Home Advisor

[allseason]

Has anyone heard of a web site called homeadvisor.com? Apparently they have some type of ASHI endorsement. Inspectors pay to get on the site and then pay for referrals.

[Bill Kibbel]

It's rebranded Service Magic. New name - same unqualified leads.

[Les]

It is magic. Your money disappears.

[allseason]

Thanks. I argued with the sales guy for 20 min. about how many calls I get a week from people like him who all claim that they are different than the other guys. Right after I finally hung up on him I got a call from a woman with a mid eastern accent who wanted me to join a home inspectors search site. The best line from these guys is when they ask if I can use more inspections to which I reply "Sure, when do you want to schedule your inspection?"

[Mike Lamb]

I tried it and found it to be an honest business at least. You pay them for referrals, something like $18-$22 per lead. They are very upfront about what you get and what you are paying for. But it wasn't for me.

The shoppers who use this are not interested in quality but only the price of the inspection. I found it is for low-ballers so if your prices are the lowest around it could work for you.

My first two or three leads which are processed through Home Advisor and sent to you from their site did not return my phone calls after I quoted my fee. I complained to Home Advisor and they did not charge me which was nice of them I thought.

I canceled after that so I didn't pay any money. They were interested in keeping my business and offered me five free leads to reconsider their service but I declined.

[allseason]

They told me it was $30 a month to join then $12-18 per referral. You need to tell them how many referrals you are willing to take per month. The three in that industry with the greatest number of wanted referrals are the companies that they give out. So if you will take up to 100 leads a month and three other companies will take 101 your s*** out of luck. I am not interested as a friend of mine, a contractor, was in Service Magic for a while and got nothing from it but aggravation.

[AHI in AR]

I was with them for a while when it was ServiceMagic. AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE. As Mike said, you'll get a lot of inquiries from people who are simply looking for the lowest price. Unless that's you, you'll pay a lead fee for nothing. I got all sorts of just plain bogus leads also. And you can't get your lead fees refunded even when they admit it's a phony lead. They give you a credit against a future lead and you have to waste a lot of time just applying for the lead replacement.

Worst of all, I discovered after I bailed out that those A**holes had used my company name to set up listings on various websites that compiled business information but they inserted THEIR phone number! They were sending folks looking for me to my competitors who were still with them. It took forever and the threat of legal action to change that.

[Mike Lamb]

I jumped ship quickly and have no hard feelings. I never paid an entry fee. I never paid for the few "leads, " they sent my way.

[Scottpat]

Has anyone heard of a web site called homeadvisor.com? Apparently they have some type of ASHI endorsement. Inspectors pay to get on the site and then pay for referrals.

Nope they are not endorsed by ASHI.

[allseason]

Has anyone heard of a web site called homeadvisor.com? Apparently they have some type of ASHI endorsement. Inspectors pay to get on the site and then pay for referrals.

Nope they are not endorsed by ASHI.

Scott,

The sales person mentioned that it was in one of the newsletters and lots of ASHI members were taking advantage of their service. I don't recall seeing anything.

[gtblum]

Has anyone heard of a web site called homeadvisor.com? Apparently they have some type of ASHI endorsement. Inspectors pay to get on the site and then pay for referrals.

Nope they are not endorsed by ASHI.

Scott,

The sales person mentioned that it was in one of the newsletters and lots of ASHI members were taking advantage of their service. I don't recall seeing anything.

I had my turn with one of them last week. The guy lied about something every time his mouth moved.

Then, he got angry when I told him his company didn't pass my background check because of the number of complaints they had and the pattern of them. He told me the complaints were "obsolete". Then, we went a couple of rounds over his definition of that word meaning insignificant, before I finally grew tired of playing and told him I wasn't interested in the service or teaching an English class.

So, here's what you guys need to do. If you get a call from them, keep using the word "obsolete" for everything other than what it means. It should do one of two things. Either they'll be completely baffled and hang up, or these people will figure out the connection and go back to calling the small time contractors they prey on most.

If you have time, keep them on the phone for as long as you can stand it. That takes time away from them being able to scam someone else.

[Jerry Simon]

If you have time, keep them on the phone for as long as you can stand it. That takes time away from them being able to scam someone else.

Waste my time so they won't waste someone else's? Yep, I'll get right on that.

[gtblum]

If you have time, keep them on the phone for as long as you can stand it. That takes time away from them being able to scam someone else.

Waste my time so they won't waste someone else's? Yep, I'll get right on that.

Really? Here, try one of these. []

[hoosier inspector]

I got hooked into this mess a few years back when business was slow. Lots of "looky Lou's" and competitors price shopping. The company withdraws the money directly from your account and you're supposed to get credit for any disputed leads. The burden is on you to resolve disputes. In one case the lead, not having made an offer on any specific property, was "thinking" of buying a house, so I told him I couldn't give him a price. I disputed the charge. The company said that was a legitimate lead because I can "track" him as a "prospect". You get caught in a revolving door of disputing leads all the while they keep pulling from your account. Sound fun? Getting these leaches off your ass is another story. They don't want to close your account but put it on a 30 day hold. Again, the burden is on you to remember to extend the hold, or else one day here comes a flood of bullsh!t "leads" that you will end up paying for. Even when you demand to close the account, they will try to put you off until the account manager, or some other title can talk to you. Nobody seems to have the authority. I had to threaten legal action before it finally stopped. I did get some jobs from this. I figured I broke even financially (not including the frustration), which means that all the while I was working for them. [:-dunce]

[Scottpat]

I still do not understand the concept of paying for a lead..... I have been at this gig for almost 20 years and have never paid for a lead....

[Bill Kibbel]

Nope they are not endorsed by ASHI.

Oh yes they are.

From the "News from ASHI" September 01, 2013:

"Over 33,000 Prospects

for General Home

(Home Inspector)

Do prospective clients find you online right when they need you? HomeAdvisor is the nation's leading property improvement website connecting nearly six million unique visitors each month with prescreened, customer-rated service professionals (and it's an ASHI-endorsed program).

Help HomeAdvisor Customers Find You Now!

ASHI members to receive this deal:

50% Off New Enrollment

6% Quarterly Rebate

50% Off ProLeads for the First 30 Days after New Enrollment

Call: 913.529.2682

Email: ASHI@HOMEADVISOR.COM"

I'm pretty sure they bought our contact info from ASHI.

[Scottpat]

Nope they are not endorsed by ASHI.

Oh yes they are.

From the "News from ASHI" September 01, 2013:

"Over 33,000 Prospects

for General Home

(Home Inspector)

Do prospective clients find you online right when they need you? HomeAdvisor is the nation's leading property improvement website connecting nearly six million unique visitors each month with prescreened, customer-rated service professionals (and it's an ASHI-endorsed program).

Help HomeAdvisor Customers Find You Now!

ASHI members to receive this deal:

50% Off New Enrollment

6% Quarterly Rebate

50% Off ProLeads for the First 30 Days after New Enrollment

Call: 913.529.2682

Email: ASHI@HOMEADVISOR.COM"

I'm pretty sure they bought our contact info from ASHI.

I had no idea of that, they were/are not listed on the website as an endorsed vendor when I looked. I guess the site has not been updated.

http://www.homeinspector.org/resources/partners.aspx

Sorry for my oops.

[hoosier inspector]

Nope they are not endorsed by ASHI.

Oh yes they are.

From the "News from ASHI" September 01, 2013:

"Over 33,000 Prospects

for General Home

(Home Inspector)

Do prospective clients find you online right when they need you? HomeAdvisor is the nation's leading property improvement website connecting nearly six million unique visitors each month with prescreened, customer-rated service professionals (and it's an ASHI-endorsed program).

Help HomeAdvisor Customers Find You Now!

ASHI members to receive this deal:

50% Off New Enrollment

6% Quarterly Rebate

50% Off ProLeads for the First 30 Days after New Enrollment

Call: 913.529.2682

Email: ASHI@HOMEADVISOR.COM"

I'm pretty sure they bought our contact info from ASHI.

[hoosier inspector]

I still do not understand the concept of paying for a lead..... I have been at this gig for almost 20 years and have never paid for a lead....

[kurt]

That is some of my favorite Mamet dialogue.

[DeBolt]

I was warned by a fellow home inspector to avoid Home Adviser at all cost. He tried it for about 6 months and received about a dozen "leads." EVERY lead was literally 60 miles away from his service areas. He also had the impression that Home Adviser would send him fictional leads to collect a fee.

Sure enough I was contacted by Home Adviser with the opening line of "Hey, we are in desperate need of Colorado home inspectors and were wondering if you would be able to help us." Man, if only that was true. I quickly told them that I was working at capacity and could not take anymore business. This seemed to work quite well.

[Steven Hockstein]

Thanks. I argued with the sales guy for 20 min. about how many calls I get a week from people like him who all claim that they are different than the other guys. Right after I finally hung up on him I got a call from a woman with a mid eastern accent who wanted me to join a home inspectors search site. The best line from these guys is when they ask if I can use more inspections to which I reply "Sure, when do you want to schedule your inspection?"

Reminds me of when a long lost friend calls me out of the blue and asks if I am interested in earning a lot of money without working too hard. My multi-level marketing radar sounds-off and the call quickly ends after that.

[Nolan Kienitz]

Slight drift, but in the same chapter ...

When I get calls from the SEO folks and other such marketers I quickly ask them what is the address of the house they want me to inspect. I follow that with asking them questions about the house so I can provide a fee quote.

I do this before they barely have a chance to start their marketing pitch about getting my website to the top of all pages in short order.

I continue the push asking about the house to inspect and then I pause and advise them that if they called me the only reason should be to schedule a home for inspection that they have under contract.

If this call is about anything other than that ... we don't have anything to talk about.

In most cases they are caught pretty close to being dumbfounded and they either hang up without another word or I will politely hang up on them after telling them thanks for calling and giving me an opportunity to quote a home inspection fee for them.

It becomes a game after a while.

[]

[hausdok]

I usually just say, "I don't have time for this bullsh*t," and I hang up.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[Erby]

Remember, a lot of them are just employees trying to make a living, not a good choice of a way to do it but trying anyway.

I just tell em, "Thanks, I'm not interested" and hang up. Then add their number to my DO NO ANSWER list as a telemarketer.

I don't waste my time playing with them. Better things to do.