Find a Contractor with Auction-Based Model

Update 2009: Review downgraded to zero stars. Site is still live, but is now inactive.

Finding a local contractor is tough. Most home renovation guides counsel you to talk to neighbors for advice. OK, sure. If you already had neighbor recommendations for contractors, you wouldn't be on the Web searching for one, right? So, where do you go?

The obvious "go to" choice is ServiceMagic, if only because they are so heavily promoted. But I get so many reports from unhappy contractors because of the flimsy job referrals they get through ServiceMagic. And they still have to pay for these referrals.

As far as Angie's List goes, I disagree with their business model because it is antithetical to the spirit of the Internet. Charging recurring fees? That is so Web 1.0. Is this still 1998? There has to be a better way to go.

UPDATE - APRIL 11, 2009: I have downgraded this product down to zero stars.

With Project Turtle (usable, but still in beta), homeowners post projects in detail and with photos, if applicable. For example, a homeowner in Laurel, Maryland posted a project for a contractor to install vinyl siding for a price of $3,000. The homeowner already has the materials; it is up to the contractor to install it. Another Maryland-based homeowner who wants a Trex-type deck suggests a $6,500 bid for materials and labor.

Best thing about it, for both homeowners and contractors, is that it is free. Why not? If the site owner can eventually get enough traffic, he can make money from advertising. He does not need to extort even more money from the contractors.

Outside of About.com, I work with a contractor lead referral service that charges contractors $30 or more for window replacement leads. I recognize that those $30 charges can really add up for contractors. The last I checked, most contractors are not exactly rolling in the dough. They need to save money, as much as homeowners do. So from this angle, Project Turtle is a classic win-win.

Sign-up for both homeowners and contractors is bare-bones minimal, just enough to get you going--and this is a good thing.

One great thing about Project Turtle is that it empowers the homeowner. They can put their project out there, and have contractors come to them, LendingTree-style.

But this also brings up the perennial problem that contractors deal with every day: homeowners who don't have the faintest clue about true cost of home renovations. Project Turtle may just further bolster homeowners' misguided notions that their new 1,300 sq. ft addition should only cost $50,000 or that their complete basement finishing is only worth a couple grand--all patently false.

Time will tell if Project Turtle has "legs." Its beta rollout is still in infancy (only 16 jobs posted so far), and most are centered around Maryland.