Qualified Intermediary Coordination

A qualified intermediary file runs on dates and wire confirmations, not intentions. This work keeps the QI onboarding, the exchange agreement, and the document handoffs moving on a schedule the whole deal team can see, without replacing the tax or legal advice an investor's own counsel provides for the transaction.

The Onboarding Numbers That Have to Land First

Before the relinquished property closes, the exchange agreement, assignment of contract rights, and QI escrow instructions all need to be executed and confirmed, typically inside the same week as the closing. A Detroit closing attorney working a downtown or Midtown sale needs those documents on file before the deed records, not after, or the exchange can fail on a technicality that had nothing to do with the property itself.

Wire instructions should be confirmed by phone with the QI directly, every time, given how often wire fraud attempts target exchange proceeds during this exact handoff window.

Coordinating the Detroit Closing Table

A typical Detroit-area file touches a title company, a closing attorney, a lender, a listing broker, a buyer's broker, and the investor's own CPA, and each of those parties needs a different piece of the exchange paperwork at a different moment. The closing attorney needs the assignment language before the purchase agreement is finalized; the lender needs confirmation that sale proceeds are routing through the QI rather than the borrower before loan payoff; the CPA needs a copy of the exchange agreement for the tax return regardless of how the deal closes.

A single point of contact tracking all six relationships keeps a document request from stalling because two parties each assumed the other already sent it.

The Document Handoff Checklist Before Day One

A clean QI file has the same discipline as a submittal log: every document dated, every recipient named, every deadline attached, with nothing left to be reconstructed from memory later.

• Exchange agreement executed before relinquished property closing
• Assignment of purchase and sale agreement to the qualified intermediary
• Notice to buyer and seller of the assignment, per statute
• Wire instructions confirmed by phone, not email alone
• Identification notice delivered to the QI before day 45
• Closing statement reconciliation against the QI's holding account

Where Coordination Ends and Advice Begins

This work moves documents and confirms dates; it does not tell an investor whether a specific structure satisfies like-kind requirements, how boot would be calculated on a partial cash-out, or how constructive receipt rules apply to a specific escrow arrangement. Those questions go to the investor's own tax advisor and the QI's compliance team, and the coordination file exists to make sure those advisors have the facts in hand when the question comes up.

A common failure point is an investor who directs sale proceeds, even briefly, into their own account before the QI takes control of them. Constructive receipt can attach the moment that happens, regardless of intent, which is why wire routing gets confirmed with the closing attorney days ahead of the closing rather than assumed to be correct.

Keeping the 180-Day Clock Visible to Everyone

Every party on a Detroit exchange file should be working from the same 180-day exchange period end date, counted from the relinquished property closing, not from the identification deadline. A dated action list distributed to the title company, lender, and broker keeps the closing timeline aligned to that date instead of drifting toward it.

Title companies working a downtown or Midtown closing sometimes default to a standard 30-day scheduling buffer that makes sense for an ordinary sale but leaves too little room inside a 180-day exchange window that is also carrying financing contingencies on the replacement side. Flagging that compressed calendar early avoids a scramble in the final two weeks.

Common 1031 Exchange Questions

When does the exchange agreement need to be signed relative to the relinquished property closing?

The exchange agreement and assignment documents should be executed before the relinquished property closes, ideally days ahead rather than the morning of. Signing after closing can jeopardize the exchange because the investor may be treated as having received the proceeds directly.

How should wire instructions be confirmed for a Detroit exchange closing?

Wire instructions should be confirmed by a direct phone call to the qualified intermediary using a number obtained independently, not one pulled from an email. Exchange proceeds are a common wire-fraud target during the closing window.

Does the qualified intermediary coordinate directly with the lender on a leveraged replacement purchase?

The QI coordinates the proceeds handoff, while the lender's underwriting and closing requirements are handled separately with the borrower and closing attorney; this work keeps both tracks synchronized so the loan does not close ahead of the exchange documentation.

What happens if the identification notice is not delivered to the QI before day 45?

The exchange can fail entirely if a valid identification is not delivered in writing to the qualified intermediary before midnight on day 45, counted from the relinquished property closing. This is why the identification notice sits at the top of the document handoff checklist rather than at the bottom.

Can this coordination work replace advice from a CPA or tax attorney?

No. This work assembles documents, confirms dates, and keeps the deal team aligned on the calendar; questions about like-kind qualification, boot, or constructive receipt should go to the investor's own tax advisor or the QI's compliance counsel.

Ready to organize the exchange file?