Robert

Uprooting your life and moving to a new city can be both exciting and challenging.

On one hand, you’re opening a new chapter that’s full of opportunity and possibility. On the other, you’re overwhelmed with the logistics and decisions you have to make. Finding a place to live is quite possibly the most challenging part.

You want to find secure, affordable housing but don’t know where to start. So, you turn to Craiglist or Zillow. This can be a bit daunting and occasionally dangerous. Craigslist is where most rental scammers post fake listings. According to the Better Business Bureau, 43-percent of online renters encounter fake listings and over 5 million people have lost money to rental scams.

In addition to looking out for fake listings, many renters have a hard time finding affordable housing options or get locked into long-term leases. Moving is exciting. Finding a nice, affordable place to live can be tricky.

This is the situation Robert, one of our members, found himself in after he moved to Atlanta from Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He’d relocated to help his sister after her relationship ended. He was working as a manager at Zaxby’s with ambitions of climbing the corporate ladder. But, he struggled to find housing he could afford. He tried the usual online sources and struggled to find anything that resembled a decent, quiet place to sleep. He and his sister soon found themselves as part of the growing population of working homeless.

Eventually Robert found a room for rent. The host played music all throughout his first night. When Robert asked the host to please lower the volume so he could sleep, he didn’t get the peaceful resolution he expected. He was told to leave the property. ‍

Once again, Robert was on the street looking for a place to live. That’s when he found PadSplit.

“I took other avenues before PadSplit that I found through Craigslist, but they were truly terrible.”

PadSplit’s mission is to solve the affordable housing crisis, one room at a time. It’s a membership program that connects you with secure, affordable rooms for rent. For a fixed weekly payment, you get a furnished private room, utilities, internet access, and laundry facilities. The rooms are hosted by property owners or managers who are also vetted members. PadSplit facilitates the relationships between everyone and manages all the paperwork like payment processing and background checks.

One of the many benefits Robert likes is that all PadSplit homes have daily “Quiet Hours” between 11:00 pm and 7:00 am. Members are asked to not play loud music or TVs and even refrain from doing laundry. Additionally, our members are expected to consistently keep noise at a reasonable level since many residents work varying shifts. This gives hardworking, ambitious members like Robert the quiet they need to get a good sleep.

“PadSplit was real fast and real convenient. It really was the easiest time coming back up from losing everything.”

We’re so glad Robert finally found a secure, affordable home where he can sleep peacefully. It’s what we’re trying to provide for all the people working tirelessly to better themselves and our communities.

One room at a time.