Property Management Inc. Continues to Grow in 2021

Since its founding in 2008, at the start of one of most dramatic real estate downturns in United States history, Property Management Inc. has proven one thing: Even in choppy economic waters, the premier property-management franchise brand has plenty of wind in its sails.

For proof, look no further than 2020. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, high unemployment rates, real estate volatility and social unrest, PMI just scored its best year ever. 

The company, which provides property management solutions for residential, commercial, association and short-term rental properties, turns property managers into thriving business owners, providing the support of an expert team of franchisors and a large network of fellow franchisees. 

In 2020, PMI grew the number of franchises in its system at a record rate, shattering last year’s number of new franchises while it continues to develop new territories and increase its presence in key markets. Beyond that, the company introduced best-of-breed industry software and refined systems and processes to help its franchisees increase productivity, efficiency and profitability. 

Property Management, Inc. turned in its best performance ever in 2020, opening 67 locations, a 31%-increase over the previous year. Steven Hart, PMI CEO & co-founder, says he knows why. 

“It's a steady industry, and it’s growing,” he said. “More people are renting properties in our country than have ever rented before, and there are more rentals available in our country than ever before — both long-term residential and short-term rentals.”

Hard says the pandemic’s economic disruption also played a part in helping people see their career path in a different light. 

“We saw more people having the desire to take their careers and lives into their own hands and not be subject to layoffs or furloughs anymore,” he said. “People who wanted to be entrepreneurs but never had the guts to jump from their J.O.B. finally said, ‘Hey, now's the time.’” 

Another reason for the rapid growth: Independent property owners and managers are increasingly realizing that if they want to continue to grow, it’s difficult to do so by themselves.

“They’re kind of stuck. They need better systems and processes to really grow,” PMI president Danessa Itaya said. “So they see us as a viable option to help them reach the next level. We have the systems. We have the software. It’s already put together for them, so that’s an attractive incentive to join us.” 

But it’s not just the number of new franchises that's growing; the geography in which PMI franchises are located has expanded as well. The company entered multiple new territories in 2020, from Minnesota to Maine. It also made deeper inroads into coveted markets, particularly in sunbelt states. 

“Because of the way our franchise territories are crafted, we still have attractive territory in areas where competitors are sold out,” said Itaya. “So in 2020, we were excited to add four more businesses in Atlanta, where that option isn't always available. In Texas, we added Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.”

The company has also invested back into the systems that allow PMI to offer best-of-breed franchise support. In 2020, the franchise introduced a new conversion program to help new property management companies to integrate into the PMI family.  

“By making it significantly easier to convert their business to our platform, it dramatically reduces the time it takes a new franchise with existing business to integrate with PMI,” said Itaya. “That means franchisees have the ability to increase their profitability faster than ever before because they have the ability to quickly add additional revenue streams among other benefits.”

The company also introduced new workflow software, which allowed franchisees to systematize many processes, streamlining many functions in the office within one platform, increasing efficiency for the office.

And despite the COVID-19 factor, PMI was able to hold its national summit this year in Orlando, Florida. The event safely brought together 250 franchisees. 

“Our franchisees were extremely appreciative that we did it face-to-face instead of going virtual,” said Itaya. “A lot of work went into it to make sure it was safe, and we were really happy with the level of attendance there.”

Additionally, for the eighth consecutive year, Entrepreneur Magazine listed PMI on the prestigious Franchise 500 list, a comprehensive list of the top franchise opportunities in the United States. The brand earned the 265th spot, up 16 spots from the previous year.

In 2021, PMI has plans to grow beyond just property management. By the second quarter of this year, the company will introduce a PMI brokerage service to give franchise owners better training, support and systems to manage property listings. This will bring added value to PMI’s services because they can not only manage the property for an investor, they can help sell the property when the time comes. 

“There's no better person than the property manager who also has a real estate license to put the sign up there and sell,” said Hart. “No one knows the property better than the manager.”