Why Leaving It to the Kids Isn't a Plan
You've spent decades building a commercial real estate portfolio. But multi-tenant properties come with tenants, maintenance, leasing and refinancing, and that complexity only grows as you get older. Handing those assets to your heirs as they are can leave your family with a management job they never wanted, a tax bill, and a property that is hard to sell.
There is a better path: simplify your holdings, sell what no longer serves you at the highest possible price, keep more of your gains working for you, and pass on assets that produce income without the headaches.
The 5 Strategies
- Strategic Asset Management: Audit each property's income, tenant stability and market position, fix what is underperforming, bring in professional management and restructure leases so every asset is positioned for its best value.
- Maximizing Sale Value: Partner with an experienced broker, offer competitive co-brokerage fees to bring the whole brokerage community to the table, and run a 90-day marketing plan that creates competition among buyers.
- Leveraging the 1031 Exchange: Defer capital gains and depreciation recapture by reinvesting your proceeds into like-kind property, and follow the 45-day and 180-day rules so you keep 100% of the deferral.
- Simplifying with Single-Tenant Net Leases: Trade management-heavy buildings for single-tenant net leased properties with credit tenants who cover taxes, insurance and maintenance, or consider passive options such as DSTs and REITs.
- Preserving Generational Wealth: Bring the four strategies together into a succession plan, so your heirs inherit simpler, income-producing assets with a stepped-up basis instead of a family conflict.
Who This Guide Is For
This guide is written for senior owners of commercial real estate, especially multi-tenant retail, office and apartment properties, who want less management, higher values and a more secure financial future for themselves and their families.
