Forward, reverse, improvement/construction, and simultaneous. Open1031 automates every 1031 exchange type for the QIs that run on it — including the ones most firms refuse or surcharge — with automated deadline tracking and Neela guiding their clients. DST interests are supported as a passive replacement-property option inside any exchange.
Tap the scenario that matches yours. Each card links directly to the full explanation and legal anchors below.
Already know your exchange type but want passive replacement property? A DST interest is a replacement-property option you can identify inside any of the exchanges above.
Not sure which type applies? Ask Neela — she'll ask a few questions about your timeline, financing, and goals and recommend the right structure. Talk to Neela
You close on your relinquished property, funds go into segregated qualified escrow held by the QI of record, and you have 45 calendar days to identify replacement properties and 180 calendar days to close — all anchored to IRC §1031 and Treas. Reg. §1.1031(k)-1.
Sample exchange — synthetic data
A coordinator tracks the 45-day clock in a spreadsheet and calls during business hours. If they forget — or the client misses a call — and Day 45 passes without a written ID submission, the entire gain becomes taxable. The firm carries that risk on every open exchange.
A durable automated workflow owns the 45-day watcher and 180-day close guard. It escalates early, at Day 30, Day 40, and Day 44, across multiple channels. The clock is a first-class system object, not a calendar entry someone might miss — and your firm can offer a flat fee with no float on client escrow.
A Reverse 1031 (also called an exchange-first exchange) lets you acquire the replacement property before you sell the relinquished one. An Exchange Accommodation Titleholder (EAT) — an SPE LLC — parks title inside the Rev. Proc. 2000-37 QEAA safe harbor while you complete the sale.
The QEAA safe harbor requires the EAT agreement to be signed within 5 business days of the replacement property closing. The EAT may hold title for no more than 180 days total. Exchanges outside these parameters require analysis under Bartell and may not qualify for the safe harbor — consult your tax counsel.
Most firms refuse reverse exchanges or charge a steep premium (often 3–5× the forward fee) because coordinating the EAT/SPE LLC formation, the 5-day window, and the 180-day clock by hand across attorneys, title companies, and lenders is operationally expensive and error-prone. Many hand it to outside counsel entirely.
The platform automates the QEAA parking structure end-to-end. EAT/SPE LLC formation, the 5-business-day QEAA signing window, and the 180-day parking clock all run as durable automated workflows with automatic escalation — so your firm can offer reverse at the same flat fee as a forward. No "call us for a quote."
An improvement (build-to-suit) exchange uses the same EAT structure as a reverse — but instead of just parking title, the EAT holds the property while exchange funds are used to construct improvements. The improvements count toward your reinvestment, potentially eliminating boot.
Coordinating EAT-held title, draw schedules, lien waiver tracking, and the 180-day cap across contractors and lenders by phone and email is error-prone and expensive. Most firms decline or surcharge 2–4×, then refer out to specialized attorneys.
Title sits with the EAT while exchange funds construct improvements on a tracked draw schedule, with the 180-day clock, escrow movement, and multi-party fund-release approvals all orchestrated as durable automated workflows. Every draw is a system event with an immutable audit record.
In a simultaneous exchange, the relinquished and replacement properties close concurrently — the oldest and simplest form of a §1031 exchange. The challenge: any timing slip in a multi-party, multi-escrow process on the same day can break the exchange.
456 Sunset Blvd — sale closes
$850,000 to escrow
789 Harbor Way — purchase closes
Funded from escrow
Sample exchange — synthetic data
Coordinating a same-day, multi-party close through phone and email leaves zero margin for a missed call or wire delay. Any timing slip — a title company waiting on a fax, a coordinator unreachable — can break the exchange and make the entire gain taxable.
Open1031 sequences the concurrent closings, escrow instructions, and e-signatures as a single deterministic workflow. Every step executes in lockstep with a complete, immutable audit record — funds move escrow-to-escrow under the QI of record, never through Open1031.
A Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) is a way to hold your replacement property, not a different kind of exchange. You identify and acquire a DST interest inside a forward, reverse, improvement, or simultaneous exchange. It lets you place exchange proceeds into institutional-grade, professionally managed real estate: passive income, no tenants, no active management. One DST interest counts as one identified property under the 3-property or 200% rule. An optional 721 UPREIT exit can later convert DST interests to REIT shares for added liquidity.
In a manual practice, the client defers the tax — then needs a separate broker-dealer for passive replacement options. That's a handoff that loses context (basis, timeline), adds fees, and eats into the 45-day identification window. Two relationships, two sets of paperwork, one deadline.
When the client's QI runs on Open1031, DST identification and the optional 721 UPREIT exit are coordinated inside the same platform with the exchange context already loaded; the securities transaction is facilitated through licensed third-party broker-dealers/advisors. One relationship, one flat fee, no handoff delay.
When a DST property is acquired by a REIT, beneficial owners can elect to receive OP units (operating partnership interests) in a §721 exchange rather than cash — deferring gain again and gaining REIT liquidity over time. Open1031 presents this option when it becomes available on eligible DSTs.
Manual practices handle one or two of these with staff. Open1031 automates all four exchange types for the QIs that run on it — durable workflows, flat platform fees, plus DST interests as a replacement-property option.
| Exchange type | Manual-ops workflow | Open1031-powered | 45-day clock | 180-day clock | EAT / SPE LLC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward / Delayed Most common |
Manual spreadsheet + phone | Durable watchers · automated 8824 | Auto-watched | Auto-watched | Not needed |
| Reverse Buy first · QEAA |
Refused or steep surcharge | EAT automated · 5-day + 180-day clocks | N/A (buy first) | EAT 180-day guard | Auto-formed |
| Improvement Build-to-suit |
Declined or 3–4× surcharge | Draw tracking · EAT + 180-day guard | Varies by structure | Hard cap auto-watched | Auto-formed |
| Simultaneous Same-day swap |
Manual coordination · timing risk | Deterministic workflow · dual escrow | Not required | Not required | Not needed |
| DST / Fractional Replacement-property option, not an exchange type |
Refer out to separate broker-dealer | QI coordinates identification · 721 UPREIT option | Auto-watched | Auto-watched | Not needed |
Manual-workflow characterizations reflect commonly reported practices in the industry; individual firms vary. Footnote available on request. Not a specific comparison to any named firm. The QI remains the licensed fiduciary of record on every exchange.
Regardless of which exchange type your practice runs, the same structural safeguards apply — client funds stay in qualified escrow under the QI of record, and Open1031 never holds them.
Client proceeds sit in segregated, bonded qualified escrow under the QI of record — not a commingled pool. Real-time visibility into every balance and movement, for the firm and the exchanger.
No single actor — at the QI or at Open1031, and no non-fiduciary code path — can move client funds. Every release requires multi-party approval through a durable workflow.
Every signature, fund movement, deadline escalation, and workflow state transition is recorded in an immutable audit log — available for the client's CPA, your compliance team, or the IRS.
Offer all four types on the platform — including the ones your practice used to decline. Starting an exchange yourself? You'll be set up with a licensed QI operating on Open1031.
Flat platform fee. No percentage of client proceeds.
