A lot of senior investors have been sitting across from me lately with the same question. They're getting older. Their kids don't really want to manage these properties. And they're tired. It's always some version of: "What can I roll this into that's easier to manage now, and easier to hand off later?"

Fewer toilets. Fewer 2 a.m. phone calls.

It's not just a Louisville thing either. A big UK landlord survey from Property118 this month found 72.8% of landlords age 65 to 74 expect to sell some or all of their portfolio in the next three years, and almost 6 in 10 said their own age, retirement or health is part of the reason. Different country, same conversation I'm having over coffee here.

Here's what keeps coming up. I'm a realtor, not a CPA or a QI, so this is the plain-English version, not tax advice.

1. You don't have to sell rentals one at a time

Bundle a handful of houses together and they can sell as a package, a commercial deal, to one buyer at one closing. Hedge funds are buying again. I'm working with one right now. One closing instead of five, and a cleaner way to free up money for a 1031 into something you'd rather own.

2. The regular 1031, explained like you're five

• Like-kind is broader than people think. Real estate held for investment or business, traded for other real estate held for investment or business. A fourplex for a warehouse can work. Rentals for land can work. Your own home doesn't count.

• A Qualified Intermediary (QI) holds your sale money so you never touch it. If that cash lands in your account, the exchange is blown.

• 45 days from the sale to name, in writing, what you might buy.

• 180 days to close on the new property, or your tax filing deadline if that comes first.

3. The reverse 1031 is underrated for this crowd

The stressful part of a regular exchange is the clock. You sell, and now you've got 45 days to find something good. In a tight market, that's how people overpay.

A reverse 1031 flips it. You buy the new property first, then sell the old one. You can't own both inside the exchange, so an Exchange Accommodation Titleholder (EAT) "parks" one of them by holding title for a while. From the day it takes title you have 45 days to name what you're selling and 180 days to finish.

It costs more. The extra paperwork and parking fees often run $5,000 to $10,000 or more on top of a regular exchange, and you need the cash or financing to buy before you sell. But for a senior investor who's ready to move and doesn't want to get squeezed by a 45-day deadline, it can be the difference between a calm handoff and a panic buy.

4. Where the tired money is going

• Triple net (NNN): one tenant, think a pharmacy, an auto parts store or a warehouse user, pays the rent plus taxes, insurance and maintenance. You mostly collect a check.

• Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs): a slice of a big professionally managed property. Fully passive and can take 1031 money. The trade-off is you give up control, and getting out early can be hard.

• Industrial and flex: fewer tenants, fewer toilets, longer leases. Here that means the I-65 corridor, around the airport and Jeffersontown.

• Oil and gas: certain mineral and royalty interests can count as real estate for a 1031. Very case-by-case. That's a conversation for your CPA and QI before anything else.

5. Ask your CPA about stepped-up basis

Under current law, heirs generally get a "stepped-up basis." In plain English, the property's tax starting point resets to what it's worth when they inherit it, which can wipe out the gain you kept deferring. That's why you hear old-timers say "swap till you drop." Laws change, so get your own advice on that one.

For those of you who've done a reverse exchange: was the parking cost worth it compared to the stress of the 45-day window? And for anyone who's sold a rental portfolio as one package, did you come out close to what selling them one at a time would have netted?