How to Choose a 1031 Exchange Realtor in San Antonio
Quick answer: Look for someone who works commercial and investment property routinely rather than occasionally, who can explain the 45- and 180-day mechanics without checking notes, who already has a qualified intermediary relationship, and who markets investment property where investors actually look. Verify the license on TREC's public search. And be honest about whether you need a specialist at all — for a small, simple, single-property exchange, you may not.
Why this isn't a normal agent search
Most real estate transactions have one deadline that matters and one party you're representing. An exchange has two federal deadlines you cannot extend, a third-party intermediary who has to hold your money correctly, tax consequences that outlive the closing, and two transactions that have to line up.
The agent who sold your house did a good job at a different task. That's not a knock on them. It's the same reason you wouldn't ask your family doctor to set a compound fracture.
What you're looking for is someone who has done this often enough that the timeline is instinct rather than research.
Five questions to actually ask
1. How many exchanges have you personally worked on, and what property types?
You want a number and specifics. "I'm familiar with 1031s" is not an answer. Someone who's done them will immediately start talking about identification lists, lender timing, and what went wrong on the hard ones.
2. Who is your qualified intermediary, and can I talk to them before I hire you?
This is the question that separates real practitioners from people who read an article. Anyone who does exchanges regularly already has a QI relationship and will happily connect you. If the answer is "I'll find one," they haven't done this.
3. How will you market my property, specifically?
If your relinquished property is commercial, the MLS alone is the wrong audience. Ask whether they carry CoStar and LoopNet subscriptions. Those are expensive and plenty of agents don't. It's a simple factual question with a yes-or-no answer, and it tells you how the property will actually be exposed.
4. When do you want to start the replacement search?
The right answer is "before we list." If they want to sell first and worry about the replacement later, they're describing the most common way exchanges fail.
5. What's your honest read on my property's timeline?
You want a specific answer about your property type and submarket, not encouragement. Someone willing to tell you your building may take longer than you'd like is more useful than someone who agrees with your optimism.
How to verify what you're told
TREC's license holder search is public and free. Look up any Texas agent by name and you'll see their license number, status, expiration, and any disciplinary history. Two minutes, and it confirms the person is who they say they are.
Ask for the transaction record. Not a marketing number — actual comparable deals. Any competent broker can describe recent transactions in general terms without breaching confidentiality.
Check the designations. If someone lists CCIM, SIOR, or similar, those organizations maintain public member directories. Designations are verifiable, and the ones that aren't listed anywhere probably aren't designations.
Be skeptical of self-awarded superlatives. "Best," "leading," and "#1" mean whatever the person writing them wants. If a brokerage publishes a ranking that places its own team first, treat it as an advertisement rather than a measurement — that applies to everyone's marketing, including ours.
You're not hiring one person
An exchange takes a team, and the broker is one seat at the table.
The qualified intermediary holds your proceeds and structures the exchange. Federal rules require this to be an independent third party — your agent legally cannot hold the funds, and neither can your attorney or CPA if they've represented you recently. For San Antonio exchanges, we refer clients to Carl Pikus, VP and Account Executive with IPX1031.
Your CPA calculates what's actually at stake, tells you whether a partial exchange is tolerable, and handles Form 8824.
A lender, engaged early, because debt replacement is part of whether the exchange works at all.
The broker handles the real estate decision — what to sell it for, what to move the equity into, and whether the replacement still makes sense once the tax deadline is removed from the equation.
If an agent presents themselves as handling all of it, that's a warning rather than a convenience.
Red flags
They promise a specific tax outcome. Brokers don't give tax advice. Anyone who tells you exactly what you'll owe is outside their lane.
They're vague about the intermediary. See above.
They discourage you from talking to a CPA first. No legitimate reason exists for this.
They pitch a specific replacement property before understanding your goals. The question is what you want the equity to do. Anyone leading with inventory is selling, not advising.
They recommend Delaware Statutory Trusts. DSTs are securities. Recommending them generally requires a securities license and a broker-dealer affiliation, which most real estate agents don't have. A broker can tell you the category exists; recommending one is a different thing.
When you may not need a specialist
Worth saying, because most articles like this exist to convince you that you do.
If you're exchanging a single rental house into a single similar rental house, you already know what you want, your timeline is comfortable, and you have a good CPA and a competent QI — a capable general agent can handle that transaction fine. The exchange rules aren't complicated when the deal is simple.
Where specialization earns its cost is when the deal isn't: moving from residential into commercial, splitting one sale across several properties, working against a compressed timeline, needing debt replacement in a tight lending environment, or trying to solve a portfolio problem rather than just defer a tax bill.
Be honest with yourself about which one you have.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a commercial agent for a 1031 exchange? Only if the replacement property is commercial, or if the deal has real complexity. Residential-to-residential exchanges are within reach of a capable general agent.
Can my agent also be my qualified intermediary? No. The QI must be an independent third party. Your agent, and usually your recent CPA or attorney, are disqualified.
How do I check whether an agent is actually licensed in Texas? TREC maintains a free public license holder search. Look up the name, confirm the license number and status, and check for disciplinary history.
Should I use the same agent to sell and to buy? Usually yes. Both sides of an exchange run on one timeline, and splitting them means two people coordinating against a deadline neither controls.
What does a 1031 exchange cost in professional fees? QI fees for a standard forward exchange typically run a few hundred to roughly $1,500. Reverse exchanges cost several times that. Brokerage commissions are separate and negotiable.
How early should I contact someone? Before you list. Once the property closes, the 45-day identification clock starts and every option narrows.
What if I already sold and I'm mid-exchange? Call someone today. There's less room than there was, but a compressed timeline is a different problem from a failed one.
Is a bigger team better? Not inherently. What matters is who actually handles your file. Ask directly whether you'll be working with the person you're talking to.
Part of our guide to commercial real estate and 1031 exchanges in San Antonio.
Related: What happens if you can't find a replacement property in 45 days?
Schedule a 1031 strategy call with JJ: https://calendly.com/treygroupcommercial/15min
JJ Gorena helps investors across San Antonio, Boerne, New Braunfels, and the Texas Hill Country structure 1031 exchanges the right way.
Nothing in this article is tax or legal advice. Every exchange is different, so talk with your CPA and a qualified intermediary before you make a move.
JJ Gorena II Trey Group Commercial | eXp Realty TREC License #0522975 (210) 367-6024commercial@thetreygroup.com
