Pad-split, yay or nay?

[Laura Heald]

Has anyone tried a pad split property in the Jacksonville area? I'm considering a property that is already modified for this platform, but not sure what I think about the idea. Curious if anyone else has tried this and what their experience has been. I've always done long-term rentals and am not interested in short-term rentals, but pad split (mid-term and co-living rentals) seems like an interesting in between. Thanks!

[Joey Banasihan]

Hey @Laura Heald, I’ve got a buddy who actually built financial freedom doing co-living, but it only worked because he treated it like a real strategy, not some magic cash-flow hack.

He’s got 7 places in Florida — all tweaked to fit 6–8 rooms — furnished everything, used PadSplit’s structure for rules/tenant issues, and had someone local handle the hands-on stuff. Took him about 5–6 years to dial it in. Now the guy lives off the cash flow and even started a luxury construction company out here in Idaho.

So yeah, it can work. Just depends on the market, how you operate, and being okay with the extra noise that comes with co-living: more turnover, more personalities, more wear and tear. PadSplit helps a ton, but it’s not set-and-forget.

What really made it work for him was just… committing to it. Taking the risk, learning as he went, eating a few mistakes, and having a couple backup plans if one setup stopped working. It wasn’t overnight — it was just consistent action over time.