This means that you cannot perform a 1031 exchange between a U.S. property and a non-U.S. property. If your relinquished property is located within the United States, then your replacement property must also be located within the United States (or certain U.S. territories) to qualify for 1031 tax deferral.
While an investor can choose which property to sell (exchange) and identify replacement properties, the investor/taxpayer may not control or have access to the funds in between those two events. For that reason, the use of a qualified intermediary is necessary.
Individuals, C corporations, S corporations, partnerships (general or limited), limited liability companies, trusts and any other taxpaying entity may set up an exchange of business or investment properties for business or investment properties under Section 1031.
Section 1031(f) provides that if a Taxpayer exchanges with a related party then the party who acquired the property in the exchange must hold it for 2 years or the exchange will be disallowed.
A 1031 exchange does not obviate the need for a realtor. Quite to the contrary, in most cases an Exchanger has an even greater need for a realtor due to the time constraints placed on Exchangers.