How to Turn a Short-Term Rental Into a Guest Experience | Josh Schumann

Josh Schumann (00:00)
If you’ve thought about or even had an idea about looking at short-term rentals, dig into it. The benefits are amazing. we have not only the cash flow, which is what mainly draws people, but the long-term wealth that can be developed through that, through the equity. the tax benefits are absolutely huge. those first-year tax benefits with the short-term rental.

loophole is amazing. that drew us to it. But dig into it, look into it, talk to people that are also involved in it. That’s my nugget.

Scott Bursey (01:07)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros Podcast, powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey. Glad you’re with us. And today we’re delighted to have Josh Schumann joining us. Josh, alongside his wife, Hannah.

Founded Summit Tree Holdings and launched Mossy Tides Retreat in the Savannah, Georgia area. Josh and Hannah focus on building long term wealth through strategic short-term rental investments. Listeners, you can expect a deep dive into scaling luxury vacation rentals and creating sustainable cash flow. Get ready for a detailed breakdown on mastering the short-term rental market. Josh, welcome to the show.

Josh Schumann (01:49)
Scott, thanks for having me.

Scott Bursey (01:51)
It’s awesome having you here and to help our listeners get up to speed. Please give us the ninety second highlight reel of how your career ignited and where you’re pouring your fuel now.

Josh Schumann (02:02)
90 seconds. So it started by visiting Destin, Florida. And Hannah and I would say that we needed to buy a place down there and we could rent it out and pay it a mortgage. We connected with some people at BB Investor Academy and quickly turned to other areas to where we could increase the cash flow and increase the equity. and then that took us right to Savannah.

right now we are very successful with our short term rental and looking to expand past and outside of Savannah.

Scott Bursey (02:35)
Thank you for highlighting that journey and setting the stage. Josh, what really caught my attention about you was the way you’ve been able to secure prime coastal, location and establish a vacation brand with Mossy Tides Retreat. with that in mind, wanting to ask, what’s your greatest strength when managing the high-end short-term rental?

Josh Schumann (02:58)
I think it’s the ability to be flexible, right? So we have to bend a little bit when it comes to actually digging in and finding the location. And we’re both very determined. I think that’s one of the biggest strengths is the flexibility in our time and the determination

Where do we want to buy the rental at? What are the risks and managing those risks?

Scott Bursey (03:26)
Are you and Hannah thinking about expanding anytime soon?

Josh Schumann (03:29)
Definitely. we’re always looking for our next opportunity, for the next deal and for the next partnership.

Scott Bursey (03:36)
And interested to hear what challenge have you faced so far that you had to contend with in the startup phase of your first rental property?

Josh Schumann (03:45)
So within the setup phase, it was contractors, finding the contractors, especially from a remote location. and that goes all the way from those that did the concrete to the turf in the backyard, and then to our cleaning crew, and that was a very difficult task. we navigated it really

digging in and getting in contact with them, developing a personal relationship with the contractors. Our cleaning team is absolutely amazing and we are blessed to have them on board. and we had some great contractors that helped us get the work done around the house to prep the property to launch it.

Scott Bursey (04:24)
That’s a solid solution right there for keeping operations smooth. That is so important. It’s difficult to find the right contractors, no question about that.

Josh Schumann (04:35)
It is, it’s a necessity.

Scott Bursey (05:16)
And where are you seeing the best market opportunity for short term rentals right now, Josh?

Josh Schumann (05:21)
one of them that I’m really interested in is in Bloomington, Illinois. so that one for a short-term rental, the appreciation is great in the area. There’s two insurance industries right there in Bloomington, two hospitals, two colleges. It’s a great place to have a short-term rental if we do the design right.

We add the right amenities and we get the right location in town.

Scott Bursey (05:46)
And Josh, for our listeners that are thinking to themselves, hey, it’s time for a vacation. What would you like them to know first about Mossy Tides Retreat?

Josh Schumann (05:55)
it’s a guest experience. It’s not just a place to stay. There’s other Airbnbs in the area that might be a little bit less expensive, but you’re not going to get the same experience, right? You’re not going to get the same amenities, the same design. when somebody walks into Mossy Tides Retreat, the first thing that they see is the intentional design. it feels like more than just a place to sleep.

And you can actually enjoy your whole vacation right there with the arcade, the pool table, the putt-putt golf out back, not just a putting green, it is putt-putt golf and a hot tub. So that’s something that I would tell our guests is hey, you’re in for more than what you expect.

Scott Bursey (06:34)
That sounds fabulous. And curious to know, Josh, what type of shift or change poses the biggest threat to you as a host?

Josh Schumann (06:44)
right now is the interest rates. the Fed just pushed up the interest rates last month. so that impacts the deals that are out there, that impacts the investment opportunities that are out there, because we have to take into consideration the cost just to pay the interest in our daily rates without pumping

the daily rates up and costing ultimately the guests more or losing money.

Scott Bursey (07:45)
Are there certain steps you’re taking to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the interest rates?

Josh Schumann (07:51)
when we look for a deal and when we look for an opportunity, we have to take into consideration the cost of the property, what the investment’s going to be to go into the property in order to get it launchable as a short-term rental. and a lot of times what it is if we’re able to get the right property, that we are not going to have to finance if we can finance a little bit less.

and be creative with the lending by just using the DSCR loan, we’re able to hit those marks. but it is difficult to navigate and it means that we have to research a lot more to make sure that we’re getting the right property.

Scott Bursey (08:28)
Expanding on that, let’s go down that path just a little further. How does that strategy change the types of deals you’re willing to take on?

Josh Schumann (08:37)
we’re looking at houses that are needing a little bit more work. We might be able to use a different type of loan to where we’re able to do a construction loan. and that way immediately get a forced appreciation out of that, versus going to a turnkey perfect home that just can go into market with

Minor updates.

Scott Bursey (09:00)
Now Josh, you have a W two job as well. How do you balance your personal portfolio and your nine to five?

Josh Schumann (09:08)
What’s balance? No. It’s difficult to do, right? I have to be available for my W-2 job. it means that and add family in there too, because I have two teenage boys and a 25 year old daughter. So it takes a lot. it’s being intentional. when I’m at my W-2 job, I have to be intentional about being there, being present.

and then it does take some time away from the family in order to with the real estate business. Fortunately, Hannah’s involved too, so that not only is she my wife, she’s my business partner, but we still have to differentiate and be husband and wife too at times and have our intentional date nights and time with the kids.

Scott Bursey (09:52)
And going down that route just a little further, for you and Hannah, what does your professional network look like right now?

Josh Schumann (10:01)
It’s growing every day. we just went to a boardroom seminar this past weekend. we did start out in the BNB Academy. Michael Elefante had founded that and that immediately blew up our network of other short-term rental investors. after we launched Mossy Tides Retreat, we joined the BNB boardroom.

which is another level of the academy. I also am very busy on social media, investor rooms, investor chats, and short term rental chats. And then of course friends and family. everybody, every connection is part of our community, right? So

Scott Bursey (10:42)
Thank you for sharing how you’re building those connections. It’s so important. And Josh, curious, what is your long term vision in the short term rental business entail for you and Hannah?

Josh Schumann (10:58)
the long-term vision, of course, we all want to retire one day. the ultimate goal is to build long-term wealth. something that, the kids can take over at some point in time when I decide to retire. but I would love to retire and travel around the country to stay in the short-term rentals and the houses that we have in our portfolio to manage those.

And to rely on that not just for current income, but for that retirement income,

Scott Bursey (11:25)
Thank you for sharing that. And Josh, you’ve shared a lot of really good, valuable words when it comes to short term rental, specifically in the savannah area. But is there any additional word or two that you like to leave with our listeners? A golden nugget, perhaps?

Josh Schumann (11:43)
If you’ve thought about or even had an idea about looking at short-term rentals, dig into it. The benefits are amazing. we have not only the cash flow, which is what mainly draws people, but the long-term wealth that can be developed through that, through the equity. the tax benefits are absolutely huge. those first-year tax benefits with the short-term rental.

loophole is amazing. that drew us to it. But dig into it, look into it, talk to people that are also involved in it. That’s my nugget.

Scott Bursey (12:17)
Great nugget. And that was some great insight. Thank you for sharing. And for those of our listeners, Josh, that want to keep this conversation moving, stay in your lane, or collaborate with you on future deals, what’s the best way for them to plug into your pipeline and reach you directly?

Josh Schumann (12:33)
you can email me at Schumannenterprise at gmail.com. look me up on Facebook, Josh Schumann, and you can always get a hold of me through the Mossy Tides Retreat Instagram or Facebook page at Mossy Tides Retreat.

Scott Bursey (12:49)
Josh, thank you for joining us today on the Real Estate Pros podcast.

Josh Schumann (12:53)
thanks for having me today, Scott.

Scott Bursey (12:55)
It was a sincere pleasure. And to our listeners, we appreciate you. If you receive value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ll be fueling your tanks with a lineup of guests, just like Josh Schumann, who are really accelerating in their niche. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you in the next episode, everyone.