Leaders & Strategic Partners
Our leaders have extensive investment & operating experience throughout the real estate value chain.
Founder & Chief Performance Officer
CEO - Avista Homes (FL, SC, NC, TN)
Thom Liggett
Thom brings over 30 years experience to Investment Funds and their Real Estate Development Projects.
He has served on the leadership teams of multiple institutionally backed investment fund service platforms with a focus on the Residential Housing industry (REIT’s and CDFI’s). Over $20 Billion in capital has been deployed nationally through these platforms in the past 10 years. Thom created (and then exceeded) national performance mgmt. standards while building and managing teams across 8 states with responsibility for many thousands of assets and over $2 Billion capital deployed.
As an active investor & asset manager for multiple investment funds, real estate is one asset class within the global value chain investment strategy of Performance Capital Partners, LLC where he is the Founder and Managing Member.
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Thom graduated from the University of Akron with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1991. He also earned his full real estate NC brokers license in 2014.
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704-408-9730
CEO - American Classic Homes
Richard Briggs
Richard Briggs is the Founder & CEO of American Classic Homes LLC, the largest builder of infill Single Family Residential (SFR) homes in the Jacksonville, FL market.
Richard brings 30 years of experience in Real Estate, Investment Properties and Residential Construction to the ACH team. During his lengthy career he has built over 9,000 houses, valuing at over $1.3 Billion, his focus has been on single and multi-family residential construction. Richard leads the team through example in the day-to-day operations. The standard that he expects from his team is high, all while maintaining a wholesale speed of build.
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ACH has a total of 75 personnel on staff; 27 office and support, 18 field management and support, and 30 superintendents.
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904-351-0308
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Steve Smith
Steve brings over 35 years experience to Investment Funds and their Real Estate Development Projects.
As an unlimited licensed General Contractor in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee, Steve has served on the leadership teams of multiple production home builders with a focus on the Single Family Residential industry. As President & CEO of Avista Homes, Inc., Steve also has a long track record with thousands of successful home renovations and new construction completions.
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Steve is a senior home building executive in all facets of the construction industry including Custom luxury homes, production SFR & multi-family, Build to Rent communities, high velocity renovation programs for REIT's, light commercial projects, hotels, and office facilities.
Steve has completed the certification requirements for unlimited Licensed General Contractor in FL, SC, NC, and TN. He is a Certified Graduate Builder from the NAHB and he also studied Business Administration at Pensacola State College.
704-936-6400
CEO - Simple Life Communities
Managing Partner - Simple Life Real Estate Funds
Mike McCann
Mike McCann is a seasoned investor and leader in the real estate development and tiny home communities markets. With over 30 years of experience, his core competencies include land entitlement, land planning, development, contract negotiation, and customer relationship management.
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Through his own investment company, McCann Management, Mike began investing in land in 2000. Employing the very best urban land planners and engineers, Mike specializes in entitling, efficient land planning, and in-house development in the Southeast.
Mike McCann is the vision and energy behind Simple Life. Recognizing the significant gap in affordable home options for discerning buyers, Mike commissioned comprehensive market studies to identify key areas of demand and created the Simple Life offering. Under his leadership, Simple Life has emerged as a leader in the downsized housing movement, driven by Mike’s proven track record for putting together a full-service offering, assembling a team to build and promote that offering, and securing financing and building relationships to support the mission.
