#315 - Leaving a 30-Year Career for High-Cash-Flowing Short-Term Rentals - Carlos Vazquez

Joining us in this episode of Living Off Rentals is someone who walked away from a 30-year corporate career to build a short-term rental portfolio designed around freedom, family, and intentional living. Born in Cuba and raised under communism before immigrating to the U.S., Carlos Vazquez is a former global talent acquisition executive, the founder of Cabin Vistas, and a member of my short-term rental Blueprint program. In this episode, Carlos shares how his upbringing, a cancer scare in his mid-40s, and a desire to be present for his wife, kids, and grandkids reshaped his definition of success. Listen as he opens up about overcoming fear, leveraging equity to scale, and why cash flow is what truly buys freedom. Enjoy the show! Key Takeaways: [00:00] Introducing Carlos Vazquez and his background [04:01] From Cuba to corporate America: finding his path [07:34] A cancer diagnosis that changed his perspective on life and work [13:04] The impact of the book Die With Zero on his financial philosophy [18:28] Three things that define Carlos [19:17] The decision to resign and "burn the boats." [21:14] His wife's support and building a plan to leave both jobs [23:39] Retirement vs redirection [25:53] Expanding beyond North Carolina into new markets [27:38] Investing in Michigan City and trusting the numbers [29:25] Adding properties in Savannah, GA, and Columbus, GA [31:46] Turning lazy equity into higher monthly cash flow [33:30] Why conservative underwriting and operational excellence matter [36:07] Setting evolving portfolio goals [37:05] Quantifying freedom and the ability to do what you want every day [41:39] Advice for anyone thinking about leaving their W-2 job [44:50] Connect with Carlos Vazquez Guest Links: Website: 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 – Living Off Rentals Instagram – instagram.com/livingoffrentals Living Off Rentals TikTok – tiktok.com/@livingoffrentals

You can listen to #315 - Leaving a 30-Year Career for High-Cash-Flowing Short-Term Rentals - Carlos Vazquez online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

#315 - Leaving a 30-Year Career for High-Cash-Flowing Short-Term Rentals - Carlos Vazquez is an episode from Living Off Rentals by Kirby Atwell.

This episode is 45:31 long.

This episode was published on Feb 25, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Living Off Rentals when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.