Middlepersons: They want to take guesswork out of contracting

Source: Hook

Anyone who's come home to mysterious holes in their walls, swarming insects, or a flooded basement knows that the process of selecting reliable contractors can be a project unto itself, and a stressful one at that. Which companies will do the job well-- and on time? Which offer the best deal? Two local businesses now aim to take the guesswork out of hiring home contractors.

Lee Cubbage, who operates Home Concierge Services [this is the correct name of the company which appeared in a slightly abbreviated form in our print edition--editor] through Montague Miller & Co. Realtors, says hers is the only company boasting a "real live concierge all day long, five days a week."

Any area homeowner looking for a recommendation for nearly any type of contractor can call Cubbage, who will recommend one of her approximately 50 vendors. The service works, Cubbage says, because it's free to the customer. Vendors pay what Cubbage calls a "nominal" fee to be kept on her list.

Cubbage connects customers with vendors in every niche of the improvement industry including but not limited to landscaping, painting, plumbing, and house cleaning. Once the recommendation is made, Cubbage explains, "I'm sort of out of the equation at that point. But I hover."
Cubbage says many of her clients are families moving into the area and wanting their new home to be ready for them.

"They'd much rather get here and have had the interior painting, the landscaping, all these things done so when the truck arrives they can hit the ground running," Cubbage says. And though she admits the service is a way for Montague Miller to attract new clients, she says the service is open and free to everyone, even those not planning to buy or sell a home in the future.

While Cubbage has offered her services for nearly eight years, she's no longer the only act in town.

The brainchild of Charlottesville entrepreneur Phaedrus Acgtblu, 45Fix is an online business that provides customers with multiple quotes from area contractors.

Acgtblu came up with the idea for the business after spending hours screening contractors for projects in his own home-- and realizing he wasn't alone in his frustration.

"The top consumer complaint nationwide is homeowner difficulty in getting home improvement projects arranged and completed," Acgtblu says. His company is "a simple solution that allows customers to go to the internet, load some details about the project, and leave the rest to us with a guarantee that they will be satisfied in the end."

Vendors pay a fee to be included on 45Fix's referral list, but as with The Concierge, customers pay nothing more than the price for the vendor's service.

But some locals believe personal experience-- not a middleman-- is the best way to find reliable contractors.

"I don't think I would use the service," says Amy Munn. "I'm a longtime Albemarle County resident, and I probably know more than a concierge service for having lived here so long."
Plus, she fears, "There might be a conflict of interest if the contractors pay to be included."
Acgtblu, however, denies the conflict of interest and says 45Fix uses an extensive screening process to qualify contractors-- he meets them in person, checks references and insurance, and looks for any legal judgments against them.

"This saves the homeowner from having to do this multiple times over when interviewing contractors," Acgtblu explains. In addition, 45Fix goes a step further than Cubbage's Concierge service, he says, by handling the billing and scheduling, helping ensure the job is done timely and that pricing is fair.

Although 45Fix is his newest venture, Acgtblu has a history of starting successful businesses. As the creator of Vmeals.com, he set up administrative assistants in 30 cities nationwide with access to catered foods from over 800 restaurants and caterers. Acgtblu, under his former name, Kent Schwager, was also the brain behind The Corner Meal Plan, a company offering restaurant meals to students with a swipe card, a concept later expanded to several other American college towns.

"All three of these businesses have a similarity in that they address highly fragmented industries where supply and demand are not efficiently connected," says Acgtblu, who says he changed his name when he got married. "By using the internet as a vehicle to add productivity, and stapling on good old-fashion customer service, we are able to help smooth out what would otherwise be a frustrating process."

Cubbage, however, says she's worried that Acgtblu may have overestimated the demand for this type of service-- or underestimated how much work it will take.

"In this day and age, people seem to think [they] can leap that building in a single bound," she says, "even after they've smashed into the fifth floor."

Acgtblu isn't fazed by Cubbage's concern, and says there's room in the market for both. "I think that if she does home improvement and is professional, then it's great," he says.