Buyer Folio
Mobile App Design
Buyerfolio is an innovative co-ownership platform designed to make homeownership more accessible and affordable. It leverages AI-driven credit assessments and personalized property matches to effortlessly connect co-buyers, simplifying and enhancing the journey to joint homeownership.
RESEARCH
Buyer Folio offers co-living solutions that enable homeowners to list properties for sale, rent, co-ownership, or rent-to-own and track interactions with co-owners or tenants. Our model is designed to help individuals reduce the immediate financial strain while working towards long-term ownership and building equity.
Homeowners potentially have target financial challenges due to rising mortgage costs and financial pressures, making co-living, rent-to-own, and shared homeownership more attractive solutions.
Brand Discovery
Competitive Analysis
CoBuy (Direct Competitor) is a platform designed to facilitate the entire process of home co-ownership, offering tools to help users plan, structure, and manage shared property ownership effectively.
Zillow (Indirect Competitor) is a well-established real estate database that offers a comprehensive range of services including buying, selling, renting, financing, and even browsing home values.
Designing a seller-side app to address modern housing challenges means rethinking how sellers list and manage their properties while navigating co-living dynamics. Platforms like CoBuy and Zillow excel at simplifying traditional sales but need to account for the relational and financial complexities of co-ownership or rent-to-own arrangements. From a UX perspective, we see an opportunity to create a more human-centered experience that streamlines property listings, helps sellers share their lifestyle preferences, and builds trust with potential co-owners or tenants.
Buyer Folio
User Research
Target Audience
Primary
Elderly Homeowners
Seniors aged 55+ looking to sell their homes often share their property, downsize, relocate, or simplify their lifestyle. Users need to be more tech-savvy and value an easy-to-use app that provides clear guidance and secure processes.
Secondary
Real Estate Agents
Real estate agents representing buyers and sellers seek to match them with properties that align with their preferences efficiently. These professionals rely on the app to manage buyer and seller preferences, evaluate compatibility, and streamline seller communication.
User Needs
Functional Needs
Easy Property Listing
Comprehensive Onboarding and User Flow
Credit Scoring System Integration
Detailed Seller Profile Completion
Secure Interaction with Potential Buyers
Financial Management and Tools
In-App Legal and Paperwork Resources
Community Integration and Feedback
Emotional Needs
Security and Trust
Financial Relief and Empowerment
Ease of Use
Community Feeling
The primary goals of Buyer Folio align with its mission to make shared homeownership accessible and efficient.
🎯 Publish Properties for Shared Ownership - Provide homeowners with tools to list properties they wish to co-own, enabling them to connect with potential co-owners and initiate shared ownership opportunities.
🎯 Apply for Co-Ownership Listings - Provide a streamlined application process for users interested in shared ownership opportunities, ensuring buyers a more convenient and user-friendly experience.
To achieve these goals, the app integrates intuitive calls-to-action (CTAs) that guide users through essential actions.
🔘 Own/Find a Home - Introduce an account toggle function within the app that allows users to switch between buyer and seller roles seamlessly. This feature caters to users who simultaneously engage as buyers and sellers, ensuring a smooth and intuitive experience for all BuyerFolio users.
🔘 Find a Person - This CTA targets users interested in transitioning from renting to shared ownership arrangements. It aims to offer a dedicated communication space where potential co-owners can connect and discuss arrangements, fostering collaboration and facilitating the purchasing process.
Goals
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Background
As a startup focusing on co-ownership, Buyer Folio aims to provide an innovative housing experience for homebuyers. In its initial phase, Buyer Folio focused its efforts on the East Coast, particularly in highly competitive real estate markets like New York and Boston.
Currently, Buyer Folio has developed their website, but the app is where their business truly comes to life. The reality of co-ownership transactions involves both "Buyers" and "Sellers." Before the CEO approached our team, there was already an existing design for the Buyer side of the app, although it was not fully optimized.
Overview
Over the course of 3 months, our team of 6 completed the Brand Discovery, Research, Sitemap, Final Design, and Prototype stages for Buyer Folio. Our design scope included optimizing the user flow for the existing Buyer side design and adhering to the existing brand design system to fully develop the Seller side.
For the Brand Discovery, Research, and Sitemap phases, all team members convened to brainstorm and collectively contribute to these components. In the Final Design and Prototype stages, I was primarily responsible for all aspects of the 5.0 Account design.
Design Process
User Research
UI/UX Design
Sep - Dec 2024
UX Researcher
UI/UX Designer
Team Coordinator
UI/UX
App Design
User Flow Modification
TOOLS
SKILLS
DURATION
ROLE
CATEGORY
DEFINE
User Research and Surveys
Based on prior research, we developed professional user surveys, including the questionnaire, to collect insights into target users' needs, pain points, and expectations, providing data-driven support for design decisions.
Usability Testing and Optimization for the Buyer Side
We conducted usability testing on the existing Buyer Side design and proposed improvements, with a strong focus on optimizing the User Flow to enhance overall usability and interaction efficiency.
Special attention was given to the Integration of Advanced Features, particularly Folio Score®, Buyer Folio’s unique credit assessment tool, to build trust and transparency within the platform. Additionally, we kept Community Building in mind throughout the design process, fostering user interactions and engagement to strengthen the sense of trust and belonging within the platform.
We fully designed the prototype for the Seller Side, ensuring a User-Centered Design approach.
High-Fidelity Prototype for the Seller Side
Design Scope
How might we design a platform that ensures a comprehensive and functional co-ownership experience for sellers, while also helping to build trust and community in a dynamic housing market?
Challenge
INFORMATION ARCHIETECTURE
Sitemap
* For complicated app like Buyer Folio, which involve vast information and numerous modules and interfaces, a comprehensive text version sitemap is crucial.
Hi-Fi Prototypes
DESIGN
* At the start of this project, Buyer Folio already had a relatively complete design for the Buyer Side app. For the Seller Side design, it was important to adhere to the existing Design System to ensure a consistent tone throughout. Given the large number of pages that needed to be designed and the tight timeline, we opted to skip the creation of low-fidelity wireframes after sketching key pages and proceeded directly with high-fidelity designs.
01
Seamless Onboarding
A step-by-step guide is integrated to streamline the onboarding process for sellers, dividing it into manageable steps to minimize friction and facilitate easy acclimatization to the app's functionalities.
02
Integrated Seller Dashboard
The Seller's Dashboard centralizes key functionalities and user Calls-to-Action (CTAs), allowing for quick access and seamless completion of tasks.
03
Co-Buyer Discovery
Buyer Folio's sophisticated algorithms are showcased through a user funnel that efficiently matches Sellers with potential Buyers, optimizing the matchmaking process.
04
Dynamic Offer Room
Features a complete offer management system with a clear and logical user flow, simplifying the management and review of offers.
A robust messaging system is crucial for facilitating co-ownership arrangements, offering well-organized categories for easy management of various types of communications, including meetings and appointments.
05
Communication Hub
Equips sellers with sections for personal and property details, alongside a role switch feature that enables seamless navigation between seller and buyer perspectives without separate logins.
06
Account Management Center
Key Features
Valuable Lessons Learned
When designing an application, it's crucial to consider the practical aspects of software engineering and technical limitations.
Practical Design Collaboration
For instance, some design concepts, while visually appealing, may require extensive programming resources to implement or could impact app performance. As a designer, I learned to work closely with the development team to ensure that designs are both aesthetically pleasing and practical, optimizing app performance without compromising the user experience, and helping the client company achieve its business objectives.
It's our job to present what we know so the client can make a more educated decision. While we may not always agree of the final decision, speaking up fulfills our duty.
Design as Consultancy
Working with startups lacking experience in desired features and functions requires a UX designer to act not only as a designer but also as a consultant, helping clients understand their user base and market demands. After thoroughly researching the client’s business model and target market, I offer suggestions on essential features for users and identify potentially superfluous ones. This approach helps clients prioritize practicality and user experience, leading to more targeted product development.
Effective communication, flexible scheduling, and early stage client feedback are essential for enhancing team productivity, and minimizing rework.
Improving Team Efficiency
In this project, we faced efficiency challenges from scheduling conflicts and holidays. To improve efficiency, we synchronized team tasks and deadlines through regular meetings and project management tools, implemented flexible work arrangements for different time zones, and actively sought early client feedback to align design directions with client needs. These strategies enhanced our project efficiency and strengthened team collaboration.
Utilizing data and strategic communication helps navigate and resolve design conflicts, ensuring decisions are both cost-effective and beneficial long-term.
Strategic Communication and Persuasion
Sometimes, clients or team members may insist on specific designs, even if they are not cost-effective. In such cases, effective communication and persuasion skills are crucial. I learned how to present data and case studies to support design proposals and to patiently explain the long-term benefits or potential risks associated with certain design choices. By establishing open channels of communication and fostering a respectful work environment, I was able to help keep the team on a reasonable design track.
TAKEAWAY
Next Steps
Enhancing App Accessibility for Seniors
We have successfully developed an app with a clear user flow and comprehensive functionality. However, considering our target users primarily consist of individuals aged 55+, there is an opportunity to further improve the app’s accessibility. Adjustments to the UI design can make it more accessible, and the addition of instructional pop-ups can provide enhanced guidance throughout the app.
Community Features Expansion
Enhance community-building features within the app to foster a sense of belonging among users. This could include forums, live chat features, and social sharing options that allow users to exchange tips, experiences, and advice related to property co-ownership.
Let's Collaborate!
Copyright @ 2024 Sammi Tang
