In this episode of Real Estate Investing Abundance, host Dr. Allen Lomax interviews Steph Boldrini, a former tech‑sales professional turned commercial real‑estate investor. Boldrini shares how she built a portfolio of three distinct asset classes—self‑serve car washes, self‑storage facilities, and short‑term rental (Airbnb) properties—while managing them remotely from Texas. She explains why she chose the North Texas market (and plans to expand to Florida), outlines the financial upside (average 36% cash‑on‑cash returns) and operational headaches of each asset class, and details the remote‑management systems she employs: extensive camera surveillance, alarm systems, credit‑card payment upgrades, and careful team selection. Boldrini discusses vendor sourcing through referrals and agencies, the importance of industry‑specific conferences, and how she mitigates security issues such as theft and break‑ins. She also highlights her educational content—a podcast titled “Commercial Real Estate Investing from A to Z,” a weekly newsletter, and her website monicarlorei.com—offering listeners resources to learn about remote real‑estate investing. The conversation concludes with her reflection on a major setback (purchasing car washes without industry knowledge) and the lessons she would advise other investors to follow.
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Welcome to Real Estate Investing Abundance, the show for busy, fulfilled professionals like you to learn how to develop financial independence built on solid passive real estate investments. Now, here is your host, Dr. Allen Lomax.
Hello, enlightened investors. Welcome back to the show. I'm so glad to be back with you again today, and we're going to be looking at how we can manage our properties remotely. Steph Baldrini, She is originally from Brazil and she moved to Silicon Valley 20 years ago where she had a successful career in tech sales. For the past 3 years, Steph has focused on commercial real estate investing after receiving inspiration from sophisticated real estate investors. She has invested in 3 different asset classes, achieved 36% cash-on-cash returns. Congratulations on that, Steph, and tell us a memorable experience that helped you to be who you are today.
I was born and raised in Brazil, and first, thank you so much for having me here, Allen. I really appreciate it. And, uh, you know, just being able to come here, you can see the clear difference of how different the countries are run and how well, for the most part, this country is run compared to Brazil, at least. So, uh, here there are so many opportunities, so long as you're willing to work for them. So I think that has been the biggest thing and also how important it is to be in an environment that you can learn these things, right? Because I had no idea about any of this when I was in Brazil. So everything came about just by, you know, the fact that I was here.
Well, interesting. I don't know a whole lot about Brazil, but of course Brazil, I think, is probably one of the more stable South American countries in terms of the Latin American countries. But of course, very, very differences in terms of opportunities, particularly in an investing in real estate, which is what we're here to talk about today. So you are invested in real estate. You've been doing it for what, the last 3 or 4 years here, and you primarily are doing it remotely. So where are you investing and why are you investing where it is that you're investing?
The properties are in north of Texas right now, and I'm hopefully going to be expanding to Florida very soon. Can't wait.
And why have you selected those markets and what segments of the real estate markets are you investing in?
I selected this market because the numbers made sense for this, the type of property that I purchased at the time, you know, and also when there weren't too many deals that I personally could find starting my career. And so it was literally a numbers game and also obviously a Making sure that the market is good and has a diverse industry and at least some, the population is not declining. So that was a, you know, a handful of reasons why. And also the asset classes that I'm currently in are car washes, self-storage, and short-term rentals.
So you're, so you've just been in real estate for about 3 years, but yet you've diversified into 3 different classes. Car washes and my mind, self-storage. And what was the third one?
And Airbnbs.
Airbnbs.
Short-term rentals.
Okay. Well, tell us about each one of these different classes, why you selected them, and what are some of the pluses and minuses about them?
Yeah, that's a really good question. So the car washes, I selected them because the returns are phenomenal. And for anyone who only cares about the cash on cash, that is A great asset class to be in. Pro, so those, that is the only pro I can think of. The con there is that there is a lot of moving, there are a lot of moving parts. You're dealing with, you know, certain type of employees that might not necessarily care about their jobs. And it's, if you're dealing with coins, there is theft and the list is long. So unless you're local and you want more of a hands-on and also you really want to learn everything that there is to be, you know, in the SaaS class, I wouldn't recommend it. The other one is self-storage. And the reason why I decided on self-storage is because it's recession resistant. So it does well in good and bad times. And I, at the time, thought something was going to happen at some point.
It's going to, and we just don't know.
Yeah, it is happening right now.
Maybe. I mean, it's hard to tell. I don't know what's going on.
Nobody knows.
But it's going to happen someday. It's just who knows when. So, okay. Sorry to interrupt you there. Go ahead.
No, not at all. And the short-term rentals, the returns are great. Also similar to car wash, a lot less work than the car wash. And so if you want to, and there's also a lot of little details that, you know, to learn about that asset class. But once you do, if you have a good system in place, you can be pretty successful. And there are many ways to also be successful within the short-term space without putting your own money down. Besides the furniture, there are ways to do some arbitrage and rent from the owners of the homes or units, and then you rent on Airbnb yourself. So there are ways to be successful there.
Well, you are into car wash, but you said you don't recommend it because of all the moving parts. There's all kinds of different car washes. There's car washes where they're totally automated. You don't even get out of your car and you just push a button and your car is washed. Then there are the kind where you actually get out of the car and you have the spray wand and you do that. You wash your car yourself. And then there are car washes that have a staff of people who are out there detailing the vehicles. What kind of car wash are you invested in? Yeah, this one is the most simple one, is a self-serve car wash where There's a lot of automation in terms of self-storage, and even so much of the multifamily is being automated in different ways with digital keying and so on and so forth. Are you finding, I don't know, softwares, technologies that are helping the car wash industry to move in that automated direction? You mentioned coins, which I would think is something that is going— if it isn't now, it's going to become a thing of the past. What are you finding in that, in that area?
Yes. So one thing that I learned is that you have to be mindful of your customer base. So where is the car wash located? So depending on the area, people may not necessarily have credit or debit cards. And that is why we still accept coins on them at this point in time. And we also put credit card acceptance on all of them as well. So to be honest, most recently we have had significant theft. And, uh, we're gonna remove the coins. And so it's, it, we'll see what happens, but it's something that we can't continue with. So that's another, yeah. But yes, well, I, I recommend going to, sorry, go ahead.
Well, I, I mean, I would think with coin-operated car washes, it would be extraordinarily difficult to find a management team that you could totally trust. With, I mean, it's just too easy to stick a few coins in your pocket and I don't know of a way to monitor that. In fact, unless you have a coin counter as they are going into the machine, then you could tell what's going in there. But I don't, that's just another aspect of automation. It seems like it would be much easier to go with cards and just do away with the cash altogether.
Yeah.
But you are managing the self-storage, the Airbnb, and the car wash remotely, and the car washes and Airbnbs both have a significant moving parts to them. How are you doing it via remote management?
So the first thing I did was install cameras everywhere, make sure that the alarm system is fully functioning. And obviously you have to have a great team. So sometimes you're going to sift through different people until you find your team. So for the car wash, it was, we inherited an employee that was phenomenal. And then one day he decides to quit without notice. Then we had a bad one and now We have a very good one. So it's just a matter of powering through it. You know, someone said that once that everybody's going through something in their real estate investments or whatever you're doing, whether it be in a job or as an entrepreneur, but we just have to embrace it and figure out the best way out of it. So yeah, those were the main things. The team is number one priority with regards to the short-term rental. You have to look for the best cleaners until you find them. And you must have backup plans for everything, uh, in case something happens. And then for the, the, the car washes, we did install the, uh, credit card acceptance and now we're moving away from cash. And it's just, you know, being on top of things. You cannot let things slip through and you have to hold your employees accountable. And I do a lot of research for vendors online. I, I search for the best 5-star reviewed vendors and I go down the list. Until I find the ones that are, that work best for our needs.
It sounds like a course in and of itself, particularly, particularly in the car wash industry. The Airbnb, there's a lot of automation in terms of that, from booking to receiving cash to holding deposits, all of that. There's some pretty advanced technologies to help you in conjunction with that. But the car wash is such a fragmented industry, and I don't know that anyone has really moved into that space. To really help much with the automation of that. It seems right for somebody to do that, but as far as I know, there just isn't a whole lot of automation in conjunction with that. You talk about going through vendors list and looking for that online. Obviously you're not going to Texas to interview these people and talk with these people. So how do you go through this interview process?
So. I ask for help. I have been there a few times and I have met amazing people like my lawyer and other people. So whenever an emergency happens, I call them up and say, hey, do you know anybody that can do XYZ? And if not, you go through an agency. If you really need last minute help, you hire immediately an agency to help out. So there are options out there so long as you just All right. Let's focus on working on a solution for this. So yeah, referrals all the time, always asking for referrals.
Continuously, huh? Well, going back to, to self-storage, I'm suspecting that of the 3 classes you're involved in, car wash, Airbnb, and the self-storage, that the self-storage has the least headaches in terms of management. And yet I'm sure there are management headaches even with that. So what are the management headaches you're running into with self-storage?
So we recently had some break-ins and we had to, they were cutting through the doors that are extremely expensive to replace. And so we had to install extra cameras. And now I have somebody watching those cameras throughout the night and if any movement happens, That person calls the police. So that has been the biggest thing. But yeah, self-storage, there are many, many automations that you can implement to have more peaceful asset class. Yeah.
You had mentioned that one of the first things you did was to install cameras everywhere. Do you have cameras on your Airbnb properties?
I do. Yeah. Outside and in the backyard.
Outside and in the backyard. So you're not interfering or intruding on their privacy within the—
Absolutely not. I don't think that's even legal.
No, I, I, I would, you said you had installed them everywhere and I'm thinking, oh no, not inside the homes for sure.
But I went to an Airbnb that they had cameras inside.
Oh, really?
Once.
Yeah.
You didn't have a return visit, huh?
Okay.
Well, Steph, tell our viewers and listeners what you have to offer and how it is they get in touch with you to take advantage of that.
I do a commercial podcast out there called Commercial Real Estate Investing from A to Z. Or, you know, I also do a newsletter every week on super short and to the point tips for real estate investing. And that is at my website, monicarlorei.com. But maybe I should do a how to manage things remotely course after this conversation.
Yes, probably so. Once again, what's the name of your podcast?
It's called Commercial Real Estate Investing from A to Z.
Alrighty. We'll have to be sure and get that in our show notes. Well, Steph, in wrapping up the program today, share with us one of your greatest setbacks in life. How did you come through that time and what were the major lessons you learned from that?
I would have to say it was making the decision to purchase the car washes just because they're in incredibly hands-on. And so I didn't have time to even purchase anything last year because I've been managing that. And obviously there are things I can do to move away from that. And I am currently, hopefully we'll be exiting these car washes very soon. But yeah, that was a big mistake. And what I would recommend people doing is I always recommend people go to an industry-specific conference. I should have gone to a car wash conference before buying anything and learning everything that I can and meeting people in the industry so that if, you know, whenever there is a problem that I don't know how to solve it, I could reach out to them right away. Thankfully, there are Facebook groups, you know, out there that you can, and they're so helpful in all asset classes. Everybody's phenomenal. But yeah, that would be the number one thing I would recommend people doing that I didn't do for the car washes.
They actually have industry conferences for car washes.
For everything. You can't imagine.
I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised, but it is a little surprising. I wouldn't have, wouldn't have thought that. Are those national or are they state level or both?
National, as far as I know. I still haven't been to them, so. Okay.
Okay. Well, you said there's phenomenal cash flow and yet you're looking to exit them as soon as possible.
Yeah.
Is it just because of the time-consuming If, for instance, you had your car wash in the Bay Area where you live, would you still be set on getting out of the car wash industry?
I would very likely keep them if I was within a 30-minute driving distance from them. And then I would decide later, you know, when I have more self-storage, if I should sell it or not. But if they were close to me, I would definitely keep them.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's nice to have a cash flow machine.
Yeah.
For all sorts of reasons, not just for, you know, just not just for the luxury of spending, but you always need, always need cash flow. Steph, it's been a pleasure meeting you today. Enlightened Investors, thank you so much for tuning in with us today and sharing in the conversation with Steph in conjunction with Car Wash, Self Storage, and Airbnbs. Enlightened Investors, until we meet in next episode, Thrive and flourish abundantly. Steph, thanks for being with us today.
Thank you so much, Allen.
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