1031 Exchanges are a powerful way for investors to keep realized appreciation in their investment properties by deferring capital gains. If you are fortunate enough to have a considerable capital gains issue, you take on a huge risk by buying one single tenant property in your local market that might only be considered because it is expensive enough to qualify for a like-kind exchange and is located “close by.” Then, you must also manage the property, keep it repaired, collect the checks, and always “be there” for the tenant.   This is the less desirable part of land-lording than can be referred to as “toilets, trash, and tenants.”  Stop looking for the needle in the haystack in your local market, and look to larger and potentially more secure real estate investments nationwide. 

The alternative to this labor-intensive style of real estate ownership is purchasing an absolute triple net lease property.  You can purchase an entire property, with most desirable investments starting at around a million dollars, or you can buy "a piece" of a much larger, investment grade property using Tenants-in-Common TIC* investing starting at around $100,000 and up.