hublyst.pro — A housing marketplace connecting Boston renters with sublets, roommates, and short-term housing. Built as a paid contract for a Boston realtor. Launched March 2026.
100+ users in the first 3 weeks.
Hublyst solves the Boston housing scramble — the seasonal chaos of students, young professionals, and relocators all competing for sublets and roommates across fragmented Facebook groups, Craigslist posts, and word-of-mouth. It's a single platform where users can:
- List sublets with photos, pricing, location, bed/bath count, and availability dates
- Find roommates matched by lifestyle, budget, and location preferences
- Join communities — neighborhood and interest-based groups for housing discussions
- Get verified — identity verification system to build trust between strangers
- Search and filter — by price, location, bedroom count, move-in date, and more
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Backend | Django (Python), Django REST Framework |
| Frontend | Django templates, responsive mobile-first CSS |
| Database | PostgreSQL |
| Auth | Google OAuth 2.0 + email/password via django-allauth |
| Image Hosting | Cloudinary (upload, transform, CDN delivery) |
| Deployment | Render (web service + managed PostgreSQL) |
| Integrations | ManyChat/Make webhooks for lead capture from Instagram DMs |
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Client │
│ (Mobile-first responsive web app) │
└──────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┘
│
┌──────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────┐
│ Django Backend │
│ ┌─────────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ │
│ │ Auth (OAuth │ │ Listings │ │ Roommate │ │
│ │ + Email) │ │ CRUD │ │ Matching │ │
│ ├─────────────┤ ├──────────┤ ├──────────────────┤ │
│ │ User │ │ Search & │ │ Communities │ │
│ │ Verification │ │ Filters │ │ & Messaging │ │
│ └─────────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────────────┘ │
└───────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬───────────────┘
│ │ │
┌────▼────┐ ┌─────▼─────┐ ┌────▼────────┐
│PostgreSQL│ │Cloudinary │ │ ManyChat/ │
│ │ │ (Images) │ │ Make │
│ Users │ │ │ │ (Webhooks) │
│ Listings │ │ Upload │ │ │
│ Profiles │ │ Transform │ │ Instagram │
│ Comms │ │ CDN │ │ DM → Lead │
└─────────┘ └───────────┘ └─────────────┘
Full CRUD for housing listings — create, edit, delete with multi-image upload via Cloudinary. Listings include price, location, bed/bath count, availability window, and detailed descriptions. Search with filters for price range, location, bedrooms, and move-in date.
Dual authentication via django-allauth — users can sign up with Google one-click or traditional email/password. Session management, password reset, and account linking.
Multi-step identity verification flow to build trust between users. Verified badges displayed on profiles and listings to signal credibility.
Profile-based roommate discovery with lifestyle preferences, budget ranges, and location targeting. Users can browse and connect with potential roommates directly on the platform.
Neighborhood and interest-based community spaces for housing discussions, advice, and local recommendations. Designed to reduce reliance on scattered Facebook groups.
ManyChat/Make integration pattern for ingesting Instagram DM qualification flows — enabling the realtor client to capture leads from social media directly into the platform's pipeline.
Responsive UI optimized for the primary use case: people apartment hunting on their phones. Fast load times, touch-friendly interactions, and clean listing cards.
- 100+ registered users within 3 weeks of launch
- 250+ listings posted by users across Boston neighborhoods
- Live and actively used at hublyst.pro
- Built as a paid contract for a Boston-based realtor; full ownership transferred to client
This repository contains the README and documentation only. The source code is proprietary and has been transferred to the client. For questions about the technical implementation, feel free to reach out.
Built by Jim Jin — AI Engineer, full-stack developer, open source contributor to lichess.org.