Investing in triple net lease commercial property

[aws]

I'm in a somewhat unusual situation where I am almost forced to make a purchase of commercial real estate in order to maintain a tax deferral, and I've been putting off the decision. I started an opportunity zone fund about 18 months ago funded with the proceeds from short-term capital gains that would otherwise be taxed at around 50%. In order to maintain the tax deferral I need to purchase a new construction property in an census area designated as an opportunity zone.

 

Ideally I want to invest in a triple net lease deal with zero landlord responsibilities. When doing some research it seems like there is a model called build to suit, which seems like it would be perfect if done for a tenant with good credit. There are a few deals for Dollar General stores at 5.5-6% cap rates, 15 year leases, brand new construction, which seem kind of perfect for what I need. Since opportunity zones are economically-distressed owning a discount store there seems a natural fit, and they are a giant corporation and they guarantee the lease for 15 years. It's also right in the ballpark of the size of a deal I need, which is somewhere between $1 million and $2 million all cash.

 

The biggest problem is that I know nothing about commercial real estate. I imagine most of these deals are done by sophisticated buyers and it would be my first, and probably only such deal I'd ever do. I've only ever bought local residential real estate with the help of an agent, where this deal would be a completely different type and likely be 1000+ miles away. I'm hoping to find some good resources to begin learning about how these deals come together, good websites to scout deals (I've only been using free loopnet searches so far), pitfalls I need to worry about, or anything else that would be relevant. Any advice from experienced real estate investors would be greatly appreciated.

 

[thepupil]

I don't know everything there is to know about opportunity zones, but my impression was that there was a substantial rehabilitation requirement for OZ's and a fully leased existing Dollar General would not qualify. 

 

[aws]

The standard is either original use or substantial rehabilitation, so it would have to be purchased before the store is open. I'll have to double check and get an opinion to make sure original use doesn't start while the tenant is building out the interior, but I don't think it does.