replacement property, or that taxpayer’s disregarded entity. Tax advisor Attorney
  • The exchange agreement is signed and the seller’s rights in the sale contract are assigned to the intermediary before closing. Seller Qualified intermediary
  • Every party to the sale contract, including the buyer, has written notice of the assignment on or before the date of transfer. Qualified intermediary
  • The closing agent has the intermediary’s written instructions, and has confirmed the wire instructions by telephone using a number already on file. Closing agent
  • The settlement statement shows the net proceeds going to the intermediary, with nothing paid or credited to the seller from them. Closing agent
  • Day 45 and day 180 are on the client’s calendar, and the tax advisor has considered extending the return if the sale closes late in the year. Seller Tax advisor

For the closing itself, the checklist for closing agents goes step by step, and the state pages list the withholding and transfer-tax forms that apply at the deed.

What stays with you

onezero3one does not give tax or legal advice. Whether to exchange, how the client should hold title, how much to reinvest and how the exchange is reported are your questions and the client’s. Our part is the exchange itself: the documents, the funds between the two closings and the instructions to the closing agent.

Discuss a situation or introduce a client

Or call (844) PRO-1031, that is (844) 776-1031, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm Eastern, or email info@onezero3one.com.

Discuss a situation or introduce a client

Your name, email and role are enough to start. Everything marked optional can wait. Please do not enter Social Security numbers, account numbers or documents.

Reason for writing
Optional details

Please leave out your client’s name and personal details; the introduction is arranged with you by email.

These details are used only to reply to your inquiry; you are not added to a mailing list. Sending this form does not create an exchange, an engagement or any deadline, and onezero3one does not give tax or legal advice. See the privacy notice.

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