3 Easy & Efficient Ways to Find Experts for Your Home Projects 

After ten years of living in our family home, we are starting to make some improvements and updates. (Thanks to Jason Farris, Mr. FresYes himself, for leading us to our perfect home!) If you’re not a very good DIYer, a lot of home improvement work comes into play. before even physical labor begins. That is, to find, negotiate and book specialists for your home projects.

Last month, I successfully installed new gutters, painted the exterior of our house, replaced our floor, replaced the exterior lighting, and completed some other smaller work. In the past, my preference has been to ask people I know personally who have used these services. However, as a busy person, I have come to realize that I highly value Internet-based check-in and booking tools.

While navigating the process of completing my most recent improvements, I discovered three tools. These made it much easier to find qualified and trusted traders and get estimates more efficiently. Hoping to help you do the same, I share my three best resources with you here.

Find experts on Yelp

When it comes to Yelp, most people think of restaurants and entertainment. However, it is also an excellent source for finding locally controlled and audited companies within the service and trading industries. You can simply search for the job you need to do and find a list of highly rated companies in seconds.

What is really wonderful, though, is Yelp’s online rating and messaging service. Any business with a “Request a Quote” button will allow you to answer a few questions about your needs. In return you will receive either a customized estimate or next steps from the company you contacted.

The feature that is really useful is the option to request ratings from multiple companies during the same request process. Sometimes, the first company I contact does not respond faster, but one of the other 2 responds. Then I can read their reviews, review their rating, and possibly get my work done faster.

Find experts on Thumbtack

There may be people who already know Pin in our area, but it was completely new to me. When I chose painters for our house, I found them on Yelp. They only had one criticism and that made me a little wary. However, one critique was promising. Their price was the best and they were polite, informed and responsive, so I proceeded by booking their services.

I mentioned that I saw a review on Yelp and they told me that most of their reviews are on Thumbtack. I searched for it and found a completely free application. Allows you to search, send messages, receive reviews, and read reviews. These lists are even more powerful than the ones currently on Yelp. (Although this number is increasing.)

Using Thumbtack is intuitive, easy and so far I have booked an electrician (who came out the same day, a Saturday, solved a major problem and charged us less than we expected!) And a garbage truck (on time) he was also charged less than expected and responded extremely well and did an excellent job). You can use the service on the Web or download it Pin Free application from Google Play or the iTunes store on your mobile device.

Find experts in local Facebook Marketplace groups

Local groups Buy, Sell, Trade Facebook is also a great place to find rated merchants. Many people post their services to these groups as the ad is free, but what I also see is a lot of people posting seeking help for a particular job. They get a lot of great feedback from others either suggesting someone they used (and usually tagging them) or from people who can provide the service themselves by offering their work (usually with links to prove the quality of their previous work or their own Facebook pages with additional information).

Home improvements can be a headache while they are in progress, however, when you find great specialists, the projects are completed faster, done correctly the first time and you can enjoy the results for years to come. I hope the tools I found that made my improvements easier can help you too!

Natali Carrera is a coffee addict who also loves her teenage son, her 19-year-old husband and shopping in small and local stores. She is the founder and CEO of the non-profit parent support Success Together, Inc. and has been a freelance content creator for FresYes.com for 7 years. Natali is a relentless cheerleader and resident of Fresno, as well as a graduate of Fresno State.

READ MORE:  Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr. Recognizes Five Teachers from the Fifth District in honor of Teacher’s Appreciation Week

Latest posts by Natali Carrera (View all)