Commission-Free Rental Marketplace — a tenant-first platform with escrow payments

Traditional rental marketplaces charge landlords and tenants significant commissions on every transaction and bundle unnecessary features. The gap was clear: a clean, commission-free platform where landlords list directly and tenants apply, communicate, and transact — with escrow-based payments and no middleman taking a cut.

Key Results Achieved

Commission-free, escrow-native

Landlords list, tenants apply and pay — all in one platform, with no commission layer.

0%Commission taken on landlord–tenant transactions

6Fully scoped milestones from design to deployment

8 wkFigma design to live MVP

The approach

Challenge & solution

The challenge

Existing platforms have steep learning curves and offer no flexibility for custom contract flows or regional payment methods. The MVP had to be built for speed and scalability — dual-role profiles, a full listing lifecycle, direct messaging, structured contracts, and escrow payments — in eight weeks.

Business challenges

Remove the commission layer that adds friction and cost
Support tenants, landlords, or both in a single profile
Build trust with structured contracts and escrow
Ship a scalable MVP in eight weeks

Technical challenges

Model a multi-role user cleanly (tenant/landlord/both)
Handle a full listing lifecycle with search, filters, and map
Integrate escrow payments with dual confirmation logic
Wire contract draft → sign → payment reliably

Our solution

Built entirely on Bubble.io with a design-first approach — every page, reusable element, and workflow maps to a Figma screen — keeping development predictable. Escrow payments hold funds until contract conditions are met, protecting both parties without a platform commission.

Core features delivered

Design system & prototypeA full Figma design system and clickable prototype cover every user journey before a single workflow is built — eliminating rework.
Dual-role profileA single profile handles tenant, landlord, or both, adapting fields and actions per role without separate account types.
Multi-step listing creationA guided form captures property details, images, pricing, availability, and requirements in scoped steps for complete data.
Search — map + listMap and list views with filter overlays for price, location, type, and availability.
Applications & messagingAn application workflow auto-creates conversations, with messaging UI, backend logic, and notification triggers.
Contracts + escrow paymentsContract draft → sign with dual confirmation, then escrow payment with fees, installments, and status handling.

Under the hood

Architecture & technical build

A single user type with role flags keeps the database clean and extensible; escrow handles the money layer; the design-first approach keeps every Bubble page mapped to a Figma screen and reduces scope creep.

Architecture overview

Multi-role user model — one type, role flags
Escrow payment flow — funds held until conditions are met
Design-first — every page maps to a Figma screen
Structured for post-MVP scaling

Key technical components

Escrow payment integrationFunds held until contract conditions are met, protecting both parties without a commission layer.

Contract workflowDraft → sign flow with dual confirmation logic before payment.

Application & messaging engineAuto conversation creation, messaging backend, and notification triggers on key events.

Map-integrated searchConstrained map plugin plus filterable list view for listing discovery.

Tech stack

Bubble.io (Full-Stack No-Code)Figma (Design System)Multi-Role User ArchitectureEscrow Payment FlowMap IntegrationContract Draft → SignNotification Triggers

How we built it

Implementation timeline

Each milestone delivers a reviewable, functional layer of the platform before the next begins.

01

Milestone 1

UI/UX design (Figma)

Full product UI: landing, auth, dual-role profile, multi-step listing, map+list search, listing detail, messaging, contract, and payment screens — as a clickable prototype and design system.

Prototype
Design system

02

Milestone 2

Foundation setup

Database architecture, authentication, multi-role logic, profile setup, and document uploads — a working backend structure and user system.

Database
Auth & roles

03

Milestone 3

Listing system

Multi-step listing creation, image uploads with constraints, search with filters and map, and listing detail — the full create → browse → view lifecycle.

Listing lifecycle
Search + map

04

Milestone 4

Applications & messaging

Application workflow, auto conversation creation, messaging UI and logic, and notification triggers.

Applications
Messaging

05

Milestone 5

Contracts + payments

Contract flow (draft → signed), dual confirmation, payment UI (fees, installments), escrow integration, and payment status handling.

Contracts
Escrow payments

06

Milestone 6

QA & launch

End-to-end testing, privacy-rule enforcement, bug fixing, UI polish, and a deployment-ready build.

E2E testing
Launch build

Outcomes

Results & impact

Early outcomes

Landlords list directly; tenants apply, message, sign, and pay in one platform
No commission layer, no external tools, no broken workflows
Escrow builds trust on both sides without a middleman

Business impact

Modular architecture ready for an admin panel in Phase 2
Room for document-verification automation
Expanded regional payment support without a rebuild

More work

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