EstateHub

EstateHub is a full-stack rental platform that connects people looking for a home with property managers. The public site helps visitors discover and compare properties; signed-in tenants and managers use separate workspaces to handle applications and ongoing rentals.

The interface supports light and dark themes and adapts to desktop, tablet, and mobile screens. Maps and location search use Mapbox. Property photos are stored through Cloudinary. Chat uses Socket.IO for real-time message and typing updates.

The repository has three independently running services:

estatehub-enterprise-rental-app/
├── client/   Next.js web application (port 3000)
├── server/   Express REST API and Prisma schema (port 5000)
├── socket/   Socket.IO chat service (port 4000)
└── docs/     Architecture, plans, and verification reports

The browser calls the API at /api. The socket service uses the API to verify conversation membership before forwarding chat events. Both services must share the same access-token secret.

Each service keeps its own source and tests. See the web app folder guide and document index for more detail. Generated PDF exports go to the root output/ folder and are ignored by Git.

• Node.js and npm (or Bun for dependency installation).
• PostgreSQL with the PostGIS extension enabled.
• A public Mapbox access token.
• Cloudinary credentials for property photo uploads.

git clone https://github.com/DeathHunterX/estatehub-enterprise-rental-app.git
cd estatehub-enterprise-rental-app
npm install --prefix client
npm install --prefix server
npm install --prefix socket

Alternatively, npm run setup installs the three services with Bun.

Copy-Item client/.env.example client/.env.local
Copy-Item server/.env.example server/.env.local
Copy-Item socket/.env.example socket/.env.local

Fill in the values in each local file. The example files document the available variables:

Do not commit local environment files or real credentials. Replace the sample legal@estatehub.example in NOMINATIM_USER_AGENT with a real monitored contact before creating or editing listings. The sample is documentation only; the server requires both Nominatim variables for address lookup.

For a new, empty database, apply the checked-in Prisma migrations and generate the client from server/:

cd server
npm run prisma:deploy
npm run prisma:generate
cd ..

The schema and migration history live together in server/prisma. They include PostGIS, unaccent, all current tables, indexes and the data backfills needed by earlier installations. Prisma loads local settings through server/prisma.config.ts; no custom CLI or separate SQL upgrade folder is needed.

For an existing database, back it up, run npm run prisma:status, then follow the existing-database guide. Do not reset a database that contains real records. Future schema changes use npm run prisma:migrate -- --name descriptive_change; migration/reset commands skip automatic seeding.

prisma:generate also updates the Prisma type file consumed by the client. To add optional demo data, explicitly run the seed from server/:

npm run prisma:seed

The 25 demo accounts (10 Managers and 15 Tenants) have distinct passwords listed in server/prisma/SEED_ACCOUNTS.md. The fixture stores bcrypt hashes. The seed includes all current tables and application statuses; dates shift together to the time you seed. Demo manager agreement profiles are drafts: each manager must complete their own encrypted signature and privacy/sharing acknowledgements before creating a listing or approving an application. Repeating the seed stops on conflicts instead of overwriting records. Seeding is disabled when NODE_ENV=production.

Open three terminals at the repository root:

npm run dev:server

cd socket
npm run dev

npm run dev:client

Then open http://localhost:3000. The root package has separate dev:client and dev:server scripts; it does not have a combined dev script.

Install all dependencies and generate the Prisma client before building. Build each service once when creating its deployment artifact:

npm run prisma:generate --prefix server
npm run build --prefix server
npm run build --prefix socket
npm run build --prefix client

Start each service as a separate process with its environment configured:

npm run start --prefix server
npm run start --prefix socket
npm run start --prefix client

The API and socket start commands run their compiled JavaScript without rebuilding it. Keep server/dist, socket/dist, the generated Prisma client, and runtime dependencies in the deployed artifacts. Rebuild after every source change. Apply database migrations separately with npm run prisma:deploy --prefix server as part of the deployment process.

EstateHub supports the rental journey from application to lease renewal. Tenants can follow their applications and first payment; managers can track listing availability, review applications, manage leases, and export a property's application, lease, and payment history as CSV. Approval alone does not create a lease: both sides must confirm the cash handover first.

On first sign-in, a manager is guided to Lease agreement setup. They provide a legal name and agreement terms, save an encrypted signature, and acknowledge applicant privacy and information sharing. These steps are required before they can create a property or approve an application, including on existing accounts; the API checks them too. Managers can update the setup later in Settings. The signature passphrase stays in the browser and is never stored by the server.

When approving a pending application, a manager chooses a payment window of 7–21 days (14 by default). Payments & deadlines, available from the sidebar or Applications, shows approved payments and completed first payments. Tenants can open Payments from the sidebar or an approved application to see the amount due, deadline, payment method, cash confirmations, and payment records. Their Applications page also has status filters and property-name search.

If the deadline passes before the tenant reports handing over cash, an hourly server task declines the unpaid application. Once the tenant reports a handover, the application remains open until the manager confirms it or raises a dispute. A manager may request cancellation of an approved, unpaid application only when it has no lease or cash claim. That immediately locks payment; the cancellation becomes final after 48 hours.

Older approved applications have a path forward too. If one has no lease, payment, or cash claim, the manager can set one new 7–21 day window starting today, and the tenant receives an in-app notification. An older approval that already has a lease remains visible for payment follow-up but has no automatic application deadline.

Cash handover depends on confirmation from both people, and a dispute may need manual resolution. Bank transfer is not connected to a payment provider, so the API rejects it. Notifications appear in the app; outbound notification emails are not configured.