The Increased Role of Due Diligence During COVID-19 - Chicagoland 1031 Exchange

In times of increased risk and uncertainty, it’s smart for a business to put an even sharper focus on its core competencies. At Chicagoland 1031 Exchange, we put the protection of our client’s interests first rather than simply approving every replacement property offering available on the market. If you’re a new client sitting down with us to explore your exchange options, you can be sure that any property we’re showing you has been vetted on a number of different levels. We truly pride ourselves on the amount of due diligence that goes into choosing the Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs) that make it onto our platform.

• We’ve removed DSTs in the hospitality space from our platform altogether. Earlier this year, we had a number of different hospitality investment opportunities available—which made sense in a pre-COVID environment. For the time being, there’s simply too much uncertainty in the industry for us to feel comfortable guiding our clients into these deals.
• We have asked for and are receiving frequent updates directly from our multi-family and self-storage sponsors. We regularly receive current information on occupancy rates and trends, as well as rent collection. This provides a direct window into how these properties are managing their way through the pandemic with near real-time data.

We recognize that COVID’s impact may not be over, but so far the data we’re seeing is encouraging. Most of the DSTs that remain on our platform are sustaining strong occupancy with an ability to maintain rent collections at a high level. Just as it has before, due diligence will continue to remain a strong focus for us as we navigate this pandemic together.