Do you need to understand the tax part before you look at a single zone property?

Someone asked me at a meetup whether they should learn the opportunity zone rules first or go look at buildings first, and I gave a bad answer, so I'm putting it here.

The case for learning the rules first: the whole reason to do this instead of a normal deal is a capital gains reinvestment structure with real deadlines in it. If you don't know what a qualifying investment looks like, or what substantial improvement means, you can walk a building for three weekends and it turns out the shape of the deal was never going to work. That's wasted time and it's the kind of wasted time that feels like progress.

The case for looking at buildings first: the tax benefit only matters if the project itself works. You could read for six months and still not know whether a vacant storefront in a designated tract rents for anything. And most people who learn the rules first never buy, because rules are easier to read than buildings are to walk.

I came in from ordinary small deals and I learned the property side first, which means I made mistakes on structure that cost me time. But I did buy things. Not sure that's a recommendation.

Anyone's actual tax structure here needs a CPA, I'm asking about the order you learn in.