Empower small-budget real estate investors with the tools to quickly select safe and profitable home investments for increased financial security.

Introduction to House Hacking (or Owner-Occupant Investors)

Why real estate?

As a designer, I am particularly interested in working with data‑rich subjects, such as financial information design, where real estate investment naturally plays a significant role.

Through research, I discovered a gap in free tools that connect small real estate properties with personal financial goals.

This strategy—known as "house hacking," a term popularized by BiggerPockets—involves living in an investment property while generating rental income, whether by renting extra rooms or leasing units in a multi‑family building.

Property Prodigy, a responsive web app, was designed for first‑time, small‑scale property buyers seeking to invest for additional income or financial stability.

Objectives for house hacking:

  • Educate future owner-occupants or "house hackers"
  • Provide upfront information of available rental properties
  • Reward loyal accountholders by serving personalization and AI options that support past activity.

Table of Contents (and methodology) for UI Enhancement

A look at the competition...

What apps are best for small investors in real estate? Are the apps affordable?

  • Free
  • Great design
  • Good experience
  • Popular

Pain Points

  • Need to sift through all properties to find possible rental properties.
  • Education content geared towards home-buyers, not investors.
  • Free
  • Great design
  • Good experience
  • Popular

Pain Points

  • Need to sift through all properties to find possible rental properties.
  • Education content geared towards home-buyers, not investors.
  • $300 to $1,200 per year
  • Created for property investors
  • Too expensive to research for UI ideas.

Meet Naila Bhatt

persona

"I want to learn about good house investment properties and see good options immediately."

"I don’t want to sift through every other type of property."

Personal Information

  • IT Professional
  • Married with children
  • Always on the go for work
  • Hobbies include playing sports and family hiking in parks.

Goals

  • Learn about real estate investment virtually.
  • Invest carefully in real estate to improve her financial security.
  • Use apps to find good properties.

Pain Points

  • Current free apps on the market require lots of filtering to find good investment properties.
  • Naila’s free time is limited.

Where can we make real estate apps better for house hacking?

Ideas for improvement:

  • 1   Prioritize investment information at top of search filters.
  • 2  Put important investment information at the top of the Property Detail page.
  • 3  Focus user education on safe real estate investment options available to all visitors.
  • 4  Use AI and personalization to serve better options.