Investing in Opportunity zone without a fund

[Ari Bachrach]

I'm closing on a house next week that happens to be in an opportunity zone. I will be doing substantial work on the house - my rehab budget is larger than the cost of the house. I also have lots of unrealized capital gains in the stock market at the moment, so I'm trying to figure out how to take advantage of the OZ. I was planning on closing in my personal name so I could get a Fannie/Freddie loan when I go to refi in a few months. Everything I see on OZs talks about investing in a fund, however I don't want to invest in a fund - I want to invest directly in the property. So two questions:

1 - Can I buy the house as an individual using my using capital gains and defer the taxes, or must I create a QOF to purchase the house?

2 - If the answer to #1 is that I must create a QOF, then what's the simplest way to go about this? Since the QOF must file IRS form 8996 I assume it must file its own tax returns, so a disregarded entity like a single member llc will not be good enough. Do I need to create a C or S corp? What's the easiest way to do this given that I'll be using all my own money?

3 - Given that the answer to #2 is probably still somewhat complicated and time consuming, are there firms or individuals popping up yet who will do it all for me? (including filing the IRS forms, etc.)? 

[Eamonn McElroy]

@Ari Bachrach

Needs to be held in either a partnership or corporate tax entity that self certifies as a QOF.

Don't try to DIY this, there are requirements and deadlines on both the investor side and the fund side that need to be met.  Hire a CPA/EA that is very comfortable with 1400Z-2.