Tips On Using ServiceMagic.com For Home Repair Estimates

This is an instance where the Internet can really be your friend.  I have been using ServiceMagic.com for a couple of years now whenever we need something fixed in the house.  Why?  Here’s a couple of reason why I like & recommend ServiceMagic.com. . .

• ServiceMagic is a better alternative to picking random contractors out of the YellowPages (which is usually based on how big and good their ad looks, right?).  Other than asking around for referrals from friends in your neighborhood, how can you find decent contractors to fix the job?

• Contractors found through Service Magic are all insured & licensed — basically they are prescreened.  Actually, I’ve heard from 2-3 of the contractors that have come to my house that ServiceMagic is the stricted of all the referral services that they use in terms of proof/paperwork they have to submit in order to be entered into the system.  PLUS ServiceMagic supposedly checks to make sure there are no legal judgements against the contractor within the last 3 years — meaning, if a contractor had just 1 job that went wrong and someone sued, they can’t be listed in ServiceMagic.

• They usually match you up with 3 (rare occasions 4) different contractors that basically bidding for your job.  You get via email, complete contact info and links to their websites, and sometimes photos from recent jobs on the service magic site.  This is very convenient so that you can keep a trail of contacts, etc while you’re doing the home improvement project.  If you get estimates from them and don’t like them for some reason, and want more, all you have to do is go back to ServiceMagic.com and submit another estimate request.  What’s pretty cool is that you’ll probably get a call from one of the matched contractors immediately — they apparently get text messages as well as email/faxes about the match.  You can call them to set-up appointments, but the smarter ones know that you’ll get competitor contractors too, so the good ones tend to call you immediately to get the ball rolling asap.  In fact, today one contractor called me within 60 seconds – literally of submitting a request online.

• They have a ratings/feedback system that rates each contractor.  This is invaluable.  The reason why the YellowPages is random is that all you have to go by is the looks of their ad, how they sound on the phone, and any claims they make.  By having a feedback system on various factors like timeliness, budget, cleanliness, courteousness, as well as comments that are entered by other home owners like you and me, you can really get a sense of what type of service you’ll receive from the contractor you choose.  I really don’t like to pick contractors without ratings, no matter “how long they’ve been in business”.  If they’re really good, it shouldn’t be hard to gain postive ratings on the service magic system in a very short period of time from other customers….it’s just that I don’t want to be one of those guinea pig Service Magic customers.

• You basically get the best price for the job.  Since the contractors all know that you’ll be getting 3-4 contractor referrals for any given job, you can be very upfront about the fact that you’re going to follow-up to get estimates from the other referrals.  It keeps them on their toes and they generally don’t price gauge you at all on the estimate.

• It’s FREE. Did I mention that you have absolutely NO obligations as a customer?  If you’re just thinking about adding that sunroom or curious about how much installing new recessed lighting in the kitchen might be, you can submit a project request for estimates with no obligations at all.   You’ll automatically get a list of pre-qualified contractors in your area in your emailbox.

• It works.  I’ve used ServiceMagic.com repeatedly over the last several years for painting, move-out cleaning, repairing a roof leak, fixing a garage door, replacing a furnace, replacement windows, etc.  And each time I quickly & easily found contractors that fixed the problem at hand at a reasonable price.

So here’s my tips on using ServiceMagic:

• Get multiple estimates. They give you 3, sometimes 4 contractors for your job. USE THEM all!  All you have to do is schedule 3 estimates. I usually block out 2 hours one day and give them 1/2 hour increments to show up, so I don’t waste too much time. Getting mutliple estimates really gives you a sense of price range as well as give you opportunities to ask the different contractors questions to help you understand the best solution — if it’s planting trees for a screen, you can find different opinions on types of trees, you may find that deer-resistancy is important when you never thought of it before, etc.  It also gives you the ability to evaluate the contractor you end up liking in terms of professionalism, size of company (the owner comes out & will do the work himself? or one of the many trucks will come out and do it?  specialist vs “general” fix-it guys, etc), warranties (6 months? 1 year? 3 years?) that are offered on the work, diagnosis — i.e. 1st roof guy might say you *must* replace the whole roof immediately, and the 3 other guys might say it’s not an impending doom situation, and a simple repair will get you buy for another 5-10 years.

• Usually, what ends up happening after getting the 2-3 estimates is that I like one guy, but another guy came in with the lowest estimate.  90% of the time, I just ask the *guy I like* to match the *lower price from another estimate, and they go along with it and match it — You get the price you want, with the contractor that you want.  What more can you ask for?

• Ask for the estimate details that are important to you in writing.  Although they are supposedly pre-screend & trustworthy, still, get it in writing.  Anything that’s important to you and agreed to by the contractor should be easily put in writing without arguements if it’s really something the contractor is agreeing to.  You may feel imposing, but it’s really not. Remember, you’re the one handing over the dollar bills, not the other way around.  It really will save you trouble later if the roof leak repair you thought guaranteed a fix actually didn’t and now you have to call them back up to come out again to fix it.  Did they really agree to guarantee fixing the LEAK?  Or did they agree to replace the broken shingles and install step flashing — which you assumed would fix the leak?  There’s a big difference between the two statements when it’s raining inside your house after the roofers have come and gone a month ago.

• If you’re not happy with the 1st set of contractors or estimate prices, submit another project request. There are thousands of contractors in the ServiceMagic system, you were only given 3 of them.  If you’re not fully happy with any of the estimates you received, then go back and get another set of 3 and choose 1 or 2 to come out and give a new estimate.  Sometimes it’s easy to believe that the 3 you got are the only 3 to choose from.  Think outside the box and understand that ServiceMagic is a service to HELP you, not limit you.

I really encourage you to go try ServiceMagic.com out right now and really see the value and beauty of the Internet for something you’d normally not even think would be the solution.  Have you tried it?  What do you think? What’s your experiences?  Let me know and leave a comment!