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Contract Execution Logic for EthStates Marketplace
Contract Execution Logic for Financing
The development of Blockchain technology and the emergence of smart contracts has decreased the need for intermediaries to host transactions, transforming many different industries into exploring decentralized, end-to-end transactions. One of the industries currently underdeveloped in the context of decentralization is the real estate industry, where all negotiations and transactions between both buying and selling parties have to go through a real estate broker to verify and escrow on behalf of both parties.
While intermediaries provide expertise in terms of real estate knowledge and regulations in addition to handling all paperwork, the entire buying/selling process is extended, where buyers have to wait a lengthy period before receiving the property they purchased. Sellers cannot receive the cash immediately from the sale of their properties. Consequently, costly transaction fees such as escrow, agent fees, paperwork fees, and more put a dent in the seller's proceeds and generate additional costs for home buyers. Worst of all, both parties' private information is shared with the intermediary to complete the necessary paperwork. While it is inevitable that personal information must be given to the broker to proceed with the transaction, the trust of the broker not leaking one’s personal information is leveraged as well. Humans are prone to making errors, which is no different from real estate agents. In the current technological era, privacy is constantly at risk and there is no guarantee that one’s personal information might be stolen and used for malicious intent.
Ethstates is a decentralized digital marketplace for real estate buying and selling, where it aims to address the issue of trust between buyers and sellers by acting as an intermediary between the two through the use of smart contracts, therefore eliminating the need for human intermediaries and removing extra transaction costs and time, while aiming to protect all parties’ information.
Our final product, EthStates, is a decentralized peer-to-peer marketplace for real estate property leveraging the technology of blockchain and smart contracts to increase a real estate transaction's security, cost-efficiency, and time efficiency, allowing for a trustless relationship for buyers and sellers. The user-friendly front-end navigation of the website, combined with back-end smart contract mechanisms results in a top-down, simple, and direct process for homeowners and buyers to process real estate transactions safely and securely without the need for a broker to handle lengthy negotiations and demanding fees, overall providing a blueprint of the real estate industry under the governance of decentralization. However, it is believed that blockchain and the concept of decentralization have untapped potential, as the idea that we can exclude the need for a third-party representation in not only real estate but potentially in other industries that currently require mediators such as banking, insurance, healthcare, education, supply chain, and more. Ultimately, blockchain has laid the foundation for a utopian information system, where concerns about privacy and centralization are eliminated while putting more responsibility and decision-making in oneself.
Envisioning a world where transactions are truly democratized, our project, EthStates, aims to establish an online decentralized marketplace for residential properties. Powered by blockchain technology, Ethstates will empower homeowners and potential buyers to engage in secure, transparent, and fair transactions without the need for intermediaries. Our platform focuses on privacy, inclusivity, and innovation, allowing users to buy and sell properties in a trustless environment. By harnessing the power of smart contracts, Ethstates will redefine the dynamics of a real estate transaction, and continue to encourage community-driven governance, making it accessible, equitable, and resilient for all.
Mumbai Test Network: The Mumbai Test Network is the test network where we deploy and run our smart contracts for our prototype. It is the Polygon network's testnet, a replication of the main Polygon network used by developers to test, launch, and run decentralized applications. The Mumbai Test Network uses the test currency TEST MATIC, which we currently use for developing and testing our smart contracts.
MetaMask Wallet: All users (buyer, seller, financier) must use MetaMask wallet as a form of verification to utilize any features in the marketplace since the TEST MATIC currency and unique ID are contained in the wallet.
Javascript: Javascript is the programming language we use to program and connect our smart contracts to our front-end interface.
Pinata: Pinata is a development platform we use that helps us in hosting, managing, and sharing files on the blockchain platforms. It is an IPFS pinning platform that EthStates employs to host all data.
Firebase Firebase is another development platform we use to store our sample property data for verification when sellers list their properties for sale.