Free planEASe utility
Balance the equity, cash and paper in a two-party or three-party exchange, see how transaction costs get paid, and get a recap for each party. Change any white cell and the recap updates. Share it as a link or download a PDF.
Try: Two-party swap Swap with costs and cash Three-party exchange
White cells are yours to fill in; shaded cells are calculated. In the commission, cost and points rows, a number of 100 or less is a percentage: of that party's market value for commission and disposition cost, of the acquired property's market value for acquisition cost, of its existing loan for loan assumption cost, and of its new loan for new loan points. You can also type 6%.
How the recap works, what the terms mean, and what this tool leaves to your advisors.
Choose a two-party exchange (two owners swap properties) or a three-party exchange (an exchanger, a seller whose property the exchanger acquires, and a buyer who purchases the exchanger's property). Fill in each party's market value, existing loan and any cash or paper they bring, then the transaction costs. The shaded columns show what each party gets, and the recap cards below spell it out in words.
Every white cell is kept in the page address, so Copy link gives you a link that rebuilds the exchange. Download PDF creates a report in your browser with the form and a recap page for each party. Nothing is stored on our servers.
Equity is market value less the loan on the property. Net equity is a party's equity plus any cash or paper they put in, less their transaction costs.
Cash is money put into or taken out of the exchange. Paper is a note or other obligation one party gives another to make up an equity difference that cash does not cover. The recap balances the exchange so that each party takes out equity equal to the net equity they put in.
New loans change the picture: when a property gets a new loan larger than its existing one, the extra proceeds become cash available to the exchange; a smaller new loan uses cash to pay the difference.
In a tax-deferred exchange, cash and some other items received can be taxable. This tool shows the amounts; it does not decide how they are taxed.
Available cash is the cash the parties put in plus net new loan proceeds. It pays costs in this order: new loan points, loan assumption costs, acquisition costs, disposition costs and finally commissions. If the cash runs out, the remaining costs are paid with paper and the affected costs are shown in red.
Cash left over after the costs goes to the seller first in a three-party exchange; in a two-party exchange it goes to the party who would otherwise be owed more. If a party would both put in and take out cash, the tool can net those amounts (the checkbox above the form). It does the same for paper.
In a two-party exchange each party gives a property and gets the other's. In a three-party exchange the exchanger gets the seller's property, and the buyer pays for the exchanger's property in cash and paper. The buyer must bring exactly what is needed to buy the equity plus the buyer's own costs, so the tool asks you to balance the buyer's cash and paper before it goes further.
In the three-party form the seller's side has no cash or paper to give; the seller sells for the exchanger's cash and paper.
It balances equity, cash and paper and reports who gives and gets what. It does not compute realized, recognized or deferred gain, tax basis, depreciation recapture, state taxes, or the exchange deadlines (45 days to identify and 180 days to close), and it does not replace a qualified intermediary, attorney or tax advisor. Have your advisors confirm the structure and tax treatment of any real exchange.
This calculator is a planning tool, not tax or legal advice.
This is the Exchange Recap utility from the planEASe desktop software, rebuilt for the web. More free planEASe tools: Asset Depreciation Calculator, Loan Planner, Interest Rate Comparisons and the IRR, NPV & MIRR Cash Flow Calculator.
Once you know the structure of the exchange, the next question is whether the replacement property is a good investment. That is what planEASe has analyzed for commercial real estate since 1982.