Project Overview

What HUD built for compliance, we're building for people.

Apartment Bridge is a consumer-facing search platform for affordable and subsidized housing — Section 8, LIHTC, and HUD-listed properties — built to feel like the rental sites people already trust, rather than the government databases the data currently lives in.

Today, the most complete affordable-housing dataset in the country (HUD's LIHTC Database) is built for compliance analysts, not renters or leasing agents. Apartment Bridge takes that same data and wraps it in a clean, human experience — available on the web and as a native mobile app — so renters can actually find a home, and operators can actually market a listing.

Deliverables

Deliverable 01

Website

  • Public renter-facing search platform
  • Mobile-first, fully responsive
  • SEO-friendly, production-deployed
Deliverable 02

Admin Panel

  • Listing, user & content management
  • Visibility controls for monetization
  • Analytics & reporting dashboard
Deliverable 03

Mobile App

  • iOS & Android, published on both stores
  • Full-featured app for renters
  • Lightweight companion app for operators
54K+Properties
3.7MUnits Covered
13Week Build
8Milestones
$48KTotal Value

How a renter uses it — web & app

01
Search
Enter a location — city, ZIP, or neighborhood
02
Filter
Narrow by household size, income range, voucher type
03
Browse
View listings on the map with photos & details
04
Inquire
Contact a property — get replies as push notifications

How an operator uses the app

01
Check listings
See all their properties and status at a glance
02
Open details
Review a property's info without logging into the web admin
03
Message
Reply to renter inquiries directly from the app
04
Get notified
Push notification the moment a new inquiry comes in

How the data stays current

A
HUD Sources
LIHTC Database, Resource Locator, Multifamily Search
B
Normalize
Clean, dedupe, and geolocate every property record
C
Index
Load into the Elasticsearch-powered search engine
D
Sync
Scheduled jobs keep web, admin, and app in sync

User Roles & Access

Three keys, three levels of access.

Every part of the platform is built around who's using it. Access is role-based from the database up, so a renter, an operator, and an admin each see exactly what they need — nothing more — whether they're on the website or the app.

Public — Web & App

Renter

  • Search & filter listings — no login required to browse
  • View property detail pages, photos, and map location
  • Submit inquiries directly to a listing
  • Full-featured mobile app — same experience as the website, plus push notifications
  • Only sees properties an operator or admin has made public
Verified — Web + Light App

Operator

  • Creates and edits their own property listings (web admin)
  • Bulk-uploads properties via CSV (web admin)
  • Companion app: view total properties & details, message renters, and get notifications on the go
  • Cannot see or edit another operator's listings
Full control — Web

Admin

  • Manages every listing, operator, and renter account
  • Controls whether a listing is public or hidden
  • Views platform-wide analytics & inquiry reports
  • Manages CMS content, FAQs, and homepage banners
Visibility control is the monetization lever — admin decides which listings the public can see, enabling a paid/featured tier later.

Features

Everything inside this build.

The full feature set across the renter experience, the mobile apps, the backend, the admin panel, and the HUD data pipeline — grouped the way the platform is actually built.

Renter Experience

Public website
  • Location-based property search
  • Interactive map (Mapbox / Google Maps)
  • Filters: household size, income, voucher type
  • Property detail pages with photo galleries
  • Inquiry & contact forms
  • Mobile-first, fully responsive design

Mobile App — Renter

iOS & Android · full-featured
  • Full search, filters, and interactive map — feature parity with the website
  • Property detail pages with photo galleries
  • Submit & track inquiries from the app
  • Push notifications for replies and new matching listings
  • Native login & saved profile

Mobile App — Operator

iOS & Android · lightweight
  • View total properties & individual listing details
  • Message center for renter inquiries
  • Push notifications for new inquiries
  • Read-only listing info — full editing stays on web admin

Backend & Data

API layer — shared by web & app
  • PostgreSQL + PostGIS database architecture
  • REST API with full documentation
  • Role-based authentication (Renter/Operator/Admin)
  • Property CRUD with bulk CSV upload
  • Inquiry & lead management system
  • Push notification service for both apps
  • Elasticsearch-powered search

Admin Panel

Operations — web
  • Listing management with public/hidden visibility control
  • Operator & user account management
  • Inquiry & lead tracking dashboard
  • Analytics & reporting
  • CMS for homepage, FAQs, banners
  • Role-based access control across all panels

HUD & LIHTC Integration

Data pipeline
  • Ingestion of 54,000+ LIHTC properties
  • HUD Resource Locator sync
  • HUD Multifamily Property Search sync
  • Data normalization & deduplication
  • Geolocation mapping & verification
  • Automated scheduled sync jobs

Testing & Launch

Production readiness — web, admin & app
  • Full functional & regression testing across devices and browsers
  • Performance optimization — Lighthouse score ≥ 90
  • WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility audit & fixes
  • Security testing & basic penetration test
  • Production deployment (AWS / Vercel) with SSL, backups, and uptime monitoring
  • App Store & Google Play submission for both apps

Milestones & Payments

Eight milestones. Thirteen weeks. Full transparency.

Payments are milestone-based — each one is released only after written client sign-off on that milestone's deliverables. Design and Frontend Development are complete and paid; everything from Backend Development onward is upcoming.

$36,000Remaining balance
$48,000Total project value
M1

Discovery & UI/UX Design

Requirements & scope, wireframes, and a full Figma design system covering the website, admin panel, and both mobile apps — delivered as a clickable prototype.
Weeks 1–2
$6,00012.5%
M2

Frontend Development

Coded, responsive frontend for the website, the admin panel, and the UI screens for both the renter and operator mobile apps — deployed to staging, not yet connected to live data.
Weeks 2–4
$6,00012.5%
M3

Backend API Development Upcoming

Database schema, full REST API, and role-based authentication for Renter/Operator/Admin — the shared foundation the website, admin panel, and both apps will all run on. Frontend connected to a live API on staging.
Weeks 4–7
$9,00018.75%
M4

Admin Panel Development Upcoming

The already-designed admin panel wired to live data: listing management with visibility controls, operator & user management, inquiry tracking, analytics, and CMS — deployed to staging for UAT.
Weeks 6–8
$4,5009.4%
M5

HUD & LIHTC Data Integration Upcoming

54,000+ HUD/LIHTC properties ingested, cleaned, deduplicated, geolocated, and indexed for search — with an automated sync pipeline so listings stay current without manual work.
Weeks 7–9
$6,30013.1%
M6

Mobile App — Renter Upcoming

The full-featured iOS & Android app for renters: search, filters, map, listing details, and inquiries connected to the live API, with push notifications — built and submitted for app store review.
Weeks 6–10
$9,00018.75%
M7

Mobile App — Operator Upcoming

The lightweight companion app for operators: view total properties & details, a message center for renter inquiries, and push notifications — connected to the live API and submitted for review.
Weeks 9–11
$3,6007.5%
M8

Testing, QA & Production Launch Upcoming

Full functional, cross-browser, and cross-device QA; WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility audit; security & penetration testing; production deployment with SSL/backups/monitoring; and both apps published live on the App Store and Google Play.
Weeks 11–13
$3,6007.5%
IDMilestoneTimeline%AmountStatus
M1Discovery & UI/UX DesignWeeks 1–212.5%$6,000
M2Frontend DevelopmentWeeks 2–412.5%$6,000
M3Backend API DevelopmentWeeks 4–718.75%$9,000Upcoming
M4Admin Panel DevelopmentWeeks 6–89.4%$4,500Upcoming
M5HUD & LIHTC Data IntegrationWeeks 7–913.1%$6,300Upcoming
M6Mobile App — RenterWeeks 6–1018.75%$9,000Upcoming
M7Mobile App — OperatorWeeks 9–117.5%$3,600Upcoming
M8Testing, QA & Production LaunchWeeks 11–137.5%$3,600Upcoming
Total13 Weeks100%$48,000
$48,000
$12,000 PAID  ·  $36,000 REMAINING  ·  13 WEEKS  ·  8 MILESTONES

Written client sign-off is required before the next milestone begins and before the corresponding payment is released. Staging environments and GitHub access are available throughout the build. Pricing reflects a 6-person team (Project Manager, Frontend, Backend, Mobile App Developer, QA, DevOps) covering web, admin, and both mobile apps across a 13-week build — including HUD data-pipeline engineering, native app development for iOS & Android, accessibility and security testing, and infrastructure setup under client-owned accounts.

Working Engineers

Six roles, one team.

This is who's actually building Apartment Bridge, and what each person is responsible for — so it's clear where the budget and the thirteen weeks are going.

Coordination

Project Manager

  • Owns the timeline and keeps all 8 milestones on schedule
  • Runs weekly progress updates and demos with the client
  • Turns requirements into tasks the dev team can build
  • Manages sign-offs before each milestone payment is released
Client-facing

Frontend Developer

  • Builds everything the renter and operator see on the website
  • Turns the Figma design into the live, responsive website
  • Builds the admin panel frontend for the admin dashboard
  • Wires up search, filters, map, and listing pages to the API
Mobile

Mobile App Developer

  • Builds the native iOS & Android apps for both renter and operator
  • Builds the full-featured renter app — search, filters, map, listings, inquiries
  • Builds the lightweight operator app — properties, details, messages, notifications
  • Integrates push notifications and connects both apps to the shared API
Behind the scenes

Backend Developer

  • Builds the database and the API that powers web, admin & both apps
  • Writes the logic for logins, permissions, and listings
  • Builds the HUD/LIHTC data pipeline — ingesting, cleaning, and syncing 54,000+ properties
  • Sets up push notification delivery for the renter and operator apps
Quality

QA & Testing

  • Tests every feature across real devices, browsers, iOS & Android
  • Runs the WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility audit
  • Runs security testing and a basic penetration test before launch
  • Catches bugs before the client — or the app stores — ever see them
Infrastructure

Server & DevOps

  • Sets up hosting, domains, and environments under client-owned accounts
  • Configures staging and production servers (AWS / Vercel)
  • Handles App Store & Google Play submission and release
  • Sets up SSL, backups, uptime monitoring, and keeps HUD sync jobs running