Joining us on this episode of Living Off Rentals is someone who built confidence, systems, and time freedom by learning real estate from the ground up.

Stephanie Bacue is a U.S. Air Force veteran, short-term rental investor, and founder of Simply Welcome Stays. After transitioning from military service to corporate consulting, she began learning real estate as a complete beginner and went on to build a remote portfolio of short-term rental duplexes in Greenville, South Carolina.

Listen as she shares how she bought her first duplex remotely, why she chose Greenville as her market, and how military discipline helped her create systems, remove emotion from decisions, and manage STRs with confidence from afar.

She also talks candidly about leaning into community, building the right team on the ground, and what it really takes to move from W-2 work toward more control over your time through real estate.

Enjoy the show!

Key Takeaways:

[00:00] Stephanie Bacue and her background

[03:03] Getting into real estate investing and wanting to own time

[05:44] Setting a simple first goal: buying one property within six months

[06:45] Closing on her first duplex and evaluating long-term vs. short-term rentals

[08:10] How military training helped Stephanie in her real estate investing journey

[11:10] Buying and managing short-term rentals remotely for the first time

[15:02] Choosing Greenville based on population growth, jobs, and fundamentals

[17:10] Biggest lessons after purchasing short-term rental properties

[19:53] Running conservative numbers and preparing for worst-case scenarios

[23:48] Visiting the property and deciding to self-manage instead of paying 25% fees

[25:00] Interviewing cleaners and handymen in person to build a reliable bench

[28:45] Lessons learned from owning property with a

partner

[29:48] Why joint ventures can be simpler than LLC partnerships

[32:42] How coaching and community reduced costly mistakes

[35:42] Stephanie's advice: surround yourself with active investors and take action

[39:26] Connect with Stephanie Bacue

[39:57] Outro

Guest Link:

Website: https://www.simplywelcomestays.com/

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