PadSplit Review: 6 Months of Real Co-Living Income Data

This is my honest PadSplit review as a real host – not a sponsored post, not a highlight reel. I converted my Conyers, Georgia property to the co-living model back in September and I’ve been tracking every dollar since. Here’s exactly what the numbers look like six months in, pulled straight from my Baselane books.

We’re going to look at income month by month, the real expenses, and what actually happened when things didn’t go as planned. Because that’s how we do things here. You deserve the full picture.

What Is PadSplit? A Quick Overview Before the Review

If you’ve never heard of PadSplit before, here’s the quick version. It’s a platform similar to Airbnb, except instead of renting out the whole house, you rent by the room. The people renting are called members, and rent is collected on a weekly basis through the platform.

In terms of fees, PadSplit charges two types. First, there’s an 8% monthly platform fee. Second, they take the first 10 days of every new booking as a kind of lease-up fee. So that’s the cost of doing business with them.

Overall, the model leans more long-term. PadSplit estimates the average member stays between 6 and 9 months. I’ve already had one member there for 3 months, which tracks. And honestly, that’s one of the things I like most about it compared to short-term rentals. Less turnover, less chaos, and significantly less wear and tear on the property.

How We Set Up the Property

The setup for PadSplit is different from what you’d do for a regular rental or an Airbnb. Rather than staging a whole house, you’re furnishing individual bedrooms. Each room gets the basics: a bed, desk, desk chair, TV, and nightstand. You can add small touches like a lamp or a frame to make it feel a little more homey, but overall you’re keeping it simple and functional.

Additionally, one of the things PadSplit actively encourages is converting common areas into additional rentable bedrooms. The fewer common areas you have, the more rooms you can list and, therefore, the more income potential you have. In our case, we converted the formal dining room into a bedroom. We also have a sunroom that was converted into a guest suite, which will be added as a seventh room soon.

At this point, we have 6 bedrooms listed on the platform. This property is in Conyers, Georgia, in the suburbs of Atlanta. Notably, Atlanta is one of PadSplit’s biggest markets, so location-wise, we’re in a good spot.

The Real Numbers: September Through February

Here’s what the actual timeline looked like. I’m recording income in Baselane on a net basis, meaning after PadSplit’s fees are already taken out. Then we also subtract the property management fee since I’m not self-managing this one.

Let me walk you through what happened each month.

The Ramp-Up: September Through November

September was expensive. That’s when we set everything up, did the painting, got the furniture in, and got the rooms ready. As a result, a lot of upfront costs hit that month and the numbers were negative. That’s expected, though, so no surprises there.

In October, we still weren’t fully occupied, so the numbers stayed negative. However, it wasn’t as bad as September, and we could see the momentum building. By November, things started improving meaningfully. We were filling rooms and, as a result, the cash flow numbers were finally moving in the right direction.

When We Started Cash Flowing

In December, we cash flowed for the first time. Finally. January followed with positive cash flow as well, which was encouraging. Then February took a step back. A couple of things hit at once: we had to install new locks, had some work orders come through, and we also caught a charge that shouldn’t have been there. Once we strip out those one-time expenses, the picture isn’t as bad as it looks. Still, it’s a good reminder that this stuff happens.

In total, after all fees across that entire period, we’ve collected about $12,000 in net income. Given that the mortgage on this property is around $1,300 a month, the math works on the months we’re fully occupied and running clean.

Why Reviewing Your Books Actually Matters

This is something I talk about constantly, but I’ll say it again here. Whether you have a property manager, a bookkeeper, or you’re doing it yourself, you need to be inside your numbers on a regular basis. Not to second-guess everyone, but because things fall through the cracks. For example, charges get set up and forgotten, work orders get billed twice, or a subscription nobody canceled is still running.

In short, reviewing your books is not optional if you want to run a real real estate business. It’s part of the job.

What to Expect Going Into March

We do have a new vacancy going into March, so that’s something we’re watching. However, we don’t have the extra one-time expenses from February, so we expect to be back to positive cash flow. We’ll see.

I’m going to keep doing these monthly updates until we hit the one-year mark. The reason is that with this model, income is going to fluctuate. Since there are no fixed long-term leases, some months will be stronger than others depending on vacancies and turnover. Ultimately, I want to give you a full 12-month picture before drawing any big conclusions. One good month doesn’t make a model. Similarly, one tough month doesn’t break it either.

Is PadSplit Worth It? My Honest Take

If you have a property that’s underperforming, or you’re wondering whether you could squeeze more income out of it by renting by the room, this PadSplit review should give you a realistic baseline. You can also go on their website and search your area to see what other hosts are charging per room, or connect with a rep who can tell you whether your property is a good fit.

One important thing to know: PadSplit is not available in every city. Atlanta is one of their biggest markets, which is part of why this worked for me. Do your research on whether your market is covered before you get too far down the road.

Overall? So far I’m happy with the decision. But I’m also not going to tell you it’s all sunshine until I have a full year of data to back it up. Stay tuned.