In this episode of Living Off Rentals, host Kirby Atwell sits down with Stephen Arnaud, an engineer, W-2 employee, and father of three, who's intentionally building his path out of the 9-to-5 through short-term rentals.

Stephen shares why, even though he enjoys his career, the demands of a W-2 job started to conflict with family life and long-term freedom. Like many high-performing professionals, he realized that traditional investing alone wasn't going to give him the flexibility he wanted anytime soon. That realization led him to short-term rentals.

If you are still working a 9-to-5 but thinking seriously about building income outside of it and a pathway to financial independence, this episode offers a realistic roadmap. Listen and enjoy!

Key Takeaways:

[00:00] Introducing Stephen Arnaud and his background

[02:21] Getting into the real estate through short-term rental

[06:33] The moment he realized short-term rentals could replace earned income

[09:45] How Stephen picked his market

[11:59] Deciding on the properties that he purchased

[13:43] Details on Stephen's first two STR properties and why he targeted larger homes

[16:25] Financing with conventional loans as a W-2 investor

[17:18] Using IRA funds strategically for down payments and furnishings

[18:12] Stephen's perspective on retirement accounts vs. building income today

[21:08] Building a reliable cleaning and support team

[23:36] The biggest challenge on the flip side: Neighbors

[25:30] Screening guests and avoiding party issues

[28:15] Balancing a W-2 job with managing STRs during the early stages

[31:38] How virtual assistants can outperform owner-operators with the right systems

[34:24] Stephen's advice for people wanting to exit their 9-5 and get into short-term rentals

[37:55] A real mistake with scheduling cleaners and how communication saved the situation

[39:52] Outro

Guest Links:

Website: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1389202306719070032

Show Links:

Living Off Rentals YouTube Channel – youtube.com/c/LivingOffRentals

Living Off Rentals YouTube Podcast Channel - youtube.com/c/LivingOffRentalsPodcast

Living Off Rentals Facebook Group – facebook.com/groups/livingoffrentals

Living Off Rentals Website – https://www.livingoffrentals.com/

Living Off Rentals Instagram – instagram.com/livingoffrentals

Living Off Rentals TikTok – tiktok.com/@livingoffrentals