Many of these same factors, he adds, apply to the student housing sector as well. "There will be some student housing properties for sale, where the assets are performing well operationally but the owners have to sell them in order to subsidize a problem somewhere else in their portfolios."

Over the next few years, the company will acquire mostly class A and class B properties of 200 to 350 units, as well as C-grade assets with value-add potential, in Alabama, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The average transaction size is expected to be $20 million to $30 million, but the firm prefers portfolios buys over one-off deals due to efficiencies of scale.

"I don't know that we'll continue to do acquisitions forever," Gray relates. "We're trying to take advantage of the buying opportunities in this down curve of the cycle, and it's hard to tell how long that's going to last. There will probably be a three-year window where buying opportunities will be out there--at the right price."

Spectrum is looking to team up with institutional partners who will provide the majority of the equity on the deals. The company will also kick in a share, and the balance will be met through traditional financing. Having multiple equity partners, explains Gray, provides greater flexibility in terms of investment. "Our objective is to have a couple of equity partners, since their needs, preferences and ability to invest vary from day to day," he says.

Right now, the firm is trying to raise $50 million to $100 million in equity. "We've had a lot of discussions with potential partners and we've narrowed it down to organizations that seem to have interests and objectives in common with us," says Gray. "Now we're in the second phase of putting together a mutually beneficial joint venture. When we get to that point, we'll be in a serious position to acquire assets."

And when it is ready to pick up assets, Gray knows the competition will be heavy. However, he maintains the company's strategy is such that successfully accumulating a portfolio won't be much of an issue. "With any good idea, there's going to be a lot of competition," he says. "But a smart person once told me, 'There's always room at the top.' So our intention is not to be the largest company in the country doing multifamily acquisitions. Our intent is to be a great boutique. We're not trying to be a department store or a chain of department stores. We'd like to acquire somewhere between 10 and 30 properties and hit a home run with each one of them."