Pivot play

The story of how real estate investment firm TJM Properties put itself in position to acquire, fix up and run a large bundle of full-service hotels nationwide starts at the end, in retirement.

For starters, the Clearwater-based firm's lead acquisition executive, Dale Schooley, came to his gig after retiring from an auto sales career. And when Schooley hit the National Investment Center for Senior Housing & Care conference in August 2013, he was in possible buy mode. The plan was to find one or two senior living properties to add to TJM's portfolio of 19 retirement centers and continuing care retirement communities, mostly in Florida.

Overwhelmed with the senior living property valuations he heard, Schooley left the conference in a much different mode: It was time for TJM to sell.