case study

One Deal, One Conversation

We designed an intuitive, frictionless app where all parties can communicate effortlessly throughout every stage of a home buying deal—turning Unison’s previously fragmented process into a coordinated experience.

Company

Metalab

Client

Unison

Business

Home Ownership Investment

Role

Product Designer

Areas

Research, Strategy, Product design

Hampus Svallfors
Digital Product Designer

Work

About me

Resume

Contact

Hampus Svallfors
Digital Product Designer

Work

About

Resume

Contact

Unison

Your rich uncle when buying your first home

Unison’s Equity Sharing program gives first-time buyers a chance to enter the property market by partnering as co-owners—like having a ‘rich uncle’ helping out. They invest in a share of the home’s future value, winning together if it appreciates and sharing the loss if it declines.

Unison

Your rich uncle when buying your first home

Stakeholders

Unison operates within a vast ecosystem that spans the finance and housing markets, involving multiple stakeholders who play crucial roles in each deal:

Homebuyers: Often first-time buyers who are locked out of the housing market due to insufficient capital or lack of access to traditional financing. For them, Unison’s co-ownership model represents a chance to achieve the dream of owning their first home

Loan officers: Financial experts who work closely with homebuyers to build custom financing scenarios, presenting different loan options and repayment structures. They act as intermediaries between banks and homebuyers, ensuring the chosen mortgage aligns with both parties’ needs.

Real estate agents: Advisors who guide buyers through the home search and help them secure properties, ensuring smooth coordination between finding a home and completing the purchase.

Unison Account executives: Unison's point of contact, who oversee the entire deal, ensuring all necessary information is collected, verified, and approved at the right stages. They align all parties and manage timing and accuracy to keep the process moving smoothly from start to finish.

Challenges

Communication, Coordination, and Guidance

Home buying involves constant communication between multiple parties—including banks, realtors, and homebuyers—who need to share updates, prospects, and loan scenarios in real time. This creates a fragmented process where each participant is left juggling calls and emails to keep everyone aligned. As a result, homebuyers often felt overwhelmed navigating appraisal requirements and eligibility checks, while Loan Officers and Real Estate Agents struggled to manage multiple deals and coordinate complex details.

Since all of Unison’s stakeholders are simultaneously exploring other non-Unison options, Unison needed to ensure its process was as smooth and frictionless as possible to remain competitive. Additionally, any new solution had to integrate seamlessly with Unison’s existing operations—covering appraisal management, deal underwriting, and compliance—without disrupting core business processes or creating new dependencies.

Challenges

Communication, Coordination, and Guidance

Solution

One space to seal the deal

After extensive research and testing, we created a single space where homebuyers, loan officers, real estate agents, and Unison’s team could communicate effortlessly throughout every stage of a deal. By bringing all the complex interactions into one place, we eliminated the chaotic back-and-forth calls and emails that previously defined closing a Unison deal, making the process faster and easier. Every part was designed to feel intuitive and frictionless, from onboarding and sharing updates to inviting new participants. This way, even as users explored other options, Unison stood out as the smoothest, most transparent choice—helping them stay competitive and win over customers who might otherwise slip away.

Solution

One space to seal the deal

Group chat

The heart of the app is a dynamic chat-based interface, where each deal becomes a group chat for all stakeholders involved.

Deal list

The sidebar changes based on the deal stage, offering context-sensitive tools and information to support users through each phase of the transaction.

Share loan scenarios

Loan Officers can build various loan scenarios using a dedicated interface to showcase different terms and outcomes for homebuyers. Homebuyers then view these scenarios as interactive comparisons, making complex financial data easy to understand and evaluate.

Browse properties

A dedicated home browsing section, where real estate agents can suggest properties and set up initial deal options. This section connects directly with Unison’s automated pre-approval process, triggering new deals seamlessly.

Resource Library

The heart of the app is a dynamic chat-based interface, where each deal becomes a group chat for all stakeholders involved.

Invitations

Tailored email invitations and easy registration flows are designed to showcase the platform’s value to Loan Officers and Real Estate Agents, driving growth through a network-based strategy.

Desktop and mobile

All features are designed to work equally good on desktop as they do in a mobile browser. Critical for email conversion.

Outcome

The project successfully streamlined Unison’s process, with overwhelmingly positive feedback highlighting the intuitive design and how well it aligned with Unison’s existing operations and business goals. As the primary product designer, I felt the pressure to deliver something worthy of MetaLab’s high standards, and I’m really proud of the work I produced. A unique takeaway was interviewing U.S. loan officers and realtors—roles that don’t exist in Sweden—giving me a deeper understanding of the American housing system and its nuances.