In this episode, Craig Curelop and Miller McSwain sit down with co-living investor Travis Schwartz to talk about one of the biggest debates in the co-living space: Should you self-manage your rooms, or use a platform like PadSplit?

Travis brings a unique perspective. After starting out by building his own systems, managing leads, and filling rooms himself, he eventually moved his portfolio onto PadSplit. That decision helped him simplify operations, cut down on manual lead management, and shift his focus back to acquisitions.

And the results were significant.

Travis bought 12 co-living houses in one year, mostly in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, using a strategy built around high cash flow, aggressive renovations, and long-term holds.

Craig and Miller challenge Travis on the tradeoffs of PadSplit, including fees, platform risk, saturation, and whether it still makes sense at scale. Travis also shares what he has learned from renovations, appraisals, permits, tenant retention, and building software for PadSplit hosts through PadPulse.

In this episode, we discuss:

How Travis got into co-living after years as an entrepreneur
Why he bought three houses at once when he started
His target of under $40,000 per finished room
Why he focuses on cash flow more than short-term equity
The hidden risk of negative equity in co-living renovations
How PadSplit changed his operations
The pros and cons of relying on a third-party platform
Why some markets become saturated faster than others
How to think about amenities, pricing, and tenant retention
Why offering a discount to a good resident can be cheaper than turnover
What Travis is building with PadPulse
His long-term vision for co-living and private equity

Connect with Travis:
PadPulse: padpulse.io
Email: travis@padpulse.io
LinkedIn: Travis Schwartz

Follow the hosts:
Miller McSwain: www.instagram.com/millermcswain
Craig Curelop: www.instagram.com/craigcurelop

Join the free Co-Living Community:
www.millermcswain.com/community

If you enjoyed this episode, leave a rating and review, and share it with another investor who is trying to scale their co-living portfolio.

EP 14 - PadSplit vs. Self-Management: The Great Co-Living Debate

The Co-Living Show

EP 14 - PadSplit vs. Self-Management: The Great Co-Living Debate