(Part 1) From 9-to-5 to Owning $3M in Real Estate: The Power of Creative Financing | S02E23

How do you go from a high-paying corporate job to building a thriving vacation rental business? In this episode, we sit down with Shannon St. Val, the founder of Elevate Vacation Rentals, who shares her journey from finance and consulting to scaling a multi-million dollar short-term rental operation.

Shannon reveals how she made $80,000 passively in her first year, navigated strict New York City regulations, and survived the financial hit of COVID-19 while still paying every landlord on time. From rental arbitrage to real estate ownership, she breaks down the creative financing strategies that allowed her to acquire properties and build long-term wealth.

If you're looking for real estate investing strategies, insights into short-term rental management, or the mindset needed to pivot and scale, this episode is for you.

What You'll Learn:

• How Shannon turned a side hustle on Airbnb into a full-time business

• The exact steps she took to replace her corporate salary

• How she scaled to 15 rental properties—and what happened next

• The New York City short-term rental regulations and how she adapted

• How she survived losing $200,000 in savings during COVID

• The lease-to-purchase strategy that helped her acquire a $3 million property

• Why SOPs, efficiency, and team delegation are crucial in real estate

• How she leverages VA teams and keeps operations lean

• Her mindset shifts, business lessons, and what she wishes she had done differently

Listen now to hear Shannon’s full story and her best insights for short-term rental success!