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
Principal - Old Beach Land Company & Builders
Steve Jarrett
Steve Jarrett entered the Real Estate business focusing on land sales for a Land Development Company in St. Augustine after graduating from Flagler College in 1977. He then moved to the Jacksonville Beaches area working with a Brokerage, Construction and Land Development Company and by the mid-80’s, he became a State Certified Building Contractor and started doing land development projects of his own.
Steve has worked on a variety of mixed-use projects comprising a broad range of asset classes including single-family, multi-family, office, retail, flex, industrial, waterfront and marina. He is a team player who communicates candidly while fully empowering co-workers to push the limits and master their domains. Steve stays solution oriented, to create a productive business environment and encourages other team members to do the same, which eliminates the workplace drama.
Steve formerly served as a director on the local Board of Realtors as well as Chairman of the Legislative Committee. He’s additionally served as Chairman of the Economic Development Committee for the local Chamber of Commerce. In his personal life, Steve has been married to Robin (the girl next door) since 1981 and they have 1 son, 1 daughter and 4 grandchildren. Growing up, he played football, basketball and swimming and still enjoys music, playing guitar, bass and piano.
VP - Donaldson Grading Company
Principal - TLM Development
Travis Manning
Travis has over 25 years experience as a Real Estate Development & Construction Operations Executive. As a third generation licensed general contractor, Travis is an adaptive, focused, and always learning in Residential, Commercial, and Site Construction.
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Donaldson Grading Company is an unlimited licensed GS with over 100 skilled professionals across various specialties, including earthworks, management, erosion control, and utility operations in the Carolinas.
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Travis performs services for Public REITS and Private Equity backed real estate ventures and has developed thousands of new lots and single family residential homes including some of the largest and most successful "Build to Rent" communities in the Carolinas.
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Areas of knowledge include Operation Management, Strategic Marketing, Team Leadership, Public Relations, Deal Financing, Project Launch, and Real Estate Development. Travis has a demonstrated ability to think outside the box while formulating highly effective marketing, public relations, and business development strategies. He is a resourceful leader committed to thorough research on raw land, vendor/contractors, budgets, proformas, and specific challenges that arise in the development process.
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Travis graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice. He also serves as a volunteer firefighter and as a member of the Weddington, NC planning board.
CEO - Simple Life Communities
Managing Partner - Simple Life Partner 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.
