Focus:
Mobile-first design, research, illustrations, branding
A guided app that built renter trust at scale
Elara managed 70,000+ single-family rentals, but renters found the experience confusing and stressful. We turned the core of the product into one guided mobile app that made renting feel simple and reliable.
Industry:
Real estate
Role:
Lead designer
Year:
2023—2024
The problem
Renting a home came with friction at every step: chaotic process, clunky portals, and zero visibility. Through resident interviews and ops team workshops, here is what stood out:
The hypothesis:
If payments, move-in, and maintenance felt clear, guided, and had a system, residents would trust the product, and ops could resolve issues faster.
Redesigned onboarding into a guided flow
Instead of web portal and email threads, I designed a flow that linked each resident directly to their lease. Residents could then set up payments, deposits, and move-in tasks in one place. The checklist approach reduced confusion, streamlined verification, while also freeing up operations from chasing paperwork, saving the company both time and money.
A two-way win: easier move-in checklists for residents, cleaner reports for ops
Residents used to send Excel files and lots of emails as their move-in checklist. I replaced that with a room-by-room flow where they could add notes and snap photos. Residents found it easier to document problems, and ops finally had structured reports they could use. Clearer for residents, cleaner for ops, cheaper for the company.
Reducing late payments from 22% to 2.7% with better payment flows
The old web portal made it way too easy to forget a payment. Residents had to log in, remember deadlines, and late fees piled up. In the app, we flipped that: balances were always visible, reminders came as push notifications, and setting up auto-pay was a huge win. That shift paid off: fewer missed payments, less stress for residents, and a steadier cash flow for the company. • 17% of residents moved to auto-pay within months • 95%+ residents added a payment method in-app
Cut maintenance resolution time from 30 days to 11
Requests used to come in from every channel imaginable: calls, texts, or emails. Ops spent hours piecing things together, and residents waited weeks for fixes. I designed a guided request flow where residents could add notes, snap photos, and track progress with real-time updates. That made it easier for residents to report issues, and gave ops clean, structured data to work with. Resolution time dropped from 30 days to just 11.
Outcomes
The renter experience became smoother and more reliable, while operations spent less time chasing issues. Fewer missed payments, faster resolutions, and cleaner data built trust and saved the company money.
