We are looking into working with an existing OZ fund now.

I was not paying attention to real estate investing at the time, but when this new OZ thing came up, I heard that after Katrina, the government introduced similar (although not as expansive and beneficial) incentives for the hardest-hit areas, and there was a flood (pardon the term) of bad deals of people trying to take advantage of the tax savings.

You are definitely someone I want in my sphere.

Thank you    Hi @AJ Satcher, I'd start with friends, family, and sphere of influence's recommendation for local lenders, first. 

However, my belief is that it will be very challenging to grow a start-up to typical venture fund returns under the constraints of the OZ rules. 

I'm starting in a new state with a sphere of 10 people, so I'm not taking the long view yet - I'm just working on getting some traction. 

Go to meetups or networking events, write handwritten letters to your sphere, cold call FSBOs, network with people on biggerpockets.

We have a saying here, "New Orleans is OZ, everywhere else is Kansas."

You could spend that same amount of time pressing flesh, looking people in the eye, and building real relationships and get a significantly better return.There are two schools of thought concerning leads: work on your current sphere of influence or build a new one.Question: which one will produce results faster?

You don't have anyone in your sphere that could refer you to a loan officer they have used and LOVED?