Affordability in the housing and apartment sectors is an issue nationwide. In an effort to incentivize builders and investors, the IRS has recently designated “opportunity zones” in each state. These are areas that were identified by the governor of each state that could use a little extra push.
You can read more about opportunity zones and the potential benefits for you as an investor at the IRS’s website, here (a screenshot of their website is above). In short, “if the investor holds the investment in the Opportunity Fund for at least ten years, the investor would be eligible for an increase in its basis equal to the fair market value of the investment on the date that it is sold.”
This is exciting news for investors! One of FIG’s properties, Easton Park in American Fork, UT happens to be in the opportunity zone. FIG is also considering another project in an opportunity zone, but we have to keep that one under wraps for now!
Many legal and tax advisors are still wrapping their heads around this and what it means. We recently interviewed Attorney and CPA, Mark Kohler about opportunity zones. You can listen to the interview here.
Of course, this is a complicated topic and you should make sure you understand it clearly by discussing it with a professional tax advisor. We’re big fans of Mark Kohler’s firm, Kohler and Eyre CPAs, which you can learn more about here.