Avila Real Estate Capital

Ernesto Cohan, the Managing Partner and co-founder, leads investment decisions. Before founding Avila in 2013, Cohan spent roughly a decade at H.I.G. Capital, a $65 billion global alternative investment firm, where he specialized in real estate and distressed debt acquisitions. His background gives Avila a direct line to institutional underwriting discipline.

Avila sources non-performing and sub-performing loan portfolios primarily from regional and community banks, special servicers, and government-sponsored enterprises in the Southeastern United States. The firm also acquires assets through broker relationships and direct off-market negotiations. Its willingness to close on smaller, complex pools — typically below $30 million — creates a sourcing funnel that bypasses the competitive large-auction process dominated by mega-funds.

The firm focuses on distressed and non-performing residential and commercial mortgage loans, single-family rental aggregation, and direct value-add real estate acquisitions. It operates across the capital stack, providing rescue capital where existing equity is impaired. All activity concentrates on Florida, Georgia, and the broader Southeastern United States.

Avila operates primarily as an independent sponsor, raising capital on a deal-by-deal basis rather than through a committed blind-pool fund structure. This gives the firm flexibility to transact quickly and structure co-investments directly alongside its limited partners. It also means the firm's total AUM is not publicly consolidated under a single regulatory filing.

An entity called Avila Capital shares the same Coral Gables address and appears to operate in adjacent credit-investing strategies. The exact relationship suggests a shared principal and back-office infrastructure, though the two vehicles likely pursue distinct mandates — one real estate, one broader credit. Details remain sparse in public records.

While Avila does not disclose its limited partner base, its Coral Gables location and Ernesto Cohan's background point to a mix of US-based family offices, Latin American high-net-worth individuals, and domestic institutional allocators familiar with the distressed-credit niche. South Florida serves as a well-documented hub for Latin American private capital seeking US real estate exposure.

Avila operates in the small-to-mid-sized distressed loan market — typically acquiring pools between $5 million and $30 million — a segment largely ignored by institutional mega-funds. The firm combines institutional-grade underwriting and servicing infrastructure with an independent sponsor's speed; it does not face the internal return thresholds or portfolio constraints that prevent billion-dollar funds from efficiently deploying into smaller, more operationally intensive loan pools.