In this episode of The Co-Living Show, Craig Curelop and Miller McSwain sit down with Caitlyn Verdugo — aka Co-Living Cait — an Atlanta-based co-living agent, investor, operator, capital raiser, and coach who’s been in the space since the early PadSplit days.

Atlanta is one of the most mature co-living ecosystems in the U.S., and Caitlyn has seen the model evolve from “rent-by-the-room” experiments into a real operating business. She shares what she’s learned from acquiring and running co-living homes, how she approaches conversions (including garage builds), and why she intentionally designs each house to feel like a home — not a template.

This conversation is packed with operator-level nuance: screening beyond platform checks, searching local eviction records, managing resident conflict without becoming a mediator, and how to build systems that protect your time while improving resident experience.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• Caitlyn’s origin story: real estate agent → house hacker → co-living operator
• How she used her real estate commission creatively to reduce money needed to buy
• Why Atlanta’s market maturity makes PadSplit a major factor in marketing + leasing
• Lessons from her first co-living conversion (capital gaps, holding costs, and what she’d do differently)
• What she looks for in co-living properties: layouts, vintage builds, no HOA, conversion potential
• Garage conversions: HVAC strategies, insulation, code risks, and payback vs. “ROI” framing
• Her signature approach: naming houses + themed rooms to enhance resident experience
• The screening stack: forms, interviews, and why she checks eviction records manually
• How she prevents resident conflict with boundaries, addendums, and expectations
• Handling tenant-landlord conflict fast (and why respect is non-negotiable)
• Women in co-living: safety realities, contractor dynamics, and solving problems differently
• Building She Leads Co-Living / Wealth By The Room to support women operators
• How to find operators in your market (Facebook groups, meetups, and “search within groups” strategy)
• The Big 3: a tenant horror story, her first house rule, and her most valuable operating system

Follow the Hosts

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

Join our FREE Community: www.millermcswain.com/community

Guest: Caitlyn “CoLiving Cait” Verdugo

Find her as CoLiving Cait across social platforms and check out her community:

• She Leads Co-Living (women-focused events + network)
• Wealth By The Room (education + coaching series)

Welcome to Episode 1 of The Co-Living Show — where hosts Craig Curelop and Miller McSwain break down how to build real cash flow with room-by-room rentals.

In this first full episode, we lay the foundation:
Why co-living is misunderstood, what most investors get wrong, and how Craig + Miller approach the strategy from two different seats — growth + acquisitions (Craig) and operations + systems (Miller). You’ll also hear their personal stories, how Miller scaled to 7 properties / 51 rooms, why networking changed everything, and how this partnership (and podcast) came to be.

No hype. No fluff. Just the real numbers, renovations, zoning, and operations behind co-living.

Join the free community: millermcswain.com/community
Leave a rating + review and share this with an investor who’s serious about co-living.

🎙️ Trailer: Welcome to The Co-Living Show

In this official trailer, hosts Miller McSwain and Craig Curelop introduce The Co-Living Show—the first podcast built specifically for operators and investors who want real, scalable cash flow without pretending shared housing is simple.

This show goes beyond surface-level advice and passive-income hype. It’s about what actually works in high-density residential real estate—and what breaks if you’re not prepared.

🔍 What This Show Is About
On The Co-Living Show, we dive deep into:
- Zoning and compliance that can make or kill deals
- Insurance strategies that actually work with density
- Designing properties that survive real tenants
- Pricing rooms for true revenue (not theory)
- Building systems to manage room rentals at scale
- Finding, analyzing, and renovating co-living deals
- Real operator stories, mistakes, and case studies

No fluff. No fairy tales. No guru talk.
Just real business, inside residential real estate.

🤝 Why This Duo Works
Miller and Craig bring two complementary skill sets:
Miller focuses on operations, systems, and scalable management
Craig focuses on acquisitions, analysis, renovations, and growth
Together, they cover the full lifecycle of a co-living business:
Find it. Fund it. Build it. Run it. Scale it.

🏘️ A Win-Win Mission
With housing affordability becoming a nationwide challenge, co-living offers a real solution—for both renters and investors.

This show explores how to:
- Create affordable housing responsibly
- Build profitable, sustainable portfolios
- Help residents progress toward financial independence
- Align impact with income

If you want high cash flow and long-term value, this show is for you.

📲 Connect With the Hosts
Follow along for behind-the-scenes content, insights, and updates:
Miller: https://instagram.com/millermcswain
Craig: https://instagram.com/thefiguy

▶️ Who This Show Is For
This podcast is for you if you’re:
✔️ Running or scaling a co-living portfolio
✔️ Exploring rent-by-room strategies
✔️ Tired of surface-level real estate advice
✔️ Serious about building a real business
✔️ Focused on operations, not just acquisitions

If that’s you—welcome.

This is your room.

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