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.

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.

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.