Why a side-by-side checklist
Most 1031 exchange investors are comparing more than one DST offering at once, often while the 45-day identification clock is already running. The offerings rarely present their facts in the same format, which makes an apples-to-apples comparison harder than it should be. This checklist lists the fields worth lining up side by side, using this directory's own structure as the template, and where each fact should come from.
Start with what's public
Two fields are public on every offering profile regardless of registration status: Raise Stage and the Grade or NR designation.
Raise Stage describes where an offering sits in its capital raise — Active, Fully Subscribed, or Historical (a completed program) — not how the underlying property is performing. A Fully Subscribed offering is closed to new investors; that status alone is not a signal about outcome.
A Grade, when assigned, is this site's evidence-based letter assessment; NR means not enough evidence exists yet to assign one. Line up the Grade letter or NR for each offering being compared, and check the methodology page and the evidence citations behind each one — a letter without visible evidence next to it is not a usable data point.
Structure and leverage
Leverage differs sharply by offering: some DSTs are debt-free (0% leverage), while others carry loan-to-value ratios that can run past 60%. Neither structure is inherently better; they carry different tax and cash-flow mechanics. Note whether the offering discloses a fixed or variable loan rate, and whether it follows a standard income-producing structure or a zero-coupon structure where cash pays down debt instead of reaching investors.
Minimum investment amounts also vary by offering, commonly in a range from $25,000 to $100,000. A minimum tells you what capital is required to participate in that specific offering; it says nothing about the offering's quality.
Evidence and disclosure
Every DST offering has a Form D filing on EDGAR disclosing who is raising capital and under which exemption [1]. Check that the filing, and any amendments, is linked from the offering profile.
If an offering page cites a sponsor-stated figure — a distribution rate, an IRR, an equity multiple — it should read "as reported by the sponsor" and sit beside a citation to the disclosure it came from. A figure with neither element is a gap in the comparison, not a data point to weigh.
Tax mechanics that differ by structure
Two mechanics carry over from the relinquished property regardless of which offering an investor chooses: depreciation recapture, which defers rather than disappears in a completed exchange [2], and the Net Investment Income Tax, which continues to apply to the deferred gain once it is eventually recognized [3]. A zero-coupon structure changes when cash is distributed; it does not change either of these carryover mechanics.
Matching value and debt across the relinquished and replacement property is what keeps an exchange free of boot — leftover, non-like-kind proceeds that become taxable in the year of the exchange. Two offerings with the same purchase price can still produce different boot outcomes depending on how much debt each one carries.
[1]: https://www.sec.gov/resources-small-businesses/capital-raising-building-blocks/what-form-d
[2]: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p544
[3]: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/net-investment-income-tax
Frequently asked questions
What does Raise Stage tell me about a DST offering?
Raise Stage shows where the offering sits in its capital raise — Active, Fully Subscribed, or Historical — which is a status about the raise itself, not a statement about how the underlying property has performed.
What does NR mean instead of a letter grade?
NR means this site has not yet gathered enough evidence to assign a Grade to that offering or sponsor program. It is a statement about evidence coverage, not a negative assessment.
Does 0% leverage mean an offering is safer?
0% leverage means the offering was purchased without a mortgage, which changes cash-flow timing and removes lender risk from that specific structure. It does not by itself say anything about the property, the tenant, or the sponsor's disclosed program history.
Does replacing debt through a DST prevent boot?
Boot arises when the value or debt on the replacement property is lower than on the relinquished property, leaving leftover, non-like-kind proceeds that are taxable in the year of the exchange. Matching both value and debt, whether through a single DST or a combination of replacement properties, is what prevents that outcome — a DST with 0% leverage still needs to be paired with enough total replacement value to match what was given up.