Buying a property management company in Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida has 37 established property management companies by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 59% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.
What it takes to own one
Property management companies in Southwest Florida come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.
- Earns about
- $79,000 a year
- Price about
- $217,000
- Your cash
- $30,000
- Could pay you
- up to $40,000 a year
- Earns about
- $197,000 a year
- Price about
- $541,000
- Your cash
- $76,000
- Could pay you
- up to $99,000 a year
- Earns about
- $351,000 a year
- Price about
- $964,000
- Your cash
- $135,000
- Could pay you
- up to $177,000 a year
Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 2.8 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.
Age, size and location
Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.
| In business | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under 20 years | 15 |
| 20 to 29 years | 18 |
| 30 to 39 years | 4 |
| 40 years or more | 0 |
| Estimated yearly revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under $1M | 5 |
| $1M to $2M | 1 |
| $2M to $4M | 1 |
| County | Companies |
|---|---|
| Lee | 19 |
| Collier | 9 |
| Sarasota | 5 |
| Other counties | 4 |
| Town | Companies |
|---|---|
| Naples | 7 |
| Cape Coral | 6 |
| Fort Myers | 5 |
What the best property management companies have in common
- Many owners and associations, with no single client making up much of revenue. An investor with dozens of homes can leave in one phone call.
- Clients who stay for years, and few lost doors (the industry's word for units under management).
- Clean, reconciled trust accounts and owner statements that go out on time.
- Managers who have their own client relationships and plan to stay, so clients don't leave with the departing owner.
- Fees that cover the work, including leasing, renewals and maintenance coordination.
- A reliable network of maintenance vendors who respond quickly, since slow repairs are why owners and tenants leave.
- Software that owners, tenants and association members actually use.
- A reputation with associations for smooth board transitions, budgets and annual meetings.
What to check before you buy
- The client list: doors or associations per client, fees, how long each has been a client, and clients lost in the last three years, with the reasons.
- Trust account reconciliations for at least a year, matched to bank statements. A shortfall can become the new owner's problem.
- Management agreements: notice periods, fee schedules, and whether they can be assigned to a buyer.
- Revenue by fee type: management, leasing, renewals, maintenance markups, late fees.
- Complaints to the DBPR and any lawsuits with owners, tenants or associations.
- Who manages each relationship, and whether those managers have signed agreements not to solicit clients.
- Who owns the software accounts and data.
- For associations, contract renewal dates and any boards that have recently asked other managers for proposals.
Questions to ask the owner
- How many doors and associations do you manage, and how many did you lose last year?
- Who is the broker of record, and would they stay after a sale? Who holds the association manager licenses?
- Who reconciles your trust accounts, and how?
- What are your main fees, and when did you last change them?
- Can your management agreements be assigned to a new owner?
- Which clients are closest to you personally?
- Do you manage vacation rentals, and how is that business licensed and taxed?
To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a property management company in Florida.
Owning a company in Southwest Florida
The local economy
This region covers Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee counties on the Gulf coast and Hendry, Glades and DeSoto inland: Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Bonita Springs, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Venice, Bradenton, LaBelle, Clewiston, Moore Haven and Arcadia. The coastal economy runs on people who choose to live or spend the winter here: retirees, seasonal residents, and the construction, real estate, health care, financial and home services that follow them. Tourism, golf and boating add to it.
Inland, the economy is agricultural: sugarcane around Clewiston, citrus, cattle and vegetables, with Immokalee in Collier County a center for farm work. The building trades, pool, landscaping and pest control companies, property managers, medical and dental practices, and marine businesses tend to do well along the coast.
What's different about owning a company here
This is one of Florida's most seasonal markets. From roughly January through April, restaurants, shops and service companies run at full speed. Summers are slower, so look at monthly revenue, not only the yearly total. The coast has taken two major hurricanes in recent years: Ian came ashore at Cayo Costa in Lee County in September 2022, and Milton at Siesta Key in Sarasota County in October 2024. Rebuilding brought a wave of work for contractors that won't last forever, so ask how much recent revenue came from storm repairs. Insurance costs and flood zones weigh on every property.
Housing costs near the coast make hiring hard, especially around Naples. New communities east of Interstate 75 in Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Manatee keep service companies busy.