You're done with tenants, repairs, and midnight calls, but if you sell, the capital gains tax and depreciation recapture take a brutal bite, and a 1031 just buys you another building to manage. There's a better exit.
A plain-English guide for sellers: how a structured installment sale defers the tax when you sell a business, practice, or property — the math, the alternatives, and how to know if your deal fits.
Drop your info — instant PDF download + within 1 business day Hans will email a preliminary read on which structure fits your deal. No retainer. Carrier compensates the broker — not you.
📞 Hans Goldstein · 213-290-4977 · CA Insurance License #4322192 · Independent §453 specialist · Goldstein & Co. LLC
Every long-time landlord eventually hits the wall: the property's been good to you, but you're tired of the tenants, the repairs, the vacancies, and the calls. You want out, and you want the equity working for you instead of you working for it. The problem is the tax: sell, and you face capital gains, depreciation recapture, the 3.8% surtax, and (in California) up to 13.3% state. And the "obvious" answer, a 1031 exchange, just hands you another building to manage.
A 1031 defers the tax, but only if you buy more real estate on a strict deadline. If your goal is to stop being a landlord, a 1031 is the wrong tool. It keeps you in the game you're trying to leave.
A §453 structured installment sale lets you sell the property, walk away from landlording for good, and receive the proceeds, and pay the tax, over a schedule of future years. Instead of a one-year tax bomb, you get:
You don't have to choose between "keep dealing with tenants" and "hand a third of my equity to the government." A structured installment sale is the exit ramp: sell, retire from landlording, and turn decades of equity into guaranteed income, taxed gently, over years. Run your numbers before you list.
A §453 structured installment sale lets you sell, exit landlording entirely, and spread the capital-gains tax over several years while receiving guaranteed income. Unlike a 1031, it doesn't require buying another property to manage.
A 1031 only defers tax if you reinvest in more real estate within strict deadlines, which keeps you a landlord. If your goal is to stop managing property, a structured installment sale lets you exit while still deferring the gain.
Yes, depreciation recapture is generally recognized in the year of sale, even in an installment sale. A structured installment sale spreads the capital-gain portion; the recapture should be planned for separately.
Yes. A structured installment sale converts your sale proceeds into a schedule of guaranteed payments backed by an A-rated insurance carrier, effectively a private pension built from your property equity.
It depends on your gain, basis, and income, but spreading often keeps more of the gain in lower brackets and reduces the 3.8% surtax. Use the free capital gains tax calculator or call 213-340-2018 to see your specific numbers.
Before you sign anything, run your numbers with someone who structures the deal to be tax-smart and audit-ready from day one.
Call 213-340-2018 Run the Numbers →