What does it actually take to buy or sell a property management business ? And what are the questions the PMI acquisition team gets asked every single week? After 450+ closed transactions, Aaron McElhiney and Hunter Goodall have heard them all.

In Episode 5 of Manage to Exit, Aaron and Hunter go hosts-only for the first time and answer the 12 most common questions they receive about buying and selling property management businesses. No guest, no script, just the team that facilitates more PM acquisitions than any other group in the country giving direct answers.

They cover what a PM business is actually worth and why cash flow — not doors and not revenue — is the number that matters, how to increase your valuation before selling (including the two-week vacation stress test), how long the process realistically takes from first conversation to close, why confidentiality protects both sides and when to finally tell your team, whether you need a broker and when to skip the 10–12% fee, the three buyer profiles and which one gives you the best price and the smoothest transition, how to structure seller financing the right way, why buying beats building from scratch, how to find deals without a listing app or a broker, and how SBA financing works for your first acquisition.

If you have ever had a question about buying or selling a property management business — and wondered who to ask — this is the episode.

Chapters:

00:00:00 — Cold open: don't buy a business alone — stakes, risk, and the expert case

00:00:35 — Introducing the hosts and the Q&A format

00:00:52 — Q1: What is a property management business actually worth?

00:06:15 — Q2: How do you increase your valuation before selling?

00:11:22 — Q3: How long does it take to prepare and close a deal?

00:13:00 — Q4: Should I keep the sale confidential — and for how long?

00:18:27 — Q5: Do I need a business broker to sell?

00:23:37 — Q6: Who are the right buyers for a property management business?

00:29:55 — Q7: How do I structure the deal — and what does seller financing look like?

00:43:00 — Q8: Buy vs. build — which is the smarter path into PM?

00:47:15 — Q9: How do I find the right business to buy (and what are the red flags)?

00:55:07 — Q10: How do you finance a PM acquisition?

01:01:13 — Q11: Should your first deal be in your own backyard?

01:03:39 — Q12: Franchise vs. independent — what is the real advantage?

01:09:06 — Closing: the single biggest mistake to avoid

Ready to know what your business is worth?

Book a free, confidential valuation call with Hunter ➔

No broker fees. NDA-protected. Only you, Aaron, and Hunter until you decide to move forward.

What does it actually take to sell a property management business for what it's worth ? And what are buyers and banks actually looking for when they evaluate your books, your contracts, and your clients?

In Episode 4 of Manage to Exit, Aaron McElhiney and Hunter Goodall sit down with James Phillips, Executive Director of Residential and Commercial Property Management at PMI Corporate — the person inside PMIA who has seen more PM business transactions than almost anyone in the country, for a candid, inside-view conversation about what actually makes a property management business sellable.

They cover what 'triple tie-out' means and why unreconciled trust accounts are an immediate deal-killer, how non-assignable management contracts can force a deal structure change that costs the seller thousands, why a 200-door portfolio with diversified revenue can be worth more than a 500-door portfolio earning only management fees, and the one accounting mistake — counting gross rents as your own revenue, that leads sellers to believe their business is worth hundreds of thousands more than it actually is.

They also introduce the conversion office model: a path for PM operators who aren't ready to exit yet to join PMI, access James's operations team, and build toward a larger exit through guided acquisitions rather than selling now at a lower number.

If you own a property management business and have ever thought about selling — whether that's in 6 months or 6 years — this episode tells you exactly what to do before you start any conversation with a buyer.

Chapters:

00:00:00 — Cold open: clean books are the foundation of every good exit

00:00:36 — Introducing the hosts and guest: James Phillips, PMI Executive Director

00:03:43 — James's role, PMI's scale, and the local-buyer franchise model

00:08:18 — How PMI's acquisition team works and why new franchisees can do seven-figure deals

00:12:01 — Preparing to sell: trust account compliance, triple tie-outs, and red flags

00:16:43 — Software, standardised agreements, and assignable contracts

00:22:55 — Revenue diversification: why door count is the wrong scorecard

00:28:32 — Conversion offices: the 'grow first, sell later' path into PMI

00:33:55 — Client-to-property ratio: the hidden risk metric every seller ignores

00:43:07 — Accounting deep-dive: gross rents, journal entries, and forensic accounting pitfalls

00:51:26 — 2026 outlook: $20M to $50M, multi-pillar expansion, and commercial growth

00:57:31 — Closing: changing lives on both sides of the transaction

Ready to know what your business is worth?

Book a free, confidential valuation call with Hunter ➔

No broker fees. NDA-protected. Only you, Aaron, and Hunter until you decide to move forward.

What does it actually take to grow a property management business beyond the organic grind? And what can two strategic acquisitions do in six months that two years of networking cannot?

In Episode 3 of Manage to Exit, Aaron McElhiney and Hunter Goodall sit down with Peter Jackal, owner of PMI Aspire in Colorado, for one of the most candid conversations yet about what acquisition-led growth actually looks like on the ground. Peter built his business organically for two years to reach 120 doors. Then, in the span of six months, he closed two back-to-back seven-figure acquisitions, and became the largest residential PMI franchisee in the country.

They cover why public listings attract the wrong kind of buyer, how Peter's trust-first approach won over a seller who had been burned by Wall Street-style acquirers, why the team you acquire matters as much as the contracts, and the one thing Peter wishes he had known about working capital before he closed. 

He also shares the mindset framework, drawn from Dan Sullivan's 10x thinking and the BHAG concept from Jim Collins, that let him say yes to a second seven-figure deal just weeks after signing the first.

If you are a property management executive thinking about growth through acquisition, whether you are at 100 doors or 500, this episode is the honest conversation no one else is having.

Chapters:

00:00:00 — Cold open: the power of mindset over fear

00:00:47 — Introducing the hosts and guest: Peter Jackal, PMI Aspire

00:02:16 — Peter's organic growth story: 120 doors the hard way

00:03:40 — Deal #1: navigating a public listing and beating bigger buyers

00:09:12 — Trust, LOI discipline, and closing at the agreed price

00:11:27 — Building the acquisition team: who not how

00:14:28 — Mindset and the leap to a seven-figure first deal

00:20:10 — The 10x moment: two deals in six months

00:25:59 — Why acquirers should buy teams, not just doors

00:29:23 — Deal #2: Kelly's blessing, fast growth, and a new goal

00:38:41 — Lessons learned: working capital, churn, and the first 90 days

00:43:43 — What Peter is looking for in his next acquisition

00:46:14 — Advice for fence-sitters: organic vs. acquisition growth

00:52:35 — Operating in a tough market: mindset in a regulatory headwind

00:56:23 — Closing: gratitude, goals, and the BHAG mindset

Ready to know what your business is worth?

Book a free, confidential valuation call with Hunter ➔

No broker fees. NDA-protected. Only you, Aaron, and Hunter until you decide to move forward.

What does it actually cost — and what does it take — to finance a property management business acquisition in today's market? And what just changed that every buyer needs to know before they sign anything?

In Episode 2 of Manage to Exit, Aaron McElhiney and Hunter Goodall are joined by Jordan Coleman, SBA Lending Specialist at Live Oak Bank — the number one SBA preferred lender in the country — for a candid conversation about how PM business acquisitions are actually financed, what lenders are really looking for, and how the SBA's June 1, 2025 rule changes are reshaping the buyer landscape right now.

They cover the mechanics of SBA loans in plain language (the SBA doesn't lend money — here's who does and why that matters), the new 5% cash equity requirement for first-time buyers and how sellers can structure notes around it, why Live Oak looks at door count trends and add-backs the same way PMIA does, why 95% of PMIA's closed deals are off-market and what that means for your financing timeline, and the $5M SBA runway misconception that is quietly limiting buyers who could be doing more deals.

If you are a property management executive thinking about your next acquisition — whether it is your first or your fifth — this episode gives you the financing framework to walk into any bank conversation prepared.

Chapters:

00:00:20 — Introductions and how PMI found Live Oak Bank

00:02:52 — What makes Live Oak different: industry focus over geography

00:05:11 — How SBA loans actually work (demystifying the guarantee)

00:08:06 — Deal trends: multiples rising, buyers outnumber sellers

00:11:30 — June 1, 2025 SBA rule changes: what first-time buyers must know

00:17:50 — Why franchisees make better SBA borrowers

00:22:30 — Off-market vs. on-market deals: why 95% of PMIA closings are off-market

00:30:00 — Add-backs, red flags, and financial due diligence

00:37:20 — Seller-owned properties, earnouts, and creative deal structures

00:40:29 — Including commercial real estate in SBA deals: terms, rates, and structure

00:46:30 — SBA runway, multi-deal buyers, and the 'stay in your market' rule

01:08:00 — What sellers need to know — and when buyers should call the bank

Ready to know what your business is worth?

Book a free, confidential valuation call with Hunter ➔

No broker fees. NDA-protected. Only you, Aaron, and Hunter until you decide to move forward.

Episode 2 of Manage to Exit is on YouTube. If a PM acquisition is on your horizon this year, this is the financing conversation to watch before you make any moves.

What does it actually take to buy or sell a property management company — and what do the numbers really look like when a deal closes?

In this first episode of Manage to Exit, Aaron McElhiney (Executive Director of Acquisitions, PMI Acquisitions) and Hunter Goodall, MBA pull back the curtain on two recently closed property management business acquisitions — each around $2 million — and walk through what made each deal work, where they differed, and what every buyer and seller should understand before entering the market.

They cover the real difference between public listings and off-market deals (and why PMIA does 95%+ of its transactions off-market), how deal structures like seller financing and SBA loans actually work in practice, why buying a larger PM company is often smarter than starting with a small one, and what sellers do that unknowingly tanks their valuation.

If you are a property management executive thinking about your next move — whether that is acquiring your first company, scaling through acquisition, or preparing your business for a strong exit — this episode is your starting point.

Chapters:
00:00:00 — Cold open: the value hiding in your business
00:00:36 — Introducing the hosts and the show
00:01:30 — Public listing vs. off-market deals: why the difference matters
00:07:13 — Inside two real deals: consolidated portfolios, $2M exits
00:11:15 — Deal structure deep dive: seller financing, SBA loans, and creative terms
00:23:00 — Finding the right deal: sourcing, patience, and saying no
00:28:30 — Why buying a bigger PM company is often the smarter move
00:33:45 — The team is the asset: why acquirers buy people, not just doors
00:39:00 — What actually increases — or kills — your business valuation
00:48:40 — Multiples explained: stop Googling what your business is worth
00:54:00 — Confidentiality, trust, and how PMIA's process actually works
01:00:20 — The PMIA valuation tool, website, and what's coming next

Ready to know what your business is worth?

Book a free, confidential valuation call with Hunter ➔

No broker fees. NDA-protected. Only you, Aaron, and Hunter until you decide to move forward.

Episode 1 of Manage to Exit is on YouTube. If a PM acquisition is on your horizon this year, this is the Property Management podcast to watch before you make any moves.