Thomas B. Buffington

Tom Buffington has over 38 years of experience in the real estate business. He began his career in 1969 as a salesman for Nash Phillips Copus (NPC), which was the largest private homebuilder in the southern region of the United States. Tom became president of NPC's Austin and Central Texas Division in 1980.

In 1987, Tom started his own homebuilding company, Buffington Homes, which flourished to become the second largest homebuilding company in Austin. The success of Buffington Homes comprised of building 1,100 units per year and accumulating $150 million in annual revenue in Austin and San Antonio combined.

In 1996, Tom joined three national homebuilders forming The Fortress Group, a holding company that acquired and consolidated local and regional homebuilding companies. The Fortress Group became a nationwide homebuilding conglomerate with annual revenue of $1.6 billion leading it to be taken public at the close of 1996. Tom served as chief operating officer and as a company board member until his retirement in 1999.

In 2001, Tom co-founded Buffington Capital Holdings for the purpose of acquiring and developing property for master-planned communities in central Texas. Since its establishment, the company has commenced development of eleven projects totaling over 8,000 single-family home sites. In addition, the company has developed residential condominiums and a commercial retail center.

He has served on the board of two banks and on the board of KLRU, a community licensed public television station in Austin.

Patrick J. Starley

As co-founder of Buffington Capital Holdings, Patrick has been directly involved or responsible for the sourcing, structuring, financing, and operations of every real estate project in the company portfolio. Under Patrick's supervision, Buffington Capital Holdings has acquired and developed projects that will produce over $300 million in sales revenue over the next eight years. Patrick has structured $250 million in debt and over $60 million in equity. In addition, he has expanded strategic relationships with the company's capital partners, lenders and other real estate groups.

Patrick holds a BA from The University of Texas at Austin. He serves on the advisory board of the Real Estate Finance and Investment Center at the University of Texas, and he is a member of the Real Estate Council of Austin.

James D. Dorney

James has 10 years of real estate experience in central Texas markets, with a skill set and experiences that encompass the entirety of the developmental process, including: due diligence and project feasibility, contract negotiations, entitlements, land development, bank financing, product strategy and sales and marketing of assets.

James started with DR Horton out of graduate school, built homes for a year and then moved into the land development department, where he quickly became lead project manager. James then went to Lennar, where he would serve as the Division President of Lennar Land and was responsible for both the Austin and San Antonio Markets. During James' time at Lennar, he assembled and managed a team of 13 associates that controlled nearly ten thousand home sites in central Texas, while increasing net pretax profit year after year. James left Lennar and began serving as president of Buffington Capital Holdings in January, 2008.

James holds a Masters in Real Estate Development and Management from Texas State University, with an undergraduate degree in Psychology. He is a member of the Austin Homebuilder's Association and the Austin and San Antonio Real Estate Councils.

James Giddens

James Giddens began his career in homebuilding in 1983 in the construction department of Nash Phillips Copus (NPC), where he learned the basics of purchasing, estimating, and construction management. In 1987, James co-founded Buffington Homes, where he served as Vice President and helped guide the company to become the second largest builder in central Texas. In 1996, James aided the merger of Buffington Homes into the newly formed Fortress Group, which was then taken public in 1997 to help the company become a national homebuilding presence. Under James' guidance and leadership, the central Texas division of the Fortress Group, Buffington Homes, flourished and continued to dominate the homebuilding market. In 1999, James resigned as President of Buffington Homes and accepted the position of Division President with Lennar Homes, Austin. With Lennar Homes, James was charged with starting up the division from scratch. He proceeded to build the Lennar, Austin division from 0 homes in 1999 to the largest homebuilding presence in Austin and San Antonio with 3,400 homes per year by 2007. In July of 2007, James resigned as Regional Vice President of Lennar Homes, Texas.

Tim Agee

Tim Agee brings 20 years homebuilding experience to the Buffington team. Beginning in 1987 as a Corporate Accountant for Centex Homes, Tim's fundamental understanding of finance and accounting serves as a basis for his decisions at the principal level. At Centex, he was the accountant for Mergers and Acquisitions as well as acting Controller for several corporate departments. In 1993, Tim left Centex Homes to be division controller for the Charlotte Division of Ryland Homes, moving to the Austin Division in 1996. By 2000, the culmination of his experience led to his appointment as the Austin Division President for the start up of Gehan Homes in Austin, TX. At Gehan Homes, he was successful in building his division from the ground up to over 350 closings and $70,000,000 in Revenue and bringing in a consistent profit.

Tim went to Lennar Corporation in 2002 with the challenge to, again, build his division from the ground up. While at Lennar, Tim took the NuHome division from zero closings to over 600 closings and Revenue of $80,000,000 in 2004.

After his success at Lennar, Tim left in 2004 to work for Meritage Homes Corporation. At Meritage, Tim ran the Austin Legacy, Austin Meritage, and the Austin Monterey Home Divisions. Tim overcame the challenge again at Meritage by reviving a brand on the verge of extinction (Legacy Homes). He took the Legacy division from 125 closings in 2004 to 400 closings in 2008, while also growing the Meritage/Monterey divisions. The brands combined total 750 Closings per year in excess of $210,000,000 in Revenue in 2008. In January 2008, Tim, ready for a new challenge, resigned from Meritage Homes Corporation to join the Buffington Team.

Jeff Gilpatrick

Jeff Gilpatrick joined the Buffington Capital Holdings team with a diverse educational and professional background that has culminated in his current role as Vice President. He has made significant contributions to the day-to-day operations of the company including responsibilities in asset management, financial performance, financial structure, and underwriting of new acquisitions. Prior to joining Buffington Capital Holdings, Jeff was an acquisitions associate with a national apartment developer, a construction superintendent with a local Austin homebuilder, and a member of a lending team with a regional bank in Atlanta.

Jeff has earned a Master of Real Estate Development degree from the University of Southern California and a bachelor's degree in economics from The University of Texas at Austin. In addition, he has completed other courses and training in architecture, construction management, and credit analysis.

Jim Withers

Jim joined the Buffington Capital Holdings team in 2005 with a diverse educational and professional background that has culminated in his current role as Vice President. He has made significant contributions to the day-to-day operations of the company including responsibilities in asset management, financial performance, financial structure, and underwriting of new acquisitions.

Previously, Jim was an analyst for Banc of America Securities in New York. In this position, he advised energy and power companies on mergers, raising capital, and acquisitions. After working with Banc of America Securities, Jim was an associate at Sanders Morris Harrison in Houston. There he provided stock recommendations for a 17-person institutional sales team as well as the company's investor clients. .

Jim received his BBA in finance and an MBA with a concentration in real estate finance from The University of Texas at Austin. He is a memeber of the Real Estate Council of Austin and the Urban Land Institute.

Jennie Harsh

Jennie Harsh joined Buffington Capital Holdings as the Asset Controller. Jennie's responsibilities include the day-to-day management of each asset, including cash flow management, financial structuring, profitability, and financial reporting. Prior to joining the Buffington team, she was the Division Controller for the Lennar Austin/San Antonio Land Division, where she managed the assets of roughly 30 projects located in Austin and San Antonio.

Jennie holds a BA in Accounting from San Francisco State University. She has passed the CPA exam and is currently in the application process to becoming a Certified Public Accountant.

Rick Roberts

Rick Roberts joined the Buffington Capital Holdings Team as a Senior Analyst and has made significant contributions to the day-to-day operations of the company including asset management and financial structuring support. Prior to joining Buffington Capital Holdings Rick acted as an M&A Integration consultant for Bank of America during the Nations Bank and Fleet Boston mergers. He has also held consulting and start-up management roles with Hewitt Associates and Telescan.com respectively.

Rick earned a BBA in Information and Operations Management from Texas A&M and will earn an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin in May 2008 with a concentration in Real Estate Finance. He has four years tenure as the President of the Cochran Heights Neighborhood Association and volunteers with Preservation Dallas and the Austin Chapter of the Urban Land Institute.

Jake Heffelfinger

Jake Heffelfinger joined Buffington Capital Holdings as a Jr. Analyst. Jake's responsibilities include supporting market research, asset management, feasibility studies and financial analysis. Prior to joining the team at BCH, his previous experience was trading securities for a private equity firm in Austin.

Jake obtained a BBA in finance from St. Edward's University in Austin, TX. He is currently studying for Level I of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Sandra Lai

Sandra joined the Buffington team in 2007. Her responsibilities include office management, administrative management, and internal human resources duties in addition to administrative support for the President and Vice President.

Prior to Buffington Capital Holdings, Sandra worked as an office coordinator at JMJ Associates, a management consulting firm. While at JMJ, Sandra was able to develop an eye for detail as well as excellent organizational skills. These skills have enabled her to effectively transition into her role as part of the Buffington team.

Sandra holds a BA from Texas State University and is a member of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. In January 2007, Sandra was given the privilege of presenting her research on the Effects of Perceived Stress based on age at the SPSP Conference in Memphis, Tennesse. Sandra is currently pursuing her PHR certification.

Kyle Minter

Kyle is an instrumental team member in the day to day operations at Buffington Capital Holdings. In addition to working at BCH, Kyle is also currently pursuing a degree in finance full time from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. Kyle's responsibilities have grown to include functions in the areas of market research, financial analysis, and asset management. Before transferring to The University of Texas at Austin, Kyle studied and competed on the soccer team at The University of Memphis on a full scholarship.