Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) Properties
Fractional ownership in institutional-quality properties like apartment communities and distribution warehouses, structured to complete a 1031 exchange.
Fractional ownership in institutional-quality properties like apartment communities and distribution warehouses, structured to complete a 1031 exchange.
Start in a DST, then exchange into units of a REIT's operating partnership. It's a one-way door that trades direct ownership for broad diversification.
A royalty check instead of a rent check. Ownership of the minerals under producing land, with no operations to manage.
A way to defer capital gains from any sale, real estate or otherwise, by investing in long-term development projects.
How public and private real estate approaches compared with the broader stock market across 2025. Real estate trailed equities in a strong year for stocks, and each series below is measured differently — see the sources beneath the chart.
* Baker 1031 preferred sponsors shows the average realized, full-cycle, net-to-investor annualized return across completed programs from our curated (“preferred”) sponsors — a multi-year figure measured over each program’s full hold, not a 2025 calendar-year return, and therefore not directly comparable to the single-year index results shown beside it. “Preferred” is Baker 1031’s own designation, not an endorsement, recommendation, or guarantee of any security or of future performance (per SEC/FINRA). Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Sources & methodology. Full-year 2025 returns. S&P 500 total return 17.88% (Slickcharts). Public REITs: FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index total return 2.3% (Nareit). Private Ownership Real Estate: NCREIF Property Index (NPI) 4.9%, gross unlevered. Real Estate Private Equity: NCREIF ODCE 3.8%, gross levered (NCREIF, via RCLCO). Crowdfunding Real Estate: Fundrise Flagship Real Estate Fund 1.33% net (audited Form N-CSR). These series use different methodologies (index total returns vs. appraisal-based gross returns vs. net-of-fee fund results) and reflect a single calendar year, so they are not directly comparable. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
One-on-one attention from the firm’s managing principal — not a call center or a junior representative.
A family firm of real estate professionals who have owned, operated, and exchanged property themselves — so we understand what individual investors actually need.
All figures we present are shown net of fees and expenses — so the numbers you evaluate are the numbers you receive.
Turnkey financing arranged for you, debt-free options available, and closings in as little as 2–3 business days.
We independently vet every sponsor — track record, tenure, financial strength, and how they treat investors — before we ever present them.
Programs our sponsors have taken all the way from offering to final sale. Every figure below is a bracketed sample pending substantiation.
“Full cycle” means the program has completed its hold and returned investor capital; these offerings are closed and no longer available. Figures shown are samples for layout purposes only and must be substantiated before publication. Average annual return and equity multiple are net to investor over each program’s full hold period. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Current offerings can’t be listed on a public website. Request access, and once I’ve verified you’re an accredited investor I’ll send the current menu from our vetted sponsors, with the documents behind each one.
Private placements, available to accredited investors. No obligation.
Gerald F. Baker, III (“Jerry”) is the founder and managing principal of Baker 1031 Investments, LLC, specializing in institutional-grade Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) properties and tax-deferred exchange solutions for individual investors.
Prior to founding the firm, Jerry spent more than a decade on Wall Street, where he was directly involved in over $10 billion in real estate transactions, leading property investment strategies and acquisitions for several prominent private equity firms and hedge funds.
His expertise is underpinned by a 60-year family legacy in real estate — three generations of developing, managing, and investing in high-quality assets. He established Baker 1031 to address the lack of transparency in the 1031 marketplace, engineering an execution model that can complete complex transactions in as little as two to three days.
Before a single offering is shown, Jerry underwrites the underlying real estate the way a private-equity investor would — the market, the rent roll, the business plan, the debt — on the conviction that if the real estate does not make sense, the rest of the deal will not either.
Baker 1031 Investments is a San Francisco–based, founder-led real estate securities firm that helps accredited investors complete 1031 exchanges using institutional Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) properties — building custom portfolios from leading sponsors, and also working in 721 UPREIT exchanges, Opportunity Zone funds, mineral & royalty interests, and REITs so clients defer capital gains and own income real estate without the work of managing it.
There is a team behind me handling paperwork, deadline tracking, and the work behind the scenes, built so clients get taken care of properly. Every client works directly with me.
Most DST programs I work with start at [$100,000] for 1031 exchange investors. Mineral royalty and Opportunity Zone fund minimums vary by program, and some cash investments start lower. Ask and I’ll tell you what’s current.
Yes. These offerings are private placements, and securities rules limit them to accredited investors. For most people that means a net worth over $1 million excluding your primary residence, or income over $200,000 in each of the last two years ($300,000 jointly).
I’m compensated by the program’s sponsor through the offering, and every fee is itemized in the private placement memorandum. Ask me and I’ll walk you through the fee table line by line before you invest.
Plan on holding for the full term. DSTs and the other programs I offer have no established resale market, so you should treat them as illiquid until the program sells — typically [5–10] years. If liquidity matters to your situation, tell me early and we’ll factor it in.
The property is sold, the program winds down, and your share of the proceeds comes back to you. At that point you can do another 1031 exchange, complete a 721 exchange into a REIT where available, or pay the tax and be done. We’ll talk through it well before the sale.
A trust that owns one or more institutional properties — an apartment community, a distribution warehouse, a medical office building. You buy a fractional interest, the IRS treats it as like-kind real estate for a 1031 exchange, and a professional manager runs the property. You collect your share without taking a landlord call.
Yes, and many clients do. Because DST minimums are modest, one sale can be spread across several programs — different property types, sponsors, and regions — instead of riding on a single building.
Once your funds are with the qualified intermediary and your paperwork is in, a DST closing can happen in as little as 2–3 business days, because the property and its financing are already in place. That speed is what saves exchanges late in the 45-day window.
Usually not, but call today rather than tomorrow. DSTs can be identified and closed quickly, and in many cases they’re used as a backup identification alongside property you’re pursuing directly.
A second step after a DST. Some programs let you exchange your DST interest into units of a REIT’s operating partnership, trading direct property ownership for a share of a large diversified portfolio. It’s a one-way door, so we talk it through carefully before you take it.
Some offerings accept retirement dollars, and mineral royalty and REIT programs are common fits. A 1031 exchange itself is for investment real estate, so IRA money follows a different path. Tell me what accounts you’re working with and I’ll show you what applies.
Your interest passes to your heirs like other investment real estate, and under current law they may receive a step-up in basis, which can permanently eliminate the deferred gain. Many clients use DSTs specifically as an estate-planning endgame. Your tax and estate advisors should confirm how the rules apply to you.
No. The firm is based in San Francisco, and clients complete exchanges in properties all over the country. Everything we do together can happen by phone, video, and email.
The best time to call is before you sell. The second-best time is today. Once your sale closes, the 45-day identification clock is running, and the earlier we talk, the more options you have.
Your request is in. After a quick suitability review, I’ll send the current offering menu and documents to your email.