Andrew F. Gelson and Thomas E. St. Jean are qualifiedintermediaries in a transaction that allows property owners toavoid paying capital gains tax by reinvesting the proceeds inanother property. Gelson tells GlobeSt.com that the qualifiedintermediary is required by the IRS in order to make thetransaction legitimate. Gelson says his locally based firm has anescrow account with Wachovia Securities for the proceeds, whichmust be used within 180 days. Gelson was general tax counsel andSt. Jean was responsible for business development within the realestate industry at JP Morgan Property Exchange.

According to Gelson, the like-kind exchanges are much morepopular on the West coast, but are being used more in this area asthe availability of replacement properties are increasing.Specifically, he notes, the credit tenant lease arena is providingproperty owners with options such as free-standing CVSs andWalgreens that have long term leases with good credit tenants. Alsotenant in common properties, in which a property is owned a bynumber of individuals is becoming done more frequently and offersproperty owners another option.