Carlos Vaz and Brad Costanzo of Conti & Costanzo LLC, backedby a growing list of various equity backers, have picked up the208-unit Huntington Apartments at 5700 Boca Raton Blvd. in FortWorth's struggling Woodhaven section and 143-unit Arbor Terrace at1029 W. Arkansas Lane in Arlington. As they step up their drive tobuy, they say they've bumped up their sweet spot to the $5-millionto $10-million range to make it easier to secure financing andattract new equity investors.

They acknowledge to GlobeSt.com that they're "doing it the hardway," but they say it's a thought-out plan based oncost-segregation analyses to wring the most value in the quickestway possible from their acquisitions. "At the end of the day, it'snot about cap rates, but the property itself and how much a dollaris going to make us," Vaz says. "We are the ones who have to provesomething to theDallas community and it's not the other wayaround."

[IMGCAP(2)]Vaz, who relocated from Boston, met Costanzo, acost-segregating consultant with 10 years' experience in Dallas,through his accountant. Their early-on legwork produced investorsfrom both their homeports and California.