Rent Detective: AI-Powered Rental Property Platform
Built for a Calgary proptech company. Delivered in 5 weeks.
The Problem
The Problem: 5 Spreadsheets, 3 Email Inboxes, No Visibility
A Calgary-based property management company was managing 400+ rental units across Alberta — and doing it with 5 spreadsheets, 3 email inboxes, and 2 disconnected software tools. Nothing talked to each other.
Tenant applications arrived by email and got manually entered into a spreadsheet. Maintenance requests came in by text and got transcribed into a different spreadsheet. Market comparables required a staff member to spend 2+ hours a week manually browsing competing listings. Lease renewals were tracked on a Google Calendar that only one team member could access.
The owner had looked at enterprise property management software — the cheapest credible option was $2,200/month and required 3 months of setup. They needed something faster, more affordable, and purpose-built for their specific workflow. Traditional Calgary software agencies quoted $60,000–$80,000 and six months. Neither answer worked.
The downstream impact was significant: tenant inquiries went cold while staff manually triaged emails. Maintenance issues slipped through the cracks. Market pricing decisions were based on stale data. The owner had no real-time visibility into occupancy, revenue, or portfolio health — from a business generating over $600,000/year in rent.
The Solution
The Solution: Purpose-Built Platform on Base44
Done Right built Rent Detective — a full AI-powered rental platform on Base44, designed around how this specific team actually worked. Not how generic property management software thinks property managers work.
We started with a 90-minute discovery call and had wireframes approved within 48 hours. Week 1 focused on the tenant management workflow and admin dashboard — the highest-pain areas. Week 2 added AI-powered natural language property search. Week 3 integrated Google Calendar for showings and Stripe for deposit collection. Weeks 4–5 were refinement, testing, and staff training.
The key insight from discovery: this team didn't need every feature a $2,200/month enterprise platform offered. They needed 8 specific workflows to work perfectly, seamlessly, from one place. So we built exactly those 8 — nothing more, nothing less. The result was a platform that felt like it had been made specifically for them — because it had been.
Because we built on Base44, the entire backend infrastructure (authentication, database, file storage, Google Calendar OAuth, Stripe, email notifications) was handled by the platform. Every hour of development went directly into features — not rebuilding commodity infrastructure that every property management tool needs.
What We Built
Development Process
Discovery & Core Dashboard
90-minute discovery call, wireframes approved in 48 hours. Built the admin dashboard, tenant management workflow, and database schema. Staff could log in and see live data by end of week.
AI Search & Listing Engine
Built the AI-powered natural language property search using GPT-4o. Tenants could type 'pet-friendly 2BR near downtown Calgary under $1,800' and get relevant results instantly.
Integrations — Calendar & Payments
Connected Google Calendar OAuth for showing scheduling and Stripe for payment collection. Automated confirmation emails and receipt generation went live.
Maintenance & Lease Modules
Built the maintenance request system with contractor assignment and the lease management module with renewal automation. Added document storage.
Testing, Refinement & Launch
Full testing across devices. Staff training sessions. Go-live with 400+ units migrated from spreadsheets. Post-launch support window.
Results
"We looked at enterprise property management software and the cheapest real option was $2,200/month with 3 months of setup. Done Right delivered something better in 5 weeks for under $5,000. It paid for itself in 2 months."
Screenshots
Production screenshots available on request during your discovery call.
Tech Stack
Frequently Asked Questions
How long did it take to build Rent Detective?
5 weeks from discovery call to production with 400+ units live. Traditional Calgary agencies quoted 6 months and $60,000+.
What did Rent Detective cost to build?
$4,800 CAD all-inclusive at Done Right's $100/hr rate. It replaced a $2,200/month SaaS alternative, paying for itself in 2.2 months.
Can you build something similar for my property management company?
Absolutely. We build custom property management platforms for Calgary and Alberta real estate businesses. Book a free discovery call to discuss your specific workflow.
What AI features does Rent Detective use?
GPT-4o for natural language property search and tenant inquiry responses. AI agents handle 24/7 FAQ answering and prospect qualification without staff involvement.
Is Rent Detective PIPEDA compliant?
Yes. Built on Base44, all data is stored in Canadian infrastructure and fully PIPEDA compliant.
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