A medical crisis drained Bridget’s savings and left her unable to afford rent. Just when housing seemed impossible, PadSplit gave her the chance to rebuild her life with dignity.
While sitting at a red light during her Uber driving shift, Bridget suddenly lost oxygen to her brain. What followed was a five-day hospital stay, memory loss, and months of therapy to relearn basic functions like walking. The medical team never definitively diagnosed the cause of the episode, but the impact was undeniable.
“I was down for approximately six months, going through therapy and everything,” Bridget recalls. As a former 23andMe employee who transitioned to driving for Uber during the COVID-19 pandemic, she watched her savings dwindle during her recovery period. Just as she was beginning to rebuild, another devastating blow struck—she lost her mother.
“The year 2023 was a roller coaster of emotions and grief,” she reflects.
The impossible math of affording an apartment
As Bridget prepared to get back on her feet, she encountered the brutal reality of today’s rental market in Las Vegas. Traditional apartments require renters to earn three times the monthly rent, plus pay application fees, admin fees, first month and last month’s rent, and deposits—often totaling $3,000 to $4,000 upfront. For someone rebuilding after a medical crisis, these barriers felt insurmountable.
“Literally, you need $3,000 to $4,000 just to be able to move into an apartment, because the rents here in Vegas generally start for a one-bedroom around $1,200,” she explains. “I just didn’t have the kind of high income landlords are asking for—and I’m a realtor. I know what we look for when qualifying someone to purchase a home. My motto has always been: ‘Kiss your landlord goodbye.’ But the truth is, you need a substantial income just to buy a home these days.
It was during this challenging period that a friend mentioned PadSplit as an alternative.
Finding more than just housing
What drew Bridget to PadSplit wasn’t just the affordability—it was the flexibility and dignity the platform offered. With just a $100 deposit plus the first week of rent, she could secure her own space without the crushing upfront costs of traditional rentals.
Her first PadSplit home was a revelation. Despite initial hesitations about living with strangers, she found herself in a supportive community of early risers who shared coffee in the mornings and offered encouragement during her studies.
“I came downstairs one morning and said to a guy, ‘Hey, you keep making that vanilla coffee. The smell is coming up the stairs.’ And he said, ‘Oh, I made a pot big enough for everybody. You’re welcome to it,” Bridget remembers fondly. “The sense of community was definitely a surprise.”
From surviving to thriving
Today, Bridget lives in what she describes as a “mansion”—a nearly 9,000-square-foot property where she has her own 2,400-square-foot space, complete with upstairs and downstairs common areas. At $369 per week (with a small discount for helping the host manage the property), she’s paying roughly $1,475 monthly for a space that would cost $2,800 to $3,500 on the traditional market.
But the financial benefits are just part of the story. PadSplit has also been helping her rebuild her credit, providing the stability she needs to restart her real estate career, and offering the independence that proved crucial to her recovery.
“When you have the independence to be in your own space, that is a big push,” she explains. “It’s just something that can uplift you to be able to say, ‘This is mine.'”
PadSplit: A place for second chances
Bridget’s experience highlights how PadSplit serves a crucial need in today’s housing crisis. As she notes, “Everyone who is homeless is not necessarily unemployed. Even for rentals, people are expected to make three times the rent, and come up with $4,000 to $5,000 just to move in—and that’s just for an apartment. If you’re trying to rent a house for $2,200 to $2,800 a month, you’re looking at $6,000 to $9,000 upfront. That doesn’t even include utility deposits and other basic expenses.
PadSplit gives people a real chance to save money and not worry about utilities. Plus, it reports to your credit, which has helped me personally as I work to rebuild mine.”
The platform’s flexibility—allowing moves between homes and cities and requiring minimal upfront costs—creates opportunities for people in transition. For Bridget, it’s been transformative enough that she’s now actively sharing PadSplit with her network and considering becoming a host herself.
“I think PadSplit is going to be a pivotal turning point for our homeless population to be able to find housing,” she says. “It’s going to make a big difference.”
Building community, one room at a time
Perhaps most surprising to Bridget was the sense of community she found. From the coffee-sharing neighbor to the resident who bought pizza for everyone to celebrate finding stable housing, PadSplit has connected her with people who understand the value of second chances.
Today, Bridget is thriving as a licensed realtor with EXP, helping others navigate real estate challenges while continuing to rebuild her own life. Her journey from medical crisis to renewed independence exemplifies how the right housing solution can serve as the foundation for everything else.
“PadSplit is a godsend to be able to help people get back on their feet,” she reflects. “There are just multiple reasons why PadSplit has been a blessing.”
Bridget’s story is one of thousands of PadSplit members who have found more than just an affordable place to live—they’ve found a path forward. If you’re facing housing challenges or know someone who is, browse our rooms for rent at PadSplit.com.
