Live Let Thrive Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Starting November 20, Airbnb's new house rules take a lot out of the host's hands. Steve walks through the breakdown: no more rental agreements unless one of four exceptions applies (an HOA or building rule, an optional add-on like a golf cart, a stay of 28 nights or more, or a Luxe listing), no more asking guests to strip beds or take the trash out, no requiring a third...

Send us Fan Mail Steve was catching up with the guy who used to clean their old Dallas units when he got reminded of this one: the police called Steve asking about the guest in one of their Airbnbs just north of downtown, then kicked in the door and arrested her — she was on the run from a killing in California. The cops told the cleaner to clear the place out, and he kept the PS5 and the Bose hea...

Send us Fan Mail Myka had Claude build a dashboard in about five minutes: every 2016-and-newer 3-bed, 2-bath-and-up house for sale in his Arkansas and Texas markets, run against HUD rents at a 7.625% rate. On the Arkansas side the screen is mostly green — a 2018-built four-bedroom in Jacksonville, right by the Air Force base, listed at $175,000 after 111 days on market, cash flows $526 a month ove...

Send us Fan Mail Myka pays $220 a month for AI — $200 for Claude, $20 for ChatGPT — and says it can bring in about $10,000 a month. The proof is specific: he photographed a page of Vivian Yip's The Frictionless MTR System, told Claude to apply her step-up minimum-stay method, and it pulled the PriceLabs data and set it up without him — one-night stays for the next three days, then three night...

Send us Fan Mail Myka's advice to anyone starting today: buy a two-bed one-bath quad, live in one unit for a year, then go buy the next one. Four units still falls under single-family financing. Do that five years straight and you're sitting on 20 doors before year six — and interest rates stop mattering to you. Episode 352! A Friday night one. The Feds hiked rates, houses are sitting, a...

Send us Fan Mail PadSplit changed its booking window to 30 days without warning hosts - Myka discovered a guest booked 22 days out, leaving a room empty with zero revenue. He and Steve break down what that means for cash flow when you're counting on six rents from one house, and why they're now wary of adding more PadSplit units as cities start cracking down. The conversation covers thei...

Send us Fan Mail Airbnb held Steve's $2,600 payment on a 48-day booking, then cancelled the reservation after the seven-day hold window ended. When he arrived at the house, the guests had vanished—no cars, AC turned off, and 96 degrees inside. He suspects they were birth tourists who had a baby in the U.S. and left the country without paying the second month. The hosts discuss standing firm o...

Send us Fan Mail Myka and Steve announce they're done with 1-2 bedroom arbitrage in DFW after years of profitable operations. With the market shifting - houses sitting for months, price cuts everywhere, and midterm bookings drying up for small units - they're pivoting hard to purchasing 3-4 bedroom houses and pad splits in C/D neighborhoods. The conversation covers what's working no...

Send us Fan Mail Myka walks through the custom Claude AI dashboard that manages his entire rental operation - from pulling live Price Labs data and calculating optimal Airbnb/Vrbo discounts based on local market conditions, to connecting with QuickBooks for P&L tracking and automating guest invoicing. He prices Vrbo listings 30-50% higher than Airbnb and adjusts monthly discounts seasonally, d...

Send us Fan Mail Steve discovers his poolman was in two car accidents, leaving three pools turning green with guests already checked in. At 100+ degrees on a Sunday, he grabs his scrub brushes and shocks all four pools himself - three rentals plus his own - spending hours in the heat to save the bookings. One pool had overflowed after a backup guy forgot to return and turn off the hose. The hosts...

Send us Fan Mail The FIFA World Cup turned out to be a massive booking flop for DFW short-term rental hosts. Properties that were pricing at $3,000 per night in March dropped to barely 2x normal summer rates by game week, with hotels dumping room blocks and new inventory flooding the market. Mike Brown nearly landed a six-figure contract for 25 people over two months but lost it when the internati...

It’s been a long time since Myka and Steve caught up on the podcast, and they have a lot to talk about. In Episode 344 of Live Let Thrive, the guys dive into everything from AI-powered real estate tools and creative financing strategies to wild PadSplit stories, insurance claim wins, and the latest updates on the World Cup booking craze. They discuss: ➡️ Using AI to improve pricing and revenue man...

In another solo episode, Stevie Stacks takes the mic to discuss the unglamorous side of growing a real estate empire. While managing a portfolio of 60 units, Stevie was put to the test when his key team member took a week off, proving that a business is only as strong as the systems left behind. Stevie dives into the "Ewing Effect" in business—how a team can actually find new strengths w...

In this episode, Stevie Stacks shares the "un-glamorous" side of arbitrage, specifically a major plumbing disaster and the frustration of being denied insurance coverage for lost revenue. He also explains his shift toward PadSplits, converting 3-bedroom houses into 6-unit properties and using "cloud-based" key systems to streamline operations. ➡️ Insurance & Maintenance: Ma...

What if your next income stream is hiding in plain sight? 💸 This week new episode of Live Let Thrive, Steve sits down with vending machine entrepreneur Matthew Thompson for a conversation that started as a simple consultation—but turned into a masterclass on building a profitable vending machine business. Matthew breaks down how he went from learning everything on “YouTube University” to owning a...

Welcome back to Live, Let, Thrive, the podcast for everything related to Airbnb, the shared economy, and real estate investing. In this solo episode, Stevie Stacks reflects on the importance of building a reliable team and shares a high-stakes story from his early days that changed his perspective on property management. In this episode, we discuss:Weathering the Storm: How a strong team and proac...

We are BACK! After a long hiatus, Myka and Steve return for new episode to discuss the massive shifts in their real estate businesses. From replacing expensive software with AI to navigating the wild world of PadSplits, this episode is packed with actionable insights for every investor. In this episode, we dive into: Firing the PMS: Micah explains why he ditched his Property Management Software to...

Join Myka and Stevie Stacks as they dive into the unglamorous but essential "in-the-trenches" side of property management. From bracing for "Dalaska" ice storms to battling "pungent" room turnovers and exploring major shifts in the Texas real estate market, this episode covers the full spectrum of modern real estate investing. In this episode, we discuss: Preparing fo...

In Episode 337, Myka and Steve discuss the power of the "upsell" and why every entrepreneur needs to look for ways to turn liabilities into assets. Steve shares stories from his two-week trip to Mexico, including a surprising business lesson from a local barbershop that sparked a larger conversation on maximizing revenue in the real estate space. The guys debate the logistics of adding v...

In the final episode of Live Let Thrive for 2025, I’m flying solo and getting real about what this year taught me as a real estate investor. While 2025 wasn’t a loss, it was a stress test — especially during a slow season where mid-term demand softened and high-maintenance short-term holiday guests took center stage. In this episode, I break down why we’re pivoting our strategy in 2026 by stepping...

We were supposed to share this with you before the New Year, but as the saying goes—it’s better late than never! In this solo episode, Steve "Stevie Stacks" gets real about "tending the garden" of his real estate portfolio. From buying houses with zero bank involvement to converting properties into high-cash-flow PadSplits, this is the raw blueprint of how he navigated 2025 and...

Merry Christmas! Live Let Thrive has a new episode for you. Myka and Steve are back, diving into high-level real estate plays and sharing legendary stories about taking bold risks and betting on yourself. Steve gets real about the daily grind of managing a six-bedroom Pad Split. He shares stories from the front lines, including dealing with a "gossip queen" tenant and finding creative wa...

In Episode 333, Myka and Steve dive deep into the massive opportunity coming to the DFW area for the 2026 World Cup. We break down a 5X to 6X pricing strategy , the reality of hosting the 90% of fans who won't even have tickets , and why the "Messi Effect" is driving nosebleed seat prices to $1,200.But it’s not all big paydays—the guys get real about the "boots on the ground&quo...

We gave PadSplit a try — and what happened next completely changed how we look at real estate, From short-term rentals to mid-term and now shared housing, the game is evolving fast. In this episode of Live, Let, Thrive, Myka and Steve dive deep into the pros, cons, and wild stories from managing PadSplits, Airbnb headaches, and the future of long-term investing. 💬 Topics we cover: Our real experi...

Ever had a tenant so crazy you questioned your whole real estate strategy? In this episode of Live Let Thrive, Steve goes solo and breaks down a wild PadSplit situation — from red flags to eviction — and why PadSplit can be powerful and painful for investors. We also dive deep into:✔️ PadSplit vs Airbnb vs Corporate housing✔️ Expanding from 10 to 12+ doors using creative finance✔️ Why growth often...