Technical Case Study: Building HomeScreen - Automating Trust in Real Estate

Introduction

HomeScreen is a tenant screening and landlord onboarding platform designed to streamline the Nigerian rental market.I led the full - stack development, moving the market away from manual document review toward an automated, secure, and data - driven verification pipeline.

The Problem: The Trust Deficit

The real estate market in Nigeria is plagued by a "Trust Deficit." Verification is traditionally slow and prone to fraud:

    1. ** Manual Friction:** Onboarding a new tenant takes weeks of manual document checking.

2. ** Security Risks:** Physical handling of sensitive IDs and financial statements is insecure and non - compliant. 3. ** Verification Accuracy:** Identifying forged documents in a manual workflow is extremely difficult.

Solution Architecture: Next.js & Multi - Layered Verification

I architected a full - stack system with a focus on security, user experience, and automated workflows.

The Stack:

** Frontend:** Next.js(TypeScript) & Tailwind CSS for a high - converting, responsive UI.
** Backend:** Node.js(Express) with a focus on secure document handling.
** Database:** MongoDB for complex application and document metadata.
** Verification:** Third - party Identity APIs(NIN, BVN, Biometrics).

Overcoming Key Challenges

Challenge 1: The Multi - Step Onboarding State Machine

Designing a complex, multi - page onboarding process that users can leave and return to without data loss.

** Problem:** Standard forms are fragile; a page refresh often wipes progress.
** Solution:** Built a custom "Snapshot" system.Every step of the onboarding process is persisted to a draft record in MongoDB.I used a State Machine approach on the frontend to ensure the user is always redirected to their furthest valid step upon login.

Challenge 2: Secure Document Processing Workflow

Handling and verifying sensitive tenant documents(bank statements, IDs).

** Problem:** Storing raw sensitive documents on standard cloud storage is a massive liability.
** Solution:** Implemented a secure pipeline where documents are uploaded directly to an encrypted S3 bucket using pre-signed URLs.The backend never stores the raw file; only a pointer and a hash.I also integrated an automated OCR layer to extract and verify data points(names, expiry dates) against the user's input.

Challenge 3: Identity Verification Webhooks

Integrating with external identity providers while maintaining a smooth UI experience.

** Problem:** In - depth identity checks(NIN / BVN) can take several seconds, causing UI "hanging" if done synchronously.
** Solution:** Developed an asynchronous verification handler.The user triggers the check and sees a "Processing" state while the backend executes the request.I implemented a robust Webhook listener to capture the provider's response and use Server-Sent Events (SSE) to update the frontend state instantly once the check completes.

Results & Impact

* ** Review Speed:** Reduced average document review time from 5 days to under 2 hours.

** User Growth:** Successfully onboarded 100 + active landlords within the first 6 months.
** Fraud Reduction:** Automated identity checks caught several instances of forged documentation that would have passed manual review.

Conclusion

HomeScreen shows how modern full - stack engineering can solve deep - seated trust issues in traditional industries.By focusing on security and automated state management, I built a platform that protects both landlords and tenants.

[Visit HomeScreen](https://homescreen.ng);

Technical Case Study: HomeScreen