Property Management Inc. Plans to Become the Largest Property Management Franchise by 2020
In the past decade, the property management franchise segment has been created and grown exponentially, due in large part to the segment’s major player, Property Management, Inc (PMI). Steve Hart founded the brand in 2008 as a residential property management company, and over the decade that followed, rolled out an aggressive expansion and technology innovation strategy, adding three additional differentiating markets: commercial, association and vacation. PMI’s four segments are unmatched in the industry and provide additional revenue streams for franchisees that other brands cannot.
“When I founded PMI in 2008, my vision was to create the nation’s largest residential, commercial, association and vacation management franchise network,” said Hart, President of PMI. “My previous career was in real estate, and I realized that the property management sector of the industry remains stable, even in an unstable real estate climate. PMI offers a consistent revenue-generating model that helps hundreds of property managers realize their dreams of successful business ownership.
PMI’s four markets have led the brand to sign 60 new franchise deals in 2018. A key strategy to hit the goal of 82 new franchises in 2019 will be focusing on converting mom and pop properties to PMI, Inc. franchisees. PMI completed five conversions in 2018 and anticipates doing nine more next year, with 11 business owners in the vacation rental business alone in the pipeline.
“Conversions are ideal candidates for PMI because we can bring franchisees into the system that already have a baseline understanding of the business, and operate in at least one of the segments,” said Hart. “PMI will provide them with the resources, systems and national recognition of an established brand. Over time, they’ll have the opportunity to add more diferentiators and expand their portfolio in ways they never could before.”
In 2018, PMI acquired a competitor, Book by Owner, and is converting units into PMI franchises. With 230 current franchisees, the brand has been ranked in Entrepreneur magazine for the past three years as the number one property management franchise.
“More than one-third of Americans rent, and because owning rental properties comes with liability, more people are turning to professional property management than in the past,” said Hart. “Property management is about more than just collecting a rent check, and most people don’t want to deal with it. Property management is truly a recession proof-industry because even if real estate, mortgage rates and the stock markets slow, property management gets stronger.”
To open a PMI franchise, the investment range falls between $21,250 and $106,800.