In 1990 the US Treasury Department started solidifying the regulations governing section 1031 exchanges. These were the laws that created the need for each exchanger to use a Qualified Intermediary (QI). At this time Gary Gilbertson founded the company out of his home office in Redmond, Washington. Soon his wife Judy joined him and together they made a team that became well-known in the Puget Sound, Snohomish, and Skagit Regions.

Gary was one of the original members of the Federation of Exchange Accommodators (FEA) which began in 1989 as the only national trade association formed to represent Qualified Intermediaries. He attended and spoke at numerous conventions and served on the original CES Council that created the Certified Exchange Specialist exam.

Gary also became a certified instructor for the Washington Association of Realtors (WAR) and has spoken for them and numerous other groups for decades.

The Gilbertson’s have always prided themselves on the personal service nature of the business and reputation which they built over the 15 years they led the company.

In about 2004 the business had grown so much it was hard to manage and handle. Additional employees and office locations would be needed to handle the sheer volume of work. Besides when your spouse is a chief officer how do you ever take a break together for any extended period of time? So Gary began searching for a suitable replacement owner for the business.

He got into serious negotiations with some, but it never worked out, so he decided to take the most likely candidates and have them submit a business plan on how they would grow the business. In the 4th quarter of 2004 Richard Dance submitted his business plan and it became the first choice plan for the Gilbertson’s. By January of 2005 a transition plan was agreed upon and on March 1, 2005 Richard Dance officially took over as the new owner.

Since then there has been a period of rapid growth. Their first move to commercial office space lasted only a year at 14100 SE 36th St in Bellevue where they acquired 800 sq feet of space. They hope that their current move to 914 – 140th will last a few years where they acquired 3,500 sq feet of space and now have a full time equivalency of 10 employees.

Their expansion into other cities and states began in October of 2006 when they opened up an office in Phoenix, Arizona.

Although 1031 Exchange Coordinators is headquartered in the state of Washington, it has clients and exchanges all over the USA.