StrataDeed

Inspirations

Imagine what it feels like to wait for several months, just to be certain your newly purchased home belongs to you. Worrying that the seller might not be the owner or even have the right to sell. Paying tons of dollars to middlemen that have no direct linkage to the property, or wondering if there’s some hidden lien buried within the paperwork. This is the face of real estate in big 2025, running on systems that should have been upgraded before the 20s.

We began by asking necessary questions, such as why it takes so long to transfer properties when we can send money across the world in seconds. Why do we pay almost 7-10% in fees when blockchain can automate most of the process? Why is fraud still inevitable when there’s a technology that can make such transactions transparent?

We carefully observe the traditional real estate system and realize how badly structured it is. It’s slow, expensive, inefficient, and opens opportunities for fraud. Not to mention how ownership details are kept in drawers in county offices. Title searches also take weeks, and it takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest in property. Otherwise, you might as well forget about it.

After deep research and a series of brainstorming, we concluded that property ownership should work like everything else in Web3. Buying a house should be as simple as buying NFTs. The process should be transparent, instant, and accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

And this is how StrataDeed came into the picture. With StrataDeed, we see a world where properties are tokenized, ownership is crystal clear, and you can buy, sell, or invest in real estate like you are trading crypto. No more time wasting and overcharged fees. And you won’t ever have to doubt if the paperwork is legitimate.

StrataDeed is not just a platform; it’s the trust needed in real estate, and we are building it from the ground up.

How We Built It

We built StrataDeed as a full-stack Web3 application that closes the gap in traditional real estate with blockchain technology.

Frontend: We used Next.js with Typescript to create a fast, responsive user interface that everyone who has browsed property listings before can feel familiar with. Except this time, every listing they’ll be browsing is backed by Blockchain verification. The flexibility TailwindCSS gave us allowed us to design a clean, modern interface that makes complex blockchain interactions feel simple and intrusive.

Smart Contracts: Technically, the heart of StrataDeed lives on the mantle blockchain. We wrote our smart contracts in such a way that they handle property tokenization, escrow management, and automated ownership transfers. Each property is minted as an NFT., with its complete ownership history embedded in the token metadata. Our contracts manage everything from purchase agreements to rental payments, executing automatically when conditions are met.

Blockchain Integration: We integrated with Mantle, using Viem and the Mantle SDK, which handles wallet connections, transactions, signing, and smart contract interactions seamlessly. We chase the mantle for its low gas fees and Ethereum compatibility, making real estate transactions affordable while maintaining the security of a proven blockchain architecture.

And our final result? We created a seamless experience where users interact with a familiar web interface while blockchain technology handles the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

Challenges we ran into

Building a blockchain-based real estate platform in a hackathon timeline meant facing some serious technical and conceptual hurdles.

Our biggest challenge was connecting traditional real estate concepts with blockchain technology in a way that made sense to both worlds. Real estate professionals expect certain workflows and legal safeguards, while blockchain users expect speed and decentralization. We had to design a system that satisfied both without compromising either. Finding that balance meant countless iterations on our smart contract logic and user flows.

Writing smart contracts for real estate isn't like creating a simple token. We had to handle escrow logic, multiple parties, conditional transfers, rental agreements, and fractional ownership, all while keeping gas costs reasonable on Mantle. Our first version of the escrow contract failed spectacularly during testing when we realized we hadn't accounted for failed transactions properly. We had to completely redesign how we handled edge cases and refund logic.

The average person shouldn't need to understand blockchain to use StrataDeeds. But making Web3 interactions feel as smooth as browsing any other real estate site? That's harder than it sounds. We fought with wallet connection flows, transaction confirmations, and error handling. How do you explain "insufficient gas" to someone who just wants to buy a house? We rewrote our error messages and loading states multiple times to make the experience feel natural.

Perhaps the most persistent challenge was simply time. We were building a complete full-stack application with blockchain integration, dual databases, and a polished UI, all within the hackathon deadline. There were moments at 3 AM when we questioned if we'd bitten off more than we could chew and moments we had to ruthlessly prioritize features, cutting nice-to-haves to focus on the core experience that proved our concept.

But every challenge taught us something. And seeing it all come together made every debugging session worth it.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Let's be honest, when we started, a fully functional blockchain real estate platform felt ambitious for a hackathon. But we didn't just build a concept or a prototype. We shipped a complete, working application that's live at strata-deed.vercel.app. You can browse properties, connect your wallet, and execute real transactions on the Mantle blockchain. That alone feels like a massive win.

We're genuinely proud of how polished StrataDeeds looks and feels. Most blockchain apps feel technical and intimidating. Ours feels like a premium real estate platform that just happens to be powered by Web3. The clean design, smooth interactions, and intuitive navigation show we didn't sacrifice user experience for functionality.

Our Solidity contracts handle complex real estate logic, escrow, automated transfers, ownership verification, and fractional investment, all while keeping gas costs low on Mantle. We tested every edge case we could think of, and they held up. Knowing that our smart contracts can securely manage real property transactions is incredibly satisfying.

Getting MongoDB and PostgreSQL to work together seamlessly with blockchain events was no small feat. We built a system where off-chain data (property details, images, user profiles) lives in traditional databases for speed, while on-chain data (ownership, transactions, verification) lives on Mantle for security and transparency. The synchronization between these systems works flawlessly, and that integration was one of our biggest technical achievements.

We're most proud that you can use StrataDeeds without really thinking about blockchain. Connect wallet, browse properties, click buy, and it just works. Behind the scenes, smart contracts are executing, NFTs are minting, and ownership is transferring on-chain. But to the user? It feels as simple as any e-commerce site. That's the dream of Web3 adoption, and we actually achieved it.

With everything we built: frontend, backend, dual databases, smart contracts, blockchain integration, and deployment, we still finished before the deadline. No half-finished features or placeholder content. StrataDeeds is complete, functional, and ready to demo. That's something we're incredibly proud of.

This hackathon pushed us to our limits, and we're amazed at what we accomplished together.

What we learned

We learned that integrating blockchain into a real-world application involves way more than just calling a few smart contract functions. Managing wallet connections, handling transactions, dealing with network congestion, and creating fallback mechanisms for failed transactions, every step required careful thought. But seeing those transactions execute flawlessly on Mantle made all the complexity worthwhile. We now understand what it actually takes to build production-ready Web3 applications.

Also, we initially focused heavily on the blockchain architecture and smart contract logic. But we quickly realized that none of that matters if users can't figure out how to use the platform. We learned that erasing complexity is just as important as building it. The best technology is invisible. Now we obsess over loading states, error messages, and making every interaction feel natural, even when complex blockchain operations are happening behind the scenes.

Choosing between MongoDB and PostgreSQL felt like picking sides. We learned that the real answer is "both, when appropriate." MongoDB's flexibility was perfect for property listings with varying attributes, while PostgreSQL's relational structure was ideal for transaction records and user relationships. Understanding when to use each and how to keep them synchronized with blockchain events taught us valuable lessons about system design.

And most importantly, we learned that we can build something real when we're up against a deadline. We learned each other's strengths, how to communicate effectively when exhausted, and how to support each other through frustrating bugs. We learned that hackathons aren't just about building software, they're about building teams—working as one.

Finally, we learned that tokenizing real estate isn't just a cool tech idea since it solves real problems. The more we researched traditional real estate processes, the more we realized how broken they are. Blockchain offers genuine solutions: transparency, speed, lower costs, and global accessibility. We're more convinced than ever that this is the future of property ownership.

What's next for StrataDeeds

Our immediate next step is partnering with actual property owners and real estate agencies to tokenize real properties. Right now, we have the infrastructure; next, we need the inventory. We're already in conversations with several property developers interested in listing their assets on our platform. Bridging the gap between our technology and real-world real estate is our top priority.

We need to work closely with legal experts to ensure our smart contracts align with property laws across different jurisdictions. Every country has unique requirements for property transfers, and we want StrataDeeds to be compliant everywhere. We're planning to build partnerships with legal firms specializing in blockchain and real estate law to create ironclad frameworks for each market we enter.

Real estate decisions happen on the go. We're planning native iOS and Android apps that bring the full StrataDeeds experience to mobile devices. Push notifications for new listings, wallet integration, and one-tap property purchases, all optimized for mobile-first users.

Investors need data to make informed decisions. We're building comprehensive analytics tools that show property performance, market trends, rental yields, appreciation forecasts, and portfolio diversification insights. Think Bloomberg Terminal, but for tokenized real estate.

While we're starting on Mantle, we see a future where StrataDeeds operates across multiple blockchains. Different regions and user bases may prefer different chains. We're exploring bridging solutions that let property tokens move seamlessly between Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, and other networks.

Ultimately, we want StrataDeeds to become the global standard for property ownership. A world where buying property in Tokyo is as easy as buying property in Toronto. Where your deed is in your digital wallet, not a filing cabinet. Where anyone with $50 can start building a real estate portfolio. Where ownership is transparent, transfers are instant, and fraud is impossible.

We started this as a hackathon project. But we're just getting started.