The most important thing to keep in mind just might be how to define a “like-kind” property. That doesn’t mean you must exchange one apartment complex for another; there’s actual considerable flexibility there. For instance, you can sell an apartment complex and purchase a retail building, you can sell a retail building and purchase and industrial building, you can sell an industrial building and purchase raw land, etc. However, you can’t exchange a property for a business, for example. It’s also worth noting that a 1031 exchange can only involve property held for investment, not personal use and, to maximize the benefits of a 1031 exchange, the replacement property should be of equal or greater value than the original.