From Two Divorces to Building a Real Estate Empire

Summary

Living Your Legacy Podcast

Episode: From Two Divorces to Building a Real Estate Empire

Host: Rudy Mawer
Guest: Maya Mihailovic – Founder, Maya Creative Spaces
Date: June 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Rudy interviews Maya Mihailovic, an entrepreneur and founder of Maya Creative Spaces, renowned for transforming properties into high-performing vacation rentals through strategic design. Maya shares her journey from personal real estate investment to building a unique business serving out-of-state investors in Southwest Florida. The conversation delivers actionable advice on breaking into real estate, the importance of “strategic design” vs. interior design, hot investment markets, and tactical tips for creating high-yield rentals. The episode is candid, practical, and packed with Maya’s real-world wisdom for investors and aspiring property owners.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Maya’s Business Model & Story

• Strategic Design vs. Interior Design

  • Maya distinguishes her approach—“strategic design”—from traditional interior design, focusing on ROI for investors rather than just aesthetics.
  • “Interior design can be very expensive. Interior designers usually charge by the project or by the hour…what I do is I do a strategic design, what makes sense, but then at the same time and on a tight budget to make sure that the investor makes money.” – Maya (05:07)
  • She brings her real estate background, project management skills, and designer discounts to maximize investor profits, aiming for returns within the first rental season.

• Her Personal Entry into Real Estate

  • Maya started by investing in Chicago, managing properties herself while raising three children, and leveraging tenant deposits to fund her first down payment (03:20–03:37).
  • Word-of-mouth from her results led to more clients, many of whom didn't know such a service existed.
  • Memorable moment: Maya’s first property deal involved designing a space and selling the concept to a potential renter before it was even furnished (03:37).

2. Difference Between Strategic and Traditional Interior Design

• Focus on Market and Renter Needs
  • Strategic design involves understanding who the renter is, area trends, and what features drive rental rates.
  • Furnishing is tailored for speed and cost-effectiveness, maximizing the “wow” factor without overspending.
  • Maya’s process is rapid—she aims to fully furnish and ready a property for rent in about two weeks (05:07–06:04).

3. Common Mistakes & How Maya Adds Value

• Typical Owner Challenges

  • Many investors struggle trying to furnish themselves. They get stuck, overspend, or end up with incomplete, underwhelming spaces.
  • Maya brings efficiency, negotiating power, knowledge of market-preferred features, and a reliable team of contractors.

• Key Features That Matter

  • “Not having ceiling fans in an Airbnb is a huge mistake.” – Maya (06:54)
  • Emphasis on comfortable beds, TVs in bedrooms, and quality outdoor spaces for Florida rentals.

4. Advice for Aspiring Property Owners

• Understand the Market & Community Rules
  • Maya advises newbies to first define their strategic intent (e.g., investment vs. eventual residence) and then work with local experts.
  • “It’s really good to connect to someone who knows the market, understands the communities, understands what type of rental property you want, and then talk about strategy.” – Maya (10:01)
  • Property use restrictions (e.g., weekly vs. monthly rentals) vary widely by community and can make or break an investment (13:13).

5. Current Market Trends & Timing

• Is Now (2026) a Good Time to Buy in Florida?

  • Maya is bullish on current opportunities, noting high inventory, buyer-negotiating power, and possible upcoming tax incentives for primary residences.
  • “Now’s the time to buy. There is a lot of inventory…Now is a good buying power. As a buyer, you can negotiate a lot more than you could have in 2020.” – Maya (12:15)

• Host’s Real-World Example:

  • “I just bought a house and got 200,000 off.” – Rudy (12:46)
  • Maya agrees these discounts are rare in hot markets and may not last.

6. Best Florida Investment Hotspots (2026)

• Top Recommended Markets:
  • Sarasota: Growing families, great schools, lots of new construction (13:55–13:58).
  • Naples: Previously high-end, but North Naples has become accessible and property values have doubled since 2020.
  • Fort Myers: Affordable now, with expectations to evolve like Sarasota over the next five years (14:46–15:00).
  • Miami: Still a strong investment, but most of the rapid appreciation has already happened (15:05–15:31).
  • Orlando: Saturated, lots of Airbnbs, more about long-term jobs market than vacation rental growth (15:47–16:16).

7. Practical Rental Upgrade Tips

• Must-Have Features for High-Performing Rentals:
  • Staging for stunning online photos.
  • Ceiling fans in bedrooms.
  • Comfortable, quality mattresses.
  • TVs in every bedroom.
  • Attractive, functional outdoor spaces for relaxing and entertaining (16:45–17:33).
  • “In properties that I furnish, I try to invest a lot in the outdoor. That’s really what attracts the renters.” – Maya (17:19)

8. Working with Maya – Her Process

• Comprehensive Service:
  • From market strategy before purchase, to furnishing and management after closing.
  • Prepares everything so that after closing, the property is rental-ready in two weeks (18:03–18:36).
  • “I said, it’s too late when you close. Let’s prepare everything ahead of time so that when you close, we go in and we’re done in two weeks and you’re not losing your rental income.” – Maya (18:24)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Strategic Design Defined:
  • “This is not interior design. It’s strategic design.” – Rudy (06:04)
• Learning the Hard Way:
  • “I had multiple people reach out to me after they started the process and said, I’m stuck. I don’t know what to do. This mattress is $2,000. I don’t want to spend that…” – Maya (06:54)
• On Picking the Right Market:
  • “You don’t want to get in a community and say, I want to be able to rent weekly while the association says you have to rent monthly.” – Maya (13:13)
• Florida Market Outlook:
  • “Now’s the time to buy. …As a buyer, you can negotiate a lot more than you could have in 2020.” – Maya (12:15)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:58–02:19] Maya summarizes her business and value proposition
• [03:20–03:37] Maya’s first investment and creative financing story
• [05:07–06:04] Strategic design vs. traditional interior design
• [06:54–07:48] Common mistakes and how Maya intervenes
• [10:01–11:49] Advice for first-time investors in Florida
• [12:15–13:07] Is now a good time to buy in Florida? Market trends and strategy
• [13:55–16:16] Best cities for investment: Sarasota, Naples, Fort Myers, Miami, Orlando
• [16:45–17:33] Must-have features for rental properties to succeed
• [18:03–18:36] Maya’s process for preparing properties, pre- and post-closing

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Conclusion

Maya Mihailovic offers a fresh perspective on property investing—fusing the principles of strategic, ROI-driven design with deep market expertise. Listeners gain not only practical tips on entering and thriving in real estate, but also a clear path to maximizing rental income and building long-term wealth. Her advice is actionable, timely, and rooted in real-world experience.

To connect with Maya or book a strategy session:
Visit Maya Creative Spaces.

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Transcript

[Maya Mihailovic]

Instead of doing interior design, what I do is I do a strategic design. You have to know the renter. You have to know what the renter is looking for. But then at the same time and on a tight budget to make sure that the investor makes money.

[Narrator]

Maya Mihailovic is an entrepreneur, designer and the founder of Maya Creative Spaces. Drawing from her background in real estate and investment properties, she helps investors transform homes into high performing vacation rentals through strategic design, streamlined execution, and spaces that maximize both both guest experience and return on investment.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Use all my education and knowledge to help the investor understand what they could do with their property. We talk about budgets, how much money can be realistically spent to make sure that you're immediately getting your return. The first season.

[Rudy]

What advice would you give to someone trying to get their first property?

[Maya Mihailovic]

Connect with me. Well, I would say

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

it spans the globe like a super high cold Internet. Elvis Presley. Today, Apple is going to reinvent the ball. It's not over until I win. The Living youg Legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary. The impossible has happened. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan, open Chicago with the lead. You said Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.

[Rudy]

Hello and welcome back to another episode. I'm sat with Maya today and she, she is going to take us into her story, her life, her mission, the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and what she's learned. She does a fantastic job making lots of investor homes and homes look fabulous. So let's dive in. Welcome to the show.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Thank you, Rudy. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much.

[Rudy]

Of course. So let's start. You know, I teased it a little, but if people don't know who you are and what you do, do you want to just summarize what you do in your journey to get there?

[Maya Mihailovic]

Yes. So I have a company that works with investors in Southwest Florida and I focus on designing, furnishing, rental properties. Most of our investors that we work with are outside of the state, so we take care of everything and that's pretty much it.

[Rudy]

So someone investor buys a property, Airbnb or they're flipping it or whatever they're doing with it. Yeah, they might not even live here. They call you in, you make it look fabulous, and then they can resell it or rent it or whatever they want to do.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Exactly. So basically what I do is I talk to the investor to understand what their strategy is. Are they looking to flip the property? Are they looking to rent a property? Are they looking to partially use the Property for themselves as a second home. And once they know what the strategy is, then we focus on furnishing and making sure that the property stands out. I look at the market. I have a real estate license as well, Project management, MBA degree. So I use all of my education and I'm an investor myself, use all my education and knowledge to help the investor understand what they could do with their property and what would make most sense strategically.

[Rudy]

Great. And how did you get into this? How did you build a business out of this? You know, I was.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Yeah, I was the investor myself. I lived in Chicago for 20 some years and purchased a few properties myself and ended up having to fly back and forth, leave my three little babies at home and furnish a property in three days.

[Rudy]

Wow.

[Maya Mihailovic]

We actually. The first property I purchased is a funny story. I think it's good to share here. I actually was able to use the money from a rental from a. From an investor that wanted to rent from me for six months. I used that money for my first down payment of the first condo. Condo was not even furnished. I did the design, did the presentation and said, okay, here's how it's going to look. Do you want to live here? And so that's how I started and just started building from there. I had numerous investors then contact me saying, hey, I heard about you. I didn't even know something like this exists, you know, because there. I don't know anybody that does this, you know. And so I said, okay, great. Well, let's talk about what you're looking to do. I had a couple investors that decided to furnish immediately rent for season.

[Rudy]

Yeah.

[Maya Mihailovic]

And then their family would use the property Thanksgiving, Christmas, summer. Others would buy two or three units. We talk about budgets. We talk about what, what you can rent that unit for, what the units are going for, how much money can be realistically spent to make sure that you're immediately getting your return the first season.

[Rudy]

And, and so you, you know, I think it's important to differentiate. You mentioned there's not really anyone else that does what you do. Right. But to maybe the average person, it just sounds like interior design.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Right.

[Rudy]

So can you help break down exactly if someone's listening why, why you say that and why it's different.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Yes. Thanks for asking that question. It's a very good question, by the way. So interior design can be very expensive. Interior designers usually charge by the project or by the hour. And what they focus on is they focus on making sure that the place looks beautiful. However, you have to know the renter and you have to know the area, and you have to know what the renter is looking for. And so instead of doing interior design, what I do is I do a strategic design, what makes sense, but then at the same time and on a tight budget to make sure that the investor makes money. And what we're looking to do usually is within the first season, which is usually January, February, March is when you get the high season, when you get the most dollars. So you look to furnish quickly, which I usually do within two weeks, get the property out there, get it ready and rented, and you're basically returning your investment that first season.

[Rudy]

I kind of like that catchphrase. You should use this if you don't. This is not interior design. It's strategic design.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Thank you.

[Rudy]

Because, you know, I invest in real estate a lot, and I never. I never hire interior designers. I do it myself because, yeah, interior designers, I think they're great. If you buy a $5 million house, you're going to live in it for 20 years. You want it to look awesome and unique. But most of my real estate stuff, you know, for a quarter of the price, you can make it look almost the same.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Exactly.

[Rudy]

And. And you can do it yourself and obviously save a ton of money. And, you know, I think when people are looking to furnish, you know, they get a bit stuck because they're either having to go really expensive interior design or they do it themselves. And they're not. You know, I've got an eye for design and creativity, so I'm good at it, but most people aren't. And then, yes, you know, their house is empty with one bed and a side table.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Exactly. And that's what I experienced. I had a multiple people reach out to me after they started the process and said, I'm stuck. I don't know what to do. This mattress is $2,000. I don't want to spend that. You know, and so that's where my expertise comes in. I know what to buy at, what quality from where. Yeah, it goes really quickly. I have contractors that I work with, so if you need to paint, if you need to do a feature wall, whatever needs to be done, I organize all of that. Where within two weeks, everything is done. Electrical TVs, you know, ceiling fans, for example. There's properties that don't have ceiling fans in bedrooms and people, when they're down in Florida, yes, they like the outdoors and they like it to be hot, but in the evening, they want to. They want to be able to sleep comfortably so not Having ceiling fans in, in an Airbnb is a huge mistake. So there's just so many things that you kind of need to understand.

[Rudy]

You look at it more from the business rent perspective. What the Airbnb or the six month tenant would want versus what a family that's going to live there for 20 years.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Exactly. It is so different. And like I said, the interior design is part of my job, but it's a smaller part of my job. You know, for me it's an roi. It's how, how do I make you money? Because that's what you're trying to accomplish and that's what I do. And, and with my designer discounts and the knowledge and the expertise, you're saving money by working with me. Comparing to you doing it yourself.

[Rudy]

Yeah.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Great.

[Rudy]

And what, you know, what are the size of projects you take on? Is it like someone buys a beginner $200,000 one bed condo and they're trying to their first Airbnb or is it more million dollar house and is it a bit of everything?

[Maya Mihailovic]

Yes, it's a good question. Thank you. I have a lot of properties that I've done that are within up to half a million dollars. Most of those properties are around Naples. However, I've also done properties within naples that are three, $4 million homes. So yeah, I kind of manage it all. The budget goes up and down a little bit. But you would be surprised that you can furnish and design really well a $3 million home for a lot less than what, what people are putting in.

[Rudy]

Yeah. Great. And let's talk a little more, you know, if people are listening and you know, something that caught their attention earlier was you got into real estate, right. And you got your first place. And I think a lot of people have aspirations of buying their first house, whether it's to live in or to rent out. Right. And you know, a lot of more entrepreneurial people, when they start making money in their business or maybe they're doing well in their careers, they look at buying their first real estate investment property as a great, you know, first step. Right. They can put some money in stock or they can buy real estate to the most common ways a normal person invests. So what advice would you give to people, especially now in Florida? It's a big rental market, Right. You know, say they just have a couple hundred thousand to put down and want to buy a half a million dollar place to start. What advice would you give to someone trying to get their first property?

[Maya Mihailovic]

Connect with me. Well, I would say, you know, you have to understand the market. Well within southwest Florida, at least, there are different communities that attract different type of renters. So I have worked with a lot of people that are now in their 40s that are looking to buy a property, rent it out, and then eventually move down and use it as their primary home. So you have to kind of know what your long strategy is. Are you looking to move down eventually? There's properties that are good that you can rent weekly or daily. There's properties that are golf communities where you have people renting seasonally. So there's just so many different options that you can go with. So it's really good to connect to someone who knows the market, understands the communities, understands what type of rental property you want, and then kind of talk about strategy and talk about, okay, long term, short term, what do we want to accomplish here? And on my calls that I have with my clients, my initial free calls, we talk about that strategy. We talk about, okay, so if you want, do you like to play golf? Do you want to use. You would like to have a property that you would use and your family would use. If so, then you want to go in a golfing community. You're going to attract people that want to spend January, February, March. Here you can get a 2, 3, 4 month rental right at the start. This is what the, usually the rents go for. This is how much we would invest. This is when you would get your money back. Yeah, and this is how quickly I could do it. So the advice is to really understand the market and know, know what you're buying, where you're buying it at and what you want it to accomplish. Good.

[Rudy]

And you know, you're in this industry. This is a question I see a lot online. Start at 2026. Right. A lot of people say Miami and Florida are kind of in a bubble and they're not a great time to invest. Property prices are through the roof. There's going to be a crash soon. There's more inventory than ever before in Miami and Florida. Should you invest in Florida real estate right now? Should you wait? Is there going to be a crash? What's your opinion?

[Maya Mihailovic]

Yes, now's the time to buy. There is a lot of inventory. It did slow down, obviously. I'm sure you heard about potentially removing property taxes for primary homes in Florida. That would be very great. And I think if that happens, which it looks like it is going to happen, the properties are going to start flying again. So now is a good buying power. As a buyer, you can negotiate a lot more than you could have in 2020.

[Rudy]

I just bought a house and got 200,000 off.

[Maya Mihailovic]

There you go. Yes. So being in real estate, you know, and so now's the time to buy, and in a couple of years you might be able to flip and make that 200, 300,000 back.

[Rudy]

Yeah. Okay, so you think it's a great time to buy. Tips to buying your first rental property.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Tips you need, like I said, very important to know where you're buying and what you're trying to accomplish.

[Rudy]

Yeah.

[Maya Mihailovic]

You don't want to get in a community and say, I want to be able to rent weekly while the association says you have to rent monthly.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

Right.

[Rudy]

It's very strict and it can change one block over, especially in Miami. One block's fine. One block, no.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Yes. So it's very important that you know what you're buying and that you understand your property's long term potential. Understanding what the price was in 2020 versus what the prices are now, because that will give you an idea on how much you can make off of that property in the next five years.

[Rudy]

Right. And let's go kind of. You know, a lot of people ask this too. I see online two or three or four or five hotspots in Florida to buy. Where would you recommend?

[Maya Mihailovic]

Sarasota.

[Rudy]

Okay, why, why Sarasota?

[Maya Mihailovic]

Sarasota, there's a lot of new properties getting built. A lot of families from cold states are coming down. Schools are really good. The communities are growing. And this is exactly what I did in Naples. Naples used to be very high end. Now south Naples is still that way, but north Naples, which is where. Where I invested and bought properties in, has my properties that I have purchased in 2020 have doubled.

[Rudy]

Wow, congrats. Yeah.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

So.

[Maya Mihailovic]

So, yeah, so I would definitely say Sarasota, Naples, they're all building tons of new properties in new communities and a lot of. A lot of people are moving down. Still.

[Rudy]

Good. So that's Sarasota. What else?

[Maya Mihailovic]

Oh, what did we say? Sarasota, Naples, Fort Myers is a very affordable community that's growing. I definitely think it's huge and it is going to become similar to Sarasota in about five years.

[Rudy]

Got it. What about the two hot spots? Orlando, Miami. Good or bad?

[Maya Mihailovic]

Orlando and Miami. Miami is always a good investment.

[Rudy]

Okay.

[Maya Mihailovic]

However, I feel like it kind of. The prices have gone really high and I don't think that there's a lot in there. A lot more room.

[Rudy]

Yeah. Even the place I bought it, it's gone up 800 grand in five years. There you go, you know, you've missed, I guess in some ways a lot of that bubble, right? Yeah. You've missed a lot of it.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Yeah.

[Rudy]

You know, the 10, 20 years. It will go up, obviously, but yes. Yeah, I think you're going to get. It's not going to double probably again, like, exactly.

[Maya Mihailovic]

So what we're saying right now, I would say Naples, Fort Myers, Sarasota has a little bit more of a potential where you can.

[Rudy]

What about Orlando? Same as Miami. You think it's saturated and yes, it definitely is.

[Maya Mihailovic]

There's a lot of jobs there. So a lot of people still move down there for, for, for jobs, but that's a different market. It's more about if, if people that are wanting to move down to Florida and live in Orlando and have a Airbnb, there's two things I definitely, I

[Rudy]

mean, everyone, every house is an Airbnb in Orlando.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Yes. Yeah.

[Rudy]

Good. And then other, you know, flipping it into more what you do with the investor side. Give me free, you know, someone is buying or owns real estate or does Airbnb free tips or must haves in a rental property. That's easy to do. That adds a lot to the wow factor. Right. A feature wall or whatever that might be what a 3, 4, 5 must haves that you love to do to help increase rental income or increase. You know how easy it is to rent it out.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Yes. So obviously staging is huge, Right? Because when you're taking pictures, they have to show well online. Because nowadays you get your property booked online, nobody's going to come in and look at your property. So you have to make sure that it's staged and it shows well. But most importantly, you got to make sure that you have, like I talked about ceiling fans, that you have comfortable mattresses, that you have TVs in every bedroom, that you have a really good outdoor area because a lot of that are coming down. They like to enjoy outdoor. They want to be comfortable, they want to be able to lounge, they want to be able to suntan, they want to be able to barbecue. So in properties that I furnish, I try to invest a lot in the outdoor. That's really what attracts the renters.

[Rudy]

Great. And last question. This has been great. Lots of information. Someone, you know is listening to all this and like, wow, you know your stuff. You know, there's all complicated, lots of moving parts. If they want to hire you, they want to learn more. Where do they find you?

[Maya Mihailovic]

So, Maya, Creative Spaces is my website and you can go on there and book a free call with me, it's a strategy call. It could last half an hour to an hour. And I'll talk about strategy with you about what are you trying to accomplish and how I can help you get there.

[Rudy]

And are you helping people before they buy, after they buy, what part?

[Maya Mihailovic]

All kinds of processes. I am a realtor, so I could help with the buying as well. But, yeah, I've had people that are building, and so it's six months before the build is done, and I've had people approach me and say, oh, I'll. I'll reach out to you when I close. And I said, it's too late when you close. Let's prepare everything ahead of time so that when you close, we go in and we're done in two weeks and you're not losing your rental income.

[Rudy]

Great.

[Maya Mihailovic]

Good.

[Rudy]

All right, guys, Well, I hope you enjoyed that episode. And if you get looking to get into real estate or have properties and obviously want to increase their yield and how much they rent for and how easy they rent, you know where to go, take care, keep working hard, have an impact, and I'll see you guys soon.