All Forum Posts by: Gabriel Sanabria

The episode that @Alex Gunnerson shared is exactly what got me onto this topic, so I delved deep into it. It sounded too good to be true and, unfortunately, I still think it is. I can provide you the contact information of the lead Opportunity Zone planner for the State of Virginia if you'd like. He's super cool and was the one that pushed our legislation so I'm very confident he can answer any question you may have, regardless of state as this is a Federal incentive. From my own research last year:

Pros:

1) No taxes if selling after 10 years

2) Not all opportunity zones are actually bad/really need improving. If I remember correctly, it's a 10-15 year old initiative so most places aren't as bad as they were then

3) Sadly, that's about it. Great for tax incentives which is why it was implemented. But, unsurprisingly, there are a LOT of hoops/legal requirements

Cons:

1) You need to set up and fund a separate organization (that ONLY invests in opportunity zones) from which to do business. There are rules on that money which I don't remember, but I remembered it was an annoying hoop to jump through.

2) The biggest things are "substantial improvement" and "primary business"

Substantial improvement is doubling the value of the property. So you can buy a SFH home but then need to double it in value. Or buy a plot of land and build a home. These are both considered "substantial improvements". I use quotes because that's their legal jargon. That was my big turn off. Why would I buy a $300k house, double it's value, and then sit on a $600k house in a $400k neighborhood? May be different in your area.

3) The OZ must be your place of primary business. So the fund that you set up must hold a majority of its assets (90% I think?) in that opportunity zone and must be the primary place of your business.

Hopefully some of this helps but if you're fine with the legal and admin side of this game of hopscotch then the tax benefits are probably worthwhile. Again, lmk if you want the contact information for Virginia's lead OZ guy.

Hi @Gabriel Sanabria, 

I won't pretend to be an expert where I'm not, but here is in awesome pod episode I listened to a while back on the topic

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

If podcasts aren't your thing, this post by Jonathan Hoyt is very thorough, filled with a ton of information.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Good luck!

Why is the listing agent dictating terms of your offer?

They can say they will reject any offer that has an appraisal contingency, but they can't force you to send an offer with or without contingencies.

If there's a financing contingency, the lender will supercede the listing agent's wishes. Whether "appraisal contingency" is checked or not won't matter at that point. It would only be a means to keep someone's earnest money when/if the property doesn't appraise.