Property Management Veteran Has Found the Perfect Partnership In PMI

Scott Abernathy is a property management veteran. That’s why he and leading management brand Property Management Inc. make the perfect partners.

Property Management Inc. provides property management services and solutions across four pillars: residential, commercial, association and short- and long-term rentals. Through these pillars, franchisees across the brand’s 300-plus locations are able to build their own success through multiple streams of revenue.

Before franchising with the brand, Abernathy built his career in property management working with franchises like Coldwell Banker and Prudential. He also worked for an independent brokerage called Reliant Realty where he developed their property management sector and managed more than 200 rentals.

So why make the switch? Abernathy said that after having the experience of working for a franchise previously, he knew the benefit of the tools the industry could provide him and the value in operating under a brand with a proven model for success.

“I built my own mom-and-pop company, and signed with the franchise later. All the things I had to piece together out of my head turned out to be a fuse box that didn’t match up,” said Abernathy. “With franchising, I was able to buy into the system and get it all going.”

As an expert in his field, Abnathey can recognize the sign of a good brand when he sees one. For him, he said it was the people behind the brand and opportunity to take hold of multiple revenue streams that sold him on PMI.

“Ultimately it was the people and the corporate culture [that sold me on PMI]. It’s probably the best known franchise that focuses on real property management opportunities,” he said. “And PMI offered more income streams — HOAs and short-term rentals. The biggest reason was the people, and the second was the added income streams.”

Abernathy discovered the opportunity with PMI through his involvement with the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM), an association designed for real estate professionals that offers a professional learning environment for owners of management companies and their employees. Now president of the association, Abernathy says it is a really great opportunity for managers to get involved with — one that can inform their business in so many ways.

“I find that being a member of NARPM is really great for any property managers,” he said. “It’s good for franchisees because it helps us see how independent companies are growing and ways we can learn to amend our business.”

But being an independent business owner in the past, Abernathy said that, at first, he felt like he knew the ropes already and didn’t need to follow the system “to a T,” so to speak. It was after he attended an annual summit that he realized how following PMI’s system could vastly benefit his business.

“If you attend the annual summit, you’re going to get a lot out of it. I struggled with that at first — I felt like I didn’t need that input,” said Abernathy. “I fought the system until one day I woke up and told my staff we’re going to follow the PMI way, and not only were things more comfortable, we wound up more profitable.”

And when it comes to support from the corporate, PMI can’t be beat. Abernathy said he was impressed from the start, and things have only gotten better.

“[PMI] puts their money where their mouth is to be the best name out there. In some states they’ve started offering business coaches and regional mentors to offer support to franchisees,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for more support. Corporate has made a lot of positive changes within our organization.”

The startup costs for a Property Management Inc. franchise range from $42,550 to $166,600. The franchise fee ranges from $35,000 to $128,600. To learn more about franchising with Property Management Inc., visit