Casa Fresco › 1031 exchange
On a 1031 deadline? Here is how the search works.
From the day your sale closes you have 45 days to name replacement property in writing and at most 180 days to close on it. Sam Fox Brennan, a California real estate broker (DRE #02178674), searches the Central Coast and Fresno County for property that fits, and represents you when you buy.
Who you are hiring
On an exchange Sam works as your buyer’s broker, under a written buyer-broker agreement. Casa Fresco is not a brokerage and does not act as anyone’s agent.
Casa Fresco buys property for its own account in the same counties. If Sam shows you a property that Casa Fresco or either of its owners has an interest in, or one it is considering buying, he tells you in writing before you put it on your list or make an offer.
What has to happen by each date
An exchange is built around three dates, and the work on the first one starts before your sale closes.
- Before you close
- Hire a qualified intermediary, the independent company that holds your sale proceeds during the exchange. It has to be in place before the sale closes.
- Day 0: sale closes
- Your relinquished property sells and the proceeds go to your qualified intermediary. If the money reaches you or your account first, the IRS treats it as a sale and there is nothing left to exchange. Both deadlines are counted from this day, in calendar days.
- Day 45: identify in writing
- By midnight on day 45 you give your intermediary a signed, written list of the properties you might buy. You can name up to three of any value, or more than three if their combined value is no more than twice what you sold for. After day 45 you can only buy from that list.
- Day 180: purchase closes
- You must close on the replacement within 180 days of your sale, or by the due date of that year’s tax return including extensions, whichever comes first. If you sell late in the year, ask your tax advisor about filing an extension so you keep the full 180 days. A deal falling out of escrow does not buy more time.
- After closing
- Your tax advisor reports the exchange on IRS Form 8824, filed with your return for the year of the sale, working from the closing statements for both properties.
Check every date
This is a general description of how exchanges usually work. The rules turn on your own facts, so confirm every date with your qualified intermediary and tax advisor before you rely on it.
Casa Fresco does not provide tax or legal advice, and neither does Sam as your broker.
What Sam does as your broker
Sam has MLS access on the Central Coast and in Fresno County. Your qualified intermediary and tax advisor handle the exchange itself. Sam handles the search and the purchase.
Tell him what you need
Your closing date, or the date you expect to close. Your price range, the kind of property you want, the income you need it to produce and where you are willing to own.
Sign a buyer-broker agreement
California requires a written agreement before a buyer’s broker writes an offer. It says what Sam will do for you, for how long and how he is paid.
He searches three counties and sends you the numbers
Sam looks through residential, commercial and industrial listings in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Fresno counties for property that matches. For each one that fits he sends you the asking price, the rents the seller reports and any zoning, water or local rent rule he finds. If he thinks it is overpriced, he says so.
He writes the offer and you make the list
Sam writes the offer, negotiates it and stays with the purchase through escrow. An offer can go in before day 45 or after it. Either way you decide what goes on your written list and deliver it to your intermediary by day 45.
Where exchanges go wrong
- Starting the search after you close. Forty-five days is not a long time to find, tour and price a replacement. The time to call is when you list the property you are selling.
- Naming property nobody has priced. Putting a property on your list does not oblige you to buy it. Know what each one is worth before you name it, because the list cannot be changed after day 45.
- Looking only at the price. To defer all of the tax, the replacement has to cost at least as much as what you sold, and all of the proceeds have to go into it. If you also want more income than the old property paid, compare the rents on each candidate too.
- Counting on property that does not qualify. An exchange has to end in real property you own. An interest in a Casa Fresco project company is generally not replacement property, and property bought to fix and resell does not qualify. Ask your tax advisor before you plan around either.
Why exchangers look inland
If you are selling a low-yield property on the coast and want the replacement to produce more income, look at Fresno County too.
Coastal apartments trade at roughly 5 to 6% cap rates. Fresno trades near 6.4%.
Multifamily cap rates, 2026. Santa Barbara: Matthews, Santa Barbara Multifamily Market Report, H1 2026. San Luis Obispo and Fresno: Lee & Associates Q2 2026 market overviews, CoStar data. These are market figures. They are not Casa Fresco results.
A cap rate sets a building’s income today against its price. What the building earns after you buy it depends on its rents, vacancy and expenses.
If your property is about to go on the market, or the 45 days are already running, get in touch with Sam.
Exchange searches are handled by Sam Fox Brennan, California real estate broker, DRE #02178674. We read every message and respond personally, usually within two business days.
- Call(530) 635-8196
- Emailcasafrescogroup@gmail.com
- Office407 Traffic Way, Suite B, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420