About the Editor

About the Editor

OZ HQ is edited by Barrett Linburg, a Texas-based real estate operator and Opportunity Zone practitioner who has spent years working through the practical mechanics of OZ investing, fund structuring, and place-based development.

This site exists to make OZ easier to understand.

Background

Barrett has spent 20 years in real estate — starting as a mortgage broker and spending the last 15 years investing in Texas multifamily. He operates a vertically integrated multifamily platform based in Dallas with approximately 6,000 units under management across 50+ properties in the Texas Triangle.

He began investing in Opportunity Zones in 2020 and has since deployed capital into 25+ OZ projects across Dallas and Austin, with a concentration in the Bishop Ridge neighborhood of North Oak Cliff — a deliberate neighborhood transformation strategy now comprising approximately 25 properties and 1,000 units in a single micro-community.

Barrett is not an attorney or a CPA. He has spent years working through OZ mechanics in real transactions — asking detailed questions of OZ tax attorneys, fund structuring counsel, and CPAs — and has learned the program from the inside out as an operator and investor.

He participated in policy discussions related to OZ 2.0 through the Economic Innovation Group (EIG), contributed to working group conversations about the transition from OZ 1.0 to OZ 2.0, and has served as an informal resource for policy staff working on OZ implementation.

Why This Site Exists

Most OZ information online is either too vague to be useful or too promotional to be trusted. OZ HQ is an attempt to build something in between — a reference that prioritizes accuracy and practical interpretation over marketing language.

Where a rule is settled, the site says so plainly. Where guidance is incomplete or interpretation matters, the site says that too.

Editorial Approach

OZ HQ relies on statutory text, IRS guidance, OBBBA provisions, and clearly sourced research (particularly from EIG and Novogradac). Where the site interprets rules rather than restates them, it says so.

This site is educational only. Fund offerings, investment solicitations, and sponsor marketing are not part of OZ HQ.

Disclosure

Barrett Linburg is a Texas multifamily operator and OZ practitioner with direct experience structuring and operating Opportunity Zone projects. He is not a disinterested academic — he has capital deployed in OZ structures and writes from the operator side of the table. That perspective is disclosed here and informs the editorial approach of this site. OZ HQ is maintained as an independent educational resource.

Media and Speaking Inquiries

For interviews, background conversations, or speaking requests related to Opportunity Zones, OZ policy, or practical OZ implementation: