OAK BROOK, IL—It's no secret the Cosenzas—Mark Cosenza and father Joe Cosenza—of Inland Real Estate are on the forefront of the 1031 like-kind exchange battle. In fact, in an exclusive video from the 2016 RECon, the senior Cosenza spoke out on his concern for what the ripple effect of an abolishment of the 1031 would have. But now it's a new day, and a real estate guy is in the White House.

Not so fast, says the younger Cosenza. We don't know what we don't know.

“I don't think there's an absolute clear stop to 1031 being in play simply because Mr. Trump has been elected president,” says the SVP of Inland Acquisitions, “because he has talked about a whole revamp of the tax code. We can only hope that his real estate background will bode well for keeping the 1031 code in place as a job creator.”

Just for the record, “The tax code allows the continued reinvestment of your dollars into the progression of real estate development and, more important, the redevelopment of assets in parts of the country that need it,” he says. A repeal would impact not only the people involved in the immediate deal, but echoing the cautionary tone of the video, it would also impact the entire chain of redevelopment and improvement, from the appraiser and the banker to the roofer and the interiors provider.

“This impacts everyone with a stake in the game,” he says. “This is not just a real estate issue. Even state officials shouldn't be silent on it, because it impacts a huge transfer of taxes on both the state and local levels.”

So, he says, now is not the time to put down your pens on the assumption that all will go in the industry's best interest. Because, even a real estate-leaning president, “still has to work with Congress, and the most important thing he can bring to the table is education.”

After all, as Cosenza concludes: “Who better to explain the importance of 1031s to Congress and to the rest of the country than a president with a real estate background?”

OAK BROOK, IL—It's no secret the Cosenzas—Mark Cosenza and father Joe Cosenza—of Inland Real Estate are on the forefront of the 1031 like-kind exchange battle. In fact, in an exclusive video from the 2016 RECon, the senior Cosenza spoke out on his concern for what the ripple effect of an abolishment of the 1031 would have. But now it's a new day, and a real estate guy is in the White House.

Not so fast, says the younger Cosenza. We don't know what we don't know.

“I don't think there's an absolute clear stop to 1031 being in play simply because Mr. Trump has been elected president,” says the SVP of Inland Acquisitions, “because he has talked about a whole revamp of the tax code. We can only hope that his real estate background will bode well for keeping the 1031 code in place as a job creator.”

Just for the record, “The tax code allows the continued reinvestment of your dollars into the progression of real estate development and, more important, the redevelopment of assets in parts of the country that need it,” he says. A repeal would impact not only the people involved in the immediate deal, but echoing the cautionary tone of the video, it would also impact the entire chain of redevelopment and improvement, from the appraiser and the banker to the roofer and the interiors provider.

“This impacts everyone with a stake in the game,” he says. “This is not just a real estate issue. Even state officials shouldn't be silent on it, because it impacts a huge transfer of taxes on both the state and local levels.”

So, he says, now is not the time to put down your pens on the assumption that all will go in the industry's best interest. Because, even a real estate-leaning president, “still has to work with Congress, and the most important thing he can bring to the table is education.”

After all, as Cosenza concludes: “Who better to explain the importance of 1031s to Congress and to the rest of the country than a president with a real estate background?”