USC Capstone · Spring 2025

Find Your Perfect Place.
Match Smarter.

Rent Connect uses AI-powered matching to connect college students with apartments and roommates near campus — scored by budget, commute time, and lifestyle. Every listing, landlord, and tenant is verified so you can find home with confidence.

Everything You Need to Find Home

From AI-curated matches to verified landlords — every feature is designed around the student renter.

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AI-Powered Matching

Our 4-step matching engine scores apartments by budget, commute time to your school or workplace, and lifestyle compatibility — then explains every recommendation in plain English.

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Interactive Map View

Browse every listing on a live map. See travel times to your anchors — campus, work, gym — calculated in real time so you can make smarter location decisions.

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Real-Time Messaging

Chat directly with landlords or potential roommates the moment you find a match. No middlemen, no delays — powered by Firebase for instant delivery.

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Roommate Compatibility

AI analyzes your lifestyle preferences and generates a detailed compatibility score and breakdown for each potential roommate before you ever say hello.

Ratings & Reviews

Read honest reviews from fellow students about properties and landlords. Leave your own feedback to help the next renter make a confident choice.

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Verified & Trusted

Every user is identity-verified through Persona KYC, so students, landlords, and co-signers can transact with confidence and peace of mind.

See It In Action

A glimpse into the Rent Connect experience — from AI results to live maps to real-time chat.

Rent Connect dashboard — Find Your New Home screen with recommended properties

Home Dashboard

ranked apartments with commute scores and AI explanations

Rent Connect interactive map — live property map with price pins near USC

Interactive Map

live property map with anchor-based commute filtering

Rent Connect real-time chat — messaging between student and Riverside Properties landlord

Real-Time Chat

instant messaging between students and landlords

Up and Running in Minutes

Three steps from sign-up to move-in day.

1

Create Your Profile

Sign up, verify your identity, and set your housing budget, preferred location anchors, and lifestyle preferences.

2

Get Matched

Our AI engine runs your preferences through commute scoring and semantic vibe matching to surface your top apartment and roommate picks.

3

Connect & Move In

Message landlords directly, tour properties, sign leases, and move into your perfect place — all in one app.

Built by BullStreetBuilders

A Capstone project by five computer science students at the University of South Carolina.

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Camden Smith

University of South Carolina

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Alex Rishmawi

University of South Carolina

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Ayush Parambath

University of South Carolina

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Leeon Israel

University of South Carolina

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Lane Greenlee

University of South Carolina

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Open Source & Built to Last

Rent Connect is an open-source Capstone project. The full source code — frontend, backend, tests, and CI/CD — is available on GitHub.

View Repository on GitHub

Tech Stack

React Native Expo FastAPI PostgreSQL Firebase OpenAI Google Maps