--- title: "Why This Realtor Converted His Business to a Property Management Inc." url: https://burnaze.com/article/ac2af5d6-c46b-4477-89c9-e253e2c3a848 source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/why-this-realtor-converted-his-business-to-a-property-management-inc-2719549 category: "Real estate" industry: "Business Services" segment: "Real estate" published: 2022-08-26T12:07:54.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T01:35:52.259Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/c7fe571c525d5d7ad0b0b63be77087954648.jpg --- # Why This Realtor Converted His Business to a Property Management Inc. **TL;DR:** Paul Bullington converted his real estate business to a Property Management Inc. franchise, citing the need for better tools and back-end support. He joined the nearly 400-unit brand and signed a franchise agreement for Dickson, Tennessee. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2022-08-26. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/why-this-realtor-converted-his-business-to-a-property-management-inc-2719549).* ## Story With over 15 years in the real estate industry, Paul Bullington was ready to take his successful business to the next level. The Tennessee broker and brokerage franchise owner started Willow Residential Property Management a few years ago, and its repertoire has quickly grown to about 100 homes. So recently, Bullington decided to convert the company into a Property Management Inc . (PMI) franchise, joining the nearly 400 unit brand. “As we continued to grow, I was totally overwhelmed. For us to grow to the level we wanted, we needed better tools, better back-end support and a network of other property managers and business owners to learn from,” said Bullington. “We decided we need to partner with PMI and grow with the power of the brand in this area. It felt like the right fit for us.” Bullington heard about Property Management Inc. from Scott Abernathy , a local franchisee who owns the Murfreesboro territory and holds real estate trainings and classes in the area. The brand and its extensive internal network of owners really appealed to him. So when the time came to grow his property management business, PMI was the first company to come to mind. Bullington just signed a franchise agreement for Dickson, Tennessee, which he said is a “good fit to fill in the gap in the rural areas” between Memphis, Nashville and Clarksville. He added that the area is a hot market for investors right now, with lower gas and oil prices than most of the country. Since signing on with PMI, he is already seeing great benefits. The brand’s business coach has offered excellent suggestions and solutions for him and his team to utilize as they continue to grow. “The business coach reframed the best ways to approach our decisions. It's been nice to have someone offer a structure they suggest but still let you run your business as you want. It's excellent having a business coach that truly wants success for everybody and great to have these policies and procedures in place that don't require us to spend a lot of energy recreating the wheel.” Bullington also said that everyone he has told about the transition from Willow Residential Property Management to PMI is excited about all the possibilities that the partnership holds. There are many perks to being a part of the nation’s top property management franchise. “Everybody we spoke to about this, from our agents to current owners and tenants, have all been very receptive and excited for the brand conversion. They all know that they love and trust us, so now they're excited for us to have that support and network that PMI brings,” said Bullington. “It's been very positive.” He is already busy looking at where in Tennessee he wants to expand. Bullington has partnered with large-scale investors to do some multi-family market housing in the area and plans to take on a full-time property manager and continue to grow his office staff. “I'm grateful for the opportunity,” said Bullington. “The PMI team has been so consistent in our conversations. It's been nice to have our goals align with each other so we can all succeed. We have committed, and we're pretty excited about it.” The startup costs for a Property Management Inc. franchise range from $53,225 to $190,050. The franchise fee ranges from $45,000 to $190,050. To learn more about franchising with Property Management Inc., visit . ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - Business Services (sector) - franchise agreement (topic) - business growth (topic) - Tennessee (location) - property management (topic) - Property Management Inc. (company) - franchise conversion (topic) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/why-this-realtor-converted-his-business-to-a-property-management-inc-2719549). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/ac2af5d6-c46b-4477-89c9-e253e2c3a848).