A qualified opportunity fund, or QOF, is the pooled vehicle that takes your capital gain money and puts it into property or businesses inside designated opportunity zones. You're a limited partner or member in it. You don't pick the buildings.
Minimums vary because these are almost always private placements, meaning securities sold without a public offering. Many are open only to accredited investors, which is a threshold set by federal securities rules based on income or net worth, and state rules can add their own wrinkles. Retail-oriented funds often start around $25,000 to $50,000. Institutional-style funds commonly start at $250,000 or higher. The sponsor sets it, so read the offering documents rather than the website.
On fees, the usual shape is an annual management fee of roughly 1% to 2% of committed or invested capital, an acquisition or organization fee taken once at the front, and a promote, meaning the sponsor's share of profits above a hurdle, often around 20%. There can also be a fund administration charge. Ask for the total of all of them in one number before you sign anything.
Your own cost is real too. You'll get a K-1 each year and you file a form with your return to report holding the QOF interest, so a CPA who has done OZ work is a line item, often a few hundred dollars on top of a normal return.
Cairn is right about mixed funds. Also worth knowing: the incentive was made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, so the old expiration pressure on your holding period is gone. Confirm your own eligibility and filing steps with a tax professional.
