Yes, that's why I said sell. When you sell you need t to recapture the depreciation, not on a 1031 exchange. Of course you don't have to do a 1031 exchange, it is an option.
“Of course you don’t have to do a 1031 exchange, it is an option.”
For the benefit of others (because clearly you understand this stuff), this is why a lot of older R/E investors will do a 1031 out of apartments or commercial properties that need to be actively managed, into something like a Walgreens. They own the property, but it is bound to a triple net lease for X number of years, and Walgreens will have several 5 year options to extend the lease (usually with a 2% - 5% bump in the rent). There is no responsibility for the new owner to do anything but pay the mortgage (if any), pay property taxes and pay for insurance - all of which can be set up to be withdrawn electronically from a business account. No taxes on the “sale” and a predictable rate of return with virtually no risk.
If one has the money to invest, it isn’t difficult to make a lot of money in real estate - you just have to avoid the really big mistakes like not over-leveraging, not inspecting your property before purchase (including the rent roll), and not maintaining the property. Do those things, and you are pretty much set, especially if you have an accountant/tax advisor who is able to properly figure out that 2 + 2 = 4.