Brittany & Derrick

Higher Occupancies and Less Stress with PadSplit

For PadSplit Hosts Brittany and Derrick, PadSplit has been a natural extension of a deep-seated passion: To provide affordable housing to those who need it most.

Alongside two of his college roommates, Derrick founded Civitas Partners in 2010. Their mission is to help increase the housing supply for working- and middle-class renters and preserve safe, attractive, and affordable communities.

Derrick grew up in Atlanta and has seen the many phases the city has undergone. When he moved back to Atlanta in 2015, his wife Brittany says he was especially disheartened to see what was happening in his hometown.

“Derrick saw how many apartments had become blighted during the recession while at the same time, many areas that were affordable when he left, were now unattainable as housing prices soared. That was a huge push for Civitas Partners in the beginning: To find these apartments and developments and bring them back to life for the residents.”

One of the driving forces behind Brittany and Derrick’s work with Civitas is to provide affordable, quality housing for as many Atlanta residents as they can. Their favorite projects are ones where they purchase occupied properties in disrepair, help the residents find temporary housing during renovations, and then bring the residents back to quality and affordable homes.

In the beginning, Brittany and Derrick worked mostly on single-family homes and apartment complexes, but that changed in 2017 when they purchased their first coliving home.

“It was different from what we’d done previously, but we thought, ‘Why not? Let’s give it a shot!’” That was also around the time Derrick reconnected with PadSplit cofounder Atticus LeBlanc, who introduced the PadSplit model to the couple.

“To be honest, we were a little hesitant at first,” Brittany said with a laugh. “We had gotten our feet wet in the coliving realm, and the management fees felt high compared to what we’d pay a traditional property management company. But, we took a chance and switched one of our properties to the PadSplit model. The rest is history.”

In addition to Derrick and Brittany’s work with Civitas and their PadSplit properties, the couple also had a robust short-term rental business.

“At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it took a big hit as people across the country canceled all travel. We actually converted three of our Airbnbs to the PadSplit model. For us, it was an easy and natural shift.”

Even as the economy is improving, Brittany says they have no intentions of converting their PadSplits back into Airbnbs because they’re much easier to maintain as PadSplits than short-term rentals. “The flexibility is and continues to be key for our family with three kids under the age of five.”

And Derrick and Brittany aren’t slowing down. They currently have 11 properties listed on the PadSplit platform and average a 96% occupancy rate. In fact, when we talked to Brittany, she was putting last-minute touches on their newest PadSplit: a 5-bedroom newly-renovated PadSplit in Southwest Atlanta.

“I love being associated with a company that truly cares. It is evident to me in every person I interact with at PadSplit. The PadSplit team truly cares about Members and Hosts. It feels genuine to me. I can’t say that about a lot of other companies we work with, and it’s nice to be a part of shaping a company that is doing good work.”