I have been trying to do some research on this question..... if I sell some of my single family houses could I exchange (1031) and purchase a storage unit business/property?  Would this be acceptable under the new rules for 'like-kind exchange'?  

What new rules are you talking about?

@Matt Henshaw

Yes, you can exchange residential properties into a storage facility. This has not changed.

Just remember that you cannot sell and then start an exchange. Need to start the exchange process before you sell.

@Michael P

@Michael Plaks Thanks!  

start the process of speaking with a 1031 expert now. I have found with my clients that many 1031 exchanges are NOT done correctly and you can lose the tax advantage! 

@Matt Henshaw , yes you can. All real estate is considered like kind. As long as the property is being used for "Investment Purposes", you can exchange from resi to commercial, and anything in between. I'm actually a Qualified Intermediary for 1031 exchanges, and get questions like this all the time. Would be happy to walk you through it.

@Matt Henshaw

Real estate(SFH) for real estate(storage) is perfectly fine.

There are few instances when a 1031 won't work such as when you sell a property in the US and want to buy real estate abroad.

@Matt Henshaw , All of our esteemed CPA colleagues are singing the same song. Selling residential and buying self storage is absolutely fine. The fly in the ointment is in the allocation of the self storage between personal and real property. The new rule within 1031 as of 2018 is that you cannot now exchange personal property for personal property. That would not have been much of an issue on the SFR side. But be careful with your negotiation of the storage park. That seller may want to allocate a significant % of the sale to FFE (furniture, fixtures, and equipment). You can only exchange into the real estate.

Another issue you'll have but that can be overcome is timing. You'll either want to bunch the closings of those SFRs so they close in quick succession so that you can take title to your new property within the timelines of the one that sells first. Or you'll need to do a reverse exchange (a more complicated and expensive type of 1031).