Good Neighbor Podcast: TN-WNC-SWVA

EP# 345: Family-Owned Property Management with PMI Blue Ridge

• Skip Mauney & Corey Prince • Episode 345

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Want proof that resilience beats headlines? We’re joined by Corey Prince of PMI Blue Ridge, a family-run property management company serving Western North Carolina and East Tennessee, to unpack how a region regains momentum after a storm and how a team can outperform a tough market. Corey shares the origin story—from a rough real estate deal to buying a PMI franchise—and why the mix of boutique, local service and corporate systems helps owners and guests feel confident year-round.

We dig into the myths around property management (no, it’s not all 2 a.m. toilet calls), the nuts and bolts of short-term and long-term rental operations, and the revenue strategies that matter when tourism slows. Corey breaks down how Helene didn’t just damage a few homes—it dampened demand—and what it took to recover: smarter pricing, tighter minimums, stronger listing assets, and clear “open for business” messaging. The results are real: three months of beating the market by at least 20% across their portfolio. We also spotlight what travelers need to know right now: Asheville, the Biltmore, Chimney Rock, and Lake Lure are welcoming visitors, and early leaf season bookings look promising.

If you’re eyeing a mountain getaway, book direct at PMIBlueRidge.com and use code Goodneighbor for 10% off. If you’re an owner, you’ll hear why pairing local expertise with franchise tools protects your asset and maximizes returns. Join us, share this with a friend who loves the Blue Ridge, and drop a review to help more neighbors find the show.

SPEAKER_00:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Marty.

SPEAKER_02:

And welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. So today I'm very excited to have a very special guest in our studio, and I'm sure you'll be just as excited as I am, because today I have a very our I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Mr. Corey Prince, who is with PMI Blue Ridge. Corey, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01:

Hey, Skip, thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, we are thrilled to have you. Like I said, excited to learn all about you and your business. So if you don't mind, why don't you start us off by telling us what you do?

SPEAKER_01:

So my father and I own and run a full service property management company. We specialize in long-term and short-term property management. Um, you know, our company is a franchise, so I like to say you get kind of the best of both worlds. You get that the boutique feel of a locally owned company with the the corporate backing of a franchise. So it's kind of the best of both worlds for our customers.

SPEAKER_02:

Very cool. So it's a family affair between you and your dad.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Well, how uh tell us about your journey, Corey. How did you get in uh in this? How did you end up here?

SPEAKER_01:

So I you know, I've I've been in real estate for 10 or so years. We bought PMI in 2020. Um my dad and I had had a bad experience with a real estate investment, and decided that's when we decided to get into real estate, and then we got we randomly got an email from PMI saying, Hey, you want to buy a franchise? And we're like, hey, that could be fun. And five years later, here we are.

SPEAKER_02:

Here we are. Wow, great story. Yeah. So uh what are some myths or misconceptions uh in in your industry that you can think of?

SPEAKER_01:

You know, the one thing I always hear whenever I tell anybody I'm a property manager, they're like, Oh, I would never want to do that. I don't want to answer the phone at two o'clock in the morning for a leaky toilet or something like that. And I'm glad everybody thinks that because they come to me and give me their business because I don't even remember the last time that actually happened. So I'm glad that that's a myth for my business.

SPEAKER_02:

Very cool. Well, I'm sure you know, and uh property management uh people do think that I thought that. So yeah, exactly. So it's good to good to clear that up. So um, obviously, very busy guy. What uh in your spare time, if there is any, what do you like to do for fun?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh you know, most of the time I I have two younger kids. I have a nine-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son. So most of our time is spent entertaining them, you know. If I do get out to have something, you know, I like to play golf every now and then, but I don't do that very often, and I'm not very good at it. So, you know, it's it's a fun pastime. I go to driving range more than anything else.

SPEAKER_02:

You're not alone in that, brother. I love to play golf, I'm just not good at it at all. But the spare time thing with spending time with family is always always the right answer. So um, particularly if you if your wife's watching the podcast, but she's in the other room. Oh, okay. Well, she can hear. Yeah, so um um let's switch gears for a second. Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge that you've overcome and how it made you stronger on the other side? Anything come to mind?

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, obviously, the the most recent thing would be Helene. Um, you know, being in the property management business, you know, between long-term and short term, we have about 150 properties. And we we actually, as far as our properties are concerned, we got really lucky. We only had like about five that were damaged from the storm, but the aftermath of the storm really hurt our short-term vacation rental business, which is about 75% of our business revenue-wise. Um and with you know, just the struggles of tourism down, you know, 30 to 40 percent, depending on who you talk to. Um, you know, this last winter and spring were really rough. We started learning from that and making some changes, and I'm happy to say the last three months we've been out been able to outperform the market by at least 20% on all of our properties.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, that's incredible, especially considering you know the circumstances because I've I hear that from a lot of folks I talked to interview in the Ashville, Western North Carolina area and East Tennessee as well. You know, that that uh uh people people watch the news and saw the damage, you know, the worst part of it, and think that it's destroyed. And you know, we're open for business, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Exactly, and you know, that's what I would love everybody to know is that we are open for business, and most everything is fixed, you know. Chimney Rock, Lake Lua are still being fixed, but you know, they're opening back up. You know, you can go to Timney Rock again. It's so yeah, that would be well for everybody to know.

SPEAKER_02:

Make sure everybody knows we're open for business. Everything, the Biltmore, everything's still rocking. Um, yeah, yeah, I was just there actually. And uh, I gotta tell you, folks, Asheville's open for business. You heard it here on the Good Neighbor podcast. So come come check it out. And hopefully, we're gonna have a good leaf season this year. So hopefully, uh uh they're gonna be beautiful. So uh check out the leaves. And uh, I hear a lot of actually business folks tell me that uh they think that uh that's that the leaf season is gonna be sort of a turning point, hopefully.

SPEAKER_01:

That I mean, if based off of my bookings for our short-term rentals, I I agree with that 100%. Yeah. Our October, September was surprisingly good. Like September is usually kind of a shorter month where it's you know the kind of the lull before the storm, and and we actually had a pretty good September, and October is looking even better.

SPEAKER_02:

So awesome. Great news. That's great news. Well, if um Corey, if you could think of one thing that that you'd like all of our listeners and viewers to remember about uh PMI Blue Ridge, what would that be?

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, honestly, it's that you know, we're open for business in western North Carolina. Yeah, I would love for everybody to come back. Um, and if they do stay with me. And if you go to my website at PMIBlue Ridge.com and book through us and use discount code Goodneighbor, you get a 10% discount.

SPEAKER_02:

All right, and what was that code again?

SPEAKER_01:

Good neighbor.

SPEAKER_02:

Good neighbor, all right. Yeah, gotta check out the good neighbor discount, right? 10% discount? All right, I love it, I love it. Everybody, go check it out. And uh well, I was gonna ask, how can for those of us who you know want to come see the leaves, want to come visit, uh, or interested in property, um, how can we learn more? You mentioned what was the website again?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, the website is PMI Blue Ridge.com. We're on all the social medias too at PMI Blue Ridge. Um, you know, we highlight a lot of our properties on our Instagram and Facebook and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_02:

Awesome. Very good. All right. Well, Corey, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your time today and uh hanging out with us and uh talking to uh telling us all about what you do and and PMI Blue Ridge and the great things you guys are doing in Western North Carolina, and uh wish you guys, uh you, your family, uh, and uh your uh your clients all the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely, thank you, and and uh we'll have to have you back sometime.

SPEAKER_01:

Sounds good to me. I'd love to.

SPEAKER_02:

All right, maybe and and you'll be able to report on all the thousands of uh folks that took advantage of the 10% discount.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. I would love I'll I would love to tell them publicly on on the podcast.

SPEAKER_02:

Awesome, awesome. We'll look forward to that. All right, all right, Corey, you have a good one, man.

SPEAKER_01:

Thanks, you too.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNP Tri-Dash Cities dot com. That's GNP Tri Dash Cities dot com or call four two two two two two two two two two two three seven one nine five eight seven three.